Nikon D90 Key Features

• 12.9 megapixel DX-format CMOS sensor (effective pixels: 12.3 million)
• 3.0-inch 920,000 pixel (VGA x 3 colors) TFT-LCD (same as D3 and D300)
• Live View with contrast-detect AF, face detection
• Image sensor cleaning (sensor shake)
• Illuminated focus points
• Movie capture at up to 1280 x 720 (720p) 24 fps with mono sound
• IS0 200-3200 range (100-6400 expanded)
• 4.5 frames per second continuous shooting (buffer: 7 RAW, 25 JPEG fine, 100 JPEG Normal)
• Expeed image processing engine
• 3D tracking AF (11 point)
• Short startup time, viewfinder blackout and shutter lag
• Slightly improved viewfinder (96% frame coverage)
• Extensive in-camera retouching including raw development and straightening
• Improved user interface
• New optional compact GPS unit (fits on hot shoe)
• Same battery and vertical grip as D80
• Vignetting control in-camera
• 72 thumbnail and calendar view in playback

Nikon D90 specifications

Body material	Combination of aluminum alloy and plastic.
Sensor	• 23.6 x 15.8 mm CMOS sensor • 12.9 million total pixels • 12.3 million effective pixels • Supports high ISO sensitivities • High-speed data readout • Nikon DX-format sized CMOS sensor • Power-saving design
Dust Reduction System	• Image Sensor Cleaning • Image Dust Off reference data (optional Capture NX 2 software required)
Image processor	Nikon EXPEED
A/D conversion	12 bit
Image sizes	• 4,288 x 2,848 (L) • 3,216 x 2,136 (M) • 2,144 x 1,424 (S)
File formats	• NEF (compressed RAW) • JPEG: Fine (approx. 1:4), normal (approx. 1:8), or basic (approx. 1:16) compression • NEF (RAW) + JPEG • AVI M-JPEG • Up to 36 alphanumeric characters can be input using the camera monitor and multi selector (contained in Exif header)
Lens mount	• Nikon F mount with AF coupling and AF contacts • Approx. 1.5x lens focal length (Nikon DX format)
Usable lenses	• DX AF Nikkor: All functions supported • Type G or D AF Nikkor: All functions supported (PC Micro-Nikkors do not support some functions) • Other AF Nikkor: All functions supported except 3D Color Matrix Metering II. Lenses for F3AF not supported. • AI-P Nikkor: All functions supported except 3D Color Matrix Metering II • Non-CPU: Autofocus not supported. Can be used in exposure mode M, but exposure meter does not function. Electronic rangefinder can be used if lens has a maximum aperture of f/5.6 or faster.
Auto Focus	• 11 focus points (1 cross-type sensors) • Multi-CAM 1000 • AF working range: -1 to +19 EV (ISO 100, normal temperature) • Contrast Detect in Live View (Tripod) mode
Lens Servo	• Single Servo AF [S] • Continuous Servo AF [C] • Manual focus [M], Electronic range finding supported • Focus Tracking automatically activated by subject's status in AF [A]
Focus Point	• Single point from 11 focus points • Center point narrow or wide zone • Liveview (Tripod mode): Contrast AF on a desired point anywhere within frame
AF Area Mode	• Single point AF • Dynamic Area AF • Automatic-area AF • 3D Tracking AF (11 points)
Focus Lock	Focus can be locked by pressing shutter-release button halfway (single-servo AF) or by pressing AE-L/AF-L button
AF assist	AF-assist illuminator (range approx. 0.5-3 m/1.6-9.8 ft.)
Exposure modes	• Program Auto [P] with flexible program • Shutter-Priority Auto [S] • Aperture-Priority Auto [A] • Manual [M] • Auto • Advanced Scene Modes (portrait, landscape, close-up, sports, night portrait)
Metering	TTL full-aperture exposure metering using 420-pixel RGB sensor • 3D Color Matrix Metering II (type G and D lenses); color matrix metering II (other CPU lenses); • Center-weighted: Weight of 75% given to 6, 8, or 10 mm dia. circle in center of frame • Spot: Meters approx. 2 mm dia. circle (about 2.0 % of frame) centered on selected focus point
