The Nikon 1 J1 is a fine camera, but there’s nothing here that screams out “buy it” over similar competitors. It’s also on the expensive side for a point-and-shoot upgrader, but has drawbacks for the more advanced user.
Nikon took its time introducing its interchangeable-lens camera system, dubbed the Nikon 1 series, and though I don’t agree with a lot of the choices the company made, it clearly put a lot of thought into the cameras before rushing out me-too versions of competitors’ products.
The entry-level model, the J1, firmly targets point-and-shoot upgraders with its feature set, but the implementation is a mixed bag and the price is a bit steep for that crowd.
Take for instance, the sensor, which is smaller and lower-resolution than all but the even-more-expensive Pentax Q.
The 2.7x focal-length magnification factor means the kit 10-30mm lens has the equivalent angle of view of 27-81mm.
In practice, that will severely limit your options for real wide-angle shooting- even more than Micro Four Thirds does- as well as your ability to get even moderately shallow depth of field on typical portrait shots.
That stuff may not matter to a person paying $400 for the camera, but it might to someone paying $600.