Comments (10)

• Sidarta Tanu より:

  2010年9月6日 3:34 AM

  Review by Sidarta Tanu for Nikon D40 6.1MP Digital SLR Camera Kit with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED II AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor Lens
  Rating:
  The 6 Megapixel Nikon D40 is targeted for those who want a relatively compact and light camera yet having most of the important SLR features. The D40 is priced reasonably (cheaper than D50/D80 and Canon Rebel XTi). In my opinion, if you are still considering whether to get a point and shoot camera or a DSLR, the D40 will be a better choice than any point and shoot camera, by far, even those with 8MP or 10MP. But if you are already deciding to get a DSLR or you want more control of the picture taking experience, then I would recommend you to also test the D50 and/or D80 first before deciding to buy the D40. I want you to make sure that you know what you will get (and not get) with the D40. Don’t get me wrong though, the D40 is an awesome camera, and I don’t think you will regret buying one. There are some limitation with the D40 which shouldn’t bother most people, for example, the D40 doesn’t have dedicated button to change picture quality, white balance or ISO settings (which generally only professional/enthusiast will care). Once you understand (and accept) its limitation, the D40 is a potent and exciting photography machine.

  Just like all its (DSLR) siblings, the D40 powers on instantly and take pictures with almost no shutter lag which are the major advantages of a DSLR over a point and shoot camera. In addition to the P,S,A,M mode, the picture quality of the auto settings (auto, child mode, landscape etc) are also very good. With 2.5 frames per second you can capture movement progress in sports like football, basketball, baseball etc. Also great to photograph your family or child (child mode). The D40 is a great all around camera.

  Some notable new features:
  
  1. Auto (no flash) mode. Without this mode the flash will pop-up (on all other pre-programmed mode) even when you don’t want to use flash (which can be annoying). The internal flash will not pop up automatically with the P,S,A,M settings.
  
  2. In camera editing capability such as black and white, sepia and some filter effects etc. While sounds gimmicky, these features are useful especially for those who doesn’t have Adobe Photoshop (or other image editing software).

  To date, D40 is the smallest and lightest among all the Nikon DSLR (even smaller than the Canon Rebel XT/XTi, however the D40 is more ergonomics). I believe that choosing a camera that fits comfortably with your hands is important. Therefore, I recommend people to test the camera before buying (even if you want to buy online, please do go to a physical store and test the camera first whenever possible).

  The D40 has only 3 (horizontal) autofocus point (5 for D50 and 11 for D80). If you know “The Rule of Thirds”, the additional AF points above and below the center focus point (available in D50 and D80) are handy to help create the horizontal third line. However, the 3 horizontal AF point in D40 is still helpful to create the vertical third line. Also one can focus with the middle AF point and after the focus is lock then move the frame upwards/downwards to create the horizontal third line. Just make sure the exposure level is still accurate when you move the frame after you lock the focus.

  About the 18-55mm II AF-S kit lens: A good lens producing sharp photos (though not a very fast lens). Also decent for close-up/macro photography. Lens uses internal focus technology and focusing operation is silent. A very decent kit lens.

  Lens compatibility: Notice that with D40, autofocus function will not work for non AF-S/AF-I lens. If you already have non AF-S/AF-I Nikon lenses and want a backup or replacement camera, you will be better off buying D50, D70s or D80. If you buy the D40, it will be convenient to stick with AF-S and AF-I type lenses. I’m not sure why Nikon choose this route for the D40 (whether to enable smaller size camera or from now on Nikon will only make AF-S lens compatible camera). There are a lot of good Nikon AF-S lenses (price range added: low, medium, high) that are fully compatible with the D40 such as:

  - Nikon 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX (L)
  
  - Nikon 50mm f/1.4G AF-S (M)
  
  - Nikon 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED AF-S DX (L)
  
  - Nikon 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED II AF-S DX (L)
  
  - Nikon 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G ED IF AF-S DX (L)
  
  - Nikon 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6G ED-IF AF-S DX (L)
  
  - Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 G ED-IF AF-S DX VR (M)
  
  - Nikon 55-200mm f4-5.6G ED AF-S DX (L)
  
  - Nikon 55-200mm f4-5.6G ED AF-S DX VR (L)
  
  - Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED-IF AF-S VR (M)
  
  - Nikon 12-24mm f/4G ED IF AF-S DX (M)
  
  - Nikon 17-35mm f/2.8D ED-IF AF-S (H)
  
  - Nikon 17-55mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S DX (H)
  
  - Nikon 28-70mm f/2.8D ED-IF AF-S (H)
  
  - Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR (H)
  
  - Nikon 105mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Micro (M)
  
  - And several other expensive prime tele/zoom lens like 200-400mm, 300m, 400mm, 500mm, 600mm.

