Home > Consumer Reviews > Nikon D90 Digital SLR Camera with 18-105mm AF-S DX VR Nikkor Lens [Outfit] + Nikon 70-300mm Lens + 8GB Cameta Bonus Accessory Kit

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.

This is an excellent camera, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with the package that is being offered here, but there is a "devil in the details" of this two lens package that could trip you up if you are not careful.

If you are going to buy a high-power zoom lens like a 70-300mm, having image stabilization built into that lens is pretty critical. At the high magnification factors, any little shake or movement is going to be very difficult to overcome, no matter how steady you are. The D90 itself has image stabilization built in, but the D90 image stabilization alone is not going to be enough to overcome vibration on a handheld camera with a 300mm zoom.

You will note that the standard 18 - 105mm lens in this package is from Nikon's (Nikkor) VR line, and by definition the VR line has the built-in electronic image stabilization. But the 70 - 300mm lens -- the one that REALLY could benefit from image stabilization -- is not a "VR" lens and does NOT have built-in image stabilization -- I just called the vendor and they readily confirmed that this is the case, and they further commented that a package including a 70-300mm VR lens would add "$400 to $450 to the package price".

Again, there is nothing wrong with this camera package, and this is an excellent vendor. Just be sure you go into the purchase knowing what you are getting.

It comes with everything you need but it is bulky as any camera has to be with this kind of power. And you need to buy a book to really use it. If you know nothing of photography then initially you will be lost. This is the real deal here. The best feature of this product is the ability to change lenses, and Nikon makes the best lenses on the planet. Highly recommended.

This package has everything you need to take great pictures in a variety of settings. It's not just a 'starter' pack.

I added a tripod and mono-pod and plan on getting a flash.

Every thing else I needed was included in the package.

The 18-105mm is my default for indoor, group, and closeup shots. It has a very flexible range from wide angle to '5x' zoom.
The 300mm is great for sporting events or long shots (over 20 feet). It really pull the subject in close.

PROS: The pictures are excellent! The D90 is great with portraits, action shots, and good at video. How many video cameras have a 300mm zoom? I took over 2,500 pictures during a two night play and got some great shots with the 300mm on a monopod. The 4.5 frames/second burst mode really helps when people are moving around. The 8GB card will hold over 2,000 shots. I can shoot all day with one battery, but it's always best to have a spare.

CONS: The 300mm lens is not a VR (vibration Reduction) lens, which helps stabilize the image. In video mode, the image is only displayed on the LCD screen. In full sunlight that can be a problem due to glare on the screen. It doesn't always keep it's focus in video mode either. But your buying it for the still pictures.

Everything will fit in the included camera bag with room for another lens.

The camera is almost of professional quality and I can only recommend it to anyone who likes to take photos on high resolution. The camera is easy to handle and has all options anybody can dream of.