Nikon has officially announced it will launch the Nikon J2 in September, succeeding the manufacturer’s popular Nikon J1 model announced less than a year ago.

New in the Nikon J2 is the Creative Mode, a dedicated function butting giving access to a range of filters and shooting settings, such as Easy Panorama, Miniature, Selective Colour, Soft Filter and Night Portrait.

A preview option lets you see how an effect will look before you shoot.

A new Motion Snapshot function records a slow-motion movie and a still image, then combines the two to create a moving photograph.

Other features, such as the J2′s 10-megapixel CMOS sensor, ISO range, shutter speed, 1080p HD video recording and battery life all remain unchanged from the the Nikon J1.

The new Nikon camera is also available in a range of colours, including silver, red, pink and orange.

The Nikon J2 release date is scheduled for 6 September, with a price tag of £499.99, €604.00 and $549.95.

Nikon has also introduced a range of new accessories, headline by the Nikon 1 NIKKOR 11-27.5mm f/3.5-5.6 lens, which is also due for release on 6 September 2012.

The slim, 2.5x zoom lens is available in black or white and can power your camera on and off by rotating and retracting it, respectively.

The new Nikon lens will cost £179.99 / €217.00.

Finally, Nikon has also revealed the WP-N1 waterproof case, which is capable of going 40m below the surface and enables you to use all the functions of your Nikon J2.

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Customers purchasing any Nikon 1 J1 or V1 camera or lens combination are entitled to claim £50 /€60 cashback. The promotion runs from 31 May – 31 August 2012 (inclusive) and all claims must be received by the 30 September 2012 in order to qualify.

For more information on the promotion, and how to submit your claim, please visit: www.nikon.co.uk/cashback.

Terms and conditions apply. Offer is subject to availability.

Speaking to our sister website TechRadar, Jeremy Gilbert, UK marketing manager for Nikon UK, said: “We are listening and trying to feedback what we hear. It’s mostly journalists and high-end photographers who would like us to produce one, but whether we should or not is a different matter.”

“A pro version would be quite nice,” Gilbert added, “But ultimately, we want pros to be buying our DSLRs, so while it would be pretty nice to have within the market, it’s so niche that I’m not sure it would help us to be the number one brand.”

The Nikon V1 and Nikon J1 were announced in September 2011, with the J1 going on to become the biggest selling compact system camera.

Read the full interview on TechRadar.

The promotion, which runs from 2 February through 2 April 2012 (inclusive) entitles customers to claim up to £50/€60 cashback on any Nikon 1 J1 or V1 camera or lens combination. Any claims must be received by 30 April to qualify.

For more information on the promotion, and how to submit your claim, please visit: www.nikon.co.uk/cashback.

Terms and conditions apply. Offer is subject to availability.

For more information about the Nikon 1 cameras, read the full Nikon V1 review and Nikon J1 review on our sister site TechRadar.

Like the Nikon 1 V1, the 10.1Mp J1 has a CX-format sensor, which at 13.2×8.8mm is smaller than an APS-C-sized sensor and it results in a 2.7x focal length magnification factor. This enables the camera to be made much smaller than an SLR.

As the entry-level camera in the Nikon 1 series, the J1 has a three-inch 460k LCD and no viewfinder. Unlike the V1, however, it has a pop-up flash built-in.

Read our full review of the Nikon 1 J1 on TechRadar.