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01/14/2009 06:41:41 PM · #1
A friend of mine is interested in buying a D90... was hoping the knowledgeable people of this site could give me some feedback on it.

good value for money? low noise? lightweight? video feature: good or useless? etc

Thanks!
01/14/2009 06:54:20 PM · #2
Originally posted by saintaugust:

A friend of mine is interested in buying a D90... was hoping the knowledgeable people of this site could give me some feedback on it.

good value for money? low noise? lightweight? video feature: good or useless? etc

Thanks!


I don't have any experience with it, but I trust this site as they have never steered me wrong before:
//www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikond90/
01/14/2009 07:16:22 PM · #3
I have it...Weight is good for slr...you don't want it to be too light.

Takes great shots...IMO much better than my D70 because of the crop factor of the 10mp vs the 6.1mp of the d70.

Low noise throughout ISO.

No autofocus on the Video. This is a problem if you are trying to chase kids around a birthday party. However, video results are GREAT.

01/14/2009 07:17:47 PM · #4
I just upgraded to a d90 from a d80--HUGE difference for the better. I have only had it for 3 weeks, so not fully fluent or knowledgeable with it yet (maybe not ever!) but some things I noticed right away:

Better sensor, better high ISO performance, better (lower) noise, better viewfinder (seems a lot brighter to me), better LCD, live view option, better menus, a nice Full Auto with NO Flash selector (I always had to click a few times to turn of the damn flash on other cameras in auto mode, so seldom used it) For me it was a no-brainer choice, as my d80 battery grip fits the d90, and it is familiar to me already.

The D90 has many more in camera editing options if you go in for that sort of thing. And it will do video, too, with some limitations (manual focus only, for example).

I have zero regrets about the upgrade. I still have the d80, so I can have two lenses ready in the field without having to swap lenses and risk dust. But the d90 does have self-cleaning feature, too (d80 does not).

Is your friend a first time dslr buyer? The d90 has enough fully automatic features to let him/her hit the ground running. I tend to stick to the manual settings, so I have not exercised the auto features much yet (in 3 weeks of ownership).

I recommend the 18-200 VR lens as a good general walk-around lens. I got an 85mm f1.4 at the same time as my d90, though, and I really love it.
01/14/2009 07:22:47 PM · #5
Yes, the d90 is a great camera. I upgraded from the D80 and I'm very happy with it.

Noise is much better than the D80, but still not as good as the D700 from what I can see.
01/14/2009 07:40:43 PM · #6
same as nshapiro and chromeydome, i upgraded my D80 to a D90. its really alot nicer. my mom has a D200 and i personally like the D90 better
01/14/2009 07:59:52 PM · #7
I just switched from D40 to D90. While I am not a big megapixel counter, the jump from 6.1 to 12.3 is certainly something I considered. Weight and size is more than the 40, but honestly it makes it feel better in my hand. The interface I find just as easy as the 40 (Menus etc) and in many cases more direct. I also love the lcd on the top and the focusing system (compared to the D40 3-point system). Don't get me wrong. The D40 has a quite brilliant 2.5" LCD for viewing shots and for the munus. The D90 has a brilliantly brilliant 3" that can also be used for live view. Having live view can be useful in some situations, but I love the eye to the finder when I shoot. It reminds me of the old daze. ;) And I like being able to autofocus the 50mm 1.8D (manual on the D40).

I have a couple of small pocket type cameras that can do video (Canon A590 and Sanyo Xacti)and for me video would be of some musican feriends doing some performances for web page things, so nothing really needed there. But heck - 720 HD is not too bad although the length is limited. Results between the two with the same lenses? Well, the D40 takes surprisingly good pictures. The D90 does take better ones. This is, at this point, subjective. By better I mean better exposed, more correctable (seems to hold more unseen detail in some shadow areas) and, of course, finer resolution. The same lenses can focus quicker, and with 4.5FPS vs 2.5 FPS can benefit some action shots. Also superior IQ at higher ISO, but the D40 can do pretty danged at ISO800.

I, too have no regrets (except the cost)of going for the D90.

::embarassing aside - I read a response or two about folks upgrading from other Nikons DSLRs to the D90 and that focused me (pardon the pun) on my D40 D90 comparison. But you can just drop the D40 stuff and the truth is still there for the D90.

Message edited by author 2009-01-14 20:09:04.
01/15/2009 08:39:09 PM · #8
So far i read a lot of good reviews on D90. I am planning to get this or D300, depends on my budget when my bank account allow :D
01/16/2009 08:39:43 AM · #9
thanks all! manual focus video --- strange...
01/16/2009 09:24:53 AM · #10
I also LOVE my D90! (upgraded from D50)
a small note on the video....it will autofocus....BUT if you change the zoom, it then does not re-focus. So you could set a shot and video it in autofocus....but don't readjust your focal point.
01/30/2009 08:06:44 AM · #11
I have had my D90 for a couple of months now, and I love it, Great investment.
01/30/2009 10:31:55 AM · #12
how much do you guys pay for an upgrade like this?

