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Nikon has released a successor to the popular D80 DSLR, the Nikon D90. It comes with a series of upgrades and new features, as expected of any new mode, however an additional thing many people may not have expected is the inclusion of a video recording facility in the D90. Other features include a 12.3 MP CMOS sensor, 3.0-inch LCD screen and a continuous shooting of upto 4.5 frames per second.
The newly released Canon D50 doesn’t have any video recording functionality, but we are certain to see a response in the next release from Canon if not already present in the much anticipated upgrade to EOS 5D. I myself am not too bothered about the presence of a video recording functionality, however there will surely be a large number of people who would be quite excited to have such a feature available to them. Debate in the social media is heating up where people are debating on how will Canon respond to Nikon’s move.
This is Nikon’s second major release this year after D700 (read our review of Nikon’s full frame compact DSLR D700), Canon however has only released the 50D and has yet to announce any upgrades to their ageing camera EOS 5D. I am sure an upgrade is around the corner, especially if Canon has been listening to what it’s customers are saying, however with the current release of D90 and in camera video recording, cusotmers will be expecting a response, a fast response from Canon with an equal if not a better offering.
Whether Canon releases a video recording enabled camera or not, from customer’s point of view, competition is healthy, it drives prices down, improves products and drives innovation. This also means that Sony has to step up their game, it would be nice to see what will happen if there are three main players in the market as opposed to just two. We leave you with detailed specifications of the camera followed by some product images of Nikon D90.
A detailed breakdown of the specifications as provided by Nikon UK is as follows:
| Type | Single-lens reflex digital camera |
|---|---|
| Lens mount | Nikon F mount (with AF coupling and AF contacts) |
| Effective picture angle | Approx. 1.5 x lens focal length (Nikon DX format) |
| Effective pixels | 12.3 million |
| Image sensor | 23.6 x 15.8 mm CMOS sensor |
| Total pixels | 12.9 million |
| Dust-reduction system | Image Sensor Cleaning, Image Dust Off reference data (optional Capture NX 2 required) |
| Image size (pixels) | 4,288 x 2,848 [L], 3,216 x 2,136 [M], 2,144 x 1,424 [S] |
| File format | • NEF (RAW) • JPEG: JPEG-Baseline compliant with fine (approx. 1:4), normal (approx. 1:8), or basic (approx. 1:16) compression • NEF (RAW) + JPEG: Single photograph recorded in both NEF (RAW) and JPEG formats |
| Picture Control System | Can be selected from Standard, Neutral, Vivid, Monochrome, Portrait, Landscape; storage for up to nine custom Picture Controls |
| Media | SD memory cards, SDHC compliant |
| File system | DCF (Design Rule for Camera File System) 2.0, DPOF (Digital Print Order Format), Exif 2.21 (Exchangeable Image File Format for Digital Still Cameras), PictBridge |
| Viewfinder | Eye-level pentaprism single-lens reflex viewfinder |
| Frame coverage | Approx. 96% horizontal and 96% vertical |
| Magnification | Approx. 0.94 x (50mm f/1.4 lens at infinity; -1.0 m-1) |
| Eyepoint | 19.5 mm (-1.0 m-1) |
| Diopter adjustment | -2 to +1 m-1 |
| Focusing screen | Type B BriteView Clear Matte screen Mark II with focus frame (framing grid can be displayed) |
| Reflex mirror | Quick-return type |
| Depth-of-field preview | When depth-of-field preview button is pressed, lens aperture is stopped down to value selected by user (A and M modes) or by camera (other modes) |
