mmurph Offline Upload & Sell: On
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The J5 uses a Sony sensor. It looks like it is the best sensor in a Nikon 1 so far. But is still about equivalent to previous Sony RX100 models. DxO compares it to Version 1 from 2012.:
http://www.dxomark.com/Cameras/Nikon/1-J5
As far as low light..... it will really depend on your expectations, and your tolerance for noise. I have owned the V2, J3, and J4. The J4 had lower noise than the previous models. But I found the noise bothersome even at ISO 800 (without noise reduction in post.)
The J5 is rated at 479 ISO, the J4 at 426, and the V1 at 346. ISO numbers are alittle hard to evaluate directly, it would be better to convert to EV values. But going from 346 to 479 isn't a huge jump.
http://www.dxomark.com/Cameras/Compare/Side-by-side/Nikon-1-J5-versus-Nikon-1-J4-versus-Nikon-1-V1___1025_950_745
ETA: The 1/3 stop marks are: 320, 400, 500
So 426 to 479 is way less than 1/3 of a stop. 346 to 479 is more than 1/3, less than 2/3.
http://www.scantips.com/lights/exposurecalc.html
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What larger sensor camera do you have now? DxO rates the J5 at 479 ISO- that is the point where:
An SNR value of 30dB means excellent image quality. Thus low-light ISO is the highest ISO setting for a camera that allows it to achieve an SNR of 30dB while keeping a good dynamic range of 9 EVs and a color depth of 18bit
A general rule of thumb is that from 1" to M 4/3 to APS-C to full frame, each step is about equivalent to a 1 stop improvement in noise (with some room for quibbling, depending on the specific model year, etc.)
I find ISO 3200 acceptable for event photos in low light on APS-C- my Nikon D5300 for example.
That would be equivalent to 6400 ISO on the D750, 1600 ISO on my M 4/3 (Panasonic G7), and 800 ISO on a J4 or J5.
On the other hand, when shooting a musical event/ portraits in daylight, the images from my D750 at 800 ISO looked great. I was not as happy with the 800 ISO images from my Panasonic G7 (M 4/3) when looking at them side-by-side. Maybe if I didn't have the D750 images ...
Here is a table of cameras sorted by the Sports Score at DxO. These nenmbers obviously aren't gospel, but they are a good guide:
http://www.dxomark.com/best-cameras-for-sports
You can dowmload samples of different cameras at different ISO's at DPReview to compare for yourself:
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/studio-compare
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I have to say, I was a studio photographer for a number of years. I also used to shoot 6x7 film, because I couldn't stand 35 mm grain. My bias from that time is that ISO 400 is pretty fast and grainy, so you will have to calibrate to your own expectations.
The J4 on sale here was a pretty good value about 9 months ago. You might look at that if ISIO is your only criterion? Or wait for a J6, and the J5 to go on sale?
Good luck!
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