Noise, resolution and sensitivity
The relatively small size and low resolution of the Nikon 1 sensor has been a fly in the ointment for many more discerning users.
For fine detail, the sensor has been unable to match the results of the micro four thirds sensors used by Panasonic and Olympus, let alone those APS-C units used in Sony and Samsung CSCs. As there appears to be no change in the sensor and processor unit from the J1, it is unsurprising that the results of the J2 are similar.
At its base ISO 100, the J2 delivers a score of 20 on our resolution chart in its JPEG and raw formats. This falls to just 18 by ISO 400 and 16 in its extended Hi-1 setting, equivalent to ISO 6400.
Viewed at 200% or larger, individual pixels can be seen rather than a more typical blurring effect that occurs on many compact cameras.
At smaller sizes or on screen, however, the resolution is more than sufficient and noise is well controlled with small amounts of luminance noise at ISO 800, and remaining relatively clean even at ISO 6400.
These images show 72ppi (100% on a computer screen) sections of images of a resolution chart, captured using the Nikkor 10-30mm f/3.5-5.6 lens. We show the section of the resolution chart where the camera starts to fail to reproduce the lines separately. The higher the number visible in these images, the better the camera’s detail resolution at the specified sensitivity setting.
