The J1 produces nice--and occasionally excellent--photos.
Lori Grunin
I've been reviewing hardware and software, devising testing methodology and handed out buying advice for what seems like forever; I'm currently absorbed by computers and gaming hardware, but previously spent many years concentrating on cameras. I've also volunteered with a cat rescue for over 15 years doing adoptions, designing marketing materials, managing volunteers and, of course, photographing cats.
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The J1's noise profile is OK, though the JPEG compression may be responsible for the not-so-great performance at sensitivities as low as ISO 200. Detail starts to degrade a little at ISO 400, and by ISO 800 you'll start to see color noise. Detail preservation is where higher-resolution sensors fare better at midrange ISO sensitivities.
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Noise, ISO 200
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While the foreground subject looks quite good, you can see the noise and contouring in the background. That may change with raw processing.
(1/125 sec, f8, ISO 200, spot metering, AWB, 30-110mm lens at 110mm)
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Noise, ISO 800
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This gives you a better idea of what the noise suppression looks like at ISO 800 and the onset of color noise.
(1/25 sec, f2.8, ISO 800, spot metering, AWB, 10mm lens)
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Noise, ISO 1600
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While this is certainly usable at smaller sizes, and the noise-reduction algorithm seems to make some pretty good trade-offs, the photos aren't quite as clean as other cameras'.
(1/30 sec, f2.8, ISO 1,600, spot metering, AWB, 10mm lens)
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Distortion, 10-30mm lens
One of the issues caused by a small sensor is the need to use wider-angle lenses--in this case, 10mm--just to get a basic focal length like 27mm. As a result, you're subject to the distortion of the shorter focal length. This isn't bad for 10mm, but it's asymmetrical and obvious.
(1/125 sec, f5.6, ISO 800, spot metering, AWB, 10-30mm lens at 10mm)
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Color
The white balance was a bit cool thanks to the overcast conditions, but the J1's colors are relatively accurate. The standard Picture Control looked very similar to the neutral setting as well.
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Sharpness, 10-30mm lens
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The standard zoom kit lens can be very sharp, and its image stabilization works well.
(1/80 sec, f3.5, ISO 100, pattern metering, AWB, 10-30mm lens at 10mm)
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Bokeh, 10-30mm lens
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You can see how the lens distortion affects the out-of-focus highlights. Toward the center of the image, they're softer and rounder.
(1/60 sec, f5.6, ISO 100, pattern metering, AWB, 10-30mm lens at 10mm)
