Nikon D90 DSLR Camera Review

The confusing nature involved with adjusting shutter speed, ISO, and aperture settings in video mode make the camera almost impossible to get the hang of. Instead of giving complete control over all these features, Nikon provides a mix of some manual control and some automatic control—often leaving the user wondering what settings they're actually adjusting. Even professional videographers will be left scratching their heads.

As far as being able to pick up the D90 and just start shooting... well, it's possible, but you may not like what you see. To get truly amazing footage you'll have to master the art of "pulling focus" (manually focusing during recording), play around with different exposure and aperture settings, and learn how to use the auto exposure-lock feature. Also, it would probably be a good idea to know where your subjects are going to move within the frame and if any changes in light will occur during recording. Oh, and you'll definitely want a good tripod handy if you plan on spending any extensive amount of time recording anything with the D90. It's a heavy camera, it requires two hands to control, and your footage will come out too wobbly if you shoot handheld all day long.

The Nikon D90 is difficult to grip with one hand.

Handling (5.75)
The D90's handling ability is really dependent on what you're going to be doing with the camera. If you'll be using the D90 to take photographs, you can sleep well knowing it's a well-designed machine with a sturdy body that is easily wielded with two hands. The large right-hand grip is easy to take hold of, and the textured coating that makes its way around the D90's body does a decent job helping your hands maintain a tight clasp. Most importantly, the position of the shutter button and command dials are all well placed for taking photographs. The rubber eye-piece surrounding the viewfinder and the plastic shield covering the LCD both help keep the camera in good condition and maintain ideal viewing ability. Overall, the D90 handles well as a still camera.

Using the D90 to record video, however, is a completely different story. Compared to consumer camcorders it's a handling nightmare. The camera requires two hands to control (one to hold and the other to focus or zoom), it has no wrist strap for added support, it's heavy and bulky, and the LCD screen can't move, rotate, or swivel. While it works well for snapping photographs, the standard, boxy shape of an SLR really isn't conducive to recording video. It's simply difficult to move the camera around smoothly through space, which is generally what you do when recording movies. A tripod is generally necessary if you plan on doing extensive video recording with the D90—especially if you expect to pan or move the camera around repeatedly.

The LCD must be used to record video on the D90.

While the LCD is large and has a wonderful resolution, it's stationary position really hurts the handling. Often, it produces an odd viewing angle and it just doesn't help if you're trying to film anything above eye-level. Working with a stationary LCD screen quickly reminds you how beneficial a simple swivel-joint can be. Also adding to the problem is the strong reflectivity of the screen. While most camcorders have a soft, matte finish on the LCD in order to increase viewing ability under bright sunlight, the D90's screen has a glossy, reflective surface that can produce blinding glare under certain conditions.

The positioning of buttons on the D90 was obviously designed with photography in mind. Gripping the camera normally, your right index finger and thumb fall naturally on the shutter button and command dials respectively. Unfortunately, it's the small OK button to the right of the LCD screen that is used to start and stop recording, and not the shutter button at the top of the camera. Pressing the OK button requires you to move your thumb from it's comfortable resting place and severely weaken your grip on the camera itself—adding another reason why the camera is nearly impossible to use with one hand.

The large neck strap supplied with the Nikon D90 is nothing special, but it's still an excellent addition. It's best use is as a safety measure around the neck and as a way to carry the camera over the shoulder.

One positive aspect of the D90's handling is the incredible ability of the vibration reduction feature on the kit lens. With the feature turned on, it is possible to record steady images with the D90 (although your hands will tire eventually). You'll still want to stick to a tripod for any extensive video work, however.

Menu (7.0)
The menu structure of the Nikon D90 is well designed while including numerous features. There are really only a few options that solely affect video recording. The first is in the Shooting Menu where you'll find the Movie Settings option. Here you can change the quality of the video record. There is also an option for turning off the sound recording feature here.

In the Setup Menu there is an option to switch between NTSC and PAL as well as an option for HDMI output settings.

