Charlotte!
I’ve had the V1 for about 5 days. Over those 5 days, I have taken just shy of 2,000 shots. The camera has performed flawlessly and done everything that I’ve asked of it. Certainly, I’ve not covered each and every feature on the camera. I didn’t shoot a movie with it. I didn’t use the Smart Scene Selection feature, where the camera decides everything. I used aperture priority, shutter priority, and manual. I used the camera, quite frankly, the way that I would use a camera. Video doesn’t interest me.
Obviously, I really liked this camera and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to someone who didn’t already have a point & shoot camera. I think that the Nikon 1 series (J1, V1) fit right in that place between the P&S and the DSLR. It’s a great camera to carry around and will do whatever you ask of it. From what I’ve seen, the biggest downfall of P&S cameras, from my perspective, was that the frame rate was too slow. This is not an issue with this camera. It has an exceptional mechanical shutter, offering 10 frames per second, and electronic offering 30 or 60 FPS.
Pros:
Size – Fits easily in my hand.
Weight – Weighs about the same, just a little more than the Canon G12.
Menus – Simplified, menu system. Two levels deep at most. Intuitive. I’ve not opened the manual yet. 
Frame rate – Great for capturing most anything.
Interchangeable lenses
Battery – The first day of use, I took about 1300 photos on a fully charged battery. When I returned, the battery still had 45% charge!
Electronic View Finder – Clear and has a high refresh rate. Showed very little lag.
Cons
Battery – During extended use the battery tends to get a bit warm. It was noticeable.
EVF – Although very clear, not as many pixels as the rear display. Some highlights looked blown-out in the EVF, but fine on the rear display.
Manual controls – I noticed, while doing some night shooting using manual that the controls are easy to move inadvertently. The control ring, used to adjust the aperture, though it contains detents, they are easily moved. I found myself at f/6.3 and sometimes at f/11, when I wanted to be at f/8.
Lens – The 10 mm – 30 mm f/3.5 – f/5.6 has a large amount of barrel distortion at 10 mm. You can really see this along straight lines that happen to be near the edge of the frame. This is the kit lens, however.
Addendum
DOF – I thought of one more ‘disadvantage’ for the type of shooting that I like to do: Small sensors force you into having incredible amounts of depth of field. For a street shooter, or perhaps landscape shooter, this could really work to your advantage; however, when shooting portraits, macros, and other close up work where you want the background to dissolve, this is not ideal.
The cons are all somewhat minor, in my estimation. Not a single one of them would prevent me from recommending this camera. I think that Nikon has a winner here, even with its tiny 13.2 mm x 8.8 mm sensor, which is much smaller than a US postage stamp @ 22.2 mm x 25.4 mm.
Who knows how well it will do? I don’t. If people can get over their sensor envy, this could be a great seller!
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I have to admit – the sensor size gets me. I’m planning a “street camera” purchase in the next few months, and I want to consider the V1…but. As it is, I’m considering a micro 4/3s purchase, maybe the Lumix GX1. Even that, with it’s smaller sensor, is proving to be a tough nut to crack perceptually. Which means maybe the Nex-5n or 7 would be the best purchase. I guess the only resolution is to go out and “test drive” a couple of these cameras. Of course, Olympus is rumored to be coming out with a 16mp OM-1 sized camera (the OM-1 was my first SLR).
I think my head’s gonna explode!
John, as I don’t print much, the only downside I see to a small sensor is the incredible amount of depth of field that you ‘get’, or more appropriately, have to deal with. As an aperture priority shooter from way back, I learned to use my DOF to my advantage to isolate my subject, etc. I forgot to mention that in the conclusion. That was a ‘con’ for me. I think that I’ll go back and add it.
My head is already exploding. There is just way too much out there for my head to soak in and the lust factor is out of control. I bought the Canon G12 a year ago and already checking out the G1x. Yes, going to meetings would do me some good.
Thanks for the report. This camera did not interest me when it came out but your report has changed my feelings towards it. There again it did not tug at my uniqueness. However ,the Fuji-film rangefinder does perk my interest. Like Tom, I’ll wait for your report before buying and see what the price is. I’ve never owned a rangefinder.
Hopefully you can keep your head from exploding!
Rangefinders are interesting tools. I like my M9 and it’s nice to get back to all manual focusing; however, as you might guess, it is not the right tool for every job. It’s a nice addition, though. I wonder how the price of this rangefinder will affect the price of the M9, if at all. I would imagine that, with competition, it could cause a price drop as Leica would no longer have the market exclusively.
Paul, I have simply just lost track of how many cameras you have now.
Sounds like a great little machine. How is the high ISO performance? That is big factor for me these days.
Well, to my defense, the last two cameras that I talked about were rentals.
The high ISO performance was what I expected for a small sensor. I mentioned it in a post a couple of days ago. It was a fun camera to review, but not it’s on its way back to LensRentals.com in Tennessee. I’ve got my eye on a D4, but the rental is a bit high for my tastes. 
Paul, is the Nikon 1 V1 small enough to fit in a regular shirt or pants pocket? Performance wise it seems to have it over say the S90/95 or event the G12…but size was a major consideration when I purchased my S90. There are times I want a camera that’s a bit better then my iPhone 4 but still can be put in a pocket.
Earl, it will most certainly NOT fit in your pants pocket unless they are cargo pants. It’s too bulky for that. I found that it fit easily in my jacket pocket or the pocket of my hoodie, but certainly not in pants pocket. So, you still need a pretty roomy pocket or a small bag to carry it in.