Nikon D90
Nikon D90 Overview - by Imaging Resource
by Shawn Barnett, Dave Etchells and Zig Weidelich of Imaging Resource. Click on link for the original article.

BOTTOM LINE:
D80 upgraders. Certainly, one large group of potential D90 buyers are current owners of the previous D80. Building on the strengths of its excellent predecessor, the Nikon D90 has an awful lot going for it. It upgrades several specs and adds a number of new features over the D80. The key question is whether current D80 owners will find upgrading to the Nikon D90 a worthwhile move or not. To my mind, there are several factors that could drive this decision:

Higher Resolution - Maybe not so much. While the move from 6 to 10 megapixels in going from the D70 to the D80 was a significant and noticeable increase in resolution, the move from 10 to 12 is actually pretty minor. You'll see slightly more detail in the D90's shots, but not enough to justify upgrading. (IMHO, at least.)

High-ISO Performance - Some benefit, but again, perhaps not enough to justify an upgrade. Based on our tests, in-camera JPEGs from the D80 are actually a bit cleaner than those from the D90 at least at ISOs below 1,600. At ISO 3,200 and 6,400, though, the D90 does demonstrate noticeably better noise processing.

Video - Definitely! As we discuss elsewhere, the HD video produced by the Nikon D90 is far from perfect. If you really care about video, the best bet is still to get a camcorder. If you're like me though, you probably often find yourself bringing a pocket digicam along on a trip, just to have the ability to grab occasional "video snapshots." This is exactly what the D90's video mode lets you do, and having it could let you finally leave the digicam at home. (Dave says he'll probably upgrade his D80 for this very reason.)

Chromatic Aberration Correction - Definitely! To our minds, not enough has been made of this feature on the D90. Chromatic aberration is what causes the purple and green fringes you often see around the edges of high-contrast objects in the corners of the frame. CA is a particular issue in zoom lenses, particularly ones with long zoom ratios. Depending on the subject you're shooting, it may be more or less of a problem, as it's generally restricted to the corners and edges of the frame. I find it very distracting though, and have seen many otherwise good images ruined by it. The D90 corrects this to an amazing degree, turning lenses I'd otherwise consider marginal into excellent performers. To my mind, this alone could be reason enough for a D80 owner to upgrade to a D90 body. The kit lens for the D80 was Nikon's 18-135mm optic. This was a very sharp lens, but it also showed a lot of chromatic aberration in the corners. On the Nikon D90, this lens turns into a beautiful performer in nearly every respect. The D90's own 18-105mm optically stabilized kit lens also has only so-so CA performance on its own, but combined with the D90's distortion-reduction processing turns into a stellar performer.

Faster Shooting - Definitely! With a maximum continuous-mode frame rate of 4.5 frames/second, the Nikon D90 is 50% faster than the 3 frames/second of the D80.

Whether you decide to upgrade or not will obviously depend a lot on how and what you shoot and the state of your budget. If you don't care about Live View or movie recording, and aren't too bothered by chromatic aberration in your current lens collection, you can probably take a pass on this particular evolution of Nikon's prosumer DSLRs. On the other hand, if any of the above strike you as must-haves, the D90 is a bigger step forward than we're accustomed to seeing between generations of SLRs from a given manufacturer.

Bottom Line: Competitive Decisions For people buying their first DSLR, Canon is Nikon's arch-rival and their models will most likely be the ones most shoppers will be comparing the D90 to. With the D80, Nikon cleverly split Canon's price structure down the middle, offering more features at a higher price than more down-market Canon models (like the XTi), but keeping the total price well below that of Canon's next model up the line (the 40D). With the D90, they've followed the same strategy, although the upgraded features Canon has added to their new XSi does narrow the gap there somewhat, and (for a while at least), the fire-sale clearance pricing we've seen on their 40D brings it down to close to the same price as the D90. Here's a quick breakdown of how these cameras compare:

