Compact or Nikon V1, need advice.

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McCol

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Colin
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I'm new to these boards and not sure if this is the right place to post this, sorry in advance if its not.

My parter and myself are keen to get into our photography a bit more over the next few months, we have just bought a Pentax K30 with 18-55mm to replace our older K100D.
Now the part I would like advice for, we often take our 2 dogs to the beach etc for runs. I would like to buy a 2nd camera that is capable of taking good shots of the dogs in motion. There will be times when taking the K30 wouldn't be a problem but would like a 2nd option.

So far I've looked at the Sony RX100, Fuji X10 and the Nikon V1.
I know that the Nikon is a different kind of camera but would it be better for motion shots?
 
it probably will be AF wise but it's definitely not as pocketable as e.g an RX100, Canon S100/S110 etc.
 
For pure pocketability, have a look at the Fuji XF-1 - basically the guts of the X-10 with a different lens in front of it. Once switched on (some find that a fiddle but it doesn't take long to get used to it!), it's reasonably quick to lock on and follow focus. When I bought mine, I had actually gone in to buy either an X-10 or a 1 Series Nikon but neither fitted a pocket easily.

Not sure how weatherproof the Pentax pancake lens is or if it would be long enough for your needs but that could be an answer and make the K30 almost as pocketable as the X-10 or 1 Series.
 
The V1 has the best continuous autofocus of any non DSLR. Can't go wrong with it if you're wanting pictures of running dogs. :)
 
The V1 has exceptional auto-focus, it really is extremely quick; most of the time it will focus as soon as you press the shutter button, it can hunt sometimes if its dark or its a busy picture (things overlapping with shadows, etc.) but I think youd have the same with any camera. The V1 is currently a lot cheaper than all of the options you listed (Zavvi have it very cheap at the moment) or you can also look at the J1 with two lenses from Wex which is also priced very well. The V1 is supposed to be more of a professional choice when it comes to the 1 series but I think either would be fine, theres no difference in image quality, just things such as rear LCD screen resolution, build quality, etc.

On the contrary though, I feel that if you dont need the interchangeable lenses (which you probably dont if you only want to use it for the dogs) then the Fuji X10 or XF-1 is better, whilst its a bit more expensive you get a much better focal length and wider aperture by default.

Oh and I decided on the Nikon V1 because I wanted something portable like yourself, I was missing too many shots by not brining my DSLR with me to places because I had to keep it in its own bag with more gear which got annoying and cumbersome after walking around for a while. The V1 wont fit into your trouser or shirt pocket (will many good quality cameras?) but it does fit into my coat pocket, the 10-30mm lens is the thicket part of the camera even when its fully retracted but the new kit lens is much smaller. It does the job for me in the sense that I can easily put it in the car when im going out just on the off chance I go somewhere I might get some good shots, your iPhone can only do so much after all...
 
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Thrash said:
The V1 has exceptional auto-focus, it really is extremely quick;
Click to expand...

I think it's 10fps with AF active and up to 60fps with focus locked. In good light I doubt many cameras would manage to better that, definitely no other CSC that I can think of.
 
Thanks for the advice folks, at the moment I'm leaning towards the V1.
 
Took delivery of a white V1 today with twin lens kit. Thanks for the advice folks.
 
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