theres a 'serious compact forum'? hadnt heard of it, but i'll check it out. the Q interested me, but for me personally, i cant shoot without a vf, esp telephoto. the v1 really has a lot to speak for it. the build quality is imo excellent, metal and sturdy. it shoots incredibly fast, like 10-30 fps, which is honestly amazing. if youre into AF, its the fastest ive used, rivals my old 5d.
but nikon intentionally, imo, screwed up its software. when using MF lenses the camera doesnt recognize a lens is on and theres no work around. so virtually none of the typical and useful software mechanisms work, like AE or focus magnification..very annoying, and just maliciously dumb, imo.
and my personal bad habit is that i want m y subject to look good at 100% magnification. thats why i got rid of my m4/3 gear and moved to the gxr. at 100% my gxr and x100 are excellent, rivaling if not surpassing my old 5d. the nikon, at least the jpeg engine, very muddled. as i said, i need to shoot raw, i need to further refine my technique to work better with the camera, i need to shoot different lenses, and i need to do all that in demanding situations before i come to final conclusions. hopefully the forum you suggested will help!
thanks
tony