Nikon Coolpix A Announced! APS-C Compact with 28mm Equivalent f/2.8 Lens

I wonder why Nikon chose the 28mm focal length over the more common 35mm? Intended as a street camera? Intended to replace the GRD?

I will wait for the Ricoh GRD5, but if it remains a small sensor I'll give the Nikon A a try.
 
I wonder why Nikon chose the 28mm focal length over the more common 35mm? Intended as a street camera? Intended to replace the GRD?

I will wait for the Ricoh GRD5, but if it remains a small sensor I'll give the Nikon A a try.

Maybe because the RX1 and X100/100s would be such heavy competition at 35, they thought it would be easier to go after the possibly smaller market at 28, where nobody but Ricoh has been playing and they've been very low profile about it. I have no idea how those people think, but that's what occurs to me. I was seriously considering either an X100s or RX1 even though 35 is just an "OK" focal length for me, just to have a really high quality small prime/fixed camera to carry at times. Either would have been a compromise, regardless of their great features IQ. This is a better fit for me, even with a slower lens and no viewfinder options other than a dumb, shoe-mounted OVF. I was a sitting duck for this camera and there's a very good chance I'll buy it if the reality comes off close to as promised. I was a possible buyer for one of the 35mm models, but if this Nikon had entered THAT fray, I might not have seriously considered it...

-Ray
 
Awesome to see more competing products arriving in the market. The X100 series is more enticing to me though, even at $200 more. I favor 35mm over 28mm, especially if it's going to be a fixed lens camera. Very exciting though.
 
Maybe because the RX1 and X100/100s would be such heavy competition at 35, they thought it would be easier to go after the possibly smaller market at 28, where nobody but Ricoh has been playing and they've been very low profile about it. I have no idea how those people think, but that's what occurs to me. I was seriously considering either an X100s or RX1 even though 35 is just an "OK" focal length for me, just to have a really high quality small prime/fixed camera to carry at times. Either would have been a compromise, regardless of their great features IQ. This is a better fit for me, even with a slower lens and no viewfinder options other than a dumb, shoe-mounted OVF. I was a sitting duck for this camera and there's a very good chance I'll buy it if the reality comes off close to as promised. I was a possible buyer for one of the 35mm models, but if this Nikon had entered THAT fray, I might not have seriously considered it...

-Ray

That makes sense... stand out as the 28mm option. I've been using 35mm 3:2 lately and I'm really coming around to it as a good all-around focal length. I've also been evaluating 35mm images against my normal 50mm images in the local park where I do my more serious shooting, and I'm seeing in new ways and appreciating the wider (but not too wide) perspective of the forest.

II will snap up one of the 28mm APS cameras this year, though!
 
I like the controls on the X100 and RX1 the best (at least without trying the new Nikon so far) but, man, the Nikon looks genuinely pocketable. Amin, do I sense your E-PM2 could be in trouble? ;)

I'm hoping to sit tight, but if I take an honest look at my past, I know that no camera is safe.
 
I wonder why Nikon chose the 28mm focal length over the more common 35mm? Intended as a street camera? Intended to replace the GRD?

I will wait for the Ricoh GRD5, but if it remains a small sensor I'll give the Nikon A a try.

This is not new. Nikon did make a wonderful compact film camera, the 28Ti.
 
Amin, so how long is it going to be before you announce your new site, NikonAtogs.com, or whatever you decide to call the new site dedicated to this camera? ;)
 
Here is the product video from the photographer Doug Menuez, who shot those sample shots on the Nikon website:
[video=youtube;e8dVE9gu96A]

I watched the other posted videos also. Manual focus help is nice, but af looks slow. In the comments, somebody said that it only has contrast af. That might be the reason. It has nearly same dof (f/4.5 full frame equiv) with Sony RX100 (f/4.9 full frame equiv) at 28mm.
 
Looks like Nikon finally got into the game, though I wish it was a f/2.0 instead of f/2.8 that would've justified it's 1.1K MSRP probably by sometime next year this thing will drop to around 700 ish.
 
And here's Compact Camera Meter comparing the new Nikon to the Oly E-PM1, the E-PL5 and the Sony RX100. They apparently don't have an image of the E-PM2 yet.

Compact Camera Meter

EDIT: And since you can add lenses to camera bodies, here's another view of the same cameras with the Panasonic 14mm f/2.5 pancake attached to the E-PL5 and E-PM1, giving them the same field of view offered by the Nikon:

Compact Camera Meter
 
With the bodycap lens, the EPM1/2 would be in the same range. They're all pretty similar in width and heigh, except for the slightly smaller RX100. But when you take lens thickness into account, even with the very small 14mm, you're looking a a much tougher carry. That said, these are all a bit to carry in a pants pocket - the RX100 is doable but not all that comfortable. And I've carried my EPL5 with the notably larger 17mm f1.8 around in a jacket pocket without much difficulty. So maybe not a huge practical difference. But a pretty obvious one.

Edit - actually, the more I look at this camera, the more I'm looking forward to comparing it head to head with the GXR-28. They're remarkably similar. The Ricoh is larger, but not that much - still easily jacket pocketable. It has a wonderful interface that I'm already quite familiar with. A lens that's almost a half stop faster. And a sensor that's a generation older. The Ricoh tops out at ISO3200, but I've found that 3200 to be a very useful 3200. Side by side with the X-Pro 18mm at f2.5, for the same lowlight shot I get almost the same shutter speed at 3200 on the Ricoh that I do at 6400 on the Fuji. About 1/65 on the Ricoh compared to 1/70 on the Fuji. So, realistically its almost as good in low light, although the files aren't quite as malleable when it comes to pushing or pulling them in processing. Nonetheless, I'm gonna give the Nikon a good hard look, but its going to have to improve significantly on the GXR for me to seriously consider buying it... It might, but its not clear to me that it will.

-Ray
 
That said, these are all a bit to carry in a pants pocket - the RX100 is doable but not all that comfortable. And I've carried my EPL5 with the notably larger 17mm f1.8 around in a jacket pocket without much difficulty. So maybe not a huge practical difference. But a pretty obvious one... The Ricoh is larger, but not that much - still easily jacket pocketable...

That's how I look at it too. For practical purposes, I'm not carrying any of these with me everywhere in my pants pocket, so the key distinction is whether they are easily coat pocketable or not.


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