Nikon D90 DX 12.3MP Digital SLR Camera with 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6G ED AF-S VR DX Nikkor Zoom Lens | 
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| Brand: Nikon
Category: Photography
Buy New: See price in cart
New (19) Used (4) from $1,129.99
Rating:  46 reviews
Sales Rank: 46
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Batteries Included: No
Includes Software: Yes
Optical Zoom: 6
Connectivity: AV
Display Size: 3
Maximum Resolution: 12300000
Shipping Weight (lbs): 5
Dimensions (in): 8 x 8 x 6
nv:Sensor: 12.3 Megapixel
Image Resolution: 4288 x 2848
Storage Media: SD/SDHC Memory Card
Compressed Format: DCF
Compressed Format: DPOF standard
Compressed Format: JPEG/EXIF v2.21
Compressed Format: NEF (RAW)
Compressed Format: NEF (RAW)+ JPEG
Movie File Format: HD
LCD Monitor: 3.0 inches
LCD Pixels: 920,000 pixels
LCD Coverage: 96%
Shutter Speed: 1/4000 sec. in steps of 1/3, 1/2, 1 EV
Light Metering Method: Spot Metering
Light Metering Method: Center Weighted
MPN: D90 18-105mm Kit
Model: D90 18-105mm Kit
UPC: 018208254484
EAN: 0018208254484
ASIN: B001ENOZY4
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Features:
| • | 12.3-megapixel DX-format CMOS imaging sensor | | • | 5.8x AF-S DX Nikkor 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR lens included | | • | D-Movie Mode; Cinematic 24fps HD with sound | | • | 3-inch super-density 920,000-dot color LCD monitor | | • | Capture images to SD/SDHC memory cards (not included) |
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Product Description
Fusing 12.3-megapixel image quality inherited from the award-winning D300 with groundbreaking features, the D90s breathtaking, low-noise image quality is further advanced with EXPEED image processing. Split-second shutter response and continuous shooting at up to 4.5 frames-per-second provide the power to capture fast action and precise moments perfectly, while Nikons exclusive Scene Recognition System contributes to faster 11-area autofocus performance, finer white balance detection and more. The D90 delivers the control passionate photographers demand, utilizing comprehensive exposure functions and the intelligence of 3D Color Matrix Metering II. Stunning results come to life on a 3-inch 920,000-dot color LCD monitor, providing accurate image review, Live View composition and brilliant playback of the D90s cinematic-quality 24-fps HD D-Movie mode.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 41 more reviews...
 Epic leap forward September 10, 2008
72 out of 83 found this review helpful
Awesome picture quality, same as my D300. It is much more plasticy than a D300, but I like it because it's much lighter and fits my hands perfectly. There isn't an obvious video button, but it was easy to figure out once you hit the LV (live view) button it prompts you to press OK to start recording. The top LCD screen is smaller than the D300. The 3 inch screen is amazing, just like the D300. This is a huge leap forward compared to the D80. It's an even bigger leap that they've pulled off high quality video that's user friendly! Put a Sigma 10-20mm or the Nikkor 10.5 fisheye, and you'll have some epic video shots. The 18-105VR lens is lighter than it looks, much lighter than the 18-200VR, feels very solid and is quite smooth. The standard definition video is good (haven't watched it on a large screen yet), and gives you 20 minute clips vs 5 min clips in HD mode. The zoom also worked when in video mode, but the Autofocus is fixed. Once in LiveView it takes a second to autofocus, then you can press OK and start recording. Sound isn't stellar of course. It has a small microphone and speaker, so you can actually hear the video your reviewing. So far this is my favorite new gadget of 2008. Wedding Videographer's rejoice! (i'm shooting one next week)
A serious, but fun camera! Lots of features and customizations October 20, 2008
18 out of 18 found this review helpful
Last summer, I was going to buy the D80, but it was two years old and rumored to be discontinued in several months. So I bought a D60 to hold me over until the new model, the D90, came out. Well, I've enjoyed using both cameras, but this one is a huge step up and more suited to an advanced enthusiast. It's a real pleasure to use.
The D90 is solid, tight, and well balanced with the 18-105 VR lens. It's always ready and it shoots very fast. I love all the direct access buttons. They're easy to press, and you don't have to go into the menus as much. This allows you to work pretty fast. It's heavier than the D60, but it's still very manageable to carry around. It fits my average-sized hand better too. I noticed the shutter sound is different than the D60 (if that matters to you). It sounds more professional; more like a fast "whoosh" than a "click-click". And there are lots of internal customizations, so you can set it up exactly as you want.
