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  • BLOG

Nikon D1 Review

  • Overview
  • Alternatives
  • Lenses
  • Nikon D1

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    Main Features

    • 3MP - APS-C CCD Sensor
    • ISO 200 - 1600
    • 2.00" Fixed Type Screen
    • Optical (pentaprism) viewfinder
    • 5.0fps continuous shooting
    • 1200g. 157 x 153 x 85 mm
    • Weather-sealed Body
    • Replaced by Nikon D1X
    CHECK PRICE
    CHECK PRICE

    Nikon D1 Overview

    First introduced in November 2000 , Nikon D1 is a 3.0MP Pro DSLR camera with a APS-C (23.7 x 15.5 mm ) sized CCD sensor, weather-sealed body and Nikon F lens mount. Nikon later replaced D1 with D1X. Follow the link to read our in-depth comparison of these cameras:
    Compare Nikon D1 vs Nikon D1X

    Nikon D1 Review - Click for Table of Contents

    1. Overview
    2. Pros and Cons
    3. Lens Mount and Lenses
    4. Sensor and Photography Features
    5. Physical Specs
    6. LCD and Viewfinder
    7. Connectivity, Storage and Battery
    8. Other Features
    9. Photography Type Scores
    10. Alternatives
    11. Popular Comparisons
    12. Frequently Asked Questions
    13. Detailed Specifications

    Nikon D1 is a member of Nikon's Dx series of cameras. Below you can see the latest models in this series and how their main specs have changed with each new version.

    Nikon Dx Series History
    Model Release Date Sensor Dimensions Weight
    Nikon D4s
    Compare
    2014 16.0MP - Full frame 160 x 157 x 91mm 1350g
    Nikon D4
    Compare
    2012 16.0MP - Full frame 160 x 157 x 91mm 1340g
    Nikon D3S
    Compare
    2010 12.0MP - Full frame 160 x 157 x 88mm 1240g
    Nikon D3X
    Compare
    2009 25.0MP - Full frame 160 x 157 x 88mm 1260g
    Nikon D3
    Compare
    2008 12.0MP - Full frame 160 x 157 x 88mm 1300g

    Check the link below to compare specs of the latest cameras in this series side-by-side:
    Nikon D4s vs D4 vs D3S vs D3X vs D3


    **This post contains affiliate links, and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking through my links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

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    Nikon D1 PROs and CONs Review

    Now let's get in to more details of our Nikon D1 review by analysing its specs and features and listing out its pros and cons compared to average competitor cameras in its class.

    PROs
    Optical Built-in Viewfinder
    1/16000s High Shutter Speed
    Environmental Sealing
    Top LCD Display
    Flash Sync Port
    Magnesium alloy body elements
    Report a correction

    Buy Nikon D1 from AMAZON or B&H PHOTO


    CONs
    No Wireless Connection
    No Sensor shift Image Stabilization
    No Articulating Screen
    No Full HD Video
    No Touch Screen
    0.53x magnification - Small Viewfinder
    No Face Detection Focusing
    Low Resolution Sensor: 3.0MP
    Max Sensitivity only ISO 1.600
    Small LCD Screen ( 2.00")
    Low Screen Resolution ( 130kdots )
    Heavy Body: 1200g
    No AF Micro Adjustment

    Report a correction


    Nikon D1 Physical Specs
    Nikon D1 weighs 1200 g (2.65 lb / 42.33 oz) and has external dimensions of 157 x 153 x 85 mm (6.18 x 6.02 x 3.35″). Considering that the average weight of DSLR type cameras is 773g, Nikon D1 is a significantly heavy camera for its class. With a thickness of 85mm, it has an average thickness.
    Weight Comparison

    DSLR Cameras

    Nikon D1
    Min
    Average
    Max
    Thickness Comparison

    DSLR Cameras

    Nikon D1
    Min
    Average
    Max


    In order to give you a better idea about the real life size of Nikon D1, we have added an image of how it looks next to a credit card and an AA type battery.