| Lens aperture | Instant return, electronically controlled |
| Compatible lenses | • DX AF Nikkor: All functions supported • Type G or D AF Nikkor: All functions supported (PC Micro-Nikkor does not support some functions). IX-Nikkor lenses not supported. • Other AF Nikkor: All functions supported except 3D color matrix metering II. Lenses for F3AF not supported. • AI-P Nikkor: All functions supported except 3D color matrix metering II and auto focus. • Non-CPU: Autofocus not supported. Can be used in exposure mode M, but exposure meter does not function. Electronic rangefinder can be used if lens has a maximum aperture of f/5.6 or faster. |
| Shutter type | Electronically controlled vertical-travel focal-plane shutter |
| Shutter speed | 1/4,000 to 30 s in steps of 1/3 or 1/2 EV, Bulb |
| Flash sync speed | X = 1/200 s; synchronizes with shutter at 1/200s or slower |
| Release modes | Single-frame, continuous low speed, continuous high speed, self-timer, delayed remote, quick-response |
| Frame advance rate | Continuous high speed: up to 4.5 fps, continuous low speed: 1-4 fps |
| Self-timer | Can be selected from 2, 5, 10 and 20 s duration |
| Exposure metering | TTL exposure metering using 420-pixel RGB sensor |
| Exposure method | • Matrix: 3D color matrix metering II (type G and D lenses); color matrix metering II (other CPU lenses) • Center-weighted: Weight of 75% given to 6-, 8- or 10-mm circle in center of frame • Spot: Meters 3.5-mm circle (about 2% of frame) centered on selected focus point |
| Exposure range (ISO 100 equivalent, f/1.4 lens, 20°C/68°F) | • Matrix or center-weighted metering: 0-20 EV • Spot metering: 2-20 EV |
| Exposure meter coupling | CPU |
| Exposure modes | Auto modes (auto, auto [flash off]), Advanced Scene Modes (Portrait, Landscape, Sports, Close-up, Night Portrait), programmed auto with flexible program (P), shutter-priority auto (S), aperture-priority auto (A), manual (M) |
| Exposure compensation | ±5 EV in increments of 1/3 or 1/2 EV |
| Exposure bracketing | 2 or 3 frames in steps of 1/3, 1/2, 2/3, 1 or 2 EV |
| Exposure lock | Luminosity locked at detected value with AE-L/AF-L button |
| ISO sensitivity (Recommended Exposure Index) | ISO 200 to 3200 in steps of 1/3 EV, can also be set to approx. 0.3, 0.7 or 1 EV (ISO 100 equivalent) below ISO 200, or to approx. 0.3, 0.7 or 1 EV (ISO 6400 equivalent) over ISO 3200, ISO sensitivity auto control available |
| Active D-Lighting | Can be selected from Auto, Extra high, High, Normal, Low or off |
| Active D-Lighting bracketing | 2 frames |
| Autofocus | Nikon Multi-CAM 1000 autofocus module with TTL phase detection, 11 focus points (including 1 cross-type sensor) and AF-assist illuminator (range approx. 0.5-3 m/1 ft. 8 in.-9 ft. 10 in.) |
| Detection range | -1 to +19 EV (ISO 100 equivalent, 20°C /68°F) |
| Lens servo | • Autofocus: Single-servo AF (S), Continuous-servo AF (C), Auto-servo AF (A), Predictive focus tracking automatically activated according to subject status in single- and continuous-servo AF • Manual (M): Electronic rangefinder supported |
| Focus point | Can be selected from 11 focus points |
| AF-area modes | Single-point AF, dynamic-area AF, auto-area AF, 3D-tracking (11 points) AF |
| Focus lock | Focus can be locked by pressing shutter-release button halfway (Single-servo AF) or by pressing AE-L/AF-L button |
| Built-in flash | Auto, Portrait, Close-up, Night Portrait modes: Auto flash with auto pop-up P, S, A, M: Manual pop-up with button release |
| Guide number (m/ft.) at 20°C/68°F | • At ISO 200: Approx. 17/56, 18/59 with manual flash • At ISO 100 equivalent: Approx. 12/39, 13/43 with manual flash |
