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Nikon has just announced the D90 DSLR- the first DSLR in the world with a movie mode built in. It features a 12.3mp DX format CMOS sensor and a 3" 920,000 dot VGA resolution LCD, Live View, and continuous shooting at full resolution at 4.5fps, a big boost from its predecessor, the D80.
Standard ISO range is 200-3200, with Lo boost to 100 and Hi to 6400 and also features built in sensor cleaning. As usual, it features the Expeed image processing system, Active D-Lighting, and Picture Controls, plus an 11 point AF system. In camera editing has grown more still, with distortion correction, straightening, and a fisheye filter in the retouch menu.
The really groundbreaking feature here is Movie Mode. Since the sensor is much larger and higher resolution than that found in most video cameras, you get shallower depth of field for the same angle of view, as well as very clean images. DX sensors are just the same size as 35mm (vertical travel) motion picture film! Add to that the Nikon lens system and you have a truly versatile feature here. Nikkors are very popular for use in high end video and even motion picture cameras, such as the revolutionary RED One camera which has an optional Nikon mount. The D90 has a microphone and a powerful speaker for playback.
The D90's video mode offers up to 1280x720P high definition at 24 frames per second, the standard motion picture frame rate. It can also record at a reduced size of 640x424 or 320x216 pixels. It will record for 5 minutes before stopping to cool the sensor. Videos record to motion-jpeg .AVI files that can be imported to most editors without any transcoding or conversion. They are rather large files, however, which is to be expected.
What the D90 lacks in video mode is autofocus, Auto White Balance, Aperture adjustment, and stereo audio. There is no support for an external mic and the internal mic is mono only.
The viewfinder is a 96% coverage pentaprism, while live view has three contrast-detect AF modes including face detection, just like the more expensive Canon 50D announced yesterday. The other two modes are Normal area, which is for tripod use with high accuracy, and Wide Area, which uses a larger focus area for handheld shooting. Live View has its own button. Contrast AF speed is greatly improved, as is the live view refresh rate. Face detection AF can even do basic tracking if the person's face begins to move.
Nikon has not only increased the speed to 4.5fps, but they have put in a shutter tested to 100,000 cycles, given it a quick reaction time (0.15s startup, 65 millisecond shutter lag), and they've changed the AF system. Though still based on the Multi-CAM 1000 system first seen in the D200 then the D80, it now implements a variant of the 3D tracking system found on the high end Multi-CAM 3500 system from the D3 and D300, while also increasing speed over the earlier versions of the module. The buffer capacity is specced at 25 JPEG Large/Fine or 9 NEF files.
Other features include HDMI output (up to 1080i/720P, HDMI type C small connector), GPS geo-tagging, low power consumption, uses the same grip as the D80, plus numerous new playback features. GPS is achieved using the new GP-1 GPS unit that slips onto the hotshoe, with a cord going to the camera. Nikon has also announced a second cord will be included that allows it to work with cameras using the 10-pin connector for GPS like the D300/D3.
Like the D80, D60, D40x and D40, the D90 uses SD cards for its storage format, but Nikon has been working with SanDisk and Eye Fi to get the most out of the SD-HC format. SanDisk has updated the Extreme III SD-HC 4/8GB cards to 30MB/sec up from 20, to better handle the high data rates from the D90. This is technically beyond the SD-HC spec, so thus far these speeds will only occur in the D90. Otherwise the cards, including a new 16GB 30MB/sec model, will only work at 20MB/sec in other cameras.
EyeFi wireless transmitter SD cards are detected by the D90 and will display a menu for the card on the rear LCD.
Nikon has announced the expected street price at $999, shipping in September. With the new 18-105mm VR kit lens, the price is $1299. All in all, a great price for this groundbreaking offering from Nikon.
I'm a pro shooter and rely on quality gear, and I'm tempted to get the D90 for a light walkaround body and to try the video features.
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Originally Posted by starriderrick
