Nikon D90 - Brilliant But Read The Manual (Nikon D90)

Member Name: Nibelung

Product:	Nikon D90
Date:	04/08/09 (316 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Well built, excellent picture quality, more features than most people will ever use

Disadvantages: More features than most people will ever use

There's been a legion of digital cameras that have passed through my hands since they started to become a serious contender for 35mm's domination of the amateur market. Going from memory, they've included Philips, Casio, Canon, Nikon and errr.....Nikon. Of course the last one, my first DSLR, a Nikon D70 was going to be the last; but then we all say that don't we, lads?

What I really meant was "the last for quite a while".

LOOKS LIKE THE "QUITE A WHILE" HAS EXPIRED

Then my daughter started making noises about a night-school class in photography, where the minimum kit requirement just so happened to be a DSLR, and I got to thinking about letting her have the D70 for a 'song', whilst good ol' Dad treats himself to the later and much higher-specified D90.

Since I bought the D70 four or five years back, things have moved on apace. The D90, whilst looking, from the front at least, identical now boasts a picture definition of 12.3 mega pixels, twice that of the D70.

However, it's in what else it can now do that it outstrips the D70 by a mile.

For one thing, it has the capability to shoot movies (yes, movies) in 720 line hi-def which can then be fed via an HDMI port direct to an HD-ready TV.

Unlike the first wave of DSLRs, you can now preview the shot you're about to take on the LCD screen at the back rather than use it to play back existing shots only. This has long been the 'Holy Grail' of SLR makers since SLRs still retain a physical shutter that keeps the 'film' or rather the electronic sensor in the dark till ready to fire so this is no mean feat. However, it's not unique to Nikon - I think Olympus, Canon and maybe others have been doing this for a while now.

WHY A DSLR ANYWAY?

Why any kind of SLR for that matter? After all, they're bulkier, heavier and a lot more expensive than a good pocket camera so they must have something going for them eh?

The single lens reflex camera has been a mainstay of keen amateurs and professionals alike for decades, at least in small film formats like 35mm. What you see through the finder is in effect a 'down periscope' view of the actual scene about to be recorded once the shutter opens. Hence you are really looking through the same lens as the taking medium (film or electronic sensor), not some viewfinder that's an inch or two off target. Not so much a problem with landscapes, but this increase in what's called 'parallax error' becomes more of an issue with close-ups, leading to many 'heads being cut off at the hairline' when the pictures are viewed later.

The fact that there's only one 'eye' on the camera means also that you can change the lenses for something more suited to the task in hand (wider angle, or more telescopic perhaps) and have the viewfinder reflect this change, like my daughter's recent sky-dive, which really extended my telephoto zoom, I can tell you!

FEATURES

The gadgets and facilities on this camera are pretty daunting in number, which is illustrated by the 278-page handbook, and no, it's not in several languages.

I'll list and describe some of the newer ones. That way I won't end up repeating what I wrote about the D70!

Since SLRs can have their lenses removed, getting dust inside becomes a potential problem. Unlike a 35mm SLR, a digital version always has the 'same piece of film' exposed to the elements and therefore any dust on the sensor will be there on all shots till gotten rid of. The D90 uses an ultra-sonic vibrator to shake dust particles free to a position where they can do no harm. Periodic professional cleaning is still recommended though.

LiveView is a feature that allows the rear LCD screen (now a much bigger and clearer 3-inch affair and worthy of the task, unlike the 'postage stamp' on the D70) to be used for pre-viewing shots, and of course is essential for the shooting of movies, since with the optical viewfinder's mirror up, the normal eyepiece will be blacked out.

LiveView can still be turned off for still shots though, thus prolonging battery life when away from the charger. This apes the trend, at least part-way, amongst pocket cameras to do away with the optical viewfinder altogether; a lamentable trend in my view, wasting precious battery life, having us all holding digital cameras at arms length just where they can shake most, and leave us most vulnerable to a mugging!

Shooting movies is quite a novelty for DSLR owners, and to be honest since I've never really used my camcorder much, I don't suppose I'll use this feature much either. Why it is that perfectly competent photographers assume that the transition to movie will be a doddle is beyond me. I've persevered with it over the years and to be honest, my results are the equivalent of Ovaltine laced with a double brandy when it comes to keeping an audience awake.