    Nikon D1 Body Size Compared to a Credit card and a Battery
    Physical size of the Nikon D1 Body Compared to a Credit Card and an AA Battery



    Below you can find the comparison of the weight and thickness of Nikon D1 with its main competitors:

    Nikon D1 Size Compared to Main Competitors
    Model Weight vs D1 Thickness vs D1
    Nikon D1 Camera Nikon D1X
    Compare
    1200g equal weight 85mm equal thickness
    Nikon D1 Camera Nikon D1H
    Compare
    1200g equal weight 85mm equal thickness
    Nikon D1 Camera Nikon D2X
    Compare
    1200g equal weight 86mm 1mm thicker
    Nikon D1 Camera Nikon D5
    Compare
    1415g 215g heavier 92mm 7mm thicker
    Nikon D1 Camera Canon 1D
    Compare
    1585g 385g heavier 80mm 5mm thinner
    Nikon D1 Camera Nikon D6
    Compare
    1270g 70g heavier 92mm 7mm thicker
    Nikon D1 Camera Canon 1D X
    Compare
    1340g 140g heavier 83mm 2mm thinner
    Nikon D1 Camera Nikon D3
    Compare
    1300g 100g heavier 88mm 3mm thicker

    Weather Sealing

    Nikon D1 has environmental sealings on its body which makes it a weather resistant camera, providing resistance against the water and dust getting in to the camera. If you like outdoors photography and want to be able to use your camera in extreme conditions, Nikon D1 will serve you well. If you attach one of these Nikon D1 weather-sealed lenses to your camera, you will have a great all weather kit.

    Nikon D1 Lens Mount and Lenses

    Nikon D1 has a Nikon F lens mount and currently there are 316 native lenses available for this mount. Besides providing one of the largest selection of lenses, Nikon F mount also has backward compatibility which means that you can use F mount lenses even dating from 1960s. It is also well supported by the lenses form third-party manufacturers.

    Nikon D1 doesn't have a sensor based image stabilization system but 107 of these lenses already comes with Optical Image Stabilization.

    Weather-sealed Lenses for Nikon D1

    There are 82 lenses with weather sealing for Nikon D1 that you can couple with its weather-sealed body.

    Here are some of the most popular Nikon D1 Lenses on Camera Decision:

    Popular Nikon F Mount Lenses for Nikon D1
    Model Focal Length equiv. Coverage Weight Focusing Street Price
    Nikon AF Nikkor 70-300mm f4-5.6G Lens Nikon AF Nikkor 70-300mm f4-5.6G
    105-450mm 35mm FF 425gr AF Amazon B&H Photo
    Nikon AF Nikkor 80-400mm f4.5-5.6D ED VR Lens Nikon AF Nikkor 80-400mm f4.5-5.6D ED VR
    120-600mm 35mm FF 1340gr AF Amazon B&H Photo
    Nikon AF-S Nikkor 70-300mm f4.5-5.6G VR Lens Nikon AF-S Nikkor 70-300mm f4.5-5.6G VR
    105-450mm 35mm FF 745gr AF Amazon B&H Photo
    Tamron SP 150-600mm F5-6.3 Di VC USD Lens Tamron SP 150-600mm F5-6.3 Di VC USD
    225-900mm 35mm FF 1951gr AF Amazon B&H Photo
    Nikon AF-S Nikkor 200-500mm F5.6E ED VR Lens Nikon AF-S Nikkor 200-500mm F5.6E ED VR
    300-750mm 35mm FF 2300gr AF Amazon B&H Photo
    Nikon AF-S Micro-Nikkor 105mm f2.8G IF-ED VR Lens Nikon AF-S Micro-Nikkor 105mm f2.8G IF-ED VR
    157.5mm 35mm FF 720gr AF Amazon B&H Photo
    Sigma 300-800mm F5.6 EX DG HSM Lens Sigma 300-800mm F5.6 EX DG HSM
    450-1200mm 35mm FF 5880gr AF Amazon B&H Photo
    Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 35mm f1.8G Lens Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 35mm f1.8G
    52.5mm APS-C / DX 200gr AF Amazon B&H Photo

