Warning: camera gearhead talk.
My first Nikon purchase occurred in 1964: I bought a Nikon F SLR at the Okinawa PX for a little over $100.00. When it got stolen in the late 70’s I replaced it with an Olympus OM-1: by that time Nikon prices had severely escalated.
The next Nikon purchase was my last film camera, the F-100 SLR, replacing a series of Minolta autofocus 35mm SLRs.
In the digital era, I went with a succession of Olympus cameras, starting with a point-and-shoot, then progressing to various models, the last being an E-620 DSLR. However, I was always paying significant attention to the latest Nikon models as they were being brought out. So it was with great interest that I read the reviews of the Nikon D90 upon its release. (It got great reviews.)
As I’ve explained, I was gradually growing disenchanted with the E-620. And so, when a unexpectedly generous Christmas gift from Marge arrived, the wheels started spinning. I first got the standard package from Costco: D90 body plus two lenses (18-105mm standard zoom and 70-300mm telephoto zoom.) But after using the camera for two weeks I decided that, although I really liked the camera itself, the lens combo didn’t really work for me. (I’m really not into switching lenses back and forth, to be honest.) So: the kit was returned to Costco, and an order then placed with B&H: a D90 body plus the (newish) 16-85mm zoom lens. This is what I am using now. (Of course, a D90 replacement is due fairly shortly from Nikon.)
So, in no particular order, some first impressions (cons first).
Cons:
—Sensor aspect ratio: Using the Olympus DSLRs and the Canon G9 I’ve been used to a 4:3 aspect ratio. However, Nikon uses a 3:2 aspect ratio, the same as was used in 35mm photography. The Olympus cameras took "squarish" photos, the Nikon takes more "widescreen-looking" photos. Some photos need an elongated space, but it’s turning out that I’m doing a lot of cropping of the Nikon images to bring them back to a 4:3 ratio.
—No "My Mode" or "Custom Reset Setting." I just couldn’t find this feature. After going back and forth perusing the Nikon D90 manual, and Thom Hogan’s guide with no success I finally posted a query on the dpreview D90 forum. One of the forum members responded that:
Mike, you aren't missing anything—it's not there. Nikon reserve that functionality for the D300 & up. And on those pro cameras, they give you huge amounts of control over it - separate banks of shooting settings and banks of custom settings. So you can pre-program settings for common scenes and for multiple photographers sharing the same camera.
So, not the worst thing in the world, but still . . . if my two small Olympus cameras can have this feature, you would think that Nikon could offer it as well. By the way, the D300 mentioned above is much heavier. Which brings me to
—weight: Well, it could be worse. Much worse. As it is, the combined weight of camera plus lens is only a few ounces heavier than my E-510 / 12-60 lens combo. But it is rather heavy! Not something I’d want to take backpacking. Eventually I’ll have to look into one of Nikon’s low weight plastic zooms.
—Mode dial with "scenes." Like "landscape," or "portrait." Very hokey.
Pros:
—Ergonomics: Nice hand grip. Also, power switch much easier to access than on the Olympus models.
—High ISO Capability: The D90 can take low-light photos that would have been impossible using any of my Olympus cameras.
—Auto ISO feature: You can set a personalized range of ISO values together with the slowest shutter speed you can hand-hold: the camera automatically adjusts the ISO up or down depending on the available light. Very handy.
—Viewfinder: Very large and bright. I must say, though, that the (much smaller) Olympus viewfinders never really bothered me.
—Image Quality: Hard to measure, but appears to be excellent.
—Lens: I opted to spend some more money and get the 16-85mm lens (35mm equivalent would be 24-135mm.) Will possibly require a separate blog post.
We will see. As you might note (photo above) I am not utilizing the wonderful Nikon yellow-letter strap. Also, I have switched-out the Nikon lens cap for a generic one (the Nikon lens cap wasn’t really working for me.)
References:
Photo: Nikon D90—Marin County, 2010