Compared to: Canon Rebel XSi - The Canon XSi is priced quite a bit below the D90, but in making the Canon/Nikon choice, many people will likely consider it, as it's the closest Canon model on the low side of the D90's price. In this case, though, "closest" means a good $500 or so less expensive than the D90, comparing prices for the kits including lenses. Body-only, as this is being written in mid-October, 2008, the XSi is selling for about $350 less than the D90. (The D60 is the Nikon model closest in price to the XSi.) The XSi and D90 have essentially the same resolution and both have Live View features, but the similarities pretty much end there. Most obviously, the D90 has movie capability. The D90 also shoots faster in continuous mode (4.5 vs 3 frames/second), and goes dramatically higher in ISO (light sensitivity) rating, to a maximum of 6,400 vs 1,600 for the XSi. Then there's the automatic correction for chromatic aberration. Minor details include a significantly higher resolution LCD screen, viewfinder with LCD-based grid that can be turned on and off, extensive in-camera RAW file processing, and direct support for Nikon's wireless flash system. The D90's kit lens also has a significantly longer zoom range. In its favor, the Canon XSi offers a live histogram display in its Live View mode and has 14-bit RAW files and internal processing, which can provide smoother tonal transitions, particularly when processing images from RAW files with heavy exposure adjustment. It also comes with more capable RAW-processing software at no added cost. Any way you slice it though, the D90 delivers dramatically more capability, albeit at a considerably higher price.

Compared to: Canon EOS-40D - "For a limited time only..." As dealers clear their shelves to make way for the new EOS-50D, prices on the Canon 40D have plummeted recently, bringing the cost of the 40D down to that of the D90, or even a bit below. (As of this writing in mid-October, 2008, the 40D was available body-only online for as little as $900, almost a hundred dollars less than the D90.) Relative to the 40D, the Nikon D90 offers its HD movie recording capability, contrast-detect autofocus in Live View mode, a couple of extra megapixels, one stop higher maximum ISO, the snazzy viewfinder with on-demand gridlines, its extensive in-camera RAW file processing, the automatic CA correction, and the direct, in-camera support for Nikon's wireless lighting system. On its side of the ledger, though, the EOS-40D offers faster continuous-mode shooting, at 6-6.4 frames/second, depending on the shooting mode, vs 4.5 for the D90. The Canon 40D also has 14-bit internal processing, a PC-type sync terminal for connecting to external flash systems, and full-capability RAW processing software included in the box. The D90 still sports more features, but the 40D's higher continuous-mode shooting speed and 14-bit processing might sway some users in its favor. A closer contest than that with the XSi, but the scales still seem to tip toward the D90. If you find the Canon 40D a compelling bargain, though, our advice is to move fast, as the 40Ds remaining in the market are likely to sell through quickly.

Compared to: Canon EOS-50D - Here's where the D90 will feel its stiffest competition from the Canon lineup, but as was the case with the previous D80/40D matchup, at a considerably higher price. Here, the Canon 50D bests most of the D90's specifications, with 15 megapixels to the D90's 12, 6.3 frames/second to the D90's 4.5 and maximum ISO of 12,800 vs the D90's 6,400, and of course 14-bit image processing and no-added-cost full-capability RAW processing software. It also has shading (vignetting) correction which the D90 lacks. The only significant D90 features not found in the 50D are HD movie recording and chromatic aberration correction. The Canon 50D does have rather an odd choice for its kit lens, though, a 28-135mm image-stabilized model that equates to a 44.8-216mm equivalent range on a 35mm film camera. The wide end of that isn't very wide at all; we think most people would find his an awkward lens to work with: Most users are going to want something capable of going much wider. Leaving the lens out of the equation then, the body-only prices as of this writing in mid-October 2008 were running about $1,400 for the Canon 50D vs $990 for the D90.

All things considered, we once again see a Nikon prosumer SLR model placed squarely in between two Canon models, in terms of both price and capability. Even compared to the higher-end Canon product though, the D90's rich feature set does much to recommend it, making it a compelling proposition.

Nikon D90: In the Box
The Nikon D90 kit ships with the following items in the box:

Nikon D90 body
AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6 G ED VR Lens
Body cap
Front lens cap
Camera strap
Rubber eyecup
USB cable
Quick charger (MH-18a)
AC power cord
Li-ion battery (EN-EL3e)
Accessory shoe cover
Plastic LCD protector panel
PictureProject CD ROM
Quick start guide
Instruction manual
Warranty and registration card

Nikon D90: Recommended Accessories
Large capacity SD/SDHC memory card. These days, a 2GB or 4GB card is inexpensive enough, and you'll want a large card if you plan on recording many HD movies. Good to buy a higher-speed card also, able to record fast enough to not limit movie duration simply due to card speed. (SanDisk Ultra/Extreme III, Kingston 133x or equivalent)
Camera case for protection
Accessory lenses
Accessory flash: SB-400, SB-600, SB-800, SB-900 (SB-600 is most economical to do off-camera flash with Nikon's wireless lighting system.)