  High priced lens ($1000+) are usually pro level lens which usually have better construction, faster (f-stop), and produce better quality picture. However, often times, lower price lens will serve your needs just fine. I think it is important to know what you want to use the camera for before deciding which camera and lens to buy.

  Image quality of the D40 is very good which is #1 factor that I look for in a digital camera.

  Here are the pros and cons of the D40 in my opinion:

  Pros:
  
  1. Nice out of the camera result picture quality
  
  2. Affordable price
  
  3. Compact size and light weight
  
  4. Large and bright 2.5 inch LCD
  
  5. 2.5 frames per second
  
  6. B/W, Sepia, several more in-camera editing features.
  
  7. Instant power on, fast autofocus and no shutter lag
  
  8. Noise is acceptable at high ISO settings. Auto ISO settings available.
  
  9. Great 18-55mm II AF-S kit lens.
  
  10. Great battery life (400+ on a single charge. 1000+ if flash is not used).
  
  11. Auto (flash off) mode available
  
  12. 1/500 flash sync

  Cons:
  
  1. No direct button to change QUAL, WB and ISO settings
  
  2. Grip comfortably but might be a bit too small for some people
  
  3. No top LCD and no front command dial
  
  4. Autofocus will not work with non AF-S or non AF-I lenses (such as the 70-300m G and 50mm f/1.8D lens)
  
  5. No AF/MF switch (have to use the switch on the lens)
  
  6. Only 3 autofocus point
  
  7. 6 Megapixel (More Megapixel needed to print larger than 12 X 18 at 300 dpi)
  
  8. No night landscape mode in pre-programmed settings
  
  9. No in camera image stabilization (like Sony and Pentax) but Nikon has lenses with it (VR).
  
  10. No depth-of-field preview button

  In conclusion, the D40 is perfect for those who want high quality pictures, more control (than a point and shoot camera), and have a DSLR experience (instant power on and no shutter lag), without having to carry a bulky camera. And unless you are shooting sports/actions professionaly (which faster focusing processor, faster frames per second and larger memory buffer might be needed), the D40 is pretty much all you will need.

  Happy Photographing!

  Sidarta Tanu
• Larry より:

  2010年9月6日 4:05 AM

  Review by Larry for Nikon D40 6.1MP Digital SLR Camera Kit with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED II AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor Lens
  Rating:
  This is an ergonomical, fast handling, very solidly built Digital SLR with many excellent features (like a 2.5 inch silky smooth and bright lcd found on the $1600 D200). Pictures are beautiful. It uses the same excellent 6 megapixel sensor from the D50, D70, D70s. 6 megapixel is plenty, I get tack sharp 8×12 inch prints. Don’t get stuck in counting megapixels. 6MP from a DSLR will blow the doors off a 6,7,8MP compact or even DSLR-like cameras. Especially under low light conditions. 6mp is 3008×2000 pixels. 10mp is just 3888x2592pixels. Not as much difference as many people think.

  A Nikon DSLR body only for $499 or $599 with the lens? Darn. Nikon pricing strategy is so aggresive. With the D80 at $999 and 400DCanon at $799 body only. The main drawback for the D40 is you’d have to stick with AF-S or AF-I lenses if you want to get auto focus. You can still focus manually with other Nikon lenses. I guess they did it so D50′s resale value won’t drop too much. With the D50 you have access to Nikon’s wide and prestigous range of lenses. Needless to say it makes a difference.

  However, the kit lens is adequately sharp and responsive. For $100 it can’t be beat as a good everyday use lens. At wide angle 28mm distortion is minimal. Pretty sharp at the other end of the zoom, no distortion.

  It has a 3-point auto focus system, thats good enough. In fact I prefer it that way. I never cared for 7, 10, 11 point or more focus systems.

  No more top mounted LCD display, so what? Just use the beautiful 2.5″ color LCD display. It’s fast to see from the eyecup to rear LCD.

  It’s got a bunch of excellent in camera processing which the D50 and D70 never had. Red eye reduction, D-lighting-automatically compensates for darker areas, image-overlay, trimming(new feature), b&w etc. The new menu is beautiful. Also zooming in during playback has been improved(one thing I always found slightly inconvenient on the D50, D70).

  Very fast from power up to taking pictures. Continous mode fires at 2.5 frames per second.

  For the price Nikon has really figured out how to built a solid , ergonomical , feature rich DSLR. Nikon really knows how to built solid SLRs. It is small in size but unlike the Canon 350/400d/xti(good picture and processor ,new dust reduction, but slightly less ergonomical and solid), you get a comfortable grip that doesn’t make your hand feel cramped.

  For this camera, Nikon also came out with a new flash SB400(works on the D50 too) if you need a more powerful flash. The built in flash is excellent and accurate and powerful enough for most situations.

