Digital SLR

It was only a matter of time before one of the camera manufacturers figured out the Live View mode on a DSLR required a video image and then came up with some way to record it. Olympus was hinting at this potential back in January 2006, when the E-330 (the first camera with live viewing) was announced. But Nikon was first to the post with the D90 and Canon is following with the just-announced EOD 5D Mark II.

The 12.3-megapixel D90 captures HD video at a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels at 24 frames/second with the clarity and depth-of-field control that only a DSLR can provide. Clearly, Nikon doesn't place a high priority on this capability (and neither do we, seeing it as more of an adjunct you'd use now and then, than a primary motive for purchasing the D90). However, as it's a 'world first', Photo Review will deal with it before moving on to other more important features.

No user manual was supplied with the review camera but (after a few hassles) we were able to download a PDF version from the Nikon Europe website. Interestingly, the manual only devotes one-and-a-half of about 270 pages to movie recording functions and about two thirds of a page to video playback. Less than half a page is given over to the movie frame size and sound options - a full 120 pages after the initial explanations of the movie mode.  

Video Capabilities
Video in a DSLR is a significant advance - particularly at the D90's price point. Previously, if you wanted a video camera with interchangeable lenses, you were looking at around $7000 for a model that couldn't even record high-definition, widescreen video. But the D90 provides a lot more for a much lower price tag by giving users with the same kind of control over focusing, exposure and depth-of-field as they get with a DSLR camera, along with the ability to shoot with virtually any Nikkor lens.

However, the D90's video system is not perfect. Since video can only be recorded in Live View mode, you're stuck with the restrictions that implies (see below). The sound is recorded monaurally and the video format is AVI which, although it's compatible with most editing applications, consumes a huge amount of memory (roughly 400MB per minute). In our tests, a 24-second clip recorded in 1280 x 720 HD mode at 176 kbps was 42.7MB in size.

The Movie settings menu provides three capture options.

Four HDMI playback options are supported.

Thankfully, the camera is compatible with the largest memory cards. A 32GB SDHC will enable you to record up to 80 minutes of video, although another limitation is that clip lengths are restricted to five minutes in HD mode or 20 minutes in standard definition.

Worst of all is the fact that the autofocusing system - plus some other key controls - can't be used when you're shooting video. You can focus automatically before recording the clip and use the manual focus ring on the lens while shooting. But if the subject moves towards or away from you while you're shooting, blurring is inevitable.
Other functions that must be set before recording a video clip include exposure compensation, white balance and sensitivity settings. If you're using aperture-priority AE, you can change the aperture settings while recording a video clip and also zoom in and out - although it's risky as maintaining focus is difficult.

 Before embarking on video capture you must select the desired recording mode from the Movie Settings sub-menu in the shooting menu. Three options are provided: 1280 x 720 (16:9), 640 x 424 (3:2) and 320 x 216 (3:2). You can also turn the sound recording on or off (the default setting is ON).

A typical video shooting sequence operates as follows:
1. Set the camera to Live View mode by pressing the LV button.
2. Focus on the subject by half-pressing the shutter button if you're in autofocus mode; otherwise focus manually.
3. Press the OK button in the centre of the arrow pad to start recording.
4. Keep the subject framed and focused during the recording process. If you're in manual mode, you can change focus manually as you move towards or away from the subject. You have to be particularly careful when shooting close-ups as small differences in the focus point will show up as blurring in the subject. (To complicate matters, it's difficult to see whether the image on the LCD is pin-sharp in bright ambient lighting and you can't use the viewfinder in Live View mode.)
5. To stop recording, press OK again.
Playing back recorded video clips is simple. Press the LV button a second time to disengage Live View then press the review button. Use the arrow pad to select the clip you wish to play and press OK to start and stop the video playback.

Other Features
Physically, the D90's body is similar to the D80, which continues in the company's line-up - at least for the time being. Aside from the D90 logo, the front panel only differs from the D80 in having a triangle of three small microphone holes above and left of the logo. The rear panel sports a larger LCD and subtly restyled buttons.