    Here you can find the lenses that are compatible with D1 classified by suitability to certain photography types:

    • Best Nikon F Mount Lenses for Bird and Wildlife Photography
    • Best Nikon F Mount Lenses for Sports Photography
    • Best Nikon F Mount Lenses for Portrait Photography
    • Best Nikon F Mount Lenses for Travel Photography
    • Best Nikon F Mount Lenses for Street Photography
    • Best Nikon F Mount Lenses for Wedding Photography
    • Best Nikon F Mount Lenses for Vlogging
    • Best Nikon F Mount Lenses for Landscape Photography
    • Best Nikon F Mount Lenses for Macro Photography

    Check our Nikon D1 Lenses page for more detailed lens search.

    Nikon D1 Sensor and Photography Features

    Nikon D1 has a 3.0MP APS-C (23.7 x 15.5 mm ) sized CCD sensor . You can shoot at maximum resolution of 2000 x 1312 pixels with aspect ratios of and 3:2. D1 has a native ISO range of 200 - 1600 and it can save files in RAW format which gives you a wider room for post processing.

    Nikon D1 is not the highest resolution APS-C camera. Fujifilm X-T5 with its 40.2MP sensor is leading in this class. Check the comparison of Nikon D1 vs Fujifilm X-T5 or take a look at Highest resolution DSLR cameras list.

    Let's look at how the size of the Nikon D1's APS-C sensor compares with other standard sensor sizes.

    Nikon D1 Sensor Size Comparison
    Comparison image of Nikon D1 Sensor Size with other standard sensors



    Nikon D1 LCD and Viewfinder

    Nikon D1 has a Fixed Type 2.00-inch LCD screen with a resolution of 130k dots. At only 2.00", the screen is on the smaller side and 130kdot resolution is lower than most of the recent models in this class.



    Unfortunately Nikon D1 doesn't have a Selfie friendly screen. If this feature is important for your shooting style, check here the list of Best DSLR Cameras with Selfie Friendly LCD screen.


    D1 has a built-in Optical (pentaprism) viewfinder, making it easier to shoot in direct sunlight and in other situations where it might be difficult to view the LCD monitor. The viewfinder has a coverage of 96% and a magnification ratio of 0.53x. 96% coverage means that what you see in your viewfinder while shooting will slightly be different from the actual image.

    Nikon D1 Connectivity, Storage and Battery

    Nikon D1 Features Compared to Main Competitors
    Model Max Video Battery Life Wi-fi Bluetooth NFC
    Nikon D1 Camera Nikon D1X
    Compare
    None shots No No No
    Nikon D1 Camera Nikon D1H
    Compare
    None shots No No No
    Nikon D1 Camera Nikon D2X
    Compare
    None shots No No No
    Nikon D1 Camera Nikon D5
    Compare
    3840 x 2160 3780shots No No No
    Nikon D1 Camera Canon 1D
    Compare
    None shots No No No
    Nikon D1 Camera Nikon D6
    Compare
    3840 x 2160 3580shots Yes Yes No
    Nikon D1 Camera Canon 1D X
    Compare
    1920 x 1080 1120shots No No No
    Nikon D1 Camera Nikon D3
    Compare
    None 4300shots No No No

    Nikon D1 Other Features

    Max Shutter speed

    Nikon D1 can shoot continuously at max speed of 5 fps and has max shutter speed of 1/16000 sec.

    Flash

    Unfortunately D1 doesn't have a built-in flash but it has a flash shoe for mounting external flashes.

    Focusing

    Nikon D1 features a Phase Detection autofocusing system.



    What type of Photography is Nikon D1 Good for?
    In this section, we review and score Nikon D1 in 5 different photography areas.