As you can imagine, at 720-lines definition and 24 frames/second, it uses up storage at an alarming rate compared to stills - even my 8gbyte SD card only allows for 5 minutes at that level of definition. Also, you have to focus manually, since filming renders the auto-focus inactive. Still if you've always wanted to be Director, Best Boy, Chief Grip and Focus Puller all rolled into one, feel free. Technically, the results from bright daylight are pretty good when view directly onto an HD-Ready TV although the sound is only mono.
To be honest, in low light, the facility is next to useless, but then so is my JVC Camcorder without some kind of mini floodlight. I see this more as a useful 'can do' than as a real benefit.


VR - Vibration-Reduction. Not so much a facet of the camera but of the lenses now being associated with it. With this feature switched on, it's reckoned that you can 'hand-hold' a shot three shutter speeds lower than normal, thus something that might looked blurred below 1/125th of a second may now be perfectly 'safe' at 1/30th or even lower. However if you follow ('pan') a moving subject horizontally, it can only dampen vertical vibration, which is fair enough - after all, you were probably intending to blur the background anyway. Don't forget to turn off the VR facility in advance of turning off the camera, otherwise until you next turn it on, you get a disquieting little rattle from the lens. I'm thinking maybe there's some internal lens element that's held in suspension electrically. No harm's done though. When shooting in good light with higher shutter speeds, the benefit is not really noticeable and can be turned off, yet again to save battery life.

Like LiveView, this feature debuted in pocket cameras, as did....

Face-recognition, not in the 'I know the face but...' sense but the focus and exposure system is capable of spotting a face, not necessarily in a crowd, and working out

a) That's is most likely the subject of the photo, and thereby focussing on it, and

b) The best exposure levels for it, hence no more pasty faces at darkened discos. Darkened backgrounds yes, pasty faces no - well not unless they really are pasty from too many Bacardi Breezers TM

p.s. You don't have to have this facility turned on and it only works with the LiveView viewfinder.

EXPOSURE MODES

Like most digital SLRs, the D90 allows you as much control as you could ever want from the manual setting of everything, focus, shutter speed and aperture setting included, right through to letting it think for you, choose faces, set exposure readings and choose to use flash when needed. This is controlled by a handy single dial with many positions.

'M' for Manual speaks for itself. You set both the aperture and shutter speed.

'A' for Aperture Priority allows you to set an aperture and let the camera find a suitable shutter speed to go with it. This is useful, if say, you want to throw the background of a portrait or close-up out of focus to concentrate the viewer's attention. (Large apertures make focussing more critical)

'S' for Shutter Priority allows the opposite, giving you the opportunity to freeze or deliberately blur action, letting the camera find an aperture to match.

'P' for Program Mode does a modicum of each adjustment for general picture taking, keeping the camera well within the ISO (film speed) rating range. Incidentally, the ISO range which can either be set by you or by the camera goes from 200-3200, which was practically unheard of in film days, since anything above ISO 400 produced noticeably grainier results especially in colour. The Nikon surpasses its older stable mates by producing stunning shots of a 'black cat in a coal hole' nature with minimal picture degradation.

'AUTO' is for...well Automatic. There's not a lot of difference here, but full automatic mode also decides to use the flash where needed, whereas P doesn't.

I've yet to see the logic of the 'AUTO without Flash' mode though - isn't that P by another name?

You've also, on the same dial, got a series of 'creative' pictograms which, when selected bias the camera to the subject in question. For example, the picture of an athlete sets the camera to the upper range of shutter speeds and it hangs on to them till the light levels dictate otherwise.

The landscape setting discourages the camera from focussing on nearby objects.

If my experience with both the D70 and the D90 is anything to go by, I've hardly ever used these. Indeed, it's hard to bother to use anything but the P mode, although I do use A and S on occasions.

