I’ve often wondered about adding one of the current crop of mirror-less cameras to my kit. I do have a theory that for many of us (perhaps of a certain age) when we see the offerings from Panasonic, Olympus, Nikon and Fuji etc we subconsciously see the Leica we can’t afford. Compact quiet body, minimal controls, small interchangeable lenses, high image quality it all harks back to that M3 we always wondered about. On the face of it a compact camera with high quality output and small interchangeable lenses offer the dream ticket for many scenarios. In many cases, particularly the newest Fuji offering this holds a real appeal. Being somewhat ‘brand loyal’ I was intrigued to see what Nikon would come up with. In the back of my mind I think I had something like a digital S3 . Naming it after a famous weapon of mass destruction was an early indicator that trouble lay ahead but nothing quite prepared me for the launch. There is one and only one word that describes the image to the left. UGLY. I know ugly cameras take just as good photographs as the more aesthetically pleasing but really. Since I don’t have to make my living from my camera why should I subject myself to picking up something quite so hideous? Its just awful, it looks like a Y1 design student made out of balsa wood before being advised to drop the course. Brand loyalty and technical proficiency only go so far. I want to enjoy using, holding and engaging with my camera not hate it. I expect it will sell well-ish but come on Nikon make something more appealing.