    Nikon D1 for Portrait Photography

    Nikon D1 has a score of 41 for Portrait Photography which makes it an AVERAGE candidate for this type of photography. If Portrait is important for you, we recommend you to check our Top DSLR Cameras for Portrait Photography list.
    Large APS-C (23.7 x 15.5 mm) sensor
    Optical Built-in Viewfinder
    Good Ergonomics&Handling

    Read the details of how we scored Nikon D1 for Portrait Photography

    Nikon D1 for Street Photography

    Nikon D1 has a score of 40 for Street Photography which makes it an AVERAGE candidate for this type of photography. If Street is important for you, we recommend you to check our Top DSLR Cameras for Street Photography list.
    Optical Built-in Viewfinder
    Large APS-C (23.7 x 15.5 mm) sensor

    Read the details of how we scored Nikon D1 for Street Photography

    Nikon D1 for Sports Photography

    Nikon D1 has a score of 70 for Sports Photography which makes it a GOOD candidate for this type of photography. If you are looking for a camera that is better suited to Sports Photography, we recommend you to check our Top 10 DSLR Cameras for Sports Photography list.
    Environmental Sealings
    Fast Max shutter speed: 1/16000s
    Good Ergonomics&Handling
    Optical Built-in Viewfinder
    Average Continuous Shooting: 5.0fps

    Read the details of how we scored Nikon D1 for Sports Photography

    Nikon D1 for Daily Photography

    Nikon D1 has a score of 45 for Daily Photography which makes it an AVERAGE candidate for this type of photography. If Daily is important for you, we recommend you to check our Top DSLR Cameras for Daily Photography list.
    Environmental Sealings
    Large APS-C (23.7 x 15.5 mm) sensor

    Read the details of how we scored Nikon D1 for Daily Photography

    Nikon D1 for Landscape Photography

    Nikon D1 has a score of 25 for Landscape Photography which makes it a POOR candidate for this type of photography. If Landscape We strongly recommend you to check our Top DSLR Cameras for Landscape Photography list and consider these alternatives over theD1.
    Large APS-C (23.7 x 15.5 mm) sensor
    Environmental Sealings

    Read the details of how we scored Nikon D1 for Landscape Photography
    Nikon D1 Alternatives
    In this section, we analyse how Nikon D1 compares with other DSLR cameras within a similar price range.
    Read a more detailed analysis of Nikon D1 alternatives.

    Popular Comparisons of Nikon D1

    Here are the eight most popular comparisons of the Nikon D1 amongst Camera Decision readers.

    Nikon D1X
    Nikon D1X
    Compare
    Nikon D1H
    Nikon D1H
    Compare
    Nikon D2X
    Nikon D2X
    Compare
    Nikon D5
    Nikon D5
    Compare
    Canon 1D
    Canon 1D
    Compare
    Nikon D6
    Nikon D6
    Compare
    Canon 1D X
    Canon 1D X
    Compare
    Nikon D3
    Nikon D3
    Compare

    Nikon D1 Alternatives in Mirrorless Cameras

    It would also be interesting to compare Nikon D1 with Mirrorless Cameras. Below we have listed 4 highest ranked Mirrorless cameras in Nikon D1's price range.

    Panasonic G5
    Panasonic G5
    Compare
    Panasonic GX1
    Panasonic GX1
    Compare
    Olympus E-PL1
    Olympus E-PL1
    Compare
    Nikon 1 V1
    Nikon 1 V1
    Compare
    Olympus E-P1
    Olympus E-P1
    Compare
    Ricoh GXR P10 28-300mm
    Ricoh GXR P10 28-300mm
    Compare
    Nikon 1 J3
    Nikon 1 J3
    Compare

    Nikon D1 Conclusion and Scores

    Currently, Nikon D1 has an Overall Score of 35/100 which is based on our evaluation of 69 different technical parameters. Our scores are dynamically updated whenever a new camera is added to our database or when we change our ranking algorithm and the maximum score is always 100. Nikon D1 is ranked #202 out of 209 in DSLR cameras (Top 20 DSLR), and ranked #868 out of 1260 in all Cameras (Top 20 Overall).