THE PROOF OF THE PUDDING

Compared to my old D70, the differences in results only become apparent when blowing up detail rather than looking at full-frame pictures, although the new processor borrowed from the 'pro range' of Nikon DSLRs does give noticeably better colour rendition. Of course, I've always stuck to the finest and largest JPEG settings, whereas a purist will only ever shoot the NEF (raw 12.3 megapixel mode) format for the absolute top quality. The camera comes with CDs including a utility to handle these NEF pictures, and if I remember correctly, a recent version of Photoshop also knows what to do with them.

Combined with my new 9600 dpi printer, the results would be difficult to better, although I can see this fascination costing me a fortune in ink now that A4 photos are pin-sharp!

I've also noticed that photos are now more 'A4' shaped compared to previous experience where they were strictly 4:3 format which suits me fine. Likewise, movies can be shot in 16:9 mode to suit an ever-larger number of televisions.

The lens in this 'kit', the VR 18 -105 zoom comes from the upper of Nikon's two ranges of digital camera auto-focus lenses, is superb in everyday use. It's all too easy to read professional reviews that talk of a lack of sharpness at full aperture and full zoom and be put off by them. Then you read that they're talking about blowing up the outer edge of the picture about 10 times, just so that some nit-picker can say, 'See I told you it wasn't pin-sharp!'

MOANS?

Well, not surprisingly for something I'm going to award 5 stars to, they're few and far between. This camera does indeed share some features with its big 'pro' brothers where it matters in the area of picture quality, and some from the consumer market to make it more appealing. I'm sure the ability to shoot movies and see the view on the LCD screen is more fired by the need to attract "point-and-shoot-man" with a few bob burning a hole in his pocket, than it is to satisfy what is now called a 'pro-sumer'. Wow, I'm a pro-sumer, who'd have guessed it?

If I have one complaint it's the total lack of any recording media supplied with the camera - not even a measly 512K SD chip to get you going, so be warned if you are buying one of these as a present for someone else*; don't forget to buy them a memory chip too, otherwise it'll be the old 'wait for the shops to open on Boxing Day' routine all over again! Looks like the camera makers are learning a trick from printer makers, who frequently give you no connecting leads! A Sandisk 8 gigabyte SD card cost me £10.49 including p&p from e-bay.

(* and if you are, can you put me on your present list? I'd like a new PC for my 60th)

Hardly a show stopper but SLRs in general don't lend themselves to being with you at all times unless you wear a Barbour with 'poacher's pockets', but if you are buying into SLRs you know that dressing like Bill Oddie comes with the turf. It is however a smidgin' daintier than the D70, although the ergonomics of holding it in your right hand remain excellent - three fingers around the hand grip, index finger on shutter button, and thumb in a position to turn the main command dial or steady your grip. The left hand can be used for steadying a long lens or twisting the zoom ring.

VITAL STATISTICS

Net Body Weight - 620 grams (a tad less than the D70)

Body Width - 132 mm (also a tad less than the D70)

Body Height - 103 mm

Body Depth - 77 mm

ISO Range - 200-3200

Shutter Speed Range - 30 seconds to 1/4000th of a second

Maximum Aperture of 18-105 lens - f4.5 to 5.6 depending on zoom setting.

File Sizes - Range from 16.9 mb for a NEF picture (with its accompanying JPEG for easy reference) to the smallest JPEG at 0.4 mbyte. Given a storage card of 2 gbyte, this could store from a greedy 89 pictures to a staggering 3800 (and I bought an 8 gbyte card!).

Switch On Time - 14 milliseconds, as near to instant as makes no difference by the time you let go of the switch.

Shutter Lag - 65 milliseconds. Bear in mind this time is taken up with the auto-focus getting its act together anyway. Even so, compared to most compacts, this is an impressive figure, although it's noticeably slower if using LiveView, which also seems to take ages coming into focus.

