Nikon D90 camera review
Introduction
The new Nikon D90 has been released to replace the D80 and has some pretty good new features. In the manufacturer's lineup, the D90 camera sits somewhere between the D60 and the D300, aimed at photography enthusiasts. However, the manufacturer is confident it can expand its target audience with its new video feature.
Design and use
On the top plate, the D90 is practically the same as its predecessor, the D80, with the exception of minor changes in the shape of the buttons. Big changes have come to the back of the camera. In the first, the size of the screen increased, the four-way joystick was pulled down to accommodate the view button. The interlock switch is now a rotating type. All the buttons that were on the left side have dropped slightly, and the OK button. is currently positioned in the center of the four-way joystick. Its place was taken by a new button responsible for displaying information about images.
The matrix resolution has increased from 10.2 megapixels, which were in the D80 camera, to 12.3 megapixels.
The D90 comes with a new 18-105mm f / 3.5-5.6 G DX lens, which differs from the typical 18-55mm standard lenses of other DSLR cameras. In a 35mm camera equivalent, this lens will offer a 27-158mm focal length range.
The lens has built-in vibration reduction for image stability, but this system is not very durable considering the plastic mounts. On the outside of the lens, you will find an AF / MF switch. You will find the same switch on the camera body. It should be noted that autofocus will not work if one of the switches is switched to the MF position. Also, the camera provides an adapter that ensures compatibility with old lenses.
Unfortunately, the Nikon D90's sensitivity range was upset, although it expanded from 200-3200 to a wider 100-6400, but still there is no value of 12800 as in other cameras of the manufacturer, for example, the D300.
There is a new color management feature that allows you to change the color display settings in creative modes. On the Nikon D90, you can choose from neutral, vivid, mono, portrait and landscape. These parameters can be adjusted by selecting the change item below.
The addition to the camera is a GPS device that plugs into the GPS connector on the left side of the camera, and the device itself can be put on a hot shoe. When the device is turned on and receives a clear signal, the GPS icon appears on the display screen. In this case, the camera can record coordinate data when shooting.
One of the newest features of the D90 is the optional D-Lighting setting. This feature has been added to the camera to help with very high dynamic range shooting where even high sensitivities cannot cope.
The EXPEED processor has been optimized specifically for the D90 to help handle noise and consume less power. But the most interesting feature when working with the D90 is the high definition video recording.
Nikon D90 is the first DSLR camera in the world to offer video recording. And in HD quality. The advantage of the new video function is the use of a good Nikon lens with a shallow depth of field and higher ISO values. However, there are some limitations: mono sound and a maximum of 20 minutes of video recording.
Shooting and processing
Users who have previously worked with the D80 camera will notice that the new product has the same dimensions, but gained a little weight. The camera now weighs 620g.
It has proven itself to be able to switch to video recording with one click. This means that after shooting a video, instead of switching from video mode to shooting, pressing one button will take you back to photo mode.
The guaranteed shutter operation of 100,000 cycles is worth noting that this is twice the average for cameras in this class. It has a maximum speed of 1 / 4000sec and a flash sync speed of 1 / 200sec.
The processor does an excellent job with the task. The colors red, blue, green and yellow are much richer than before. The midtones are balanced, but the skin tone is a little pale. Using the portrait mode corrects this shortcoming.
Focus and metering systems
Exposure focusing systems are of great importance in the camera. The camera has a dedicated menu dedicated to these systems. Using this menu, you can select the AF area, such as single point for off-center shooting, dynamic area, automatic areas or 3D tracking for those subjects that are moving.
You can also adjust the size of the center focus point, change the illumination of the AF point. Change the face recognition area to wide or normal.
Below the focus menu is the exposure control. Here you can change the interval at which exposure compensation will be performed from 1/3 to 1/2. Activate exposure compensation and adjust the center-weighted metering areas.
You can customize the metering modes by pressing the metering button located behind the trigger. With this button you can choose between 3D matrix mode, center-weighted or spot metering. Spot mode uses about 2.5% of the center of the 3.5mm image, while center-weighted uses the entire area. It uses about 75% in the center, while in the custom menu you can resize this area to 6, 8 or 10 mm.
3D color matrix metering only works with compatible type G & D lenses. With other lenses, you cannot use the 3D matrix metering function. Noise
The Nikon D90 has standard ISO settings that can be increased or decreased by exposure compensation in 1/3-stop increments. This provides a total of 19 separate sensitivity settings.
The main range on the Nikon D90 is from ISO200 to ISO3200, which expands to a range from ISO100 to ISO6400. Shots using ISO100 values look very good. The pictures are beautiful, with a smooth surface and a lot of detail. The images remain the same up to ISO800 values, at which small noise starts to appear. Of course, this is only noticeable when zoomed in to full size.
At ISO1600, black dots began to appear in the images where the processor worked. But still, even at ISO3200, the images are of good quality with some loss of detail. At the maximum setting of ISO6400, white and colored spots appear in some areas.
Here are some examples of pictures taken with the Nikon D90:
Nikon D90 Brief Specifications:
Resolution: 12.3 Megapixels
Sensor type: CMOS
Image size: 4288x2848 pixels
Matrix size: 23.6x15.8 mm
Crop factor: 1.5
Lens mount: AF DX, type G and D AF fully Nikkor compatible
Metering system: TTL using 420 pixel RGB sensor
High-speed shooting: 4.5fps
Light sensitivity: ISO200-3200 (ISO 100 and 6400 equivalent)
Screen size: 3 inches
Card format: SD / SDHC
Battery model: EN-EL3
Weight: 620g
Size: 132x103x77mm
Autofocus system: Multi CAM 1000 with TTL phase detection
Screen resolution: 920,000 dots (307,000 pixels)
File Formats: JPEG / RAW
Interface: USB 2.0
Flash type: built-in
Flash metering: I-TTL
Flash sync speed: 1/200 sec
Image Stabilization: Lens Shift in Lens
Live View: Yes
Shutter speed: 30 - 1 / 4000sec
Viewfinder coverage: 96%
Video Mode: Yes
Nikon D90 Conclusion
The Nikon D90 is a beautiful entry-level camera with additional features for ex-compact camera users who don't want to lose out on versatility.Plus a new HD video recording function that empowers users to record videos for family archives using a good lens.
On the downside, there is no ISO 100 when used, which can produce a better image. However, the camera shows good color reproduction. And the lens, although it has a plastic mount, is much better than the standard lenses that come with DSLR cameras.
pros
Good low ISO performance
HD video recording capability
D-Lighting function
Excellent battery
Minuses
Plastic lens mount
Video size 1080 X 720, not 1920 X 1080