Metering range	• 3D Color Matrix Metering: 0 to 20 EV • Center-Weighted Metering: 0 to 20 EV • Spot Metering: 2 to 20 EV • At normal temperature (20°C/68°F), ISO 100 equivalent, f/1.4 lens
Meter coupling	CPU (not AI)
Exposure lock	Locked using AE-L/AF-L button
Exposure bracketing	• 2 or 3 frames • 1/3, 1/2, 2/3, 1 or 2 EV steps • ADL (Active D-Lighting) bracketing: 2 frames (one with ADL, one without)
Exposure compen.	• +/-5.0 EV • 1/3 or 1/2 EV steps
Sensitivity	• Default: ISO 200 - 3200 in 1/3 EV steps • Boost: 100 - 6400 in 1/3 EV steps
Shutter	• Electronically-controlled vertical-travel focal plane shutter • 30 to 1/4000 sec (1/3 or 1/2 EV steps) • Flash X-Sync: 1/200 sec • Bulb • Time (optional Wireless Remote Control ML-L3 required) • Release time lag Approx. 65 ms • Viewfinder blackout 120 ms • Tested to 100,000 exposures
DOF Preview	• Stop-down lens aperture by pressing button
Active D-Lighting	Can be selected from Auto, Extra high, High, Normal, Low, or Off
White balance	• Auto (420-pixel CCD, image sensor) • Presets (12) with fine tuning • Manual presets (five) • Color temperature in Kelvin (2500 - 10000 K) • White balance bracketing (2 or 3 frames in increments of 1, 2 or 3)
Picture Control	• Standard • Neutral • Vivid • Monochrome • Landscape • Portrait • Storage for up to nine custom Picture Controls
Image parameters	• Sharpening: Auto, 10 levels • Contrast: Auto, 7 levels • Brightness: 3 levels • Saturation: Auto, 7 levels • Hue: 7 levels • Quick Adjust: 5 levels (A multi-parameter adjustment) • High ISO Noise Reduction (High, Normal, Low, Off)
Color space	• sRGB • Adobe RGB
Viewfinder	• Eye-level pentaprism single-lens reflex viewfinder • Frame coverage Approx. 96% horizontal and 96% vertical • Magnification Approx. 0.94x (50mm f/1.4 lens at infinity, –1.0 m-1) • Eyepoint 19.5 mm (–1.0 m-1) • Diopter adjustment –2 to +1
Focusing screen	• Type B BriteView Clear Matte Mark II screen with focus frame • Superimposed on-demand grid lines over the viewfinder display. • "Vari-Brite" focus area display built in (The color used to highlight the active focus area (focus brackets) in the viewfinder display changes automatically in response to lighting conditions).
LCD monitor	• 3.0 " TFT LCD • Approx. 920,000 dots (VGA; 640 x 480 x 3 colors) • 170° viewing angle • 100% frame coverage • Brightness adjustment
Movie	• File format AVI (Motion-JPEG) • Image size (pixels) 640 x 424; 24 fps 320 x 216; 24 fps 1280 x 720; 24 fps • Compression: Motion-JPEG Audio Monaural on/off selection • Exposure: Determined with matrix metering utilizing output from the image sensor • Exposure lock available • Exposure compensation available in P, S, A, M modes • Maximum single clip length: 1280x720/ 5 minutes, others 20 minutes
LCD Liveview	• Contrast-detect AF anywhere in frame (camera selects focus point automatically when face priority is selected) • Face priority, wide area, normal area
Shooting modes	• Single frame • Continuous Low [CL]: 1 - 4 fps • Continuous High [CH]: 4.5 fps • Self-Timer • Delayed remote, quick response remote (optional Wireless Remote Control ML-L3 required for remote shooting)
Self-timer	• 2, 5, 10, and 20 s
Flash	• Auto pop-up type (auto pop up in Auto, portrait, close-up, night portrait modes) • Guide no. 12/39 (ISO 100, m/ft.) or 13/43 with manual flash (ISO 100, m/ft.) • Guide no. 17/56 (ISO 200, m/ft.) or 18/59 with manual flash (ISO 200, m/ft.) • Sufficient to illuminate the picture angle of an 18mm lens
Flash control	• TTL: i-TTL balanced fill-flash and standard i-TTL flash for digital SLR using 420-pixel RGB sensor are available with built-in flash and SB-900, SB-800, SB-600, or SB-400 • Auto aperture: Available with SB-900, SB-800 and CPU lens • Non-TTL auto: Supported flash units include SB-900, SB-800, SB-28, SB-27, and SB-22s • Range-priority manual: Available with SB-900 and SB-800