I'm assuming you just buy a body, and sell your used one. My d80 body is in good shape (1.5 years old). I'm wondering what the cost would be.
01/30/2009 11:44:54 AM · #13
yep that is what I did...
Bought body-only. then sold my D50 to a friend but at the going ebay price.

01/30/2009 01:16:37 PM · #14
well, I just kept my d80 body (so far). It is really nice to have a prime on one body, a zoom on the other. But, if I find that I just don't use the d80 much, I might sell it. Kinda nice to have a backup, though.
01/30/2009 02:51:43 PM · #15
Originally posted by chromeydome:

well, I just kept my d80 body (so far). It is really nice to have a prime on one body, a zoom on the other. But, if I find that I just don't use the d80 much, I might sell it. Kinda nice to have a backup, though.


That's my plan -- keep the d80 as a backup body...

Anyone found any good deals on the d90 lately? (Aside from anything shady/grey/fell-off-a-truck-kinda-stuff...)
01/30/2009 03:17:17 PM · #16
Originally posted by cdrice:

Originally posted by chromeydome:

well, I just kept my d80 body (so far). It is really nice to have a prime on one body, a zoom on the other. But, if I find that I just don't use the d80 much, I might sell it. Kinda nice to have a backup, though.


That's my plan -- keep the d80 as a backup body...

Anyone found any good deals on the d90 lately? (Aside from anything shady/grey/fell-off-a-truck-kinda-stuff...)


I watch amazon--price goes up and down some (and it usually comes direct from B&H anyway). I have free 2nd day shipping with them, and single day is like $3.99, so it works out well for me. It is $879 (body only) there right now, but I got mine for $839 at the end of Dec.
01/31/2009 08:30:18 PM · #17
Why go from D80 to D90 instead of D300, or even D700? Slight price difference (quite the difference up to D700, but money well spend if you're into photography), but give and take on or two differences the D80 and D90 is very similar. Slightly higher resolution (hardly noticeable) and moviemode. Hopefully D90 performs better when it comes to ISO, but I've seen unbelieveable shots with ISO 1000 on D80, which is very high. So then again, why upgrade 80 to 90?

I was thinking about D90 myself, but chose D300 and never looked back. Where D90 is a technical little warmachine, the D300 is a bloddy tank. I wanted a tank, and I love it. Hopefully I'll prove myself worthy of this purchase soon.

Anyway, keep your old D80 body as it is a GREAT camera! I still hang on to my D40 =)
01/31/2009 08:48:35 PM · #18
Will this be your friend's first DSLR? If so I would recommend something cheaper like the D50 instead.
01/31/2009 09:27:09 PM · #19
Best Deal I could find for my D90 was on Boxing day for $999 cdn at Henry's...

It is an AMAZING camera for the price!

If you have a D80, keep it as a backup

(my ranting is from a non-professional point of view...)

I had a tough choice between the D90 and D300... since they produce BASICALLY the exact same images, I decided to save the $800 and go for the D90...

D90 also takes SD cards which are WAY cheaper... $20 for 16gb SD v.s. $70 for 16gb CF

The D90 is a tad small, so i went for the MB-D80 battery grip (yes, that IS the correct grip for the D90, nikon just left it the same)

there are other little things too, like, the wired remote for the D90 costs 1/2 as much as the wired remote for the D300

and the D90 will accept the $15 IR nikon remotes, whereas the D300 will NOT

The video feature is nice.,.. but honestly, you probably will never use it...

Message edited by author 2009-01-31 21:28:35.
02/01/2009 06:46:18 AM · #20
Pros and cons for everything, eh?

An obvius choice for a first dslr would be D40, D40x or D60. I don't think you can buy the D50 anymore. You can buy them for under half the price of a D90 with a kit lense, and then you'll have 500$, maybe more, you could use on a good and sharp lens. A good lens is better than a good camera. I also think you will evolve faster with a cheaper dslr. God knows how much I learned from my D40, and I took some fabolous shots with it in the end. A very good beginners choice would be one of those three cameras with the 18-200mm VR lens. You can get that for under the price of a D90 with lens.

D80 is also something to think about. I think you may buy the body only, and the store may give you discount on a good and sharp lense to go along with it. Also cheaper than the D90, and it is insane how much camera you can get for that price. But, why stop at a D80 when the D90 costs only a little bit more, eh? That's the way it goes up to D300 :p Why buy D40 when the D60 costs a tad more. Why stop at D60 when D80 costs a little bit more. Heck, it's not far from D80 to D90! Why stop here? D300 is just around the corner! But it stops there, though. D700 is quite expensive.

