How would you change Nikon's D90?
By Darren Murph 
posted October 10th 2008 7:15PM
posted October 10th 2008 7:15PM
posted October 10th 2008 7:15PM
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1) rolling shutter. PLEASE
2) mjpeg compression controls. The boxy compression is horrible. Even if it means giving better compression for sd resolution.
Love all the other controls. I really did buy this as an upgrade to my D50. But my D50 has done me so well, it was the video that put me over the edge to buy the D90. But please.......the vid quality has just got to be improve-able. Come-on Nikon, ya never let me down before.
I don't have one but my change would be using a e-paper display rather than LCD on the top of the body, and stereo sound does indeed sound like a good idea, it's the 2000's after all, and autofocus for video is also something a camera of this class should have, although there's probably some law that raises import-taxes or import/export-block something if you add too many video functionality, it can't be coincidence that all photocameras have the same shortcomings after all.
Lower the price, so I could afford one.
Cold! Cold!
I am currently in the market for a DSLR, played with the D90 at CC and loved the feel. Don't know how good the lense is and that is why I have not bought it yet. From some comments in here it sounds like the lense is not so great. They should copy Sony's live view, better compression for movies and auto focus as well. I think I am actually going to buy the Sony A300 with the Sigma 17-70 lense and either the Sigma or Tamron 70-200 2.8. I have been using a borrowed XTi and it is OK, but I want live view so the wife can enjoy as well. IS in the lense is cool, on the Canon you can actually see the image steady. On the Sony, with built in IS, you won't be able to see the image stabilize, those are the only differences. Oh, and of course the cost of IS lenses vs non IS lenses. I unfortunately keep being drawn to the D90, but I honestly think it is simply marketing and name brand that is doing that to me. Sony's actually make very good DSLR's, and the 10mp sensor in the Sony's are the same exact ones that Nikon uses in their 10mp DSLR's.
Well until they could find a way to cool the sensor down while the video is being recorded, they should just not include the video feature at all :/
Otherwise i actually like the D90- better low light pics overall than my older d80 :)
I wish it had a dedicated pushbutton for controlling the Active D-Lighting setting, like the D60 has. And there is no custom function available to remap another button.
Otherwise the D90 appears to be perfect (in its price range anyway).
This is my first DSLR and I am loving it. I guess I don't have any complaints because I really don't have anything to compare it to. Overall it takes fantastic pictures (even in low light with minimal noise), and the video is a nice added feature. If you're going to take more than 5 minutes of video...get yourself a video camera.
Remove the 'noob' jog dial.
Distinction between pro-use and prosumer, consumer camera is, whether the one can be used for extreme or unusual situation.
It is beyond the matter of dusty desert war . Pros would be expected to produce perspective corrected architectural photo, which
mean PC lens on full-frame is essential. Or a camera may needs to be mounted on a microscope. Only few cameras are
capable to be used beyond the so called normal use.
Now, photography is not just for printing on the paper. Think, to design a website, crick on a thumbnail changes to full size Hi-resi
photo, then another click on the photo make the image to pan or the subject start to move. Video function in the SLR is for this
kind of use. Very few video camera has ultra wide angle of view, the SLR camera which got Fish-eye or 14mm lens, is indispensable
to have continuous image from still to moving picture in the wide end. ------- its mean D700 with video function is needed.
Just got mine, kit version with 18-55 & 55-200 (sweet lens) and so far am loving it! It's fast, light and did a great job at a recent soccer team shoot. I bought mine at Costco for $1399.00...comes with a 90 day no questions asked return policy...great way to try it out.They also had the D300...which I'd been strongly considering. I'm a pro shooter and also own the N80, N75, D70 & D40X.
Takes great pictures. Haven't played with it in low light yet. For some reason Nikon decided to remove the ability to have the computer see this as removable storage. It can only be seen as a camera. That's a little annoying.
I like the layout of the controls. They're in the right place and they feel natural. I love the feel of the camera and the 18-105 lens. They make a great pair. Does anyone really use any other modes than, P A S and M? Are the others useful? Should I trust them? I feel like they are kinda gimmicky. High ISO with noise reduction on is impressive,
The video mode sounded REALLY COOL. It's really just a gimmick. 5 minutes? 720p? Meh... I feel like a really big tool taking video with this camera. I feel like people are staring and thinking, 'what the heck is that guy doing.' Also, the focus ring is really noisy when recording video - which is a pain because cool DOF effects are dumb when there's a loud scraping sound on the vid. Soon, someone is going to bridge the gap between camcorder and DSLR, but this isn't it. But you have to start somewhere.
Live View is not very useful, except in situations where there is just no way to get your eye to the eyepiece. It focuses slower and takes longer to take the picture. The face recognition is a cool feature, but it'd be nice to have that in the eyepiece.
