Nikon D90 12.3MP DX-Format CMOS Digital SLR Camera with 18-105 mm f/3.5-5.6G ED AF-S VR DX Nikkor Zoom Lens by Nikon
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Digital camera reviews of Nikon D90 12.3MP DX-Format CMOS Digital SLR Camera with 18-105 mm f/3.5-5.6G ED AF-S VR DX Nikkor Zoom Lens
Digital camera Review: A good camera for energetic, detail-oriented amateur photographers
Summary: 4 Stars
I got the Nikon D90 after considering the Canon T2i in some detail. The two major features that sold me on the Nikon was a superior exposure and color system, and a better kit lens. Since I have a long technical involvement in photography I don't mind customizing a lot of settings and changing settings before shots. If that isn't your style, you might think twice about the complexity of the D90.
The biggest drawback is the focussing system, for me. I have tried the automatic and manual focussing both, and seem to trip over some detail of the system a little too often for my comfort. If you have it on single point auto focus, you can be reasonably sure of what you are going to get for focus...reasonably. But too often I have used this set up on, say, a single face in a group or on a flower stamen, for example, and found that the actual focal point in the image fell about 5-8% of the distance to the object behind the object under the focus highlight in the viewfinder. Not terrible, but enough to spoil some carefully set-up shots. Autofocus using 3d focussing does not work for me, and multipoint focussing always leaves me with the focus point highlight somewhere I don't expect it. If I am very alert and fully aware of what is going on, I can catch this and correct it by half-pressing the shutter and manually moving the focus point where I want it using the click dial. But it spoils the flow of attention on a shot. In fairness, I suspect some tutoring by an experienced user might overcome these perceived difficulties, but the documentation and materials I have found online do not address this issue well enough for me so far.
I don't think there is a perfect camera out there. It took me over 20 days of shooting every day to finally feel I understood the options and their effects on my shooting style. I only gave the Canon an hour in the camera shop and several hours of close reading on the web, and that isn't the basis of a fair comparison.
But the pentaprism viewfinder does provide a larger, brighter in-camera image to compose with. If you like to experiment, the range of control you have is great. And since I am on a limited budget, the kit lens gives me a broader range of focal lengths to work with.
I also like the battery life and the size/form factor of the camera. It fits my hand better.
My impression might be skewed by the fact that I got a Nikon s8000 at the same time, and despite the smaller image sensor on the s8000, it is giving the D90 a real run for its money in image quality and ease of use in quite a range of picture settings. The D90 is superior in low light and fast response, which alone still makes it worth it all for me. But I have shot the same outdoor scene with both cameras, and printed 13 x 19 prints and could not tell which was from which camera. Indoor shots are usually easy to distinguish.
The D90 feels rugged and well made, and I haven't had the info drop-out from the lens problem that seems to plague some users.
Ideally I would like to have waited for the next version, which would have full HD, stereo mike external jack, and 50% or more increase in sensor resolution. But I finally decided that the wonderful color and exposure intelligence built into the D90 was not going to get appreciably better in the next version, and increased sensor resolution has hit a physical limit where design tradeoffs have to be made, so I went ahead and took the plunge.
I haven't regretted it. But I would be careful to whom I recommend it. If you are impatient or intimidated easily by technical complexity, this camera might end up on your shelf more often than not.
As a side note, I was concerned at first about the weird video on this camera. Read around on the web and you will find out what I mean. But after taking a series of videos on the tripod, foregoing zoom and pan and concentrating on focal plane movement only, I am pretty happy with it as a DSLR adjunct to my full HD camcorder.
Digital camera Review: A good photographer just needs to SEE, but the D90 really helps
Summary: 5 Stars
I have read everywhere that the D90 was the best camera - it is. You can do great pictures in auto but the really cool stuff is in tweaking the manual controls. This camera is so smart that most of the settings just need to be set to auto and it will help you get a better picture - not by helping you compose - that is still all you - but by reducing the number of "bad" pictures due to bad settings.
I am extremely happy with the D90. The lens that comes in the kit is good for everyday use, but I wish now I just got the D90 body and the 18-200VR lens instead.
Digital camera Review: A good product with good delivery
Summary: 5 Stars
I ordered this camera because many people recommend this one and it is really a nice camera. The len is made of plastic, note.Digital camera Review: A great camera, but not perfect
Summary: 4 Stars
Pros
The same ISO capability of the D300.
Intuitive layout that Nikon is famous for
Fast - focus, frames per second, and card access
First DSLR to have video, but . . .