Biggest surprise was the 18-105 VR lens which I expected would be ho-hum, but turned out to be pretty sharp and clear. Better results than the 18-55 VR. We've really come a long way from the days (30 years ago) when you were cautioned to ALWAYS to buy a prime lens, NEVER the kit lens because of it's poor image quality. With computer-aided design and new technology, that's not true anymore.
I shoot RAW to maximize detail and allow room to adjust exposure. Picture quality is very good to excellent. Images are sharp and colors are true with not too much saturation in the Standard picture mode (which is how I like it). Picture Modes can be customized to suit your taste.
Metering is fine and seems to be quite accurate in most cases. I use matrix metering mostly. As with any camera, you have to get to know the meter. If I had to be VERY critical, I'd say when it's pushed, it's more likely to preserve shadows than highlights. Perhaps it's because I've been leaving the D-Lighting on its default "Auto" setting. DPreview.com mentioned a slightly "over-enthusiatic" meter in its review, but added that it's fine-tuneable. I've used the D90 in a wide range of lighting conditions and while exposures may vary occasionally, I've never been shocked or disappointed with the output.
Live View is great for the occasional high or low shot. I didn't think I needed it, but when I had the D60, many times I found myself in situations where I really needed it. I'm very glad I have it now. Unlike a point-and-shoot, focus is slower in this mode, but I wouldn't be using Live View if I were in a rush anyway.
Movie mode is a nice novelty and may be handy in a rare moment, but I'm generally not a video camera person.
I really like the new wide range of ISO settings, especially when coupled with the Auto-ISO setting. Mine is customized to keep the camera at ISO 200, but kick in at 1/30. This means anytime lighting decreases enough for the shutter speed to drop below 1/30, the D90 will automatically compensate by raising the ISO enough help keep your shutter speed up. Noise at high ISOs isn't an issue. It's only slightly noticeable if I zoom way in on the image, so it doesn't bother me.
Active D-Lighting is now available in various strengths from Low to Extra High. Mine has been on Auto, which lets the camera decide, but now I'm going to leave it off until I decide to use it.
Cons:
-At this price, Nikon should include a robust image editing software, or at least a decent discount on Capture NX2, which works great, but costs extra.
-Kit lens is thick in diameter (67mm). Also, the front glass of the lens seems somewhat exposed, as if it's not recessed that much (it's just enough for a lens cap). I worry that it'll get scratched easily. Good thing Nikon included the lens hood.
Overall, I'm extremely happy with the D90. It's a serious, but fun camera; noticeably heavier than the D60, but still not a burden. It's more solid and substantial, so it's less prone to camera shake. Nikon packed it with a ton of features and customizations, so now I finally have everything I want in a DSLR, without it being overblown and overpriced. Most importantly, I'm getting some really incredible shots. I'm sure I won't be bored anytime soon.
Great camera for the money October 18, 2008
21 out of 22 found this review helpful
I bought this dSLR after reading a bunch of positive reviews online and seeing it was a best pick on http://bestcovery.com. Overall I'm extremely satisfied with the purchase. As others have mentioned, it's not perfect, but it's probably the best available right now in this price range.
This is my first dSLR and I was impressed with how quickly I was able to jump in and start using it. You can get excellent images right out of the box using the Auto or scene modes. I took it to the USC football game last weekend and was able to get great shots using in Action mode. The images were very sharp, noise free, and because of the 12.3MP resolution, I was able to crop them while still having plenty to work with.
The movie mode is very cool, but the limitations (no autofocus, 5 minute limit for HD) are a bit annoying. It's definitely not a replacement for an HD camcorder, but it's good enough for general purpose.
The lens is nice because it's light and compact, but the 18-200mm lens would be a lot more useful. I'll probably end up either buying that or the 70-300mm lens so I can get close-up shots.
I'd highly recommend this camera to anyone looking for a dSLR in this price range. Even if it's your first dSLR, you'll be able to get great shots with it out of the box, and as many users have pointed out, image quality is nearly on par with the more expensive D300. I kept postponing my dSLR purchase because they kept getting better and cheaper, but this one was intriguing enough to make me bite the bullet.
Hands on review September 14, 2008
66 out of 78 found this review helpful
I start by stating that we are still waiting for those that can do the most critical of reviews concerning image quality (IQ), etc. Therefore, this will be a general reference of the features based on experience, the competition, and my own 2 cents.
