Nikon D90 DSLR Camera Review

The D90 is not like most consumer camcorders, which are designed to be yanked out of a bag, immediately at the ready with fully automated controls. The D90 has seven automatic scene settings, which are selected by turning the mode dial on the top left of the camera. The settings include: Auto, No Flash, Portrait, Landscape, Close-up, Action, and Nighttime. Working in these modes, the camera will automatically adjust its settings to fit with the specific scene.

Autofocus is one of the staples of today's consumer camcorder market. Every camcorder has the feature and it's something we take for granted when we record video. Here's the kicker—the Nikon D90 cannot autofocus during video recording. Manual control freaks and experienced filmmakers may find this acceptable, but the omission makes the D90 nearly impossible for beginners or casual users to work with. Be forewarned!

You can perform an autofocus before you begin recording—just press the shutter button halfway (as if you're taking a still photograph) and the camera will automatically focus your image for you. After you press OK to begin recording, however, anything that moves within the frame (or any movement you make as the shooter) will immediately lose focus unless it is manually restored. During recording, all focusing must be done with the focus ring on the lens (this is called "pulling focus"). On the upside, the focus ring offers very precise control and makes manual focusing much easier than the touchscreens and joysticks you often have to use on consumer camcorders.

The D90 also runs into some problems with its auto exposure feature. The primary weakness is the lack of smooth transition between changes in light. Moving the camera from dark to bright scenes produces a choppy, step-function effect with the exposure rather than a fluid, even adjustment. Again, this may not be a problem for some users, but many will find this auto exposure performance unbearable. If you're working with the D90 in a studio setting or someplace where you don't anticipate any lighting alterations, the auto exposure difficulties won't be much of an issue. Shooting anywhere else—like outside, or under a variety of different indoor lights—may prove unsatisfactory.

There are ways around this dilemma, but it requires using some of the camera's manual functions and controls (see below).

Auto white balance didn't always work up to par, either. During our testing, under tungsten lights, the auto white balance gave the image a very orange hue. This really isn't much of an issue, however, as the D90 offers many white balance settings as well as an excellent manual white balance option. The white balance presets offered include: Incandescent, Fluorescent, Direct sunlight, Flash, Cloudy, Shade, and Choose color temp. This is a wide range of presets and it definitely outdoes consumer camcorders everywhere.

The focus ring and Vibration Reduction controls on the D90's kit lens

Overall Manual Control (3.0)
The Nikon D90 offers nearly every manual control you could ask for to adjust your digital photographs. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about the camera's video mode. The D90 has too many peculiar manual control quirks—making the entire process of recording video a trial-and-error spectacle.

The D90 has four manual control settings: aperture-priority, shutter-priority, program mode, and manual mode. Aperture-priority allows you to choose the aperture setting, while the camera automatically selects a corresponding shutter speed. Shutter-priority is the same concept, but instead allows for shutter speed adjustment (and the camera automatically chooses an aperture setting). Program mode allows you to select different combinations of shutter speed and aperture together. Manual mode is fully manual and allows you to make all the aperture and shutter speed adjustments yourself. With all these modes, aperture is adjusted by rotating the dial just below the on/off switch on the front of the camera. Shutter speed is controlled by a similar dial on the back side of the camera, where the thumb of your right hand rests. Nikon did an excellent job making these dials and buttons easily accessible and comfortable to use.

The main problem with the D90's manual controls is how so few of them can be manipulated while recording is taking place. Shutter speed, aperture, and ISO all must be adjusted before you begin recording, making only zoom, focus, and exposure adjustment the only available controls while the camera is capturing video.

To further complicate things, you must exit live view mode in order to make adjustments to aperture, ISO, and shutter speed. What is most frustrating about this is the fact that you can still make changes to the settings while in live view mode, but you must exit and reenter the mode in order for those changes to take effect. This can make you think you are adjusting the aperture or shutter speed (as the camera will display number changes on the LCD and in the info box), while no changes have actually taken place.