The Shooting Menu on the Nikon D90

The Shooting menu contains the following options:

The Custom Setting Menu on the Nikon D90

The Custom Setting menu contains the following options: 

The Setup Menu on the Nikon D90

The Setup menu contains the following options:

The Nikon D90 also contains a Retouch menu, although the features are not available for videos and can only manipulate still photographs.

The Retouch Menu on the Nikon D90

The Retouch Menu contains the following items:

The last menu on the Nikon D90 is My Menu, which allows you to customize your own set of menu options into a single, easy-access list. If you do not personalize My Menu, by default it will keep track of the most recent settings you have used. You can add items, reorder options, or switch between most recent settings and your customizable settings in this menu.

My Menu on the Nikon D90

A wonderful feature on the menu system of the D90 is the help button. While navigating the menu, pressing the WB button (to the left of the LCD, also labeled with a question mark and a key) at any time will bring up detailed information about the setting you have currently selected.

The help feature at work

Portability (3.5)
The Nikon D90 is a large, heavy piece of equipment. With the rise of ultra-compact camcorders and the light weight of HD camcorders in general, the D90 feels gigantic in comparison. Judging by size alone, the D90 doesn't look too bad with it's 132mm (5.2 in.) x 103mm (4.1 in.) x 77mm (3.0 in.) dimensions. Adding the kit lens to that gives you another 89mm of length, which pushes the camera into a size much larger than a standard consumer camcorder.

Weight may be a more important issue. The camera alone comes in at 620g (22 oz.) and the kit lens adds an extra 420g (14.8 oz.), which puts the total weight at 1040g (about 2.3 pounds). While this is an average size for a digital SLR, it is substantially heftier than even the heaviest HD consumer camcorder. Two of the heaviest models we've reviewed recently are the Sony HDR-SR12 and the JVC GZ-HD7. Both are HD camcorders that record to internal hard drives, and they weigh 650g and 750g respectively. Most consumer camcorders weigh between 300g - 600g, making the Nikon D90 roughly twice the weight (with the kit lens) as your standard video camcorder. 

Using the D90 to record video periodically requires you to hold the camera in an unusual manner. Buttons don't always align correctly with your fingertips (for instance the OK button, which starts and stops recording), and the LCD screen isn't always in the best position for viewing. This uncomfortable grip can easily lead to slips and drops that probably wouldn't occur if you always used the camera for taking photographs.

Without a handstrap, as you would find on most camcorders, the D90's neck/shoulder strap becomes a necessary portability assistant. The provided strap, which connects to small metal rings on each side of the camera is nothing special, but it provides good support and is colorfully branded with a yellow Nikon logo and two narrow stripes.

Recording length is another issue that has a stranglehold on the D90's portability. Not only can the camera only record in five minute intervals (at the highest quality setting), but live view mode also ceases to function after prolonged use. According to the manual, live view mode can be used for up to an hour, but in our testing the LCD shut down after approximately 32 minutes of continual use. The mode causes the temperature of the camera's internal circuits to rise, which may result in image noise and unusual colors (as well as the camera itself becoming noticeably warm). Live view shooting will automatically cease if the camera determines it is running so hot that it risks damage to the internal circuits. A 30-second count-down display appears on the LCD if the camera is set to shut down. Since you must be in live view mode to record video, this is a terrible problem for people planning an all day shoot. You'll either need a series of backup cameras, or you'll have to let the camera cool down periodically throughout the day. The worst part is, live view mode may conk out any minute and the camera only gives you 30 seconds of warning. Recording a wedding on a hot summer day could spell disaster if you're trying to shoot the entire ceremony. No fun, indeed. The last thing you want to see is your camera shutting down completely, not able to record video until you let it rest for 10-15 minutes.

A tripod isn't necessary for the D90, but it would be extremely beneficial if you plan on doing extensive video recording. Pans, zooms, and any movement of the camera are difficult to master on the D90 without the aid of a tripod. Not to mention, the camera's weight becomes a burden after long periods of shooting.