For those of you familiar with the D80, this camera is very similar. The 3" LCD is the first obvious difference. Besides being larger, it's much sharper, allowing more critical examination of photos, and, combined with live-view, a much greater ability to use for critical focusing. The only, very slight drawback, is the larger size seems to have required the toggle on the back to be slightly redesigned, and I feel it is a bit more uncomfortable (on my thumb joint) to toggle with the camera raised to my eye than on most Nikons.
A closer look of the externals show a bit of difference in the plugs. The place for a remote control cord now is also an input for an optional GPS device. Cool, but Nikon hasn't released pricing for this piece yet, nor do we really know how well it will work, nor any of its complete functions. The camera now can output HD, which is a big boost if that feature is used.
Going into the inside mechanics to things we can't see, the frames per second (fps) has been increased from 3 on the D80 to 4.5 on this camera. That's a tremendous advantage to budget oriented sports photographers. Going hand-in-hand with that feature is that the shutter has been upgraded to a 100,000 cycles. We like to think that shooting extra frames are "free", but shooting at high speeds puts a big burden on the camera's durability. We like to joke about 100,000 being a lot, but at 4.5 fps, that's about 6.25 hours until you camera's toast!
Also inside inside is a cleaning system to keep dirt and dusk off the imaging surface.
OK, so now let's go to the image quality. From the samples I've both shot and seen, they look good. But we really need to wait for critical reviews to be absolutely certain. From the D80, we've upgraded from 10 to 12 megapixels, which is nice, but the better part is we've gone to a CMOS sensor. This should have two results: 1) lower power consumption; and, 2) better low-light performance. The former is a certainty, CMOS sensors are way more power efficient than CCDs. The latter is based on experience. CMOS sensors tend to have nicer performance in low light shooting when we have to crank up the artificial "film" speeds to things like 1600 ISO. However, adding more pixels seem to make the situation worse. Based on previous experiences, and with the advances made in technology, the D90 should produce both sharper images and better low-light noise control than the D80.
From just "looking" at the images I've shot, they look great in all kinds of conditions, although nothing I've shot would be considered "demanding". Sharpness is great, colors look real.
From a spec point, the only thing that might be a bit disappointing is that the images are 12-bit and not 14-bit (like the D300). For those of you who shoot only JPEG (.jpg) images, that's no concern. For those who shoot RAW (.nef on Nikons), then 14-bit means that more data is recorded in the process of turning the image (taken by an analog sensor) into a digital file (called A/D conversion). If we go back to work with these files, there is more data available. This has some, limited, practical practice today. The biggest difference will be somewhere down the line when computer monitors allow more info to be displayed, and when printers allow more to be printed, etc. Twenty years from now you'll probably be able to make much better prints from today's images.
Now let's touch on video. I think it's a great thing that video is included, because, at worst, you don't have to use it! What little I've done with the camera looks good (but I've only played it on the LCD), and the sound playback, although mono, was MUCH better than I expected. But let's not try to compare this with the best camcorders on the market. First, the HD clips are limited to 5 minutes. That simply won't work for many events, and even though you don't see many continuous 5 minute clips in "serious" productions, most of what you see are edited down from longer clips. The 24fps is a trendy thing today on BluRay players, because that's what feature length movies are shot in traditionally. However, 30fps is more typical video, which helps stops action better. Autofocusing is not available with video, which might be a hindrance for some people.
My biggest disappointment was that Nikon didn't include "voice memo" capability, available on all Coolpix cameras. Since you have a microphone for the video, this feature allows you to attach voice memos of about 20 seconds to a photograph. This is a great way to connect a name to a face or place. Boo, Nikon, for not including this simple feature!
OK, so how does it compare to the competition? We first must look at their biggest competitor, Canon. Price wise, the D90 is between the Rebel XSi and the soon to be released 50D. For budget minded photos, the XSi (which sells for about $300 less body to body), offers, again, a 12 megapixel CMOS sensor, which is also 14-bit. You'll give up the video completely, and drop to 3.5fps. The 50D is 15 megapixel (14-bit), 6.3fps, built into a metal and more weatherproof body. Once again, you'll give up the video, and $400. I do, however, think the built quality difference here might be a critical difference if buying this to make money.
Sony has some nice cameras, too. The Alpha 350 is $200 less, and is a 14 megapixel CCD sensor. It'll probably be a great fit for outdoor photographers, but will not be as good a choice for low light use. The heavier built Alpha 700 (12 megapixel CMOS) can be purchased for about $200 more than the D90.