There's also a new Live View button and the locking switch for the arrow pad is now a lever (not a slider). The D80's OK button has been moved to the centre of the arrow pad and replaced by an Info button. Most other controls are in the same locations as the D80, giving the new model a very familiar feel.

Front view with the 18-105mm lens that will be offered with the D90 (and which was used four Photo Review's tests).

Rear view showing the large, high-resolution LCD and control layout.

Top view with the 18-105mm lens.

Although both cameras have the same sized sensor (DX-format) and use SD/SDHC recording media, the D90 forges ahead of the D80 in the following respects, which are highlighted in italics in the table below.

 Both cameras have the same 420-segment RGB 3D Colour Matrix Metering II system and Nikon Multi-CAM 1000 AF module with 11-area TTL phase-detection. Both cameras retain the autofocus screw drive, enabling them to be used with older lenses as well as the new electronic lenses. (This feature is absent from the entry-level D40, D40x and D60 models.)

The shutter unit of the D90.

They also support a shutter speed range of 30 to 1/4000 seconds, which is adjustable in steps of 1/3 or 1/2 EV. A dedicated Bulb setting is provided, with x-synch at 1/200 sec. Flash settings are essentially unchanged and both cameras' pop-up flash units have similar power levels.

The D90 offers the same Picture Control settings as other recently-released Nikon DSLRs, with settings for Standard, Neutral, Vivid, Monochrome, Portrait and Landscape styles. All are user-adjustable and modified settings can be saved as new Picture Controls by using the text-entry dialog screen to input the new name. (By default, new Picture Controls are named by adding a two-digit number to the name of the existing picture Control. These default names can be changed by the photographer.)

Adding Live View to the D90's functions has also provided the same hand-held and tripod shooting modes as other Nikon cameras. The D90 also shares many functions introduced with the D3 and D300 models and carried into the D700. These include the high-resolution 3-inch low-temperature polysilicon TFT LCD, which supports VGA-quality viewing, the large-bright viewfinder and Nikon's Active D-Lighting and Scene Recognition systems.

The Info button is also the same as the D700's and covers the same suite of functions as well as accessing a new data display mode that shows shooting data and camera settings on the large screen (which is easier to read than the viewfinder display.

The new shooting data display on the LCD menu, which is accessed by pressing the Info button.

Sensor & Image Processing
The D90's DX-format CMOS sensor is a new chip developed specially for the camera with technology derived from the D300 (INSERT LINK). With an effective resolution of 12.3 megapixels, its pixel pitch is approximately 5.5 microns, which is the same as the D300 and large enough to provide a wide dynamic range and good high-sensitivity performance. As in the D300, Nikon's Integrated Dust Reduction System is included.

The D90's sensor unit.

The EXPEED image processor, introduced with the D300, is also used in the D90. Unlike the D300 and D700, the D90 only provides one NEF.RAW option - with 12-bit colour depth and lossless compression. Compression ratios are higher in the D90 than the D300 and the buffer memory is about half the size of the D300's. Continuous shooting speeds are also slower in the D90, although they can match the D300 when the optional Multi-Power Battery Pack MB-D10 is fitted.

Three image sizes are supported for JPEGs: 4288 x 2848 (L), 3216 x 2136 (M) and 2144 x 1424 (S). Although NEF.RAW files are a little smaller than similar files from the D300, JPEG  files are slightly larger, suggesting compression rates are slightly lower. Both cameras claim JPEG compression ratios of 1:4 for the Fine setting, 1:8 for the Normal setting and 1:16 for the Basic setting. The table below shows typical file sizes for each of the resolution/quality settings provided. 

Two types of noise reduction processing are provided, separately covering long exposures and high ISO settings. When Long Exp. NR is turned on, all exposures longer than eight seconds are processed by default. Dark-frame subtraction appears to be involved in this mode as image processing times are roughly doubled.

High ISO NR suppression can be set to High, Normal or Low levels or switched off. Processing kicks in at ISO 800 with the On setting and at HI 0.3 and above when Off is selected. We observed little or no effect on processing times with any of the levels selected. 

