Nikon D90 DSLR With Lens Kit
Friday, July 23rd, 2010 at
7:49 pm
- Image via Wikipedia
Naturally when comparing cameras it’s best to compare the ones in the same price group so that you can see how they stack up. Unfortunately this isn’t always possible. When looking at Nikon DSLRs they were either way cheaper or way more expensive.
For example, there’s the Nikon D700 12.1MP Digital SLR Camera with 24-120mm f/3.5-5.6G ED IF VR Nikkor Zoom Lens
I decided on the Nikon D90 DX 12.3MP Digital SLR Camera with 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6G ED AF-S VR DX Nikkor Zoom Lens + 8GB Deluxe Accessory Kit
Camera Specifications:
| Type of Camera | Single-lens reflex digital camera |
| Effective Pixels | 12.3 million |
| Image Sensor | Nikon DX format (23.6 x 15.8 mm) CMOS sensor |
| Image Size (Pixels) | 4,288 x 2,848 [L], 3,216 x 2,136 [M], 2,144 x 1,424 [S]; D-movie: 1240 x 720 / 24fps, 640 x 424 / 24fps, 320 x 216 / 24fps |
| Sensitivity | ISO 200 to 3,200 in steps of 1/3 EV, plus HI-0.3, HI-0.5, HI-0.7, HI-1 (ISO 6400); sensitivity decreases approx. LO-0.3, LO-0.5, LO-0.7 and LO-1 (ISO 100) |
| File Format | NEF (12 bit compressed RAW); JPEG (Baseline-compliant); AVI (Motion JPEG compression format with monaural sound) |
| Storage Media | SD memory card (SDHC compliant) |
| Shooting Modes | 1) Single frame shooting mode, 2) Continous low shooting mode: 1-4fps, 3) Continous high shooting mode: 4.5fps, 4) Self-timer mode, 5) Delay remote mode, 6) Quick-response remote mode 7) D-Movie |
| White Balance | Auto (TTL white-balance with 420-pixel RGB sensor), 12 manual modes with fine-tuning; color temperature setting; preset white balance; white balance bracketing |
| LCD Monitor | 3.0″, 920,000-dot low-temperature polysilicon TFT LCD, allows up to 170-degree wide viewing angle |
| Playback Function | 1) Full frame, 2) Thumbnail (4, 9, 72 and calendar), 3) Magnifying playback, 4) movie playback, 5) Pictmotion, 6) Slide show, 7) Histogram indication, 8) Highlights point display, 8) Auto image rotation, 9) Image comment |
| Delete Function | 1) Card format, 2) All frames delete, 3) Selected frames delete |
| Interface | USB 2.0 (High-speed), GP-1 (GPS Unit) |
| Picture Angle (in 35mm [135] format equivalent) | Approx. 1.5x lens focal length |
| Viewfinder | Fixed eye-level pentaprism; built-in diopter adjustment (-2 to +1 m-1) |
| Focusing Screen | Type B BriteView Clear Matte Mark II screen |
| Viewfinder Frame Coverage/Magnification (with 50mm lens at infinity; -1.0 m-1) | Approx. 96%/ Approx. 0.94x |
| Autofocus | TTL phase detection by Nikon Multi-CAM 1000 autofocus module with AF-assist (range approx. 0.5-3m/1ft 8 in. – 9ft 10 in.); Detection range: -1 to +19 EV (ISO 100 at (ISO 100 at 20°C/68°F) |
| Focus Modes | 1) Autofocus (AF): Single-servo AF (AF-S); Continous-servo AF (AF-C); Auto AF-S/AF-C selection (AF-A), 2) Manual focus (M) can be selected from 11 focus area |
| Exposure Metering System | 1) 3D-Color Matrix Metering II (type G and D lenses); Color Matrix Metering II (other CPU lenses) performed by 420-segment RGB sensor, 2) Center-weighted: Weight of 75% given to 6, 8 or 10mm circle in center of frame, 3) Spot: Meters 3.5mm circle (approx. 2% of frame) centered on active focus area |
| Exposure Metering Range (at normal temperature [68°F/20°C], ISO 100 equivalent, f/1.4 lens) | 1) 0 to 20 EV (3D-Color Matrix or Center-weighted metering), 2) 2 to 20 EV (Spot metering) |
| Exposure Control | 1) Digital Vari-Program (Auto, Auto [Flash Off], Portrait, Landscape, Sports, Close Up, Night Portrait), 2) Programmed Auto [P], 3) Shutter-Priority Auto [S], 4) Aperture Priority Auto [A], 5) Manual [M] |
| Auto Exposure Bracketing | 2 to 3 exposures in increments of 1/3, 1/2, 2/3, 1 or 2 steps to (+-) 1.0 EV |
| Maximum Shutter | 1/4000 |
| Minimum Shutter | 30 |
| Shutter | Electronically controlled vertical-travel focal plane shutter, 30 to 1/4000sec in steps of 1/3 EV plus bulb |
| Sync Contact | X-contact only; flash synchronization at up to 1/200 sec |
| Flash Control | 1)TTL flash control with 420-pixel RGB sensor; i-TTL balanced fill-flash and standard i-TTL fill flash available with SB-900, 800, 600 or 400, 2) Auto aperture available with SB-900, 800 and CPU lens 3) Non-TTL auto available with SB-900, 800, 28, 27 or 22s 4) Range-priority manual available with SB-900, 800. |
