Although I’m a big fan of the Casio EX-F1 and wrote at length last week on how major the RED announcement was, I can’t disagree with this list. The D90 hasn’t lived up to its hype, the 1D Mk III does have serious problems, the Scarlet is simply not viable as a DSLR, and the EX-F1 is a one-trick pony.
This isn’t to say that these cameras are weak — on the contrary, they’re all perfectly good cameras, they’re just not the second coming of sliced bread, as their makers wanted us to believe.
In one of their trademark incredibly in-depth reviews that has made them perhaps the authority on digital cameras on the internet, DPReview now takes on the Nikon D90. This successor to the popular and excellent D80 improves in a variety of areas, including: more megapixels (12), faster motor drive (4.5fps), improved ISO and low-light performance, a better, bigger LCD screen (3.0"), face detection, and of course live view and the controversial movie mode.
The review [spoiler alert] finds the D90 to be a mostly unqualified success, finding it great in every way but with a few issues like how exposure is determined leading to blowouts too often. If you’re a Nikon person and have a grand to spare, it sounds like the D90 is a solid investment.
I was certainly impressed by the D90’s videos a few weeks ago, but it seems that the rolling shutter issues created by the way data is pulled from the sensor make much of the video completely ridiculous — as some have noticed. Jelly motion!
RED ONE’s (the forums for which had this video) sensor had a similar issue, though not as severe, and they’ve since addressed it. In fact, their high speed CMOS sensor is purportedly miles beyond the competition and this is (I’d hazard) what is making them rock the DSMC and possibly the changes to the EPIC and Scarlet. Canon’s 5D mkII is reported to have some skew but not nearly as much.
The Chronicle Project over on Vimeo took Nikon’s latest DSLR, the D90, and pitted its HD video capability against a true, $5200 high-def camcorder, the Panasonic HVX200. It’s a tad surprising that while the HVX does beat out the D90 in resolution and clarity, the D90 has better color depth and an overall fine picture. Camera geeks will point out that both pictures could be better with proper white balancing, a lens hoods, and a VR lens on the D90, but you really should check out the video ’cause it does a great job illustrating the point of these new DSLR’s can record great HD. Jump over to Vimeo to see the HD version - after all, the video is comparing HD cameras.
That other site has some pictures up of the new Nikon D90, that storied camera whose features and capabilities have been the subject of many a post here at the Crunchness. The pics they have appear to have been taken by a meth-addled man jumping up and down and waving at someone with his camera hand — and he’s riding a Harry Potter vibrating broomstick. Anyway, the box is standard Nikon fare and likely you’ll be seeing one in your local camera shop soon. Full pics after the bump. [Engadget]
Read More
Well slap my butt and call me Sally! The Nikon D90 is real and not just a collection of spy shots that essentially blew the Nikon wad prematurely over the past twenty days or so. It has a 12.3-megapixel sensor, ISO 6400 support, and live video view with HD video recording.
The D90 has a .15-second start up with 11 point auto focus and 3D tracking, a cool feature that keeps your subject in focus no matter where they are in the frame. There’s a 3-inch LCD for live view and it takes 720p 1,280 x 720 pixels video movies at 24 frames per second. It’s got red hot monaural sound recording on the video, so you can rock out like the Brian Wilson in the mono version of Pet Sounds.
It’s $999 for the body, $1,299 for the 18-105mm VR lens. D80 should drop in price shortly while the D70 settles into obsolescence. What do you all shoot? I’m a Canon man, myself.
Read More
Yes, you’re probably tired of hearing about the D90, what with post after post after post, all by me. And I’m not even a Nikon guy! It’s not our fault the info has been leaking out in fun-size pieces rather than the whole kit and kaboodle. At any rate, this is the last D90 post until — ah, who am I kidding. We’ll probably have another one tonight.
Pics from Nikon Rumors and Photography Bay. Stats after the hump.
Read More
If anyone cares Nikon’s next DSLR, the D90, is prepped for sale at Target with an 18-105MM lens. The 12.3-megapixel camera has an estimated weight of 7.05 pounds and it’s estimated shipping dimensions are 10.7- x 8.5- x 7.9-inches. And that’s about it.
via Nikon Rumors
It’s hurricane D90 up in here! I’m too poor to buy one, but this pic on the right excites me because now I no longer have to photoshop “D90″ onto other Nikon DSLRs whenever some specs hit just to have a picture.
Nikon Rumors, who got that picture there, also got a shot of the D90 in video mode. Looks pretty much like everyone thought it would. I wonder if they have advanced pictures like zebra stripes and a live histogram in video? Probably not.
The much-anticipated Nikon D90 is about to leave the nest! Circuit City had it in their inventory list a couple days ago, and now Best Buy is popping a D90 as well.
As was speculated and semi-confirmed, it’s going to cost about $1300 and it should be available on or around September 7th.
Has Nikon taken a few too many battery grips to the head? The D90, purportedly the replacement for the sub-$1000 D80 DSLR, is said to feature video recording in its Live View mode. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m sure video recording is nice to have, but what market are they looking at here? The video will almost certainly be inferior to a dedicated video device, and the people willing to shell out $1000 for a camera and couple lenses are likely to either be in still photography only or have a separate device for video already. Video and Live View on DSLRs seem like selling points at about the $500 price point or below, but once you get into enthusiast territory, consumer features tend to weigh a product down rather cause it to stand out from the pack.
All that said, it’s still unconfirmed (though the tipper is pretty confident), and no one has actually seen the video yet, so it could be great. Here’s hoping.
If you’re in the mood for a new Nikon body, you might want to wait a month or so, according to the rumor mongers at Photography Bay. The D3x is expected sometime soon as Nikon’s challenger to the Canon 1D mkIII crown. More interesting to me is the mysterious D90/D80x, which is expected to undercut Canon’s 40D pricing but compete on features.
All these D’s and numbers are getting confusing to me, we’ll have to do a DSLR roundup soon just so I can get my head straight. In the meantime, PB has some handy rumor pages put up for the D3x and “D90.”
Attention, Nikon camera nerds: the Nikon D90 (or D80x, perhaps) is likely on it’s way. the camera is similar in features to the D80, save for a few technical upgrades and a larger viewscreen. Look for it at PMA 2008 at the end of January.
Nikon D90 [PhotoBay]