  I’ve had a bunch of digital cameras , Canon, Nikon, Olympus, Pentax, Fuji, Sony 3ccd HiDef, Canon XL1 etc. The D40 is a superb camera for beginners or even semi-experienced enthusiasts, or as a second camera. You can save the money and buy some lenses or strike some big prints.
• Daniel J. Zajic より:

  2010年9月6日 4:27 AM

  Review by Daniel J. Zajic for Nikon D40 6.1MP Digital SLR Camera Kit with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED II AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor Lens
  Rating:
  Nikon has hit a grand slam with this camera. It’s as close to perfection as any digital camera has ever come. Sure, there are “better” cameras for more money, but they are all twice the size/weight. I would get this camera even if I had an unlimited amount of money to spend. There is simply nothing like it. Lots of ingenius user interface elements, superb feel/handling, superb flash (both internal and external SB-400), outstanding image quality, instant response, superb viewfinder, superb LCD… I could go on. I have nothing bad to say about it, and I’m extremely picky. I thought I was going to wait for a full-frame sensor body, but when this came along, I could not wait to upgrade.

  The lack of a built-in focusing motor is an ADVANTAGE in my opinion. It’s one reason the camera is so small and lightweight, and I believe all future Nikon lenses will have internal focusing anyway. So unless you want to use older, heavier, and slower focusing lenses for some strange reason, you’d be paying for and carrying around something you won’t even use.

  In addition to the superb 18-55mm (i.e. 27-82.5mm) kit lens, I bought the 55-200mm VR II and 50mm F/1.8D lenses, the SB-400 external flash and a remote (3rd party off Ebay). I suspect many, many people will buy this exact set of equipment, since it’s really all you’ll ever need. No need for an extra battery, unless you ever go many photo-filled days without being able to recharge. Get at least two 1GB 50x (or faster) SD cards, so if one stops working (it does happen), you aren’t stuck.

  The 55-200mm VR (i.e. 82.5-300mm) is a necessity for shooting any action/wildlife. The optical stabilization is truly awesome, and better than sensor-based stabilization (e.g. Pentax K10D, Sony Alpha) since you can see it working right through the viewfinder, making it easier to frame/focus your shot. Although the lens may seem slow (f4-5.6), don’t forget that stabilization gives you an extra 2-3 stops, so it’s really more like f2-2.8 (without the reduced depth of field, of course). DO NOT consider the slightly cheaper non-VR version, unless the slightly smaller size is an absolute necessity.

  The 50mm (i.e. 75mm) is a nice walkaround lens when you want to go as light/small as possible. It’s super fast (f1.8!), allowing you to take handheld photos at night with no flash! It’s also a nice portrait lens, although the 55-200 is better (75mm is a little short).

  The D40x is a poorer choice for the vast majority of people. The extra resolution means your photos take up more space and are slower to work with. It also has a slower max. flash sync speed (1/200 vs 1/500). If you don’t know what this means, trust me, it’s important, and one day you’ll be really happy you have it. Since the D40′s pixels are larger (less pixels in the same size sensor), there is less noise, so having ISO 100 is useless. Do you really need 10MP? Do you print larger than 16×20? Heck, do you print at all? I know I don’t. Think it will give you more cropping ability? Think again. Without a super expensive lens ($1k+), the lack of sharpness and magnified distortion of the cropped image won’t be as good as the uncropped 6MP of the D40. Save the $200 and use it to get the 55-200 lens, or the 50mm lens and the flash.

  If you’re ready to move to a DSLR, take this camera for a test drive. You will most likely fall in love with it’s wonderful handling, and excellent performance, as so many people have. There will be a new generation of cameras coming out this fall, so you may want to wait, although there’s really nothing that can be improved upon with this camera.
• Tool Connoisseur より:

  2010年9月6日 5:13 AM

  Review by Tool Connoisseur for Nikon D40 6.1MP Digital SLR Camera Kit with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED II AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor Lens
  Rating:
  The D40, quite simply, is the camera I have been waiting for. I was into 35 mm SLR photography 20+ years ago. I got back into photography with the new digitals but held off on digital SLRs because they were expensive, but more importantly, so large. Not so the D40 on either count.

  I compared the D40 side by side with the Canon Rebel XTi (EOS 400D in Europe) at a photo store. The XTi was slightly bigger. The XTi beat the D40 in features (it had more pixels, and more features, including the self-cleaning sensor and was a little faster) although it was more expensive. But in the end, I chose the D40 because it just felt better in my hand. My hands are medium sized and it fit very well. The Canon just wasn’t as comfortable. Plus the overall build quality seemed better than the Canon and the sound of the shutter and flash pop-up was softer, more subdued, more quality sounding (and important for photographing wildlife or a sleeping baby). And the final selling point for me with the Nikon D40 was the view-finder was noticeably brighter than the XTi.