In live view mode, even with the camera in a fully manual setting, the D90 will still continue to make automatic exposure adjustments (without registering any change in aperture, shutter speed, or ISO). This means you can setup the exact aperture and shutter speed you desire, only to have the entire exposure change when you point the camera to a darker or brighter light source. To get around this problem you need to make use of the auto exposure-lock button (AE-L/AF-L) to the right of the viewfinder. Holding this button maintains a desired exposure no matter how much the lighting within the frame changes. By default, the AE-L/AF-L button must be held down continuously to produce these results, but in the D90's custom settings menu (under f Controls, Assign AE-L/AF-L button) you can set the button to lock and hold the exposure with a single push. While we were able to produce some interesting effects this way, it was clearly too much of a roundabout measure just to get exposure adjustment under control.

Many times, numerous manual features don't seem to produce any different results, even though the camera says they're being adjusted. This adds to the confusion of certain settings not being able to adjust during recording or while live view mode is engaged. Really the only way to see if your changes are having any effect is through trial-and-error.

If you're looking for a consumer HD camcorder designed with manual control options in mind, both the Panasonic HDC-HS100 and HDC-SD100 offer some excellent features. Each are outfitted with a lens ring that allows for smooth adjustment of numerous settings (focus, zoom, white balance, shutter speed, aperture, and gain).

Zoom (6.5)
Camcorders are generally noted for having a zoom toggle, dial, or switch, usually manipulated by the right index finger or thumb. Being a digital SLR, the D90 instead utilizes a conventional zoom ring around its lens. Because of this, zooming on the D90 is entirely dependent on what lens you have attached to the camera. The kit lens we used was classified as a standard zoom lens and the zoom level was manipulated by rotating the gripped, outer ring of the lens. By not using a motor, the zoom ring gives you complete control over the amount of magnification you desire. Numbers at the top of the lens, ranging from 18-105mm, give you good anchor points if you want to replicate shots and zoom lengths.

There are problems with not using a motorized zoom toggle. While nearly all camcorders are designed to be wielded with the force of one sturdy hand, the D90 requires two hands if you want to zoom (or focus for that matter). Manipulating the zoom ring is also extremely noisy and it forces your left hand right up next to the tiny microphone on the camera's front side. Performing any extensive zooming during recording will result in scratchy, rough audio that is ultimately garbage.

It should also be mentioned, there is a cheap feel to the kit lens on the D90. The focus ring feels too loose, which makes focus adjustments more difficult than they should be.

Zoom Power Ratio (5.8)
The kit lens, AF-S DX Nikkor 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR, comes with a 5.8x optical zoom. A variety of different zoom lenses are available and compatible with the Nikon D90.

Focus (9.0)
Because autofocus is not a possibility while recording video, users must be prepared to use manual focus for the bulk of their shooting. The focus ring on the kit lens could be a little smoother. It feels a little loose and it makes far too much noise (the internal microphone will pick up any focus adjustments made during recording). The ring is capable of making very precise, finely tuned, adjustments and it is positioned well. Unless the D90 is on a tripod, two hands are required to use the D90 as the left hand works the focus and zoom ring (as well as providing extra balance).

Manual focus on the D90 also provides one of the tremendous benefits of the camera. Because of the large lens, the variety of aperture settings, and the finely-tuned manual focus system, the D90 is able to produce a tremendously shallow depth of field—the likes of which have never been duplicated in the consumer camcorder market. The D90 is capable of producing remarkable shifts between foreground and background objects.

In live view mode, the D90 has a focus assist feature to help you sharpen the image. Pressing the QUAL button (also labeled with a magnifying glass) digitally zooms into the image on the LCD, allowing you to then focus on this blown up picture. Pressing the ISO button above (also labeled with a magnifying glass), zooms back out to normal view. This focus assist is good if you want to make sure you get a crisp image of a specific object in the frame, like when filming an insect on a flower or a person laying in a field.

Manual focus is always available in any mode setting (even if the autofocus button on the left side of the camera is engaged).