Playback
The default camera setting displays shots for approximately four seconds after they have been taken. You can disable auto playback via the Image Review setting in the playback menu. The playback menu can also be used to switch auto rotation of vertical shots on or off.

Movie clips are displayed on the camera's monitor when you press the OK button. This button also pauses and resumes playback. You can advance or rewind by pressing the horizontal button on the arrow pad and adjust the audio volume with the ISO button. Half-pressing the camera's shutter button exits playback andsets the camera to shooting mode.

Playback options for stills are pretty standard and include full-frame display, four-, nine- or 72-shot thumbnail index views, playback zoom (up to 27x) and slideshow play. Users can hide or reveal selected pictures, protect them from deletion and apply DPOF tagging via the Print set function. A new Calendar playback option enables users to view all images taken on a selected days.

Auto image rotation can also be selected. Images can be deleted individually or all pictures in a folder can be deleted as a batch. The camera also allows shots to be selected for batch deletion. The Pictmotion setting in the playback menu allows users to create and view slide shows with custom transitions and background music from images in the selected playback folder. Five music files are pre-loaded in the camera, covering High-speed, Emotional, Natural, Up-tempo and Relaxed themes. Transition effects include zoom bounce, zoom in/out, blend, wipe and zoom out fade. When movie files are selected, only the first few seconds of each clip are displayed.

Creating a Pictmotion slideshow involves three steps: first select the images;

Then choose the background music;

Finally select the transition effects.

The Display mode setting accesses controls for displaying pictures with detailed photo information, RGB histograms and blinking highlight alerts. GPS data can also be displayed if it was recorded. In-camera 'retouching' facilities are the same in all four cameras, allowing users to apply D-Lighting and red-eye corrections, add monochrome or filter effects and trim shots. In all cases, the adjusted images are saved as separate files with the header changed to make them easy to identify. Examples of D-Lighting adjustments are shown below.

 
Backlit scene.

 
Strong backlighting. In both cases, the picture on the right shows the effect of D-Lighting processing on the original shot. 

In-camera NEF.RAW conversion allows photographers to create JPEG copies with straightened horizons, adjusted colour balance and exposure compensation. You can also create copies with reduced peripheral distortion (useful with ultra-wide lenses) or simulate the effects of fish-eye lenses. Image overlay allows users to combine two NEF.RAW images to create a single image that is saved separately. It's handy for subjects with a high dynamic range. Side-by-side comparison of two shots is also possible. You can also create small copies (VGA, QVGA or QQVGA size) of JPEG images for emailing.

The Image overlay settings.

Output Options & Software
While providing the same USB 2.0 Hi-Speed, PictBridge and PAL/NTSC selectable video connections as its competitors, the D90 comes with a Type C HDMI terminal that enables video clips to be played back from the camera on a suitably-equipped HD TV set. A separate Type C cable is required and users can select from auto connection (where the camera selects the appropriate format) to one of three progressive-scan format or 1080i (interlaced). The camera's monitor switches off when an HDMI device is connected.

The D90 is also compatible with Nikon's Creative Lighting System and works seamlessly with the SB-900, SB-800, SB-600 and SB-400 flash units and the SU-800 Wireless Speedlight Commander to allow control over multiple off-camera Speedlights. It has interfaces for several remote control accessories, including tethered and wireless remote triggers and the GP-1 GPS unit, which allows location data to be automatically recorded in image files. DPOF image tagging for automated printing is supported, along with PictBridge direct printing.

The supplied software disk contains the same applications as other Nikon DSLRs offer: Apple Quicktime, Nikon Transfer, Nikon View NX, Picture Control Utility and DirectX 9, along with links to Nikon's website where buyers can download 30-day trials of Capture NX and Camera Control Pro 2. We've already covered these applications in reviews of the D300 and D60 (INSERT LINKS).  D90 owners can also take advantage of Nikon's my Picturetown online photo management service. 