  If you are stepping up to an SLR from a point-and-shoot, this is the camera to do it with at about the same price-point as a good non-SLR digital. You can finally get away from that annoying lag between button push and picture capture. It’s not the fastest SLR out there but I have been very happy with it, finally actually capturing those shots within a split-second of pushing the button, though it slows down somewhat in low-light situations. It takes continuous shots at 2.5 frames per second in good light, which though again not stellar, is adequate for most situations. The 2.5 inch LCD screen is incredible – bright and clear. It has an excellent menu with built-in context sensitive help screens at the touch of a button.

  Though it doesn’t have as many features as it’s much more expensive big brothers, and the 6mp max capability is a limitation, it is adequate for all but professional users, and there will be plenty of professionals buying one as a small back-up. It’s not the megapixels that matter as much as the quality of the picture and the D40 doesn’t disappoint there either – clear, sharp, excellent colors (it has the same image processor as the D80 and D200). There are a number of pre-set auto modes easily selected by the main dial that also work well. The built in flash does a fine job and I have seen no red-eye. One feature I like is the auto-ISO that you can set to only kick in at a certain shutter speed or slower. It also has a D-light feature which allows you to enhance an already-taken back-lit or shadowy picture in-camera to even out the shadows and highlights; it works very well. Two features that it doesn’t have that I wish it did are f-stop bracketing and depth of field preview. I have been satisfied with the battery life so far, though it does use a different Li-ion battery than the other Nikons so you can’t cross-use your batteries if you already have a different model Nikon DSLR.

  The 18-55 kit lens is nice – light and small but quality construction (version II – nicer than the first one that came with the D50 that seemed lower quality). If you read technical reviews on the lens it is a solid performer for the price. You won’t be able to use most older Nikon auto-focus lenses in auto-focus mode since this has no built-in auto-focus motor (not at this size and weight!). It requires AF-S and AF-I lenses, so most of the prime lenses will be manual focus only. This is a small price to pay I think for a small light-weight camera.

  If you already are into digital SLR, the D40 is still a great camera, making for an excellent travel camera since it’s small, light-weight and you aren’t carrying around a two thousand dollar hunk of expensive hardware.

  I am very satisfied with it; it is an excellent value – and offers something for the novice and pro alike. It makes me really want to carry this with me all the time and get out and take pictures again.
• P. Burnett より:

  2010年9月6日 5:55 AM

  Review by P. Burnett for Nikon D40 6.1MP Digital SLR Camera Kit with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED II AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor Lens
  Rating:
  I bought this camera as a compliment to my current professional system based on the Nikon D2X. It’s a great “walking around” camera for a pro as it will do all the things that pros are used to asking of a camera, great nikon metering, kit lens is decent, programming and screen quality are par with the flagship D2X. All this makes it the perfect 2nd camera or “pro’s snap shot camera”. I would not consider doing pro work with it, that’s the X is for, but as far as it shooting excellent quality, tough nikon build quality, superior metering and battery performance for, so far in my testing, over 600 shots! The downside is, and I say this as primarily a prime lens shooter, it will only AF with AF-S or AF-i lenses, or those with built in focusing motors. Yes, this kinda sucks, but really only to those who probably rely on AF too much anyways. The novices will probably only use AF-S lenses and the kit lens at that. As a pro, I tend to shoot the D2X full manual and often only turn on AF when needing a quick shot, the rest I still focus by eye. Most of the pros I know do this as well.
  
  SO, if you are a pro and, like me, long for the days when you carried around that old tank of a film camera (FE2 for me!) but wish there was a digital equivalent that could do all it would do and more, then this is a perfect compliment to your system. If you are a beginner, and you started with this camera, it would open up a whole new world of professional digital photography for you and then you’d want to move up to the D80, D200, then possibly D2X or beyond (when available) but I guarantee you’d keep this one for fun even if you moved up.

  The point is this camera is fun, advanced features for pros, ease of use for novices, and much more accessible, super lightweight camera for all.
• E. Kim より:

  2010年9月6日 6:42 AM

  Review by E. Kim for Nikon D90 12.3MP Digital SLR Camera (Body Only)
  Rating:
  I am far from a professional photographer, but I take it as seriously as possible while still referring to it as a hobby. I take mostly pictures of people at events and many of my baby son without flash in low light situations.

  I had been using a Nikon D40x for 1 year and very early reached my limitation with that camera. The Nikon D40x has very nice image quality, but the camera’s interface is not suited for a more serious shooter who wants quick single button or dial access to such shooting parameters such as white balance, shooting mode, metering mode, etc. I also felt very limited by the D40x not having an in-body focus motor that would allow me to use non AF-I/AF-S lenses (which are lenses without the focus motor built-in).

