So I finally made it to the camera shop and held/shot (albeit on a limited basis) with "the 1". I've heard so much about the AF, I wanted to see it for myself. I handled both the v1 and the j1. A couple of impressions.
1). Honestly, after all the hype, I was disappointed with the AF. I didn't think it was
that much faster than the NEX (my frame of reference). I was doing some goofy things with it seeing how fast it would lock (panning back and forth across the store, putting my palm over the lens, etc.) It could have been that it was "dark" (normal store lighting" and was using CDAF and not the PDAF. Color me unimpressed.
2). It felt "heavy". The specs say that the v1 is about 30 grams heavier (10%) that the 5
. That 10% made a difference in my hand. That surprised me. I mean it's not a huge difference, but it felt like it. (The first words out of my mouth when I picked it up were "Gosh, it's heavy".)
3). I really missed the tilt-able view finder of the NEX.
4). Both the v1/j1 felt "plasticky" to me. I've heard alot about the build quality, and I guess it's good(?). But I felt that if I owned the camera for any significant amount of time, the body would get scratched all to crap.
5). One of the "worst" things about the camera, and something that I've heard nobody talk about at all, is that the zoom lens is stored in a retracted mode. To take pics, you have to push a button and open it up. Not only does this take time, but it also erases most most the size advantage of those lenses vs Sony's e-mount lenses. This bit really surprised me.
6). Upon observation, the kit lenses takes a 40.5mm filter. To me this is a disadvantage as it seems the most common small size is 49mm. 40.5mm while easy to find on the web, aren't easy to find in local retail stores....
Most of the other stuff has been hashed over in the online reviews. This was stuff that I noticed that I hadn't seen posted anywhere...