nikon

First look at the Nikon D90

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The Nikon D90 officially became available today. My local Best Buy got in only 3 and I managed to get the first one this morning.

The D90 is quite a bit larger & heavier than the D40x, but it’s still comfortable to carry.

D90 Unboxing

D90 vs. D40x

Unlike the D40x, the D90 has an LCD screen on the top, where you can see most of the settings without having to turn on the display. The D90 has dedicated buttons for most settings such as white balance, ISO, AF mode, etc, so you don’t have to access the menus too often.

Unlike the D40x, the D90 has an internal AF motor, so autofocus will work on non AF-S lenses, such as my 50mm/f1.8. That alone is almost worth the price for me. I found the lens contacts to be a bit tricky, though. I had to jiggle the lens slightly from the fully locked position until I felt the AF screw snap into place before AF would work.

I didn’t get to try all of the features yet, but I’m very pleased with what I’ve seen so far. Using auto mode, it take beautiful, sharp photos. Recording video is very easy. No dedicated video mode is needed. Simply switch to live view (using the Lv button to the right of the screen) and press the OK button to start recording. Press the OK button again to stop recording. Movies are saved as AVI files with a default size of 640×428.

Keep reading for unboxing photos, sample images and a sample video.

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The D90 looks like a winner

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Nikon officially released D90 today and it’s everything we expected. One lucky photographer, who usually uses a D3, got an opportunity to use a few D90s for more than a week and he’s very pleased with it.

The D90 includes all of the D80’s features plus a higher 12.3 megapixel resolution using the D300’s CMOS sensor, a live view, movie recording, and several new auto focus modes. It also comes with a new 18-105mm VR lens, which is a nice step up from the 18-55mm kit lens that ships with most current models.

I’m definitely getting one. It’s exactly the step up from the D40x I was hoping for.

D90 specs & pictures leaked

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Nikon Rumors has posed a few pictures & official specs for Nikon’s soon-to-be-released D90 camera. It was accidentally leaked at target.com and taken down quickly.

The highlights include video recording, 12.3 MP resolution, a 3″ LCD with live view, and face detection. That’s a very interesting combination of features more commonly found on point-and-shoot cameras with professional DSLR features. The included 18-105mm lens also looks very interesting.

The major reason I want to upgrade is for internal auto focus, since none of Nikon’s prime lenses have a built-in AF motor. The leaked specs don’t mention built-in AF, but the D80, which it is replacing has an AF motor. I’d be surprised if they left off one of the D80’s features. On the other hand, the new lens is AF-S, which wouldn’t be necessary if the camera has an AF motor.

Nikon D90 coming soon?

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The rumors of an upcoming Nikon D90 DSLR seem to be getting more plausible. The D80 is due for a replacement and the D90 looks like it will fit nicely into that niche. Unlike the 10mp D80, the D90 will have 12mp, the first Nikon entry level DSLR with that resolution. It also supposedly has the ability to record video, which I also believe is a first in Nikon’s DSLR lineup.

I’m starting to think about an upgrade from my D40x, mostly because I really miss having internal auto-focus. None of Nikon’s prime lenses have an internal auto-focus motor, so I can only use manual focus with those lenses, which I still find slow and difficult to set accurately, especially with a narrow DOF.

Since I already own several lenses, I would buy a body only. The D80 seems to be the most attractive in the current lineup, although it’s still bigger & heavier than the D40x. Although the D300 looks really great, I don’t like the size & weight, and I’d prefer a camera that uses SD cards, since I like to use 8GB cards when shooting raw, and 8GB or larger CF cards are still very expensive.

Trust the focus indicator

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I’ve been working on my manual focus skills with the 50mm f/1.8 lens. I found that trusting the focus indicator light in the view finder is the key to proper focus. The subject will appear to be in focus across a range of settings, but it’s only in perfect focus when the indicator lights up. In order for it to work properly, it’s necessary for the subject to be in the proper focus area (which has a red indicator when you press the shutter halfway).

Frilly Hibiscus