Nikon D90 is the latest digital SLR by this manufacturer and this particular model has been long awaited as it is the first SLR with movie mode.
Introduction:
Nikon D90 is a replacement for the very popular D80 with some updates, a few new features and what the most professionals were extremely interested in – the movie mode, and in HD, too. Apart from this very desirable feature the Nikon D90 has fast continuous mode, active D-Lighting, plenty of dedicated keys and thanks to the clear menu structure it is suitable not only for professionals, but also for novices.
Nikon D90 pros:
+ Excellent photo quality; superb high ISO performance
+ Well built, easy to hold
+ Built-in dust reduction system
+ Large, excellent high resolution 3-inch LCD display
+ Full manual controls
+ Snappy performance
+ Dedicated AF-assist lamp
+ Native support for wireless flashes
+ High definition movie mode
+ Above average battery life
Nikon D90 cons:
- Poor RAW image editing software included
- Remote control software costs another $150
- Very slow focusing in live view mode
- Manual focus enlargement not sharp
- Poor visibility in low light
- Flimsy door over memory card slot
- Focusing in movie mode takes practice
The design:
Nikon D90 measures 132 x 103 x 77 mm (5.2 x 4.1 x 3.0 in.) and without battery weighs about 620 grams. The entire camera is made of very high quality materials which you can feel from the first second you lay your hands on this beauty. The Nikon D90 is very well balanced and has a comfortable handgrip so it feels great and thanks to plenty of buttons it is easy to access the most frequently used features. At the back of the camera the main thing you’ll notice is the high resolution 3’’ display. Above it is the optical viewfinder with about 96% coverage. There is, of course, a pop-up flash and a hot shoe should you want to use additional lighting. On every side of the camera are keys and buttons, some with dedicated, other with configurable functions so I will not go into details about them as the list would be way too long. I think it is enough to say that the Nikon D90 will not disappoint you with its selection of buttons.
Performance:
One of the most interesting features of the Nikon D90 is its movie mode which up to now has not been available in digital SLRs. The Nikon D90 can record movies in full HD and they look great, but as it needs a lot of space you can only record 5 minute clips on a 2 gb memory card. In order to record longer films you have to decrease the resolutions, but as you cannot really expect anything better that that I must say that the Nikon D90 does a really good job here. When it
comes to the photo performance it is truly mazing. Especially high ISO and low light performance are commendable and the competition from Canon and Sony cannot compare here. In addition to all that the Nikon D90 is one of the fastest performers on the market and with the excellent battery life it is one of the most interesting digital SLRs on the market at the moment.
Menus / ease of use:
The Nikon D90 is not only a very powerful camera in terms of still picture performance, video recording feature, but also the menu system and ease of use. After just a few hours of using the camera you can easily grasp what all the buttons are for so you will not have to plunge into the menus too often. However, if you decide that you want to monkey with all the settings hidden there the help screens available for every option will allow you not to get lost and achieve the desired results. So when you bear in mind that the Nikon D90 is the first DSLR to feature film recording, the excellent still image quality, very good battery life and ease of use there is really not much more I could add.
Selected Nikon D90 features and specifications:
• mage Sensor Format
• CMOS Image Sensor Type
• 15.8 x 23.6mm Sensor Size
• 12.9 million Total Pixels
• 12.3 million Effective Pixels
• DX-format
• (L) 4288×2848
• (M)3216×2136
• (S)2144×1424 Image Area (L) DX Format
• 4.5 frames per second Top Continuous Shooting Speed at full resolution
• DX-format
• CH: Up to 4.5 frames per second
• CL: Up to 4 frames per second Continuous Shooting Options (CH)
• 3 in. diagonal LCD Monitor Size
• Super Density LCD Monitor Type
• 920,000 Dots LCD Monitor Resolution
• 170-degree wide-viewing angle LCD Monitor Angle of View
• Brightness,7 levels LCD Monitor Adjustments
• Electronically controlled vertical-travel focal-plane Shutter type
• 30 sec. in steps of 1/3, 1/2, 1 EV Slowest Shutter Speed
• 1/4000 sec. in steps of 1/3, 1/2, 1 EV Fastest Shutter Speed
• Yes Bulb Shutter Setting
• 200 in steps of 1/3, 1/2, 1 EV Lowest Standard ISO Sensitivity
• 3200 in steps of 1/3, 1/2, 1 EV Highest Standard ISO Sensitivity
• Lo-1 (ISO 100 equivalent) Lowest Expanded ISO Sensitivity
• Hi-1 (ISO 6400 equivalent) Highest Expanded ISO Sensitvity
• Lo-1 (ISO 100 equivalent) in steps of 1/3, 1/2, 1 EV Hi-1 (ISO 6400 equivalent) in steps of 1/3, 1/2, 1 EV Expanded ISO Sensitivity Options
• SD
• SDHC Storage Media
• JPEG: JPEG-baseline-compliant; can be selected from Size priority and Optimal Quality
• AVI
• Compressed 12-bit NEF (RAW) Storage System
• Compliant with DCF 2.0
• DPOF
• EXIF 2.21 File System
• Programmed Auto (P) with Flexible Program
• Shutter-Priority Auto (S)
• Aperture-Priority Auto (A)
• Manual (M)
• Auto
• Auto (flash off) Advanced Scene Modes Exposure Modes
• Portrait
• Landscape
• Close-up
• Sports
• Night Portrait Advanced Scene Modes
• 420 pixel RGB sensor 3D Color Matrix Metering II
• Center-weighted
• Spot Exposure Metering System
• 1) 0 to 20 EV (Matrix or center-weighted metering); 2) 2 to 20 EV (Spot metering) (ISO 100 equivalent, f/1.4 lens, at 20 degrees C/68 degrees F) Metering Range
• CPU Exposure Meter Coupling
• ±5EV in increments of 1/3, 1/2, 1 Exposure Compensation
• Yes Exposure Lock
• Yes
• 2 or 3 frames in steps of 1/3, 1/2, 2/3, 1 or 2 EV Exposure Bracketing
Other recently reviewed digital cameras:
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T77, Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1, Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ28, Canon PowerShot G10, Pentax K20D, Canon PowerShot SX10 IS, Samsung TL34HD.