Nikon 1 V3 review – Build and handling
After the fairly minimalist design of the original V1 and the rather awkward-looking V2, the V3 is easily the most conventional looking of the trio, taking on an appearance not to dissimilar to an enthusiast compact.
The absence of the deep and comfortable grip on the V2 means the V3 is not quite as satisfying to hold, but you can still get a reasonable purchase on it and its omission means that its overall footprint has been significantly reduced. This results in a relatively slim and compact body that delivers a sturdy feel, thanks to the use of magnesium alloy, aluminium and a quality rubber grip. If you desire something more substantial to hold on to, then the GR-N1010 attachable grip (£129) offers just that, while also incorporating an additional shutter-release button, another control dial and an additional function button.
One of the complaints levelled at the V1 and the V2 was that they both lacked a decent amount of body-mounted controls, with many settings menu-driven. Things are better with the V3, as it incorporates three control dials as well as two customisable function buttons. This makes operation much quicker, but the V3 is still not as satisfying as it could be, as the buttons feel fiddly to use and the camera is not quite as intuitive as I’d like. For example, when accessing the V3’s quick menu, the scroll wheel/four-point control dial is used to navigate between settings, but it can’t be used to adjust settings. Instead, the thumb-control dial has to be used to adjust this, while none of the three control dials can control exposure compensation. However, the menu is simple and uncluttered, making it easy to navigate, while the settings are comprehensive.
One final point worth mentioning is the fact that the Nikon 1 V3 now accepts MicroSD cards and not the more readily available SD format. There appears to be enough space to accommodate an SD card slot and rival manufacturers have achieved this with even smaller bodies, so it seems a curious decision for Nikon to make.