Cons
Video has poor audio quality and no AF
Kit lens is not worth what Nikon says it's worth
Recommendation: Casual users who aren't concerned about how tough the kit lens is should buy now. Semi-pros who want a good lens might want to wait and just get the body (available about a month after the kit release)
Before making the leap to the D90 I researched this and other cameras for several weeks. I actually wanted the more expensive D300 because of the magnesium body and weatherproofing, but ultimately decided that the $600 difference was too big for just that one issue.
The D90 has the same sensor (or greatly similar depending on the source) as the D300 which means it shares the same great ISO capabilities. 1600 looks fine and you can definitely get usable small prints from even 3200. There are some reviewers on other sites claiming that the D90 has better noise reduction than the D300. Combine that with the the new Nikon VR lenses and you can shoot in low light at ridiculously slow shutter speeds. I've always hated using a flash and this camera is going to allow me to avoid using it in situations I never dreamed were possible. I took a shot in a dimly lit room at night and this camera picked up details I couldn't see with my own eyes!
The control layout is superb. The single button choices make complete sense - ISO, image quality, white balance and previous shot are right there on the left side of the LCD.
I did not buy this camera for its video function. However, Nikon did not deliver the goods here. You can buy a several year old Canon P&S S2 or S3 that shoots video (VHS/regular quality, not HD) at 30fps with stereo sound AND autofocus. If they could put that kind of functionality on a $200 camera it should be possible on a $1000 one as well. It just seems that if you're going to add a function like this it should have been done well or not done at all. If you're buying this camera because of its video capability then I would urge you to wait until Nikon or another DSLR maker does it right. Or just buy a separate HD video camera at a fraction of the cost of the D90.
I realize a lot of folks like the kit lens, but it is not the same quality as Nikon's other zooms in this price range. I read that Nikon says this kit lens, the 18-105mm VR, would sell for $400. Thus the "$100 savings by buying the kit." I bought the Nikon 70-300mm VR at the same time for about $485 and the build quality is far better with a metal mount and rubber gasket to keep out the elements. The kit lens has a plastic mount with no rubber gasket and it just feels cheap in comparison. If you're just looking for a basic everyday lens as an average user this might not matter, but if you're an aspiring amateur/semi-pro this is really not acceptable.
Overall this is a great camera and it is, minus the lack of weather proofing (which I can't expect at this price range anyway), exactly what I was looking for. It does have its flaws, however. Thus the 4 star rating instead of 5.
Digital camera Review: A highly capable camera for the price
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this camera 2 months ago at my local camera shop, with the 18-105mm kit lens as a complete kit as I had the IRS and the Gov't to thank for the opportunity and no, it was NOT the least expensive price but buying locally was worth more than mere cost savings IMO.
As to the camera itself, I chose it based on my photographic style in that I shoot a lot of city based landscapes, street scenes and the like and like to get arty every now and then and wanted a camera that could be flexible, had good image quality and would allow for good high ISO performance and had already the Nikon Cool Pix P5000, an advanced P&S with full manual exposure but alas, no RAW or manual focus but I could tell it what to focus on however and was very familiar with the menu system and decided to stick with Nikon. Budget being an issue here in that I could not go much over $1200 for the kit, which would include the sales tax so that left out anything above the D90.
My research revealed a lot of good about the D90, things like better viewfinder, able to auto focus more lenses as it has the in body focus motor, built in flash commander and a better ergonomic layout amongst other things - and has many of the features also found on the D300 as well and I'd also checked out the D5000 too but in the end, liked the D90 better with it's more direct access to the more common features via the 2 command dials and less menu diving for the basics, the better penta prism viewfinder was a boon since I oftentimes find myself shooting in low light, dusk/night while out and about using what available lighting there is and the camera's superb high ISO performance, something cameras like the D80 with it's older CCD based sensors just don't do as well as with cameras that have the newer CMOS sensors.
All that said, here are my thoughts on this camera, based on just over 8GB of images or just over 400 shots taken in 2 months time.
Metering, the camera even when the E/V is set to 0.0, it still sometimes slightly underexposes things when in either center weighted or spot metering, and it's especially true when using Matrix metering (really good for certain situations where spot or center weighted won't do) so I usually use either spot or center weighted, even though I shoot RAW. Overall a lot of that is what you meter on that will affect how it meters and by that I mean, meter of the bright area of the image and use that to set your exposure or you risk blowing out the highlights if you meter on something dark. One negative is that this camera can be prone to blowing highlights if you are not careful when metering in the first place.
Auto focus, from what little I've used it, it seems to work fine but some claim it tends to back focus some (some even claim it front focuses some too), which means that if you focus on the eyes, the focus may NOT be right on them, but just behind or in front of them. I have not used it enough to notice if my particular copy does either as I shoot mostly in full manual mode. Now, to ensure it WILL auto focus, you have to put the camera's switch in AF mode and the switch on the lens to AF to ensure it works, also, you won't see it focus until you half press the shutter to activate it and it is fairly quick to focus in most situations.
