Nikon 1 J4 gets official in US: $650 kit, May ship

Editors’ note, May 14, 2014: Nikon announced this product globally — except in the US — on April 3, 2014. We’ve updated this First Take with US pricing and availability; non-US pricing is still unknown.

The Nikon 1 J4, a modestly redesigned and updated version of the company’s entry-level interchangeable-lens camera, debuted on April 3, 2014 in all markets except the US, along with a global rollout of the company’s updated 18-300 f3.5-6.3 DX lens. As announced on May 14, the J4 will be available this month; the main single-lens kit will run $650 USD and a dual-lens kit option will be available for $850 USD.

Nikon 1 J4 gets a little angular (pictures)
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The update to the DX AF-S Nikkor 18-300mm f3.5-6.3 G ED VR, an alternative general-pupose kit lens, is smaller (filter size dropped from 77mm to 67mm) and lighter by about 10 ounces (283.5 grams). It comes in cheaper than the older model at $799.95, but incorporates a 7-blade iris instead of 9-blade, doesn’t upgrade to VR II, and doesn’t bundle a case or lens hood.

The J4 features a slightly more angular design, along with a new (and presumably better) higher-resolution 18.4-megapixel sensor, and an upgrade to Nikon’s Expeed 4A-generation of image processing for improved noise reduction. It also increases its continuous-shooting speed to 20fps, with autofocus, and gets an AF system update to the same version that’s in the V3. It also gains built-in Wi-Fi, a touch-screen display and a 3-second slow-motion mode that records at 720/120fps and plays back at 30fps. On the downside, it now uses micro SD cards instead of the far-less-loseable full-size SD. It will come in black, white, silver, and orange, though not every color will be available everywhere; for instance, Singapore gets only the black or white.

Nikon will offer an underwater housing (WP-N3 Waterproof Case) and underwater flash (SB-N10 Underwater Speedlight) for the camera.

For comparison: