Nikon just does CA this with in-camera JPEG's and with in-camera processing. The RAW files will be untouched. In fact until recently, Nikon's proprietary RAW conversions software didn't do any CA corrections as far as I know?

The CA info I've seen indicates that the EXPEED processor is not just putting a black pixel where there was a color fringe. It is using some algorithm or other 'mapping' to produce a pixel set that actually looks pretty good.

Shoot a white object against a solid brightly colored background in harsh(direct) sunlight and look at the RAW conversion in software of the image. You will see either the purplish/red or the green/blue (maybe both?) fringe of CA. Then look at the camera corrected version. It won't be a black line or fuzzy black pixels.

I'm not exactly sure what you mean by 'empty pixels' by the way?

There were reviews two years ago that extensively mentioned the CA processing including samples for the D90. Nikon didn't make a big deal of it, that is true. There are some 'bad' reviewers who are indeed closely aligned with a manufacturer. With a couple of minor exceptions they get weeded out fairly quickly. Some have a cult like following because it is erroneously believed they, the reviewer/writer, has 'inside' information because they use to work for some manufacturer or the like. Caveat Emptor.

Nikon does do a lot of stuff to their images I will agree. Sometimes with certain models this has been notorious but there's been an 'out' for all of them. One example is that their full frame sensors with default White Balance settings has a tendency to produce a greenish tinge throughout the image under certain lighting conditions. Custom WB fixes 'that' one problem as an example.

Nikon cameras do require a bit of color correction for certain types of critical work.

Comparing multiple cameras, both models and manufacturers as you seem to be doing, requires a lot of images and pretty rigorous conditions to get a true picture. To just make matters more difficult, there are from time to time cameras that just don't work as exactly right or need lots of image adjustment. I've even seen some lenses that were not made correctly that will radically alter the color of the final photographs. Color correction/verification testing can usually determine that in a few dozen shots.

So, what camera(s) are you primarily using to evaluate image quality that has left you so disappointed with the Nikon D90?