| Flash Sync Modes | 1) Auto, 2) Fill-in flash, 3) Red-eye reduction, 4) Red-eye reduction with Slow sync, 5) Slow sync, 6) Rear-curtain sync, 7) Off |
| Self-Timer | Electronically controlled timer with duration of 2, 5, 10 or 20 s. |
| Depth of Field Preview Button | Yes |
| Remote Control | Via Wireless Remote Control ML-L3 (optional) |
| GPS | via GP-1 GPS Unit (optional) |
| Supported Languages | Total of 17 languages: Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish |
| Power Requirements | Rechargeable Li-ion Battery EN-EL3e, AC Adapter EH-5a (optional) |
| Battery Life (on a fully charged battery) | Approx 1,000 shots |
| Tripod Socket | 1/4 in. (ISO1222) |
| Dimensions | Approx. 132 x 103 x 77mm |
| Weight (without battery, memory card or body cap) | Approx. 620g |
| Supplied Accessories (may differ by country or area) | Rechargeable Li-ion Battery EN-EL3e, Quick Charger MH-18a, USB Cable UC-E4, Video Cable EG-D2, Camera Strap AN-DC1, Body Cap BF-1A, Accessory Shoe Cover BS-1, LCD Monitor Cover BM-10, Software Suite CD-ROM |
| Other Features | Retouch menu, Info Display on LCD monitor, Intergrated Dust Reductions System, Live view (with face-priority AF), D-Movie |
In case you want to compare it against the D700
| Type of Camera | Single-lens reflex digital camera |
| Effective Pixels | 12.1 million |
| Image Sensor | Nikon FX Full Frame Format (36.0 x 23.9 mm) CMOS sensor; total pixels: 12.87 million |
| Image Size (Pixels) | FX format: 4,256 x 2,832 [L], 3,184 x 2,120 [M], 2,128 x 1,416 [S]; DX format: 2,784 x 1,848 [L], 2,080 x 1,384 [M], 1,392 x 920 [S] |
| Sensitivity | ISO 200 to 6,400 in steps of 1/3, 1/2, or 1 EV, can be set to approx. 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, or 1 (ISO 100 equivalent) EV below ISO 200, or to approx. 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, 1 (ISO 12,800 equivalent), or 2 (ISO 25,600 equivalent) EV over ISO 6,400 |
| File Format | NEF (RAW) 12 or 14-bit lossless compressed, compressed, or uncompressed, TIFF (RGB), 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 |
| Storage Media | CompactFlash (Type I, compliant with UDMA) |
| Shooting Modes | 1) Single frame shooting [S] mode, 2) Continuous High-speed [CH] mode: 5fps, 3) Continuous Low-speed [CL] mode: 1-5fps, 4) Live View [LV] mode, 5) Self-timer [mark] mode, 6) Mirror-up [Mup] mode |
| White Balance | 7 modes (when Auto is selected, TTL white-balance with main image sensor and 1,005-segment RGB sensor is available) fine-tuning possible |
| LCD Monitor | 3.0″, 920,000-dot (VGA), 170-degree wide-viewing-angle, 100% frame coverage, low-temperature polysilicon TFT LCD with brightness adjustment |
| Playback Function | 1) Full frame, 2) Thumbnail (four or nine images) playback with playback zoom, 3) Slide show, 4) Histogram display, 5) Highlight display, 6) Auto image rotation, 7) Image comment (up to 36 characters) |
| Delete Function | 1) Card format, 2) All frames delete, 3) Selected frames delete |
| Interface | USB 2.0 (High-speed) |
| Focusing Screen | Type B BriteView Clear Matte VI |
| Viewfinder Frame Coverage/Magnification (with 50mm lens at infinity; -1.0 m-1) | Approx. 95 % horizontal and 95 % vertical / Approx. 0.72 x |
| Autofocus | TTL phase detection, 51 focus points by Nikon Multi-CAM 3500FX autofocus module; Detection range: -1 to +19 EV (ISO 100 at 20°C/68°F) |
| Focus Modes | 1) Single-servo AF (AF-S), 2) Continuous-servo AF (C) (Focus Tracking automatically activated according to subject status), 3) Manual focus (M) |
| Exposure Metering System | 1) 3D-Color Matrix Metering II (type G and D lenses); Color Matrix Metering II (other CPU lenses); Color Matrix Metering (non-CPU lenses if user provides lens data); 2) Center-weighted: Weight of 75% given to 8-, 12-, 15- or 20-mm circle in center of frame, 3) Spot: Meters 4.0 mm circle (about 1.5% of frame) centered on selected focus point (on center focus area when non-CPU lens is used) |
| Exposure Metering Range (at normal temperature [68°F/20°C], ISO 100 equivalent, f/1.4 lens) | 1) 0 to 20 EV (Matrix or center-weighted metering), 2) 2 to 20 EV (Spot metering) |
| Exposure Control | 1) Programmed Auto (P) with flexible program, 2) Shutter-Priority Auto (S), 3) Aperture-Priority Auto (A), 4) Manual (M) |
