Nikon D90 Review

While it may look a lot like its predecessor, the D90 is essentially an all-new camera on the inside. The D90’s most talked-about feature isn’t its sensor, continuous shooting performance, or anything like that. Rather, it’s the fact that it’s the first D-SLR with a movie mode — and in HD, no less.

Some of the other highlights on the D90 include:

  • A 12.3 Megapixel CMOS sensor
  • Continuous shooting at 4.5 frames/second
  • Live view on an ultra-sharp 3-inch LCD display
  • Active D-Lighting for improved dynamic range
  • Numerous in-camera photo retouching tools
  • HDMI output
  • Optional GPS for geotagging

On paper, the D90 sounds like a very impressive digital SLR. How does it perform in our tests? Find out now in our review!

What’s in the Box?

The D90 will be available in two kits. You can buy it in a body-only configuration ($999), or along with the new 18 – 105 mm VR lens ($1299). Here’s what you’ll find in the box for both of those kits:

Here’s what you’ll find in the box for each of these:

  • The 12.3 effective Megapixel Nikon D90 camera body
  • F3.5 – 5.6, 18 – 105 mm DX Nikkor VR AF-S lens [lens kit only]
  • EN-EL3e lithium-ion rechargeable battery
  • Battery charger
  • Body cap
  • LCD cover
  • Eyepiece cap
  • Shoulder strap
  • USB cable
  • A/V cable
  • CD-ROMs featuring Nikon Software Suite
  • 278 page camera manual (printed)

If you buy the D90 with the 18-105 kit lens, then you’re ready to start shooting right away. This lens features Vibration Reduction, which is Nikon-speak for image stabilization. With the body-only kit, you’ll have to supply the lens, and you can choose from almost the entire collection of Nikon F-mount lenses. Unlike the D40 and D60, the lens doesn’t have to be AF-S in order to use autofocus, as there’s a focus motor built into the camera. Being that camera has an APS-C sensor, there will be a 1.5x focal length conversion ratio with whatever lens you use.

Like all D-SLRs, there’s no memory card in the D90’s box, so you’ll need to pick one up (if you don’t have one already). The camera supports both SD and SDHC memory cards, and I’d recommend starting out with a 2GB card. It’s definitely worth spending a little more for a high speed card when you’re using a digital SLR.

Here’s the front of the D90, with the lens removed. The D90 works with nearly all lenses that use the Nikon F-mount. Unlike the D40 and D60, you can use autofocus on nearly all of them — there’s no AF-S requirement to worry about — since the camera has a built-in AF motor. As is the case with all DX format Nikon cameras, there’s a 1.5x focal length conversion ratio to keep in mind. Thus, a 50 mm lens will have the field-of-view of a 75 mm lens. To release an attached lens, simply press the button located just to the right of the lens mount.

While the D90 and D300 both have 12.3 Megapixel CMOS sensors, they’re not exactly the same. Nikon says that the D90’s sensor is “inspired by” — but not identical to — the one on the D300.

One of the new features on the D90 is a dust reduction system. The camera sends ultrasonic waves down the low-pass filter, which removes the dust from it (in theory, at least). You can choose to have dust reduction operate when the camera is turned on and off, or you can run it manually. Since dust can be a real annoyance on a D-SLR, features like this are always welcome.

Directly above the Nikon logo is the D90’s pop-up flash, which is released electronically. The flash has a guide number of 12 meters at ISO 100, which is average in this class. Only the Canon EOS-40D has a more powerful flash. Should you require more flash power and a smaller chance of redeye, attach an external flash to the camera. You can attach one to the hot shoe that you’ll see in a moment, or you can cut the cord entirely and go wireless — the D90 lets you control up to two sets of flashes using its “Commander Mode”.

What else will you find on the front of the camera? Under the D90 is the camera’s microphone, which is used for the much-touted movie mode that I’ll tell you about later. Next to that is the receiver for the optional remote control.

Over on the grip side of things, we find the camera’s front command dial, which has the AF-assist lamp to its right. Unlike the majority of D-SLRs, which use their flash for AF-assist, this is lamp is dedicated to the cause (and very bright). This lamp is also used for redeye reduction, and for serving as a sort of visual countdown for the self-timer.

Under the AF-assist lamp is the camera’s Function button, which is customizable. By default, it locks the flash output, but you can have it perform a number of other tasks (described later). The button located to the lower-left of the lens mount is for depth-of-field preview.

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Video Review of Nikon D90


Canon Ixus 990 IS

canon-ixus-990-300x193

In the past the Canon Ixus range has been hugely popular because of its sexy design and high quality images let’s see if the current range from Canon lives up to the past success of his hugely popular model.

ITReviewed reviews the Canon IXUS 980 and writes;
“Great image quality & manual control make it the best Digital IXUS to date”
Rating: ★★★★½

CNET reviews the Canon IXUS 980 and writes;
“The bottom line: The Canon PowerShot SD990 IS is a fine ultracompact camera, but its price-to-feature benefits are questionable. “
Rating: ★★★½☆

DCR reviews the Canon IXUS 980 and writes;

“SD990 also does a lot of things right: it has a great focus system, decent exposure control, and processing that’s pure Canon. But on images alone, the SD990 doesn’t seem to live up to the full potential that might have been realized had Canon opted for less resolution.”
Rating: N/A

CNET.au reviews the IXUS 980 IS and writes;
“The 980 IS is a competent 14.7-megapixel compact with manual controls, even if it does lack HD video and a big screen like some of its competitors. That said, we much prefer the Canon’s image quality and overall package.”
Rating: ★★★★☆

PhotographyBlog reviews the IXUS 980 IS and writes;
“IXUS 980 IS / PowerShot SD990 IS Digital ELPH can be highly recommended to DSLR owners who are in the need of a second camera that they can take along even when their main ‘workhorse’ has to stay at home, and also to beginners who want an easy-to-use point-and-shoot that can ‘grow’ with them as their photography skills improve.”
Rating: ★★★★½

CNET.au compared the Canon IXUS 980 to Samsung NV100HD and writes;
“In terms of features alone, the Samsung is the clear winner here. However, bringing image quality into the equation, the Canon wins by a substantial margin. “
Rating: N/A

DPInterface reviews the Canon IXUS 980 and writes;
“Image quality was good – photos were generally good up till ISO 800 in well-lit conditions, while the most you’d wanna go in low-light would be ISO 400.”
Rating: N/A

CNET.asia reviews the IXUS 980 IS and writes;
The bottom line: This IXUS is a very decent camera for shutterbugs who don’t need one with wide-angle lens. The speedy performance and decent pictures undermine the fact that the controls on the shooter can be a bit confusing for newbies.”
Rating: ★★★★☆

InfoSync reviews the Canon PowerShot SD990 and writes;
“All in all, the Canon PowerShot SD990 IS has the ability to capture magnificent images when the settings are dialed in correctly. If you know what you’re doing, the SD990 IS will be very good to you. “
Rating: ★★★★½

Canon IXUS 990 IS Video review