Photopurity got to spend some quality time with the hotly touted Nikon D90. We got a copy of the Costco Kit which includes the Nikkor 28-55mm f/3.5-5.5 VR lens as well as the very accomplished Nikkor 55-200mm f/4.0 – 5.6 VR lens. Also included in the kit is a 2GB SD Card and carrying case. First impressions that occur when you pick it up in your own hands is that the camera is very well built but also that its surprisingly light for a semi-pro DSLR.
Nikon unleashed the D90 a day after the Canon 50D announcement so it makes sense that the two cameras would be their own hottest competitors. We haven’t had a chance yet to review the Canon 50D but once we get a copy we’ll post our thoughts on it as well. The Nikon D90 comes with all the bells in whistles plus a few new features to the DSLR scene, the most significant being: HD Video capability (albeit without auto focusing). Its functional, it works, its HD there’s not a lot to say about it. If you want something better look for a camcorder, I wouldn’t recommend the D90 to anyone looking to replace a decent camcorder. It can be a nice additional thing to have but its’ not a serious consideration when looking for a camera.
ISO RANGE
The Nikon D90 sports an ISO range of 80 (called Low 1.0) up to ISO 6400 (called High 1.0). 6400 is pushing it for just about any camera but with the D90 if you really really need the higher ISO you could possibly use it sparingly as opposed to having no pictures. Don’t expect to have results that you’ll be proud of. ISO 3200 is about the limit that I would push the camera too and even at that level you’re going to lose a lot of sharpness and color. Granted, we were testing this camera with the kit lens that it was bundled with so with a prime or low aperture lens you might get better results.
COST
At $1200.00 for the package that includes two lens, the Nikon D90 isn’t exactly a steal but its not a rip off either. However, in our testing we found the 28-55mm lens to largely be a complete waste. The relatively high f stop of 5.6 at 55mm was much darker than than the 4.0 at 55mm on the 55-200 lens so except for the close up shots it was not practical. We pretty much left the 55-200 lens on and backed up when we needed to. Based on this, Photopurity recommends that you buy the Nikon D90 body alone and add the lens that you want instead of accepting the package. A prime 50mm f/1.4 lens would be much preferable to the 28-55mm Nikkor.
Ergonomics
As we’ve come to expect from Nikon, the D90’s ergonomics were exceptional. After several hours of shooting the camera still felt very comfortable in our hands, it was very lightweight which was an added Bonus.
Features
There’s probably too many to list here but the D90 sports Nikon’s Active D lighting, a range of White Balance options, High ISO performance, HD video recording, Wifi, GPS connectivity, 11 point AF system and host of other options.
Positives
The D90 AF system locked on with seemingly little distraction in most situations. In extreme low light it would sometimes hunt for focus or more often say it focused when in fact it did not (resulting in a slightly blurred picture). This was a small percentage of the time however. The ISO performance was pretty good up until 3200 and noise wasn’t too prevalent although you certainly did come out with a softer picture.
Negatives
The D90 has a rather slow shutter sync of 1/200 of a second which is useful for most indoors shooting but when used outdoors or to stop a very fast action is very limiting. This isn’t unusual among most cameras but still a little disappointing.
Conclusions
The Nikon D90 is a bit pricey but overall an excellent camera and more than likely worth the upgrade from the Nikon D80. In fact in our handling we found the D90. The kit lens (28-55mm) wasn’t very impressive in our tests and we strongly recommend that you purchase the body by itself and select your own preferred lens. A good 50mm prime and the 55-200mm VR lens would be good combination to start with. Again that could boil down to personal tast. Overall Photopurity heartily recommends the D90 as it compares very favorably to the competition (Canon 40-50D, Pentax K20D).