Flash Modes	• Auto, portrait, close-up - Auto and auto with red-eye reduction available with built-in flash - Fill-flash and red-eye reduction available with optional flash units • Night portrait - Auto slow sync and auto slow sync with red-eye reduction available with built-in flash - Slow sync and slow sync with red-eye reduction available with optional flash units • Landscape, sports - Fill-flash and red-eye reduction available with optional flash units • P, A- Fill-flash, rear-curtain with slow sync, auto slow sync, slow sync with red-eye reduction, red-eye reduction • S, M - Fill-flash, rear-curtain sync, red-eye reduction Front-curtain sync, slow sync, rear-curtain sync, red-eye reduction
Flash Accessory Shoe	ISO 518 standard-type hot shoe contact; Safety lock mechanism provided
Flash Sync Terminal	No
Flash compensation	• -3 to +1 EV • 1/3 or 1/2 EV steps
Creative Lighting System	• Advanced Wireless Lighting supported with built-in flash, SB-900, SB-800, or SU-800 as commander and SB-900, SB-800, SB-600, or SB-R200 as remotes • Auto FP High-Speed Sync and modeling illumination supported with all CLS-compatible flash units except SB-400 • Flash Color Information Communication and FV lock supported with all CLS-compatible flash units
Playback mode	• Full-frame playback • Movie playback • Thumbnail (4, 9, or 72 images or calendar) playback • Playback zoom (image size L up to approx. 27x, M up to approx. 20x, S up to approx. 13x) When one or more faces (up to 10) were detected with shooting, the faces are enclosed in white borders. When playback zoom is applied, different faces can be displayed by rotating the sub-command dial. • Slide show playback • Pictmotion • Histogram display • Highlights display • Auto image rotation • Image comment (up to 36 characters)
Retouch functions	D-Lighting, red-eye correction, trim, monochrome, filter effects, color balance, small picture, image overlay, NEF (RAW) processing, quick retouch, straighten, distortion control, fisheye
Languages	• Chinese (Simplified and Traditional) • Danish • Dutch, • English, • Finnish, • French, • German, • Italian, • Japanese • Korean, • Norwegian, • Polish, • Portuguese, • Russian, • Spanish • Swedish
Connectivity	• USB 2.0 (Hi-Speed) Mini-B connector • PTP transfer protocol • NTSC or PAL video output • HDMI video out (version 1.3a, Type C mini connector provided) • Remote control / GPS terminal
Storage	• SD (Secure Digital) memory cards, SDHC-compliant
Power	• Lithium-Ion EN-EL3e (Approx. 850 shots, CIPA) • Included battery charger MH-18a • Optional AC adapter EH-5a/EH-5 • Optional Battery Pack MB-D80
Vertical Grip	• Optional MB-D80 multi-power battery pack
Dimensions	Approx. 132 x 103 x 77 mm (5.2 x 4.1 x 3.0 in.)
Weight (no batt)	Approx. 620 g (1 lb. 6 oz.) without battery, memory card, body cap, or monitor cover
Operating environment	Temperature: 0 - 40 °C / 32 - 104 °F, Humidity: under 85% (no condensation)
Box contents	Rechargeable Li-ion Battery EN-EL3e, Quick Charger MH-18a, USB Cable UC-E4, Audio/Video Cable EG-D2, Camera Strap AN-DC1 Body Cap BF-1A, Accessory Shoe Cover BS-1, LCD Monitor Cover BM-10, Software Suite CD-ROM (Supplied accessories may differ depending on country or area)
Optional accessories	*Remote Cord MC-DC2, *GPS Unit GP-1, Photofinishing software Capture NX 2, AC Adapter EH-5/EH-5a, Multi-Power Battery Pack MB-D80, Magnifying Eyepiece DK-21M, Eyepiece Correction Lens DK-20C, Eyepiece Magnifier DG-2, Eyepiece Adapter DK-22, Right-Angle Viewing Attachment DR-6, Semi-soft Case CF-D80, Wireless Remote Control ML-L3, Sync Terminal Adapter AS-15, Camera Control Pro 2

