Nikon D90 12.3MP Digital SLR Camera (Body Only)
by Nikon
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Nikon D90 12.3MP Digital SLR Camera (Body Only)
Customer Review: Very worthwhile upgrade from a D40
Summary: 5 Stars
After a couple of years of use I was starting to outgrow my Nikon D40. I was finding things like the number autofocus zones and shortage of on-camera controls limiting. Since I'd invested 18-200mm and 50 mm Nikon lenses and an SB-600 flash the obvious choice was to upgrade to another Nikon SLR. I considered the D5000 but I wanted the larger viewfinder and higher resolution screen on the D300 or D90. In the end I bought the D90. It has the same sensor as the D300, and capable of taking similar quality photos. The D90 is also lighter and cheaper, yet offers a lot of features I was looking for (function buttons, two control wheels, 11 focus sensors vs the 3 on the D40, etc.).
I got the D90 the day before I left for a trip to Europe, so had little time to play with the camera (other than making sure it was working ok), and time to read the manual on the flight. That said, there wasn't much of a learning curve to get excellent photos out of the D90. This camera handles beautifully, with all the important functions falling easily to hand. I especially like the function button (I have it set to switch the viewfinder grid lines on-off). I also like the depth of view preview button. I'm also finding I constantly use the info on the top control panel (a feature missing on the D40).
Conclusion: I'm delighted with the performance and features of the D90. The low light, high ISO performance is outstanding. The metering handles most lighting situations very well. Focussing is very fast and accurate. The D90 is capable of taking astonishingly good photos with minimal fuss or fiddling.
Customer Review: Everything I could've wanted!
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought this as an upgrade from a D60, because the D90 added a few features I was really missing with the the D60 (namely the better AF system, Live view, and built-in Commander mode), and much improved shooting controls. The ability to change just about any setting, even metering modes and enabling the IR remote, without diving into menus is wonderful, and was sorely missing from the D60. It's much more enjoyable, and easy, to shoot and get good pictures when the setting you want is easily available.
A few other good/bad points:
-The flash doesn't pop up automatically, except in 'Auto' mode, and even then you can disable the flash with the flash button and command dial. The D60 seemed to always want to use the built-in flash unless it was in daylight.
-You can turn auto-ISO off in every mode, including 'Auto'. My only complaint here is that while you can select auto-ISO with the ISO button and command dial in 'Auto' mode, you can't in P/S/A/M, unless you have auto-ISO turned on overall, which prevents you from setting the ISO yourself.
-For some reason, you have to go into the menus, or use the Function button, to select the AF area mode. You can select between continuous AF, single-servo AF and AF-Auto with the AF button and command dial, but the sub-command dial does nothing. It would be nice to use the AF button/sub-command dial to select between the AF area modes, rather than having to use up the only programmable button for it. Not really a big deal, but there's no need for it to be that way.
-The AF/MF switch on the body is great. I assume it's to turn the built-in motor on and off for screw-drive AF lenses, and it also disables autofocus with AF-S lenses. I like being able to just flip that switch to turn the AF off, rather than having to mess with the tiny switches on the lens and hope I don't turn VR off or something.
-A menu option to disable video recording would be nice. The video mode is practically useless anyway, and that would keep me from worrying about hitting the OK button while moving the focus point in LV and accidentally recording a movie.
No huge complaints, and the few I mentioned could easily be fixed with a simple firmware update. Otherwise, I can't think of anything that I'd change, even compared to the heavier, much more expensive D300s.
Customer Review: very mediocre quality and you pay for shipping costs on repairs
Summary: 1 Stars
the flash does not go back after a couple uses- and Nikon does NOT pay for shipping costs to have this repaired.
Whole camera is NOT worth the upgrade of (broken) D70- Viedo is useless.
Customer Review: The D90 is an absolutely awesome value for money right now
Summary: 5 Stars
This camera is real value for money, given the number of semi-pro features packed into it. If you are not interested in high-speed/sports photography and don't care about a rugged camera body, it is hard to imagine a better deal for a DSLR than this one.Customer Review: The "Sweet Spot" for Nikon DX SLRs
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought a Nikon D300 when they first came out, and it was a great camera for shooting my son's sports activities - basketball, football, and baseball. The D300 was built like a tank, and shot close to 9 frames per second with the external battery pack. Although I was able to deal with the complexity of the D300, my wife wouldn't touch the thing - it was just too intimidating.
Our son graduated about 6 months ago and went off to college, and I decided the D300 was overkill for my shooting needs. So I sold it for $1200, bought a D90 body to go with my existing lenses, pocketed the extra $300, and never looked back. The D90 doesn't have the D300's frame rate, or a few other esoteric features that I never used, but other than that the D90 is truly a superior camera. In particular,
- The D90 is much lighter weight and more compact,
- It has a "Full Auto" mode that my wife is comfortable with,
- 720p video (though I haven't used it much), and
- Better ergonomics and ease of use.
This is the least expensive DSLR in Nikon's lineup that autofocuses with the lenses lacking internal motors for focusing, like my Tokina 11-16 wide zoom. So it has much better compatibility with Nikon and third-party lenses than their lower-end DSLRs.
The menus are simpler than my old D300, but will probably still be somewhat overwhelming to those stepping up from a point-and-shoot. There are several good books for learning to use the D90, I recommend David Busch's "Nikon D90 Guide to Digital SLR Photography." Also, Ken Rockwell's web site has some great advice on which settings are worth fiddling with, and which should be left untouched.
I know a lot of serious photographers tend to sneer at the APS-C sensor size (which Nikon refers to as DX), opting for the higher-end FX models with larger sensors. While their particular needs may dictate the need for such equipment, I am convinced that for typical DSLR users, DX is actually better. In particular, the lens that is mounted on my D90 over 90% of the time is the amazing Nikon 18-200 zoom with vibration reduction. This lens is the only one I need to take when I am hiking, walking the Vegas strip, or documenting a family gathering. You simply can't get a lens like this for a FX-sensor camera - nobody makes such a thing. It would be an equivalent 27-300 with the bigger sensor, and be ridiculously large and heavy. With an FX-sensor camera, you would need to haul around at least two lenses to cover this zoom range, and mess with changing them out, exposing the sensor to dust, etc.
I was a little worried about the durability of the D90, as it doesn't have the internal magnesium skeleton that my D300 had. I took the D90 on a long trip to Maui and Kauai a couple months back, with a lot of hiking, throwing the camera in the glove box, and other rather rude treatment. It never showed any wear or performance issues. The worst was a boat trip around the north side of Kauai, with a lot of saltwater mist and spray getting on the body and lens. A quick wipedown back at the hotel, and I couldn't even tell it had been on the boat. Cold weather use during the Colorado winter hasn't caused any problems either. After 6 months of severe service, the D90 operates flawlessly, providing consistently excellent images.