Nikon D90 Review
Review Date: October 13th 2008
Author: Zoltan Arva-Toth
Review unit kindly provided by http://www.ccsfoto.hu/
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Conclusion
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Ratings (out of 5) |
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| Design | 4 |
| Features | 4.5 |
| Ease-of-Use | 4 |
| Image Quality | 5 |
| Value for Money | 5 |
The Nikon D90 is a difficult camera to rate. When viewed as a 'traditional' SLR, it is simply an excellent camera that I very much enjoyed using. All the frequently used functions have direct controls assigned to them, be it aperture, shutter speed, ISO speed, file quality, drive mode, AF mode, AE Lock� � you name it. Despite being a relatively complex camera, the D90 proved highly intuitive to use. The extra functions that distinguish it from the D80, such as ultrasonic sensor cleaning, 3D focus tracking, 50% faster continuous shooting speed and Active d-lighting are well worth the price difference between the two models.
In use, the D90 felt extremely responsive, could lock focus quickly and confidently on virtually anything, while the meter handled almost any scene you threw at it very well, necessitating much less use of the exposure compensation function than I'm used to. Together with the excellent meter, Active D-lighting proved highly useful in photographing high-contrast scenes. The quality of the images captured by the camera was astounding, in terms of resolution, colour, tonality and signal-to-noise ratio alike.
It is only the 'add-on' features like Live View and video recording that deserve criticism. The Nikon D90's Live View implementation is decidedly sub par, despite the glorious screen it is delivered on. There is no live histogram, the magnified view appears interpolated and the contrast-detect auto-focus is extremely slow. The highly useful Virtual Horizon Indicator of the D700 didn't find its way to the D90 either.
The movie mode of the D90 is something that no other DSLR has had in the past, and as long as you consider it a bonus feature that you do not have to pay any extra for, it is okay. In fact, it does open up some truly new possibilities, even for professional filmmakers, especially with regard to DOF control and use of specialty lenses. However, the technology remains immature, lacking auto-focus and full manual exposure control, and producing videos with lots of artifacts.
The bottom line is that if you are looking for a high-performance yet affordable DSLR for taking high-resolution still photographs of varied subjects, I can highly recommend the Nikon D90 to you. If you intend to use Live View frequently, I would suggest that you look at other options as well. If your main objective is recording video as painlessly as possible, get a camcorder instead. But if you have some experience in filmmaking and want to experiment with a large-sensor camera that takes interchangeable lenses and records high-definition video, and are willing to put up with its idiosyncrasies, I'd say go for it � you're going to enjoy it!
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