The D90 should do just great. Many fine features at a popular price point, with a great camera line standing behind it!
You can tell the D90 was designed by photographers and not just engineers! Wonderful user interface and image quality! September 21, 2008
24 out of 27 found this review helpful
I am far from a professional photographer, but I take it as seriously as possible while still referring to it as a hobby. I take mostly pictures of people at events and many of my baby son without flash in low light situations.
I had been using a Nikon D40x for 1 year and very early reached my limitation with that camera. The Nikon D40x has very nice image quality, but the camera's interface is not suited for a more serious shooter who wants quick single button or dial access to such shooting parameters such as white balance, shooting mode, metering mode, etc. I also felt very limited by the D40x not having an in-body focus motor that would allow me to use non AF-I/AF-S lenses (which are lenses without the focus motor built-in).
The Nikon D40x limitations were severe enough that I was about to consider purchasing a Canon 40D until the Nikon D90 appeared just in time.
PROS:
1. Fantastic set of separate buttons on the camera to control parameters like ISO, white balance, metering, autofocus, image quality, shooting mode, etc.
2. Two command dials
3. High resolution 920K pixel LCD screen (like the one on the Nikon D300)
4. 12.3 megapixel CMOS sensor
5. Low noise high ISO capability (for low light shooting) I can shoot ISO 1600 with good image quality with this camera, while on my D40x I could only shoot with ISO 400 and obtain acceptable IQ. I will even use ISO 3200 frequently with very usable results!
6. Separate top-viewing LCD screen in addition to the rear high res screen, to show shooting parameters constantly
7. In-body focus motor which allows the use of Nikon's non AF-I/S lenses, including wonderful and CHEAP prime lenses such as the Nikkor 50mm 1.8 (~$100 lens!)
8. Continuous shooting of 4.5 frames per second
9. Small size, although larger than the D40/D40x/D60, it is still substantially smaller in the hand than the D300/D3
10. 720p 24fps MPEG video shooting capability with incredible ability to use depth of field that I cannot achieve with my Sony High-Def camcorder.
11. Eleven auto-focus points (not as nice as the 51 points on the D300, but substantially better than my D40x with its 3 points)
12. GPS option
13. HDMI output
14. Enormous number of options to customize camera and shooting settings to fit your style of shooting
15. Fantastic image quality right out-of-box if you don't want to do any post processing
16. Terrific build quality
17. Top notch camera ergonomics (but this will be a very personal opinion that differs for each shooter)
CONS:
1. "Rolling shutter" phenomenon while recording video: The D90 CMOS sensor has the same problem that other CMOS video recorders have when recording video. If you move the camera, especially horizontally, you get a "jelly" or "rubberbanding" effect where the image wobbles significantly. It is nice to have the video features, which looks very sharp at 720p, but it is NOT a substitute for a video camera. If you use a tripod, and do not do quick zooms/pans, the video quality is excellent. Without a tripod, however, you may get nauseas watching a wobbly video. The sound is also in monoaural.
2. 1/200 flash synch: Not a problem for me, but it might be for you.
3. No weather sealing: This is found on the Nikon D300/D3 and even on similarly priced models from other camera companies
4. The buffer will fill up after about 8 continuous RAW + JPG (FINE) shots. This number differs depending on the shooting parameters that you will choose. If you shoot primarily JPG, the buffer seems to allow a very large number of continuous shots, but I have not quantified this for JPG only.
TIPS:
1. Get the FREE Nikon ViewNX software from Nikon's site as your 1st step in your workflow. This will let you examine your RAW images that you can process for either Nikon CaptureNX2 to do further RAW processing or just export to JPG for a JPG editor such as PhotoShop.
2. Recommend buying the Nikon CaptureNX2. It is a RAW converter (if you shoot in RAW) that will read the camera settings properly for export to JPG. Capture NX2, however, is not as slick as the Adobe products and Capture NX2 requires a fairly powerful computer, otherwise it can run pretty slowly on a PC > 3 years old.
3. If you use JPEGs out-of-camera, consider increasing the sharpness above the default 3 or 4. Nikon uses a very conservative sharpening default setting. Nikon has decided to change the default JPEG images to match the higher end D3/D700/D300 cameras which produce more neutral images. Consequently, the D90 images that are less punchy than the D40/D40x/D60/D80, so you may also want to turn up the in-camera saturation and contrast.
The Nikon D90 has all of the interface features that serious and even professional photographers need with wonderful image quality.
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