| Flash control | • TTL: i-TTL balanced fill-flash and standard i-TTL flash for digital SLR using 420-pixel RGB sensor are available with built-in flash, SB-900, SB-800, SB-600 or SB-400 • Auto aperture: Available with SB-900, SB-800 and CPU lenses • Non-TTL auto: Supported flash units include SB-900, SB-800, SB-28, SB-27 or SB-22s • Range-priority manual: Available with SB-900 and SB-800 |
| Flash modes | Front curtain sync, slow sync, rear-curtain sync, red-eye reduction, red-eye reduction with slow sync |
| Flash compensation | -3 to +1 EV in increments of 1/3, or 1/2 EV |
| Flash bracketing | 2 or 3 frames in steps of 1/3, 1/2, 2/3, 1 or 2 EV |
| Flash-ready indicator | Lights when built-in flash or SB-900, SB-800, SB-600, SB-400, SB-80DX, SB-28DX, or SB-50DX is fully charged; blinks for 3 s after flash is fired at full output in i-TTL or auto aperture modes |
| Accessory shoe | Standard ISO 518 hot-shoe contact with safety lock |
| Nikon Creative Lighting System (CLS) | Advanced Wireless Lighting supported with built-in flash, SB-900, SB-800, or SU-800 as commander and SB-900, SB-800, SB-600 or SB-R200 as remotes; Auto FP High-Speed Sync and modeling illumination supported with all CLS-compatible flash units except SB-400; Flash Color Information Communication and FV lock supported with all CLS-compatible flash units |
| White balance | Auto (TTL white-balance with main image sensor and 420-pixel RGB sensor); 12 manual modes with fine-tuning; color temperature setting; preset manual white balance |
| White balance bracketing | 2 or 3 frames in steps of 1, 2 or 3 |
| Live View AF modes | Face priority AF, wide area AF, normal area AF |
| Live View focus | Contrast-detect AF anywhere in frame (camera selects focus point automatically when face priority AF is selected) |
| Movie image size (pixels) | 1,280 x 720/24 fps, 640 x 424/24 fps, 320 x 216/24 fps |
| Movie file format | AVI |
| Movie compression format | Motion-JPEG, with monaural sound |
| LCD monitor | 3-in., approx. 920k-dot (VGA), low-temperature polysilicon TFT LCD with 170° viewing angle, approx. 100% frame coverage, and brightness adjustment |
| Playback function | Full-frame and thumbnail (4, 9 or 72 images or calendar) playback with playback zoom, movie playback, Pictmotion, slide show, histogram display, highlights, auto image rotation, and image comment (up to 36 characters) |
| USB | Hi-Speed USB |
| Audio video output | Can be selected from NTSC and PAL; simultaneous playback from both the audio video output and on the LCD monitor available |
| HDMI output | HDMI Mini connector; camera monitor turns off when HDMI cable is connected |
| Accessory terminal | • Remote Cord MC-DC2 (Optional) • GPS Unit GP-1 (Optional) |
| Supported languages | Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish |
| Battery | One Rechargeable Li-ion Battery EN-EL3e |
| Battery pack | Multi-Power Battery Pack MB-D80 (optional) with one or two Rechargeable Li-ion Battery EN-EL3e or six R6/AA-size alkaline, Ni-MH, lithium or nickel-manganese batteries (Battery Holder MS-D200 is required when using R6/AA-size batteries.) |
| AC adapter | AC Adapter EH-5a (optional) |
| Tripod socket | 1/4 in. (ISO 1222) |
| Dimensions (W x H x D) | Approx. 132 x 103 x 77 mm/5.2 x 4.1 x 3.0 in. |
| Weight | Approx. 620 g/1 lb. 6 oz. without battery, memory card, body cap or monitor cover |
| Temperature | 0-40°C/32-104°F |
| Humidity | Less than 85% (no condensation) |
| Supplied accessories (may differ by country or area) | Rechargeable Li-ion Battery EN-EL3e, Quick Charger MH-18a, Eyepiece Cap DK-5, Rubber Eyecup DK-21, USB Cable UC-E4, Audio Video Cable EG-D2, Camera Strap AN-DC1, LCD Monitor Cover BM-10, Body Cap, Accessory Shoe Cover BS-1, Software Suite CD-ROM |
Links
Nikon UK: Nikon UK D90 Press Release and deatailed specifications
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