Key features / what's new / technology

New 12.9 megapixel DX format CMOS with live view and movie capabilities.	Sensor and sensor cleaning module
RGB 420 segment metering sensor	'Expeed' processing ASIC
Shutter unit (tested to 100k actuations)	Pentaprism
920,000 dot (VGA) 3.0-inch TFT-LCD	Info display
GP-1 GPS unit	MC-DC2 remote cord

Body & Design

Just as the D80 was a refinement of the D70/D70s design, so the D90 doesn't break any new ground - interestingly they've actually gone back to the more angular look of the D70. Nobody quite does a quality plastic body like Nikon, it feels tight and solid, wrapped around a good metal chassis. Over this are a few offerings of rubber to improve grip, obviously at the front around the hand grip, at the rear for the thumb and on the left side (from the rear).

Side by side

Below you can see the D90 next to Canon's new EOS 50D, which is almost identical to the EOS 40D (which we would guess is the D90's direct rival). As you can see the D90 is a little smaller (it's also a touch lighter than either 40D or 50D).

In your hand

As we've come to expect from a Nikon SLR, the D90 feels very comfortable and natural, with a good grip and logical, ergonomic, button placement. It's neither too heavy or too light (as to feel fragile) and feels very well put together and surprisingly robust.

LCD Monitor

The D90 shares the D3/D700 and D300's new large, high resolution LCD monitor. It has four times the number of dots of the 230,000 unit used on the D80 and other such cameras. For clarity, the words pixels and dots are interchanged almost randomly in specification sheets but strictly speaking we should talk of dots (these being red, green or blue sub-pixels) when referring to the figures quoted by manufacturers. The D700's LCD has 921,600 dots, 1920 columns by 480 rows, the dots are a third thinner than they are high and so each group of three dots (sub-pixels) make up one full color pixel.

This high resolution screen really has to be seen to be appreciated, it's beautifully detailed and extremely smooth in appearance because the tiny gaps between dots are too small to be seen with the eye. This extra detail is obvious in live view and playback modes where you really can see much 'more' of the image in one glance. Another difference comes when you magnify in playback as you find you don't need to magnify the image as much before you can clearly see sharpness, focus accuracy and even noise.

Top Control Panel

The D90 has one control panel on the top on the right side, which provides a full range of information covering photographic and digital settings. The panel has a green back light which can be illuminated by flicking the power switch to the lamp position, it's spring loaded and returns to 'ON', the back light stays on for the 'auto meter-off' time (defined in custom setting c2). You can also choose to have the back lights come on with any button press (custom setting d9). The layout is very similar to the D80, though not identical (the continuous H/L, remote control and GPS icons have caused things to move around a little.

A breakdown of information displayed on the LCD panel can be found on the diagrams below.

*1

• Shutter speed • AE Compensation (when changing) • Flash Exposure Compensation (when changing) • Bracketing (when changing) • WB manual preset (when changing)

*2

• Number of frames remaining • Number of shots remaining before buffer fills • PC mode indicator • Preset white balance recording indicator Viewfinder The D90's viewfinder is essentially the same as that of its predecessor (though the frame coverage is up fractionally, from 95% to 96%). And the D80 had an excellent viewfinder that was - and remains - big and bright and providing one of the best cropped camera views. Autofocus 11 area AF Wide zone center focus point The D90 shares the D80's 11 point autofocus system (with a one cross-type sensor in the center), though the Expeed processing and new 420-pixel RGB sensor mean it uses a version of the scene recognition system seen on the high end cameras, and like the D3/D300/D700 can track subject movement using color. In 3D Tracking mode the D90 (like its big brothers) will attempt to keep a subject in focus after focus lock even if it moves nearer or farther away from you (though with only 11 AF points it's recommended for focusing and re-composing, not tracking fast moving objects). The image below represents an example viewfinder view (apart from the status bar which has all information displayed for descriptive purposes). The brackets indicate the chosen focus point and there is an optional 'red glow' viewfinder illumination to ensure everything remains visible even in dim light. Also shown are the grid lines and three status overlay items; B/W mode, battery low and no SD card inserted. Battery, Compartment and Charger The D90 uses the same EN-EL3e battery as the D80. It has a specified capacity of 1500 mAh at 7.4 V (11.1 Wh) and is charged using the supplied MH-18a quick charger. The battery simply slides onto the charger and an indicator light will blink until the battery is fully charged. Battery information available on the camera: Top control panel has a five segment battery life indicator Camera Menu: Set Up -> Battery Info provides: Battery meter (as a percentage) Picture meter (number of shots taken since last charge) Charging Life (a scale indicating if the battery has come to the end of its useful life Battery pack / Vertical grip (optional) Good news for upgraders; the D90 is fully compatible with the MB-D80 vertical / battery grip. The MB-D80 fits into the camera via its battery compartment (the door can be unclipped and removed) and screwed in place via the tripod mount. The MB-D80 has additional main and sub command dials as well as alternative buttons for shutter release and AF start. The battery compartment can support two EN-EL3e batteries or six AA's (via an optional MS-D200 cartridge). GPS unit Along with the D90 Nikon also announced a very neat little GPS unit, the GP-1. We don't have a lot of information on it at the moment except that it sits on the hot shoe and attaches to the same port as the new MC-DC2 Remote cord (it would appear that the D90 isn't compatible with the D80's MC-DC1 remote cord). From what we understand the GP-1 will be compatible with all Nikon's most recent SLRs (the D3, D300, D700, D2x, D2hs & D200) but are awaiting confirmation on this. It's worth noting that the GP-1 (which provides geotagging information in the EXIF data) doesn't use the standard 9-pin D Sub connector for GPS, nor does the D90 have Nikon's 10 pin data port. Secure Digital Compartment The SD card compartment door is located on the rear right edge of the hand grip and opens cleanly revealing a standard SD slot (push to insert, push to remove). The camera does not power down if you open the SD compartment. As well as standard SD (up to 2 GB), the D90 also supports higher capacity SDHC cards.