  The Nikon D40x limitations were severe enough that I was about to consider purchasing a Canon 40D until the Nikon D90 appeared just in time.

  PROS:

  1. Fantastic set of separate buttons on the camera to control parameters like ISO, white balance, metering, autofocus, image quality, shooting mode, etc.
  
  2. Two command dials
  
  3. High resolution 920K pixel LCD screen (like the one on the Nikon D300)
  
  4. 12.3 megapixel CMOS sensor
  
  5. Low noise high ISO capability (for low light shooting) I can shoot ISO 1600 with good image quality with this camera, while on my D40x I could only shoot with ISO 400 and obtain acceptable IQ. I will even use ISO 3200 frequently with very usable results!
  
  6. Separate top-viewing LCD screen in addition to the rear high res screen, to show shooting parameters constantly
  
  7. In-body focus motor which allows the use of Nikon’s non AF-I/S lenses, including wonderful and CHEAP prime lenses such as the Nikkor 50mm 1.8 (~$100 lens!)
  
  8. Continuous shooting of 4.5 frames per second
  
  9. Small size, although larger than the D40/D40x/D60, it is still substantially smaller in the hand than the D300/D3
  
  10. 720p 24fps MPEG video shooting capability with incredible ability to use depth of field that I cannot achieve with my Sony High-Def camcorder.
  
  11. Eleven auto-focus points (not as nice as the 51 points on the D300, but substantially better than my D40x with its 3 points)
  
  12. GPS option
  
  13. HDMI output
  
  14. Enormous number of options to customize camera and shooting settings to fit your style of shooting
  
  15. Fantastic image quality right out-of-box if you don’t want to do any post processing
  
  16. Terrific build quality
  
  17. Top notch camera ergonomics (but this will be a very personal opinion that differs for each shooter)

  CONS:

  1. “Rolling shutter” phenomenon while recording video: The D90 CMOS sensor has the same problem that other CMOS video recorders have when recording video. If you move the camera, especially horizontally, you get a “jelly” or “rubberbanding” effect where the image wobbles significantly. It is nice to have the video features, which looks very sharp at 720p, but it is NOT a substitute for a video camera. If you use a tripod, and do not do quick zooms/pans, the video quality is excellent. Without a tripod, however, you may get nauseous watching a wobbly video. The sound is also in monoaural.
  
  2. 1/200 flash synch: Not a problem for me, but it might be for you.
  
  3. No weather sealing: This is found on the Nikon D300/D3 and even on similarly priced models from other camera companies
  
  4. The buffer will fill up after about 8 continuous RAW + JPG (FINE) shots. This number differs depending on the shooting parameters that you will choose. If you shoot primarily JPG, the buffer seems to allow a very large number of continuous shots, but I have not quantified this for JPG only.

  TIPS:

  1. Get the FREE Nikon ViewNX software from Nikon’s site as your 1st step in your workflow. This will let you examine your RAW images that you can process for either Nikon CaptureNX2 to do further RAW processing or just export to JPG or TIFF for a JPG/TIFF editor such as PhotoShop.
  
  2. Recommend buying the Nikon CaptureNX2. It is a RAW converter (if you shoot in RAW) that will read the camera settings properly for export to JPG or TIFF. Capture NX2, however, is not as slick as the Adobe products and Capture NX2 requires a fairly powerful computer, otherwise it can run pretty slowly on a PC > 3 years old.
  
  3. If you use JPEGs out-of-camera, consider increasing the sharpness above the default 3 or 4. Nikon uses a very conservative sharpening default setting. Nikon has also decided to change the default JPEG images to match the higher end D3/D700/D300 cameras which produce more neutral images. Consequently, the D90 images that are less punchy than the D40/D40x/D60/D80, so you may also want to turn up the in-camera saturation and contrast.

  The Nikon D90 has all of the interface features that serious and even professional photographers need with wonderful image quality.
• Earl E. A. Dopter より:

  2010年9月6日 7:33 AM

  Review by Earl E. A. Dopter for Nikon D90 12.3MP Digital SLR Camera (Body Only)
  Rating:
  There are plenty of reviews out there, and I don’t want to be redundant. So here are some helpful points that I had a hard time ferreting out when doing my research before pulling the trigger on this purchase, given that I was upgrading from a D60 and that I am, like many who are reading reviews on this product, not a professional:

  1. I owned the D40, then the D60. So this is my third Nikon. I had trouble deciphering how my lenses, purchased for the D40/D60, would behave when used in this new model. The answer is that the D90 handles all of them perfectly. This includes lenses that have the HSM built in (the Hyper Sonic Motor is packaged in the lens, because the D40/D60 range doesn’t have a built in auto-focus motor) as well as those with no internal motor. The D90 has an internal focus motor, so all lenses built for Nikon cameras will auto-focus, including the Nikon 50mm f1.8 lens that I had to manually focus in the D60.

