Nikon 1 V3 review – Autofocus
Image: The supplied 10-30mm f/3.5-5.6 PD-Zoom lens offers a moderate focal range for general shooting
The V2’s AF performance was very snappy, and with the V3 Nikon hopes to improve on this. As with the V1 and V2, the V3 uses a hybrid AF system, but it has been refined and improved over its predecessors, featuring 171 contrast-detection areas, compared to 135 on the V2, while the phase-detection points have also been increased to 105 compared to 73. As with Nikon’s range of DSLRs, there’s a choice of either auto-select AF (AF-A), single AF (AF-S), continuous AF (AF-C) and manual, while there’s the option of auto-area, single-point and subject tracking AF-area modes.
AF speeds are very quick, acquiring focus almost instantly and even performing well in low light, although speed does suffer slightly. Continuous speed is also very impressive, and thanks to the powerful Expeed 4A image processor, the V3 is capable of maintaining continuous focusing at an incredible burst shooting speed of 20fps.
It’s worth noting, however, that with the new 10-30mm PD-Zoom lens comes the relatively audible AF noise, with the odd whirr and buzz as focus is acquired. While this is something that is perhaps not so much of an issue for still photography, it will be picked up by the Nikon 1 V3’s built-in microphone during video capture.
