Nikon D90 Review Round-Up

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Get information and user reviews for this camera from Amazon: Nikon D90 DX 12.3MP Digital SLR Camera with 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6G ED AF-S VR DX Nikkor Zoom Lens

Imaging Resource

With a 12.3-megapixel sensor, the Nikon D90 rises to the resolution of the more professional D300. … The Nikon D90 looks like a genuinely excellent camera for the intermediate photographer, and a great choice as a full-featured, light weight body for those who own a Nikon D200 or D300. The addition of video is ground-breaking, and will open up new possibilities that will be fun to explore, even though I wish it handled motion better than it does. Really, my only major disappointment for the intermediate market is the lack of a higher frame rate. I’d like to see at least five frames per second, if not six. Otherwise, there’s little to complain about, and only more great features to praise. Bottom line, the Nikon D90 is an exceptionally well-rounded digital SLR offering, with just about everything an aspiring photographer will need …Very highly recommended. READ FULL REVIEW

More Nikon D90 Reviews

Photo Review

It was only a matter of time before one of the camera manufacturers figured out the Live View mode on a DSLR required a video image and then came up with some way to record it. …Video in a DSLR is a significant advance – particularly at the D90’s price point. Previously, if you wanted a video camera with interchangeable lenses, you were looking at around $7000 for a model that couldn’t even record high-definition, widescreen video. But the D90 provides a lot more for a much lower price tag by giving users with the same kind of control over focusing, exposure and depth-of-field as they get with a DSLR camera, along with the ability to shoot with virtually any Nikkor lens. In both available-light shots and flash shots in low light levels, the test camera turned in an outstanding performance, recording images with little visible noise and no sign of blotchiness. The D90 also shares many functions introduced with the D3 and D300 models and carried into the D700. READ FULL REVIEW

Camera Labs

Nikon’s D90 is the long-awaited successor to the popular D80, and like that model is aimed at a higher level than many rivals. The resolution has been increased to 12.3 Megapixels, continuous shooting to 4.5fps, the maximum sensitivity to 6400 ISO, and the screen enlarged to 3in with VGA resolution. Unsurprisingly the D90 offers Live View, but the big new feature, and a first for any DSLR are video recording capabilities including HD. Completing the package is a new 18-105mm lens with Vibration Reduction. A great choice overall at the price, but compare closely with the Canon EOS 40D. READ FULL REVIEW

Digital Photography Review

On a purely specification level, the D90 is a highly competitive piece of kit, but it’s the way the features have been chosen and put together that make it the camera what it is. The D90 viewfinder is amongst the best you’ll find on any APS-C camera and it sits above the highest-resolution screen we’ve yet seen on a camera of this class. The buttons are well chosen and sensibly positioned, and the two-dial interface is a pleasure to use. The image quality, whether at base ISO or the higher settings, is excellent even if it can need a bit of tweaking of the internal settings to tailor the output to specific needs. … The early talk about the D90 was about its video capability and indeed it does record HD videos – good ones by digital stills camera standards. But don’t let that distract you, this is a camera which lets nothing get in the way of taking photos. READ FULL REVIEW

CNET

The 12.3-megapixel Nikon D90 doesn’t replace the popular 10-megapixel D80, which moves down Nikon’s dSLR product line, and unsurprisingly, provides some significant enhancements over that 2-year-old model. Most notably, the D90 was the first digital SLR to support movie capture. At 1 pound, 10 ounces, the body is considerably heavier than most sub-$1,000 models, but it also feels sturdier and more substantial. I really enjoy shooting with the camera; it’s comfortable to hold, and the control layout and navigation should be immediately recognizable to anyone who’s shot with a Nikon dSLR recently. While its movie mode certainly ranks as the D90’s most novel capability compared with its peers, the implementation leaves quite a bit to be desired. I’ve no complaints about the D90’s performance, which clearly improves upon the D80’s. If your budget can’t stretch quite that far, the D80 remains an excellent deal at its price. READ FULL REVIEW

Photo.net

The D90, the successor to the D80 has increased pixel count to 12MP, continuous capturing is now faster at 4.5 fps and the LCD has gone to a high resolution (920,000 pixel) 3″ unit. The Nikon D90 also adds a Movie mode capable of capturing 1280×720 pixel images at 24 fps HD with sound. This is a first for a DSLR and it’s a feature I expect to see a lot more since Live View is now a pretty standard feature (and Live View is required to shoot movies). The D90 also adds face recognition technology. The D90 is very competitively priced. READ FULL REVIEW

Luminous Landscape

This is clearly a first generation product. Nikon saw an opportunity to add video capability to the DSLR and did so in a simple manner with little intention of creating a new type of hybrid camera. The D90 is a stills camera (and a very good one) at a very reasonable price, that happens to also shoot moderate quality video. I would not expect the D90 to act as any sort of replacement for a camcorder. A combination of modest image quality combined with a lack of features compared to a real video camera count heavily against it. But, put it on a tripod, do all manual settings, add a terrific Nikon lens between fish eye and super telephoto, and you may have a useful add-on tool to the Indy and creative film maker/videographer. At under a thousand dollars it’s a virtual steal for this type of use. READ FULL REVIEW

Ken Rockwell

The Nikon D90 is a fantastic camera. It’s Nikon’s newest and best DX format DSLR. I prefer it to the old D300, which costs almost twice as much. That’s the way it goes with digital cameras: new is almost always better, even for much less cost. The D90 has identical, or slightly better technical image quality than the D300, the exact same rear LCD, and adds several very useful ergonomic features for faster handling compared to the D300. These handling improvements will let you react faster to conditions, meaning you’re more likely to get better pictures by being better prepared. If you’re considering a D300, forget it. Get the D90 instead. READ FULL REVIEW

PopPhoto

While the D90 offers a slew of upgrades and worthwhile additions, the groundbreaking feature is, of course, its 1280×720-pixel (720p) video capture. Updates over the D80, aside from megapixels and video, include a 3-inch 920,000-dot LCD, up from 2.5 inches and 230,000 dots. The D90 is the first camera that can take advantage of SanDisk’s new 30MB/sec Extreme III SDHC memory cards. As a still camera, the D90 continues Nikon’s strong record in the midrange. While its videomaking is more than a little clunky, it’s the first (and, for now, the least expensive) DSLR with this capability. It’s a very worthy follow-up to the D80, and stacks up well against similarly priced cameras. If you shoot frequently at ISO 3200, you’ll like the D90’s excellent image quality, with low noise at that high sensitivity. READ FULL REVIEW

Thom Hogan

Yes, my horse can juggle dishes, but it isn’t very pretty. And yes, that statement sums up my assessment of the D90 video. Bottom line: the D90 a great consumer camera. It doesn’t really have the cajones to be a professional’s working camera, though it equals the D300’s image quality. The build quality, autofocus system, and flexibility of the D300 make it a better choice for the pro; but the price versus performance and well-chosen compromises without compromising image quality make the D90 a better choice for the amateur. READ FULL REVIEW

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