thinking of new camera - d90 thoughts?

[Brock Sherwood]

im thinking of getting a good camera. hows the nikon d90?

lense has me all confused. looking for something that will get great zoom and keep the pic looking good.

planning a long trip early next year and want to take some fantastic outdoor pics. a coast to coast drive that will take a couple of months to do. taking pics of all the places and friends i visit.

figured id ask the experts before i made a purchase

[Ronbo*MFA*]

Re: thinking of new camera - d90 thoughts?

Joe if you've got the extra money I would suggest that you look at the Nikon D300...but if you're not familiar with today's dSLR's then the D90 might do just nicely for you.

The D90 has had some great reviews...the live view feature isn't something that is necessary, but good if you're unable to get your eye on the view finder.

Also has HD movie capability, but you're limited on the length due to media card storage limits.

If you're looking at doing more landscape shots then you should be looking into something that is 16-20mm focal length.

If you're looking at taking more zoom lengths then I might suggest looking at Nikons 80-400mm VR (Vibration Reduction) lense. The problem that you are going to find with lenses that have at large zoom factor you tend to lose image quality at the near and far focal lengths.

There is a fair amount of lenses out there...so this is really where the research pays off.

The rule of thumb is not to skimp on the lenses and go with a lessor quailty body since these change fairly quickly...currently Nikon with some exceptions runs on an 18 month sunset time frame for their bodies...meaning that about every 18 months they introduce a replacement camera with more bells and whistles.

Currently the D90 is using the same sensor as the D300, but the D90 has a slower processing time...less FPS, a composite plastic case, whereas the D300 is more a pro-sumer camera with a magnesium alloy body that is more tolerant to knocks and bumps...but also remember that you're alos going to be carrying around more weight as a result.

If you would like I have a link for you to look at for reviews and side by side comparisons...have a look and if you have any questions feel free to give a shout here.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/comp..._d300&show=all

[SilentTrigger]

Re: thinking of new camera - d90 thoughts?

D90 has a different sensor then D300, as of Nikon support.

The main sellinpoint for D300 compared to D90 is that the D300 is intended for professionals (which warrents the question why i bougt the D300 hehe) which means that the D300 is build in a more ruggid way (magnesium alloy body insted of plasics) And rubber seals pretty much every where that ive seen on my body. Besides the lens mount where it is the lens job to keep the camera sealed.

D300 as of shots I've seen on the net have had better long exposure. Less noice. I have taken 30 seconds exposures with the D300 without noice reduction enabled and it's been very good results (noice wice and not the subject unfotently )

D90 is a D300 but without the tough body and slighly more noice on long exposures and slightly slower autofocus.

Any of the cameras are awsome. Many proffessionals use the D40 as an extra body. So you wont be disapointed

EDIT: Apparently Ron covered most already

I bought the D300 because of the thougher body (im clumsy) and better performance under low light as I love love light shots. And that I wanted all the buttons to changce things on the outside of the body rather then on menus. I thought long and hard on this. As I've shot SLR's since I was 12 I did think it was worth the extra money on the more expensive D300 (oh and I love expensive gadgets) and I already had several lenses already so that wasn't such a big issue for me.

In your case I would pick the less expensive D90 and get perhaps an extra lens if you ever considered the D300 or any of the other Pro's. It just aint worth the extra money for the D300 as the D90 is a fantastic body. And the camera is never any better then the lens it's looking out through. There's also the Sigma 70-200/2.8, cheap but on the other hand, it's got slightly less built quality and no VR but it's got very good reviews. But I agree with Ron to get a wide angle lens for landscape. As a DX sensor has a crop you will have to increase the focual lenght of a lens which is not DX compatoble (I think they erase the need to multiply the focal lenght, but Ron is the man on that part which I know little about, i'm still in the world where 50 mm is 50 and not 75). Anyways you multiply by 1.5 to get the real focal length if i remember correctly. Most digital cameras are DX formats. Nikons D700 and D3 that have FX format.

[Ronbo*MFA*]

Re: thinking of new camera - d90 thoughts?

That's correct as for sensor format....the DX format is a 1.5% crop. Which means that Alex's 50mm lens acts like a 75mm lens.

Smaller the number for focal length the more scenery you take in, but you're also prone to distortion along the lines of a fish eye lens...but the 16-20mm range will minimize the distortion.

Also forgot to mention if you're looking at lenses and you see f/4.5-6 this is the aperature setting of the lens...this is what determines how much light comes into the camera. The smaller the number the larger the opening. So if you're taking low light shots you may want to look at something along the lines of f/1.2, but let me warn you...these lenses can break the piggy bank faster than a hammer.

Also VR lenses can get pricey too....the true workhorse of the VR lenses is going to be the 70-200mm f/1.2 VR lense.....the average price US is going to be about $1650.

[Brock Sherwood]

Re: thinking of new camera - d90 thoughts?

cool, thanks for the information. i knew i would get the right help i needed from you guys.