Exposure & Aperture (9.17)
Exposure and aperture are both adjustable on the Nikon D90. Exposure adjustment is the easiest, as it is one of the few features (along with focus and zoom) that you can actually manipulate while live view mode is engaged. The exposure adjustment button is right next to the on/off toggle and it is labeled with a +/– icon. While holding this button down with your index finder, you can adjust the exposure by rotating the command dial on the back of the camera where your thumb rests (this is the same dial that normally adjusts shutter speed). Each turn of the dial changes the exposure by 1/3rd of a step and the exposure can be adjusted 15 steps down and 15 steps up (in the camera settings menu exposure can be set to larger 1/2 step adjustments). Exposure can be adjusted in any of the manual settings (manual, aperture-priority, shutter-priority, and program mode), but not in any of the automatic control modes. Even with exposure adjustment implemented, the camera will still continue to automatically adjust to different exposures unless you press the auto exposure lock button.

Aperture is also adjustable, but it is a far more convoluted process. Aperture-priority and manual mode both give full control over aperture, while program mode allows you to select from a set of aperture and shutter speeds together. Changing the aperture does alter your video, often providing assistance in low light and making a difference with depth of field. Aperture cannot be changed while recording is taking place (even though the numbers appear to change on the LCD), as the alterations will not take place until you exit and reenter live view mode. The D90 with its kit lens (AF-S DX Nikkor 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR) has apertures of f/3.5, f/4, f/4.5, f/5, f/5.6, f/6.3, f/7.1, f/8, f/9, f/10, f/11, f/13, f/14, f/16, f/18, f/20, and f/22. Despite this wide range of choices, it is unclear how many of them actually affect video footage. In our testing, many of the apertures appeared to do nothing to alter picture quality, which seems to suggest that only a few settings work with video at all. Also, the camera will continue to change exposure levels throughout filming, regardless of what your aperture settings are (unless you utilize the auto exposure-lock feature).

Shutter Speed (0.0)
As with aperture, there are a wide range of shutter speed controls. In video mode, however, changing shutter speeds doesn't do anything to the quality or look of the recorded image. Even though the camera says the shutter is being adjusted, through our extensive testing we didn't notice any effect. The Nikon D90 received a score of zero for shutter speed because of it's ineffectiveness working with video. The camera has 53 different shutter settings ranging from 30 seconds to 1/4000 of a second (as well as a bulb option), and they all work effectively for taking still photos.

White Balance (8.0)
Besides the variety of white balance presets, the D90 has a manual preset option. It works by having you take a picture of a white card or object and then balancing the colors based on that image. The camera allows for storage for 5 different preset white balance images and they can be accessed via the white balance selection under the Shooting menu.

You can set a preset by holding down the WB button to the left of the LCD screen. After holding down for about two seconds, the letters "Pre" will start blinking in the display box on the top of the camera. Now you can take a still photograph of whatever it is you want to white balance your image to. This process does not work in live view mode, but the setting will remain once you enter into the mode.

Manual white balance is only available in the four manual modes and is not available in auto mode or any of the specific scene modes.

Gain (0.0)
The Nikon D90 offers ISO control, which is what the world of still photography calls gain. Unfortunately, even with the wide range of ISO settings, the results are similar to what we saw with shutter speed. Settings can be adjusted and changed, but they don't seem to have an effect in video mode (especially since the camera automatically adjusts ISO settings while recording). The ISO settings can, however, work wonders when taking still photos. There are 13 regular ISO settings (ranging from 200-3200), as well as three Lo and three Hi settings for extra sensitivity control. The D90 also has settings for high ISO noise reduction and long exposure noise reduction. All ISO controls are located in the Shooting Menu.

In the world of camcorders, Panasonic is the only manufacturer that offers gain control on its consumer models.

Other Manual Controls (2.0)
Picture Controls - The D90 also has six picture control presets: standard, neutral, vivid, monochrome, portrait, and landscape. There are also nine user-customizable settings that allow you to manipulate your own picture controls. The adjustable controls include sharpening, contrast, brightness, saturation, hue, and quick adjust (as well as color tint with monochrome). These settings give you a good deal of control over your image and they do work with video footage.

Grid Lines - Grid lines, to assist with framing your image, can be turned on an off in the Custom Settings menu under the shooting/display selection. With grid lines on, a set of three horizontal and three vertical lines will be displayed when you look through the viewfinder. Grid lines are also available on the LCD in live view mode by pressing the info button next to the lower left corner of the screen. The lines will not appear in your final shot and are only for framing purposes.