Ergonomics, I find this camera quite intuitive to use as it has plenty of quick access buttons for dedicated things like the menu, the image playback and buttons with dual functions such as the WB/help/image lock button, the ISO button just below it that also zooms in on images taken and QUAL(ity) button to set the image from RAW to RAW+Jpg or Jpg and their 3 levels from fine to low that are on the left of the LCD screen, the joystick is a pleasure to use and adjusts it's function depending on what you are doing, the LV (live view) button to turn that on and off and a sensor lock switch below the joystick and below that is the info button. On either side of the viewfinder are 2 buttons, one is the delete and the other is the AE-L/AF-L lock button and on top around the top LCD display are buttons to access things like the remote sensor, the burst modes etc, the metering, E/V and Auto Focus settings and lesser used buttons on the front such as flash (flips up the flash), exposure bracketing and the DOF preview along with the lens lock button when un-mounting the lens.
This camera has 2 command dials, making it much easier to set shutter and/or aperture or they can control other functions such as when you press down the metering button on top, the back command dial rotates through the metering options, the WB button will allow you to set the WB to either Pre or one of it's other settings (pre allows you to set the WB yourself by taking a photo of something white or gray and it stores it to reference from for WB) are just 1 example. If you press the ISO button and rotate the back command dial, you can adjust your ISO. It may take a little bit to bet used to where everything is but it will fall naturally to your fingers and thumb. I found it quite intuitive to use and now, most things come naturally to me.
Grip, the camera's size and thus it's grip to me is just right but I'd recommend you get into a brick and mortar store to fell them out as even within a particular brand, the camera bodies will vary and so will the grip to see if they fit your hand or not. I've heard some people with smaller hands find the D90's grip quite nice, others, not so much (and weight is a factor too) I like that it's a good, solid grip, one that is comfortable to hold - and again, it it all depends on what you are after and what feels comfortable to you.
Size/weight, I find that since this camera is 1.6Lbs sans battery and lens, it's not the lightest out there but certainly not the heaviest. I find it about right and can lug it around for at least a couple of hours on foot with relative ease. Size wise, the camera is 5.2x4.1x3.0 inches and with the 18-105mm kit lens mounted, it's more like 2Lbs or close to it as the lens is just over 14 Oz in weight and its size makes for a well balanced kit for everyday shooting.
Overall, I find the kit lens itself very sharp, the downfall is when at full wide or at full zoom with the aperture wide open, some vignetting in the corners occur, but it's easily reduced in post processing but otherwise, it remains quite sharp through most of its range and with VR, one can gain up to 2 f stops zoomed in and allows you to shoot hand held and keep the shutter at, at least 1/60s to obtain crisp, sharp images even in low light, something that is not always possible with out it and it's very effective for such an inexpensive lens.
Overall I can get some really great quality images shooting at dusk or at night with this combo even though the widest aperture is f3.5 at the wide end and that's possible as I can shoot up to 1600 ISO with relatively little noise, it begins to become noticeable when you hit 3200 and up (6400 is a modified setting where the pixel count drops to keep the noise in check) and is simply called Hi, 100 ISO is the same thing, simply called low. Shutter speeds are plenty, ranging from 30 minute exposures to 1/4000s and you also have bulb mode for long exposures where you press the shutter to open, press again to close it.
Live view is a new feature to the DSLR and some manufacturers have implemented it better than others and Nikon could've done better but what I've found is if you want to use it, you have to think ahead and pre-focus, pre-set your exposure before going into it to compose and shoot and I find it helps when shooting up high or low which is really it's intended purpose - and for video shooting but it's crippled greatly in that mode however. I have not used the video mode on the camera as it's not of interest to me. I bought this camera simply to take still photos, nothing more.
Overall, I find the camera quite useful, versatile, intuitive and a joy to use and the resulting image quality is really good and that I take my camera with me practically everywhere says a lot about its usefulness and the 18-105 kit lens's range is very useful for street photography and there are very few times I wished I had a wider lens or a longer zoom so it works for 90% of what one may want to shoot in the way of general photography.
Overall, a very good camera for the bit more advanced shooter. One thing to caution is that it may overwhelm some of the less initiated out there as it has so much to offer that a D5000 might be a better choice for some but for the rest, the D90 may well suit you well for most types of photography, just don't expect to get a lot of keepers if shooting pro sports or anything demanding like that for it's burst speed is a mere 4.5FPS while a D700 I think does 8fps and has a much better auto focus system (51 area focus points Vs the 11 on the D90) but overall, the D90 is one powerful - and capable camera for the price.