Lens Conversion Factor - 1.5. This means that anyone used to the terminology of 35mm film-camera lenses will have to rethink the power of their existing lens collection. Under the old rule of thumb that a 50 mm focal length equalled 1 magnification, in digital days, it now represents 1.5 magnifications. This is because lenses don't change, but the sensor of the D90 (and most other DSLRs) is about 66% the size of a 35 mm film negative (that's about the same size as an APS negative - remember them?). Hence my Nikkor 100 mm to 300 mm zoom is about 3 - 9 magnification (a power which would have needed a 150mm to 450 mm lens in 'celluloid days')

Note: All Nikon lenses 'fit', even the lenses from my 1970s Nikon F, but don't expect an old lens like this one to 'couple' with the various controls of the camera, auto-focus and aperture control being the two main ones. It'll remain a totally manual affair. One thing I have learned though from an independent 'Field Guide', i.e. not the manual, is that these older lenses make first rate movie lenses.

BUYING ONE

Watch your prices. There are legions of grey imports on e-bay, some ironically at much higher prices than I paid at www.dixons.co.uk (£749 for the camera and 18-105 mm zoom with 1 year's interest-free credit). Don't forget that even if the starting price is lower than in the UK, the camera, being of high value will almost certainly get the attentions of those sons-of-fun, HM Customs, as it enters the country so you could find yourself paying the Post Office the equivalent of VAT (approx 1/6th more) before the goods are released. You normally only get away with this on items up to £18, hence all the off-shore DVD web-sites. Also, bear in mind that Nikon UK gives you a two-year warranty.

SUMMARY

A high quality digital SLR camera and 18-105 mm zoom kit. New features include CMOS picture sensor instead of the more common CCD. Other interesting features include the ability to see the picture 'live' and to shoot movies. Automatic dust clearance keeps the sensor spotless.

ACCESSORIES

There's a socket for an add-on GPS adapter that can add the map co-ordinates to time and exposure information already included on each jpeg file.

A flash shoe allows for the addition of further higher powered dedicated flash guns.

A very reasonably-priced (approx £5.00) remote control gives cordless shutter release facilities.

Still in its infancy in the UK, but gaining in popularity elsewhere is the use of 'Eye-Fi' SD storage chips, which, with a tiny wi-fi transceiver inbuilt can send photos direct to printer using your home network without the need for cables

OPPOSITION?

Well, the Canon 5000D has a similar specification including the ability to shoot HD movie and boasts 'even more megapixels'. Before you start comparing prices though, check that the zoom lens supplied is as useful as the 18-105 mm that came with mine. When I looked on Amazon, the price was indeed about £100 lower, but the lens was an 18-55 mm job, which will probably be 'outgrown' by the hobbyist pretty quickly.

I've nothing against Canon, and indeed during the 35mm film years I owned a string of four of them, but I've always got this sneaking feeling that Nikon are better built, if a little chunkier.

CONCLUSION

At first I thought that this was just a revamp of the newer D80, but now I see that it's more an amalgam of some of the best features of Nikon's 'pro' range, using the same sensor and lenses, whilst at the same time adding some interesting if gimmicky features, e.g. movie, albeit not of much use to me.

There's a huge amount to learn, but mercifully, you can stick it on 'auto' from the first day and pick the rest up as you go along!

RECOMMENDED READING

Well of course there's that manual, available as a PDF file should you want to read it in advance of taking the plunge. At 278 pages, it's a bit daunting, although you do get a handy Quick Guide booklet to take away on your first holiday together!

I've also been reading The Nikon D90 Digital Field Guide by J.Dennis Thomas, and published by www.wiley.com. ISBN 978-0-470-44992-9.

My major regret is buying it in Jarrold's of Norwich for £13.99 when I could, it seems have bought it for about nine fifty from e-bay! The advantage of the Guide over the manual is that the author tells you why you'd want to alter a setting, not just how to.

For example, the manual shows you that there are two different colour renditions, sRGB and AdobeRGB. Whilst it goes into not a little detail as to why you'd want one or the other, it's only when you read the field guide that the author spells out his preferences - sRGB for pictures that are not likely to need any time being 'Photoshopped' and are to be used on the web, whilst the Adobe RGB is better for those that like to do their own tweaking and printing. The manual just about says as much but in slightly higher-flown language.

Also, the colour illustrations help considerably with visualising the effects of making certain changes.

Yet another nearly-300 page read but worth it, in conjunction with, but not instead of the manual.

Summary: DSLR combining nearly pro picture quality and new features, like Movie and LiveView

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