Now, I do understand why he/she would want the D90. 12 mp, video, big and heavy, looks pro. And the video mode certainly attracts people into the dslr world. But, a sharp lens helps you more along the way than a BIG camera with a standard kit lens. Try explain this to him. Then he would go of and buy a D40x, because he wants more megapixels, with a lens all of us will emvy him. Then after half a year, he can go out and buy the D90s or D90x with 15 MEGAPIXELS, FULL HD VIDEO FOR AS LONG AS YOU WANT, DIRECT CHANNEL TO ADULT MOVIE SITES, FOR FREEEE, for the price of todays D90, and he already have the lenses! This was a long post, hope it's to any help...

But, must be said, D90 is an awesome camera... But I'm still glad I bought a D40 for my first camera.
02/01/2009 07:56:24 AM · #21
I bought the D90 for my first SLR. I was ready to go and buy a D80, due to the much better price tag, but luckily changed my mind at the very last minute. I am an electronic engineering studetn, and I love technology and gadgets. If I bought the D80, I know that I would be green of envy at all the nice improvements (12.3 MP CMOS sensor, self-cleaning sensor, 4.5 shots per second, etc). Besides that, I can truly say that I am extremely pleased with the results I get from the D90. It probably falls into the "prosumer" market, but it feels like a beast in my hands.
02/01/2009 08:08:07 AM · #22
Honestly... NEVER buy a D40 / D40x / D60 because you can NOT auto focus with prime lenses or older AF lenes!!!! For starters buy a D50 / D70 / D70s used from your local camera store (to be safe) for like $250-$300... That way you can buy older cheaper AF lenses to try it out and learn about photography,...

That's what I did... I bought a used D50 a couple years ago for $330, a used nikon 28-85mm for $60, a used Tamron 70-300mm for $95 and a used nikon 50mm f/1.8 AF for $70 and that was all I needed...

I used that setup for about a year, then slowly started upgrading my lenses until I had an 85mm f/1.8, 50mm f/1.4, ect...

Then, and only then, did I upgrade to a D90...

That's the way to do it!!!

(Just to re-clarify, with a D40, D40x, D60, you an not auto focus on any PRIME or non-afs lenses, so the only lenses that will work with your camera are the very expensive newer af-s lenses... Not good for someone trying to start out relatively cheap because they may not know how professional they want to go)

BTW: D50 / D70 / D70s are VERY cheap and EASY to find!

.
02/01/2009 04:52:19 PM · #23
Originally posted by Shutter-For-Hire:

Honestly... NEVER buy a D40 / D40x / D60 because you can NOT auto focus with prime lenses or older AF lenes!!!! For starters buy a D50 / D70 / D70s used from your local camera store (to be safe) for like $250-$300... That way you can buy older cheaper AF lenses to try it out and learn about photography,...

That's what I did... I bought a used D50 a couple years ago for $330, a used nikon 28-85mm for $60, a used Tamron 70-300mm for $95 and a used nikon 50mm f/1.8 AF for $70 and that was all I needed...

I used that setup for about a year, then slowly started upgrading my lenses until I had an 85mm f/1.8, 50mm f/1.4, ect...

Then, and only then, did I upgrade to a D90...

That's the way to do it!!!

(Just to re-clarify, with a D40, D40x, D60, you an not auto focus on any PRIME or non-afs lenses, so the only lenses that will work with your camera are the very expensive newer af-s lenses... Not good for someone trying to start out relatively cheap because they may not know how professional they want to go)

BTW: D50 / D70 / D70s are VERY cheap and EASY to find!

.


Well, yeah... That's a bit of a drawback... BUt if you're going to buy use, you might as well buy the D70. Has a small screen showing you the camera settings at any time if I remember correctly. D80 and 90 has that too tho.
02/01/2009 05:12:24 PM · #24
Originally posted by BJamy:


Now, I do understand why he/she would want the D90. 12 mp, video, big and heavy, looks pro. And the video mode certainly attracts people into the dslr world. But, a sharp lens helps you more along the way than a BIG camera with a standard kit lens.


The d90 is the same form factor as the d80, actually--so not "BIG" at all. Uses the same battery grip as the d80.

Owning both, I would say if choosing between the two, save the extra few bucks and go for the d90. It is a vast improvement on the d80, and, unless you need a "tank" for your specific purposes, shares enough common features with the d300 to serve well. If you NEED video, buy a video camera. If you need a fantastic dslr and have around 900 bucks, the d90 is a great buy. Go for good glass, too. Start with one GOOD lens and learn it and the camera together. Add additional lenses later, if you need to save up first.
02/01/2009 06:02:19 PM · #25
In short, go for the D90. You wont regret it. I came to the dark side for this camera, and found out that it's smacking fun!

Message edited by author 2009-02-01 18:03:57.
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