| Auto Exposure Lock | Luminosity locked at detected value with AE-L/AF-L button |
| Auto Exposure Bracketing | .-5 to +5 EV in increments of 1/3, 1/2 or 1 EV |
| Maximum Shutter | 1/8000 |
| Minimum Shutter | 30 |
| Shutter | Electronically-controlled vertical-travel focal-plane shutter; 30 to 1/8000 sec in steps of 1/3, 1/2 or 1 EV |
| Flash Control | 1) TTL for digital SLR using 1,005-segment RGB sensor, 2) i-TTL balanced fill-flash, 3) Auto aperture, 4) Non-TTL auto, 5) Distance-priority manual |
| Flash Sync Modes | 1) Front-curtain sync, 2) Slow sync, 3) Rear-curtain sync, 4) Red-eye reduction, 5) Rear-curtain sync with Slow sync |
| Accessory Shoe | Standard ISO 518 hot-shoe contact with safety lock |
| Sync Terminal | Hot Shoe Sync Terminal Adapter AS-15 (Optional) |
| Self-Timer | Can be selected from 2, 5, 10 and 20 s duration |
| Depth of Field Preview Button | Yes |
| Remote Control | Via 10-pin Remote Cord MC-22/30/36 (optional) |
| GPS | GPS: NMEA 0183 (Ver. 2.01 and 3.01) interface standard |
| Supported Languages | Total of 15 languages: Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish |
| Power Requirements | Rechargeable Li-ion Battery EN-EL3e, AC Adapter EH-5a/EH-5 (optional) |
| Battery Life (on a fully charged battery) | Approx. 1000 shots |
| Tripod Socket | 1/4 in. (ISO 1222) |
| Dimensions | Approx. 147 x 123 x 77 mm |
| Weight (without battery, memory card or body cap) | Approx. 995 g |
| Supplied Accessories (may differ by country or area) | Rechargeable Li-ion Battery EN-EL3e, Quick Charger MH-18a, USB Cable UC-E4, Video Cable EG-D100, Camera Strap AN-D700, Body Cap BF-1A, Accessory Shoe Cover BS-1, LCD Monitor Cover BM-9, Software Suite CD-ROM |
Naturally the main reason between the price difference is that D700 has way more features than the D90, such as it offers GPS where the D90 is an extra option. The important thing for me is that both over Manual override which I feel is necessary as there are times when you will want full control over exposure, focus and shutter speed.
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Tagged with: Canon EOS 7D • Nikon D700 • Nikon D90
Filed under: Camera Reviews
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which one better ? canon or nikon ?
I reckon that all depends on personal opinion. I’m leaning towards the Canon.
Nikon is better! *Wink
My next camera is hoping to be the D700 as I would like to step up instead of back. I actually hope there is something new by the time I get around to it anyways. Big review and over view of the d90 here though sire!
I had no idea you had all these photography websites too! When I see flex theme, I should know it’s you!
Scott Webb@London Ontario Photographer´s last blog ..London Ontario Photographers Prepare for Western Fair Contest
I’ve just bought a Canon but not the one I reviewed earlier. Can’t wait to post some shots on the blog.
I don’t overly promote my photo blogs Scott, don’t have the time, perhaps one day mate.
I used to have Nikon F50, Nikon F80 and digital Nikon D70s. Due to my travels I now use a small Olympus traveller camera.
Still miss Nikon though. :-(
Nice article by the way. If I ever concider having Nikon again, I’d go for something like this one.
Thanks Alexander. Perhaps my next camera will be a Nikon.
My father uses a D90, and is very pleased. I’ll stick with my 7D :)
I reckon everyone has their favorite Peter
I shoot with Nikon gear and I always think that the most important bit of kit is the lens. People keep chasing bigger and bigger amounts of pixels when what they really need is really sharp glass to shoot through.
Jonny´s last blog ..School’s Out at Deighton Gates
I agree with you here, it’s the lens. I have a Nikon, but realized upgrading my lens was even better. I remember Ken Rockwell mentioning this on his photography website.
Moondancer´s last blog ..Three ways exercise can improve your health
Welcome Moondancer. Now that I have my Canon I’m saving for some new lenses, a macro will be my first one.
I have been dying for a new camera and this camera seems to have a lot of good specs. I will have to upgrade the lens but if it turns this camera into a superstar then its worth it!
I’ve been eyeing the D90 for a while. I Desperately need to replace my aging D70. The D70 has served me well for several years but it’s time to move on and up :)