Performance
Once again, Photo Review has been impressed with the outstanding performance of a Nikon DSLR at high sensitivity settings. In both available-light shots and flash shots in low light levels, the test camera turned in an outstanding performance, recording images with little visible noise and no sign of blotchiness. Imatest confirmed our subjective assessments and showed only a slight decline in resolution as ISO sensitivity was increased. The graph below shows the result of our tests.

Subjective assessment of test shots showed colours to be accurately recorded. Saturation and contrast were modest with the default standard Picture Control setting. The test camera performed extremely well when photographing wide brightness range subjects, with the Active D-Lighting function ensuring adequate detail was recorded in JPEG shots in both highlights and shadows.

Imatest showed resolution to be up to expectations for a 12 megapixel camera. However, interestingly, we found NEF.RAW files converted to TIFF format in Nikon View NX software were only slightly higher in resolution than JPEG files. (At the time of this review, raw files from the D90 could not be processed in Adobe Camera Raw, Photo Review's preferred raw file converter.)

The default conversion settings in Nikon View NX tended to push up saturation, particularly in reds and blues but made only minimal changes to skin hues, which were a little off-the-mark for both JPEG and converted raw files. Lateral chromatic aberration was at the 'negligible' level throughout our Imatest tests. We found no evidence of coloured fringing in any of our test shots.

Video quality was good, particularly with the 1280 x 720 (16:9) setting. However the associated sound quality was pretty ordinary. In practice, we found shooting video worked best when clips were kept relatively short and the camera was set up to record a subject at a particular distance before recording commenced. If the subject is moving, you'll need to put the camera on a tripod so you can keep re-focusing the lens. The same applies if you want to zoom in and out while shooting.

The test camera's auto white balance failed to totally remove the inherent orange cast of incandescent lighting but came close to neutral colour reproduction with Fluorescent lighting. Both manual pre-sets over-corrected slightly but it was easy to tune out colour casts with the in-camera controls before taking shots and also to correct colour casts with editing software.

The built-in flash required an ISO setting of 800 before it could illuminate an average-sized room. However, close-up flash shots showed consistent exposures from ISO 200 right up to ISO 3200 and only slight under- and over-exposure outside of the normal sensitivity range. Noise became visible at ISO 3200 and shots taken at ISO 6400 without noise reduction showed some colour noise.

The test camera powered-up ready for shooting in about 0.2 seconds and we measured an average capture lag of 0.35 seconds without pre-focusing and no lag when test shots were pre-focused. For our timing tests we used an ATP Pro Max SDHC card with 4GB capacity. This card is Class 6 rated, which means it can support a minimum sustained data transfer rate of 6MB/second.

It took 0.4 seconds to process each JPEG file and 6.2 seconds to process a burst of 10 JPEGs, which were recorded in 2.9 seconds. NEF.RAW files were captured with the same speed as JPEGs, although the test camera's capture rate slowed after eight shots in high-speed burst mode. No slowing occurred with the low speed continuous shooting mode. It took 9.9 seconds to process a burst of 10 raw files. 

Note: For details of the AF-S DX Nikkor 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR lens, which will be offered as part of the D90 kit, see the separate review by clicking here (INSERT LINK). Additional sample images can be found at the end of that review.

IMATEST GRAPHS

 
The graph above shows the Imatest results for a JPEG file direct from the camera.

The graph above shows the Imatest results for a NEF.RAW file after conversion in Nikon ViewNX.

The graph above shows the Imatest results for a JPEG file direct from the camera.

The graph above shows the Imatest results for a NEF.RAW file after conversion in Nikon ViewNX.

SAMPLE IMAGES

Auto white balance with incandescent lighting.

 
Auto white balance with fluorescent lighting. 

 
35mm focal length, ISO  HI 1.0 (ISO 6400), 10 seconds at f/14.

 
35mm focal length, ISO 3200, 20 seconds at f/13.

 
105mm focal length, 1/250 second at f/14. The test camera produced accurate colour rendition even with traditionally difficult colours like purples.

 
70mm focal length. 1/3200 second at f/5.6.