    #868 out of 1260 in Top Ranking Cameras
    #202 out of 209 in Top Ranking DSLR Cameras
    #32 out of 36 in Top Ranking Pro DSLR Cameras
    #259 out of 270 in Top Ranking APS-C Sensor Cameras
    #59 out of 60 in Top Ranking Nikon F Lens Mount Cameras
    #310 out of 379 in Largest Viewfinder Magnification Cameras (0.53x)
    #137 out of 143 in Lightest DSLR Cameras with APS-C sensor(1200g)
    #539 out of 918 in Top Ranking Cameras with Fixed Type Screen
    Geek Score: 0

    Main Scores
    Imaging
    Features
    Value for Money
    Portability
    Overall Score
    Check our Smart Finder Tool to filter, sort and compare all digital cameras.

    Frequently Asked Questions about Nikon D1
    Does the Nikon D1 have Image Stabilization?
    Does the Nikon D1 have RAW support?
    Does the Nikon D1 have Weather Sealing?
    Does the Nikon D1 have built-in GPS?
    What is the Max ISO of Nikon D1?
    What is the Sensor Size of Nikon D1?
    is the Nikon D1 a Full Frame (FF) camera?
    Does the Nikon D1 have Touch Screen?
    Does the Nikon D1 have built-in Wireless?
    What is the Max Continuous Shooting Speed (fps) of Nikon D1?
    What is the Weight of Nikon D1?
    What are the Dimensions of Nikon D1?
    Nikon D1 Detailed Specifications

    General
    Brand Nikon
    Model Nikon D1
    Announced 2000-11-27
    Body Type Large SLR
    Lens
    Manual Focus
    Lens Mount Nikon F
    Number of Lenses 316
    Focal Length Multiplier 1.5×
    Macro Focus Range n/a
    Screen
    Screen Type Fixed Type
    Screen Size 2.00"
    Screen Resolution 130k dots
    Live View
    Touch Screen
    Viewfinder
    Viewfinder Optical (pentaprism)
    Viewfinder Resolution no electronic viewfinder
    Viewfinder Coverage 96%
    Viewfinder Magnification 0.53x
    Photography Features
    Min Shutter Speed 30s
    Max Mechanical Shutter Speed 1/16000s
    Max Continuous Shooting 5.0 fps
    Shutter Priority
    Aperture Priority
    Manual Exposure Mode
    Exposure Compensation Yes
    Custom White Balance
    Image Stabilization
    Built-in Flash
    Flash Range no built-in flash
    Max Flash Sync 1/500s
    Flash Modes Front curtain, Rear curtain, Red-Eye, Slow, Red-Eye Slow
    External Flash
    AE Bracketing
    WB Bracketing
    Exposure Modes
    Multi-Segment
    Average
    Spot
    Partial
    AF-Area
    Center Weighted
    DxO Sensor Scores
    DxO Overall Score not tested
    DxO Color Depth not tested
    DxO Dynamic Range not tested
    DxO Low Light ISO not tested
    Report a correction

    Sensor
    Sensor Type CCD
    Sensor Size APS-C
    Sensor Dimensions 23.7 x 15.5 mm
    Sensor Area 367.35mm2
    Sensor Resolution 3 megapixels
    Max Image Resolution 2000 x 1312
    Max Native ISO 1,600
    Min Native ISO 200
    RAW Support
    Autofocus
    AF Touch
    AF Continuous
    AF Single
    AF Tracking
    AF Selective
    AF Center
    AF Multi Area
    AF Live View
    AF Face Detection
    AF Contrast Detection
    AF Phase Detection
    Video Features
    Max Video Resolution None
    Microphone Port
    Headphone Port
    Connectivity
    Wireless Connectivity None
    HDMI
    USB none
    Physical
    Environmental Sealing
    Water Proof
    Dust Proof
    Shock Proof
    Crush Proof
    Freeze Proof
    Weight 1200g
    Physical Dimensions 157 x 153 x 85mm
    Other Features
    Self Timer Yes (2 to 20 sec)
    Timelapse Recording
    GPS None
    Storage Type Compact Flash (Type I or II)
    Storage Slots 1


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