Changeable lenses are one of the primary benefits of the D90, but they're a deathblow to portability.  Special lenses can often be heavier and larger than the camera itself and many telephoto lenses make having a tripod an absolute necessity.

If you're used to carrying compact camcorders everywhere you go, the D90 will drive you insane. If you're comfortable with lugging around SLRs all day (and you don't plan on recording multiple hours of video), it's really no different as far as portability goes.

LCD and Viewfinder (7.5)
The LCD on the Nikon D90 provides a familiar sight to those used to similar screens on conventional camcorders. The D90 has a good sized, 3-inch LCD screen that takes up a large chunk of the back of the camera. The LCD also has a high resolution, with its 920,000 pixel display (compared to 211,000 on most compact camcorders). The LCD is similar in size and resolution to the impressive one found on the Sony HDR-SR12. The LCD screen also features a removable plastic guard to protect the screen from scratches and smudging. In the Setup Menu, the D90's LCD brightness can be adjusted 3 steps up or 3 steps down.

The 3-inch LCD on the D90 is completely stationary.

The main use of the LCD is for playback and live view mode (which the camera must be in to record video). Next to the LCD, at the lower right corner, is a small info button that turns the LCD into an information panel displaying all sorts of information about the camera's current settings and modes. The LCD only displays this information if live view mode is not engaged.

The LCD itself has two distinct setbacks, which is a big deal because the screen must be utilized to record video. The first is the lack of any rotation or swivel, making the screen completely stationary on the back of the camera. This wouldn't be as big an issue if it weren't for the second problem with the LCD—it has an incredibly glossy surface, which does a terrible job handling glare under direct sunlight. The two problems often combine to create difficult shooting situations.

Another annoying aspect of the LCD directly involves live view mode and video recording. When framing your shot, the LCD displays a full scale 3:2 image on the screen. However, you'll likely be recording in the camera's highest quality setting, 1280 x 720, which is a 16:9, widescreen aspect ratio. To compensate for this, the LCD displays two gray bars at the top and bottom of the screen. The area the bars cover will not end up in your final shot, thus making the image widescreen. The problem here is that the bars aren't displayed until after recording begins. This means you must start recording before you can truly setup your shot. With a 5-minute clip limit at highest quality, this extra time allotted to framing could eat up a good chunk of your shot, especially if you're trying to create a tight, specific frame. It is a mystery as to why the camera doesn't offer a widescreen, 16:9 view mode prior to recording.

The viewfinder on the D90 cannot be used to record video.

If you want to look through the viewfinder while you record video with the D90, you're out of luck—the device does not work in live view mode. This makes the viewfinder only available for framing your shots, or for taking still photographs. The viewfinder itself is well designed and comes with a small rubber eyepiece that can be alternated with a variety of different eyepieces available from Nikon. The viewfinder has a 0.94x magnification and offers approximately 96% frame coverage. Its eyepoint is 19.5 and the diopter can be adjusted from -2.0 to +1.0 m-1.

The information box on the top of the D90

The D90 also has a monochrome LCD information box on the top right of the camera, right behind the shutter button. The box displays information about aperture, shutter, white balance, etc. and acts as a quick reference when you change settings. Flicking the on/off switch farther to the right (past the on setting) lights up the information box with a green glow, as it has no backlight capability.

Battery Life (3.2)
The Nikon D90 ships with a EN-EL3e Lithium-ion Battery. Nikon claims the battery will last an average of 850 shots per charge, although using it to record video consumes far more power.

Normally, we test battery life by continuously recording video in auto mode until the camcorder runs out of power. We ran into problems with this test on the D90, due to the camera's overheating and the automatic shutdown of live view mode. We were able to continuously record for 32 minutes before the camera ran into overheating issues (at which point the battery had plenty of charge remaining). Resting the camera for 5 minutes, we were then able to record for another 10 minutes before live view mode shut down again. Given a rest of 15 minutes, the D90 could again record for approximately 30 minutes before automatically terminating live view mode again.