  2. The D90 is heavier, but certainly not uncomfortable to hold or carry. Weight will not be a discouraging factor in purchasing this camera.

  3. The D90 takes different batteries, so any spares you have for the earlier models will not work on it. Battery life is truly outstanding. I am not even going to buy a spare battery.

  4. The user interface is completely different from the D40/D60. I found it intuitive however. The functionality is just superb, much easier and more flexible. This is a pro level camera with the ease of use of a high end amateur camera.

  5. Live view is a great enhancement. Really.

  Overall, there is nothing I can say negative about the D90. It’s everything I was hoping it would be, and it’s so worth the money to upgrade. I’m selling the D60 for half what I paid – and doing it gladly – because the D90 is worth more than it’s being sold for. I absolutely highly recommend it.

  I also thought I would offer some lens advice, because I had trouble finding a reviewer that just cut to the chase and said “look, just do this.” So, look, just do this: I do NOT recommend the kit lenses that you can obtain bundled with the D90. Get the body only, and buy yourself that Nikon 50mm f1.8 (Nikon 50mm f/1.8D AF Nikkor Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras). It’s a no-brainer at the price point, and the images I have already achieved have been just excellent. For the rest of your lenses, I highly recommend Sigma. I own the 18-200 (Sigma 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 DC Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras), the 10-20 (Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras), and the 150-500 (Sigma 150-500mm f/5-6.3 AF APO DG OS HSM Telephoto Zoom Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras). I cannot say enough positive things about the quality of the lenses or the images. Pack the 50mm and the 18-200 superlens for normal occasions. If you can stand the extra weight, you absolutely cannot go wrong with the 10-20 for landscapes, it just pulls in everything and the quality is shocking. The 150-500 is enormous, you are not going to want to carry that thing around, but when you need it, you really need it. I captured images of my son playing in a soccer game that blew me away; could not have gotten the shots without the big lens. Get the lenses in the order I have specified if you cannot afford them all.

  I have just learned all this over the past 2 years. I am no expert but I have discovered the joy of capturing great images that you just cannot get from a point-and-shoot. I think once you see the quality you can achieve with a better camera, you will be thrilled with the decision to spend the money and the energy. And Nikon has truly produced the best camera at this price point in the world. It’s a pro camera with an amateur price and it’s very easy to use. Words really don’t do it justice; you need to experience it to understand.

  Any questions, please send me a comment. Happy to help!

  Update – 16 Jul 2009:

  I have now taken well over 4,000 images with the D90 and can confirm that it’s still all I had hoped it would be. Every time I think of something I wish I could adjust, I find that the D90 has the adjustment capability in the menu somewhere. The active D-lighting is spectacular. The noiseless photos in low-light conditions have blown me away. I don’t see myself upgrading from this camera for a very long time. My technique for most situations has become as follows: snap a few images using the Auto settings. Then switch to full manual and start playing with the depth of field by adjusting ISO, aperture, and shutter speed to fit the situation. Half the time, the Auto photos are so good that I can’t do much to top them in manual mode!

  Update – 20 Jan 2010:

  Over 10,000 photos taken with my D90. No new lenses purchased since last update. I have yet to find a situation the D90 cannot handle deftly. Over Christmas, I took a family photo of my wife’s entire extended family, over 40 people involved. It was indoors, at night, with only weak overhead lights and the lights from the Christmas tree behind the group. I used an ISO of 3500, my small Nikon 50mm lens at 1.8 aperture, and my remote control (so I could be in the photo too!) Under these low light conditions, with no flash, I was able to capture 50 images in a very short time, and miraculously got several with everyone smiling and no one blinking, and out of these one was perfect! The group included several young kids who hate standing still, to name one challenge! The output was startling; in the natural light, its almost ethereal. I’m the new family hero. The reality is that this single photo is irreplaceable and worth more than the camera and lens. It could not have been accomplished with a lesser camera/lens combination, including the previous Nikons I have owned. I would venture to say that no other camera in the price range could touch what I did with the D90 in this situation. Over and over, the camera proves its worth to me. In the end, what is one fabulous photograph of your child, your vacation, or your life’s important events worth?

  Update – 27 April 2010:

  I noticed that I forgot to mention another very useful addition to the D90 – the remote control. This device allows you to remotely trigger the shutter and I find I use it for group shots much more often than the timer, especially because I can trigger multiple shots without returning to the camera. It’s very inexpensive and small (I keep it in the little pouch that it comes with, threaded into the strap, so it’s always there when I need it.) Here is the item: Nikon ML-L3 Wireless Remote Control for Nikon D40, D40x, D60, D80 & D90 Digital SLR Cameras. Highly recommended!

