Tech Spotlight

Waterproof, shockproof AW1 provides great photos but so-so video

Special to the Democrat-Gazette/MELISSA L. JONES
The Nikon 1 AW1 is a mirrorless camera made for the outdoors. The camera includes a 11-27.5mm zoom lens.
Special to the Democrat-Gazette/MELISSA L. JONES The Nikon 1 AW1 is a mirrorless camera made for the outdoors. The camera includes a 11-27.5mm zoom lens.

Last week, I wrote about one of the cameras I took on my brief vacation to the lake, the Nikon Coolpix AW120. This week, I'm going to tell you about my other photography companion, the Nikon 1 AW1.

The Nikon 1 line is the compact cameras sometimes referred to as mirrorless cameras. These cameras are touted to have the quality of digital SLR cameras but the size of point-and-shoot cameras. But unlike those, mirrorless cameras have interchangeable lenses.

where it’s @

The Nikon AW1 with the 11-27.5mm lens kit requires an SDHC or better memory card. The camera single lens kit currently is on sale for a retail price of $795. More information is available at nikonusa.com.

The AW1 I tested came with a Nikkor 11-27.5mm lens, a fairly standard lens that has a decent wide angle at 11mm and a bit of zoom at 27.5mm. The lens adds a lot of weight to the camera, but it gives users more versatility in their shots than a point-and-shoot would.

Those used to point-and-shoot cameras should pick up on the AW1 fairly quickly. And those used to DSLR cameras will be driven absolutely mad by the lack of a viewfinder -- I was, at least. The camera's back screen does a good job and is still fairly visible in sunlight, so I did get used to not having a viewfinder after a while.

Actually, the camera is a great middle step between point and shoots and full-size DSLR cameras. It provides the quality and interchangeable lenses, but still retains many point-and-shoot features, such as using that back screen to preview an image and not having a ton of wheels and knobs to adjust the settings.

Even then, the AW1 is loaded with features. One I really liked was the button on the back that, when pressed, allows you to switch shooting modes simply by tilting the camera. An arrow on the screen points to the shooting mode like a compass. It makes it very easy to go from photos to video quickly.

I also liked its Creative modes. The camera has built-in special effects that make it easy to shoot a photo and have the desired effect applied automatically. Effects include soft portrait, miniature effect, spot color, night portrait and underwater, which helps users take better photos when in the water. Easy panorama is just that -- a very easy way to take panoramic shots. It certainly gave me less fuss than my phone camera usually does.

The AW1 is designed for the outdoors. It's shockproof from about a 6-foot drop, freezeproof to 14 degrees Fahrenheit and waterproof to 49 feet. The camera didn't seem to have a problem with drops, though the lens cap kept popping off. That does make me worry a bit about the lens' ability to handle shocks, though it seemed OK after my tests.

As with the AW120, this camera also went for a swim with me. I used it for photos and to record underwater. It recorded in and out of the water, and took photos as well. A close examination afterward showed no water leaks at all, including in the battery compartment, on the memory card and even inside where the lens meets the camera. It did very well on the water test.

I must admit a faux pas. For those who took a look at the photos on Facebook last week, I posted the wrong photos. Those were actually from this week's AW1, rather than last week's Coolpix AW120. The photos for the latter are now up (the correct ones!), and the AW1 photos are labeled correctly. That's what I get for labeling the folders just by their model numbers.

Now that they're cleared up, you can see the sample photos from this camera at www.facebook.com/pages/Tech-Spotlight-column/143770982301273.

Unfortunately, I had the same issue with the AW1 that I had with the AW120 -- the video it took was subpar.

Though it was better than that from the AW120, it still had some issues. It didn't have the jerky motion, but it did have lines and blurs on occasion. Again, I used an SDHC Class 10 memory card, which should have been adequate to shoot top-quality, high-definition video. Unfortunately, I had to bump it down a notch to get the clear, crisp video I expected.

While the video wasn't ideal, the photos were much better quality. I love the fact that this camera can shoot in RAW format, which allows for more and better editing and produces a higher-quality photo than the standard JPEG format. The camera has good color, though like most Nikons, it tends to lean toward the blue on auto white balance. This is easily corrected in post-processing, though.

The AW1 isn't perfect, but if you're not planning to use it much for video, it's a great camera. Photos tend to be crisp and colorful straight from the camera. Auto mode will more than do the job for those coming from a point-and-shoot camera, but the AW1 has enough features to give DSLR users the options they're used to having.

The AW1 certainly is worthy of another vacation. Sadly for the camera and I, that's not on the schedule for a while.

Melissa L. Jones can be reached via email at [email protected].

SundayMonday Business on 07/21/2014

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