Nikon D90 DSLR With Movie Mode

New D90 From Nikon Brings DSLR Quality To Moving Pictures

Sep 10, 2008 Philip Northeast

Nikon's new D90 with D-Movie mode brings a new level of versatility to DSLR photography, opening new creative avenues with large digital sensors and high quality lenses.

At first glance, the new Nikon D90 is an uninspiring new DSLR with only average specifications, lagging behind the exiting mid range class leaders, the Pentax K20D and Canon D50. The Nikon engineers have snuck in a diversion with the Nikon D90 in the form of D-Movie mode. Video capture is common in lower priced point and shoot compact digital cameras but Nikon are the first to bring this capability to DSLR cameras.

The opposition from Pentax and Canon come with the same size (APS-C) sensors, but they offer image resolution in the order of 15 megapixels and ISO ranges with similar, if not slightly greater, ranges of ISO sensitivity, suggesting noise performance to match the Nikon. This leaves the Nikon D90 a good camera with similar performance to its rivals, but it is not at the cutting edge of sensor technology. The D90 is a really an updated D80 playing catch up as a conventional still camera.

Compared to D80

The D90 has a host of minor detail improvements over the D80 and here are some of the highlights.

The shutter lag on the D90 is slightly less, going from 80 down to 65 milliseconds. Fast enough for fast sports and wildlife action. The Nikon D90’s ISO range increases up to 3200, making the D90 more versatile in low light situations.

The sensor resolution on the D90 is now up to 12.3 megapixels, a more than useful increase over the D80 but less than the opposition’s new cameras.

The Nikon lacks any built in Vibration Reduction, relying instead on systems built into special lenses. Nikon are increasing their range of VR lenses, and although Nikon stress compatibility with classic Nikkor lenses the lack of a sensor shift VR system leaves Pentax as the king of classic lenses on DSLRs.

For entry-level Nikon owners looking to upgrade the D90 is a worthwhile advance as existing lenses and accessories should be compatible with the Nikon D90.

Movie Mode

This really is the big news and it opens up a range of possibilities. The man advantage is the quality of the video produced by a digital sensor larger than normal digital handy cams and the range of quality lenses available for the Nikon D90. While nominally, the Nikon D90 is a mid range DSLR, many photojournalists may find the D90’s movie capability make it an essential tool as it widens the market for their images. With the expansion of traditional newspapers into web publishing increasingly, video is becoming a part of their requirements. Now the one camera can do both.

Of course, the Nikon D90 records in the new High Definition video mode with the image quality potential to do justice to an HD display.

Nikon’s autofocus system does not work in movie mode, revealing the hybrid nature of the D90. The sensors for autofocus system in DSLRs are usually in the pentaprism area and in the Nikon D90’s movie mode the reflex mirror is in the up position, blocking the autofocus sensors. This also means you cannot use the optical viewfinder, but need to use the rear LCD screen in Live View mode, making it harder to hold the camera steady unless a tripod is used.

This suggests Nikon may have rushed the introduction of movie mode on the D90 to compensate for its lack of any other marketing advantage as a conventional DSLR. The D90 is an excellent camera capable of taking stunning images, both still and moving.

Price and Availability

The Nikon D90 will be available throughout the United States beginning September 2008 at a recommended price of $999.95 for the body only and $1299.95 an outfit that includes the new AF-S DX Zoom-NIKKOR 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR lens.

The copyright of the article Nikon D90 DSLR With Movie Mode in Photography is owned by Philip Northeast. Permission to republish Nikon D90 DSLR With Movie Mode in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.