Earlier on this month, Nikon announced three new premium compacts with a 1-inch sensor: the DL 18-50mm, DL 24-85mm and DL 24-500mm. They join the ranks of similar 1-inch compacts from Sony, Canon and Panasonic.
The arrival of this new series may have many Nikon 1 users wondering: should I keep my Nikon 1 gear or sell it for the DL series? This is a pertinent question because the DL cameras use the very same 20MP BSI sensor found inside the Nikon 1 J5.
Thomas Stirr, a photographer who uses the Nikon 1 system for his client work, recently wrote a helpful article in response to this question.
He feels that, for the kind of work he does, the DL cameras make little sense because he rarely uses flash and has no need for very fast apertures or 4K video. When speaking for the average amateur with a limited budget, he states that a camera like the J5 is the better deal because you can purchase it, along with a couple of lenses, for much less than what you’d pay for two DL cameras with different focal ranges.
If anything, the technology found inside the DL range makes Thomas more optimistic about the future of the Nikon 1 series: To quote his article:
…the specifications of the Nikon DL bodies make me even more optimistic about what a future V5…may look like in the future. Unlike many people I think there is real potential for a V5 to be significantly differentiated from both the J5 and the Nikon DL series, and become a true flagship model aimed at more professional shooters.
You can read Thomas’s Nikon DL vs Nikon 1 article here!