  Update – 13 May 2010:

  My D90 was stolen two weeks ago. What a bummer. Anyhow, I decided to upgrade to the D700, but not because there’s anything wrong with the D90. I loved it. The D700 has the FX size sensor, whereas the D90 has the DX size sensor, which is smaller. The real benefit of the FX sensor is better sensitivity, meaning higher shutter speeds at a given aperture. Of course, the D700 is more sophisticated in nearly every way, but it’s also heavier and more complex to operate. It’s also over $2,000 for the body only. I sprang for it. But even so, after considering carefully all the current offerings, my conclusion is that for the money, there is still no better camera than the D90.
• Shutterbug より:

  2010年9月6日 8:27 AM

  Review by Shutterbug for Nikon D90 12.3MP Digital SLR Camera (Body Only)
  Rating:
  I just upgraded to the D90 from the D40 because I was tired of futzing with the white balance of the D40, and I wanted more low-light sensitivity (better ISO), as well as the flexibility of using faster lenses, many of which are not AF-S.

  I have been very impressed with the D90. I’m comparing it to the D40. It takes significantly better pictures because of its larger dynamic range and better colors (ADR) and better white balance. The things that I think are important are ranked from most to least important.

  1. Active D-lighting (ADR). This has gotten me photos with large dynamic ranges of light (highly shaded subjects with a bright background) that I would have otherwise botched. Also, we rent a house where they did a quick paint job in white, but there are splotches of beige and light green underneath. We’ve never successfully taken photos of this with the D40 or our point-and-clicks. The D90 pulls these out (without flash) to the point where it’s easier to see them in the photo than by eye, and it nails the colors! I also suspect that the ADR is helping tame the noise at high ISO levels (see #3 below).

  2. White Balance. The white balance is a big improvement over the D40, which botched AWB lots of times. If you look closely, it’s not perfect, but close enough for all but the perfectionists, and the beauty is it works in Auto. That means that you can focus on taking pictures and not on fiddling with your settings so much. There’s also a lot of flexibility to set your AWB defaults with a lot of precision.

  3. Low light photography. I take a lot of shots indoors without flash. Until very recently, there weren’t any f/1.4 prime lenses that were AF-S (needed on D40). The D90 helps in 2 ways: a) takes AF-D lenses and b) has better high ISO performance. I did controlled tests using my 55-200mm VR lens at 55mm (f/4) and looked at ISO sharpness and color on the D40 and D90. I did it in manual mode, following the exact procedure of Ken Rockwell (tripod, VR off, remote trigger). I find that the D90 is between 1 and 2 stops better ISO than the D40. D90/ISO 6400 is too dirty, but D90/3200 is pretty usable. With the D40 at ISO 800, the sharpness is slightly better than the D90 at 3200 (but worse than D90/1600), but there’s a lot more out-of-control, day-old pizza look in dark sections with the D40 at 800 than the D90 at 3200 (I’m guessing that ADR is helping here). The D90′s color starts to fade at little at ISO 1600, and drops more at 3200, then quite a bit at 6400.

  4. The 11-point AF has helped get things in focus compared with the D40′s 3 spots. AF also feels faster. Autofocusing is a big improvement.

  5. I also really like that it’s quicker changing ISO, WB and QUAL because of dedicated buttons. I’ve also set AF as my top choice under My Menu, making it 1 button away as well (hit the Fn button). This was another Rockwell suggestion.

  6. The screen is amazing, as others have said. Also, you can navigate a zoomed image on the screen really fast.

  7. I’m also looking forward to using my SB600 flash remotely in commander mode (you can’t do that on the D40).

  8. On the down-side, I’ve just discovered that some old Nikon manual-focus lenses from the 1960s will not mount on the D90, but they will on the D40. I don’t think this should affect too many people.

  Another observation: I’m not that familiar with the D300 and D700, but the D90 feels pretty solid compared to the D40. I thought that weight would help stabilize hand-held shots, but I also find that it’s shutter is stronger than the D40, and that vibration tends to cancel out its heavier weight in terms of holding the camera still.

  For someone who doesn’t like to adjust the manual settings very much, the main benefits of the D90 over the D40 are the ADR and WB. These upgrades will probably appear in the D40 replacement in ~6 months. I might wait for that. For others who use their manual settings regularly, this is quite a camera.
• Trader John より:

  2010年9月6日 9:08 AM

  Review by Trader John for Nikon D90 12.3MP Digital SLR Camera (Body Only)
  Rating:
  I think most of us buying D90 would be someone like me. Goto review website for technical review and skip the rest. Read mine if you use it like I do. Here you go. Enjoy!