 
70mm focal length, 1/60 second at f/20.

 
80mm focal length, 1/200 second at f/13.

 
65mm focal length, 1/80 second at f/13. 

 
92mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/50 second at f/6.3.

62mm focal length, ISO 800, 1/25 second at f/5.3.

Image sensor: 23.6 x 15.8 mm CMOS sensor with approx. 12.9 million photosites (12.3 megapixels effective)
Lens mount: Nikon F bayonet mount with AF coupling and AF contacts
Focal length crop factor: 1.5x
Image formats: NEF (RAW) with 12-bit compression; JPEG; RAW+JPEG
Image Sizes: DX format, 4288 x 2848, 3216 x 2136, 2144 x 1424
Image Stabilisation: lens-based only
Dust removal: Vibration of low-pass filter in front of sensor, Image Dust Off reference data acquisition (Capture NX 2 required)
Shutter speed range: 30 to 1/4000 sec. plus Bulb; X-synch at 1/200 sec.
Exposure Compensation: ±5 EV in increments of 1/3 or 1/2 EV
Self-timer: Electronically controlled timer with duration of 2, 5, 10 or 20 seconds
Focus system: Nikon Multi-CAM 1000 autofocus module with TTL phase-detection, 11 focus points (one cross-sensor)
Focus modes: Single-servo AF (S); Continuous-servo AF (C); Auto servo, predictive focus tracking automatically activated according to subject status, Manual focus (M) with electronic rangefinder
Exposure metering: 3D Colour Matrix Metering II (type G and D lenses); Colour Matrix Metering II (other CPU lenses); Centre-weighted, Spot metering (approx. 2%)
Shooting modes: Program AE, Shutter-priority AE, Aperture-priority AE, Manual; Advanced Scene Modes (Portrait, Landscape, Sports, Close-up, Night Portrait)
Picture Style/Control settings: Four options: Standard, Neutral, Vivid, Monochrome; storage for up to nine customised settings
Active D-Lighting: Yes
Colour space options: sRGB, Adobe RGB
Custom functions: 50
ISO range: ISO 200 to 3200. Sensitivity can be increased to HI 1 (ISO 6400 equivalent), or decreased to Lo 1 (ISO 100 equivalent)
White balance: TTL white balance with main image sensor and 420-pixel RGB sensor; Auto plus 12 manual settings with fine-tuning; colour temperature setting; bracketing of 2 to 3 exposures in increments of 1, 2 or 3
Flash: Manual pop-up type; GN 12 (ISO 100, m)
Flash exposure adjustment: -3 to +1 EV in increments of 1/3 or 1/2 EV
Sequence shooting: 1-4 frames/second in [CL] mode, up to 4.5 fps in [CH] mode
Storage Media: SD/SDHC memory cards
Viewfinder:  Fixed eye-level pentaprism; 96% coverage; magnification 0.94x (50mm f1.4 lens at infinity); dioptric adjustment -2.0 to +1 dpt; 19.5mm eyepoint; Type B BriteView Clear Matte II screen (non-interchangeable)
LCD monitor: 3-inch low-temperature polysilicon TFT LCD with approx. 920,000 dots (VGA), 170-degree wide-viewing angle, 100% frame coverage
Live View: Yes. 100% FOV; Handheld and Tripod modes
Movie: AVI  format with monaural sound; 1280 x 720, 840 x 424, 320 x 216 all at 24 fps
Data LCD: Yes; displays full photographic and digital settings
Playback functions: Full-frame and thumbnail (4, 9 or 72 images) playback with playback zoom, movie playback, Pictmotion, slide show, histogram display, highlight alert, auto image rotation, and image comment (up to 36 characters)
Interface terminals: USB 2.0 Hi-speed, Video Out (PAL/NTSC); Type C mini connector for HDMI; GPS terminal; 10-pin remote control terminal
Power supply: EN-EL3e Li-ion battery (included)
Dimensions (wxhxd): 132 x 103 x 77 mm (body only)
Weight: 620 grams (body only)