  I have a D50 and just bot a D90. I shoot primary my daughters’ school events usually indoor in a gym or threater. I have some of Nikon better F2.8 glasses. With indoor lighting and action such as TKD. The results are sometimes less than satisfactory. When using flash, the subject is well lit but the background would be dim. (you could solve this placing multiple flashes in the GYM like the professionals) when not using flash, you get hand shakes and motion blur. I shot my daughter’s TKD blackbelt test yesterday, the D90 blew me away. Here is what it does, on Sport mode with Flash, it selected ISO 1100, F4 and 1/60. subject is well lit, the back kick is frozen to show the form, the foreground and background of the GYM were well lit. The white balance is perfect. I could not have done a matter job myself in manual mode! At the same sport mode, D50 chose ISO 500, F5.6 and 1/60. The subject is well lit, the gym background faded into darkness. When not using flash, D50 just can’t get the white balance correct no matter how i set it. D90 white balance was perfect.

  The D90 giant colorful LCD really tells instantlly if I have got the shot. I would buy D90 again just for catching the highlights of my daughter’s belt test.

  D90 is actually the same size of D50. D50 felt more comfortable in my hands initially, but after 3 hrs, the D90 felt just better. It could be a weight issue. I don’t know why.

  So bye bye to my wonderful D50. Hello to D90.

  Further edit:

  After a few weeks, it is clear Active D lighting works wonder. It lights up details which are lost when using a Canon 5D without post-processing. I would buy it again just for that. The custom FUNC is also a welcome addition. I set it to open my favorite menus making everything fast. I used to use flash whenever indoor. You don’t need to do that in most cases anymore. I shot Halloween at Hollywood Blvd, pictures have good color and exposure using available light. It was unimageable with the D50.

  Good shooting!
• C. Mann より:

  2010年9月6日 9:40 AM

  Review by C. Mann for Nikon D90 12.3MP Digital SLR Camera (Body Only)
  Rating:
  After reading recommendations here as well as heeding Ken Rockwell’s advice, FINALLY, after several years of indecisiveness between the Nikon D80, D200 and D300, the D90 really stood out for price/performance – I made the plunge. I paired this D90 with the Nikon 18-200 mm lens and the Santechi LCD battery grip, as well as a Delkin silicone body skin and a B+W UV multi-coated filter as well as a Nikon SB-600 speedlight flash. Every part of the camera and lens is now fully protected. ( A slight bit of trimming on the Delkin skin was necessary, along the bottom of the skin, so I could put the LCD battery grip on. Delkin states you can’t put a battery grip on with their skin. But if you trim a bit of the skin then it fits perfectly! So no worries there. Get the Delkin skin. It is well worth it!) As a complete unit, it functions beautifully. Speaking about just the camera here, it is ridiculously easy to use, very intuitive, a well thought out design, well balanced, with enough heft, yet light enough for all that it offers. The pictures rendered, and the bright, 3″ LCD screen on the back of the camera makes it wonderful to use. The menus are thoughtfully laid out. As for the video mode, it works just fine with the Nikon 18-200 mm lens. Best used in video mode for fixed distance videoing. I vidoed my future son-in-law fishing waist deep in a local river. The video came out excellent. Remember, this is a camera first. Not a video cam. But having the video option is nice, as you have everything within one camera body. This camera is certainly worthy as a semi-pro entry; maybe even as a back-up camera to a Nikon D3 or D3X for a professional photographer. I think the D40 or the newer D5000 would be a better choice for light users who want a few more features than a simple point-and-shoot camera, but who have no intention of really delving into photography and learning all the terminology and techniques involved in lighting, exposure compensation, picture composition, etc. But, if you are serious about photography and want room to grow, or you are a photo enthusiast, semi-pro or pro, you would be hard pressed to find a camera with a better price/functionality point. I purchased my D90 through Amazon via J&R Music, as they had the best price and had the D90 in stock. I received the camera a day after the order was placed. In less than 2 weeks I had taken nearly 1700 shots. I have taken early dawn, early twilight, late night, portrait, nature, time exposures, double exposures, and sports photos in that time. It is nearly impossible to take a bad picture with this camera. It is easy and a pleasure to set up. Once you take the necessary time to learn the camera and all that it can do, you will understand what a joy it is to own this camera. I highly recommend visiting the KenRockwell.com site to become well-educated on photography in general as well as getting a crash course with a simple, no-nonsense approach regarding the workings of the D90 — well beyond all the sometimes useless and verbose language the Nikon manual for the D90 employs.
  
  Bottom Line: The Nikon D90 is nearly impossible to beat right now for the price/function point. TIP: Invest in high quality lens/lenses as it/they will do more for you than the camera, as far as giving you quality pictures. Great pictures are more about proper lighting and exposure than the camera or the lens. Those things merely make it easier for getting that great shot. The photographer is responsible for the composition of the shot. Learn the proper way to compose and you will be well on your way to productive and enjoyable photography!