I would like two things: built-in GPS and a compass. Then I could automatically map and keep track of the position of each photo. I don't like manual Geo Tagging, it's too much work. This would be the killer 1-2 in my mind. Maybe in their next release.
I would be happy with just a cable that would allow me to connect my Garmin Legend HCX to the GPS connection on the D90. I hear their add on GPS unit will cost about $1,000.00. Can't go there. Other high end Nikons will accept the Garmin, why not the D90????? inquiring minds want to know!!!
I would change it such that i owned one.
really the only thing i would change would be the weather sealing, like have some! not enough to keep me away, just ordered mine, now if you havent already, go get yours!
Get rid of the display on top of the body.
When using cameras with a top display on a tripod extended to eye level, some settings can NOT be seen. You have to either lower the tripod or tip the camera back which destroys the framing.
Or if Nikon wants to keep top displays allow the photographer to see the same information on the display on the back of the body. That way the information is right under the photographer's nose as they are framing the shot.
I know this is a problem because I use my Nikon D70 and D80 on a tripod to shoot architectural photographs and need to set the infrared remote control to trigger the camera for long exposures. This happens all the time in my work and really makes me upset. Obviously the Japanese engineers never thought about or did any usability testing which treated the camera like a user would.
Terry Thomas...
the photographer
Atlanta, Georgia USA
www.TerryThomasPhotos.com
Not sure if you can do it with the D90, but my D300 has a "INFO" button, which is the key-lock/? button on the back, just above the "zoom-out" picture button on the left panel.
It's great, and it detects low or bright light and will inverse the information presented if it needs to It is also more detailed than the top display and makes full use of the screen.
i'd change nothing, i'd just by a canon :-)))
I would have made it a 15 megapixel to better compete with Canon's 50D. The arguments about the digital viewfinder and on sensor VR are silly. The D90, with its newer technology, gives better image quality than the D300 (sometimes the D3 even) and is about on par with the D700, but doesn't have the megapixels to necessitate its purchase.
Low noise high ISO: check
Improved IQ: check
Offers good print sizes: ehhhhh kinda...If you bump it down to 72dpi, you can squeeze out larger print sizes that hold up when viewing from a distance, but even today's cheapo printers can do 300dpi.
D90 is a great camera, but it feels redundant and almost a smack in the face of current D300, D3 and D700 owners, which bringing nothing new to the table. Even Canon gave the 50D a higher pixel count than the 5D, to signify technology progress. 12MP just doesn't give me enough image to crop the hell out of while delivering good sized prints.
The D90 has an "INFO" button which brings top LCD display to the back with ambient light sensing.
I would change some default settings. Right now the camera defaults to restarting DSC file numbers everytime the card is changed out. Also: auto-varying ISO is defeated by default. I'd change these. Also: for some reason preset WB images read as "No Good" more often than not.
I was disappointed to learn that the HD video... isn't.
I like it enough to write about it in a coming eBook. The movie mode is not without its weaknesses, but the strengths are quite solid.
See the preview and movie mode detail pages starting here: http://www.digitalsecrets.net/secrets/NikD90.html
A sample of the movie mode and geometry distortion control results are on those pages.
I'd like a tilt-screen rear LCD like the Sony, without which, Live-view seems useless to me
An amazing camera.
If they could make it lighter, much lighter...
Allow unrestricted USB file transfer without the need to install Nikon software!
If the D90 had the same autofocus system from the D3/D700/D300 (51 points, with 15 cross-type), it would be perfect.
First thing I want is a simple release cord. Why does Nikon release the camera but not the release cord? It's a total shame that it isn't compatible with the D80-70 standard release cords. That means I can't use the nice MC-30 intervalometer until they decide to make a new one, or some Chinese rip-off makes one. I wanted to make my own intervalometer by hacking the remote cord, but you can't buy them anywhere except on ebay from Japan!
After that rant though, I fairly like this camera. It does great in low light (see http://www.flickr.com/photos/38892648@N00/2946605184 quality's pretty good even at 1600ISO). The controls are exactly where you need them (except for the exposure override button... why does only one wheel work while the other doesn't do anything?).
The movie mode is pretty good, although weird. There's no autofocus, which is a HUGE disappointment. My Canon Powershot has autofocus in movies. It doesn't work like a normal DSLR when using it though, so you only have very basic control over the exposure. But I love taking fisheye movies; they're quite useful when I'm VJing! Overall I'm pretty happy with it.
Built in GPS
I upgraded? from the D80 for two reasons. I wanted the HD Movie capability and I wanted to attach my camera to my Garmin GPS.
Well, Lots of luck. The HD Movie capability really is not that great and now I find out if I want to use the GPS connection I will have to buy Nikon's GPS unit which I understand will be around $1,000.00. I'm sorry, I can't go there. I should have stuck with my D80 and used software to do the GPS thing. I sure wasted a lot of money on the D90.
Love the camera, having moved up from the D40.
For the first change, this should be possible in the firmware: give us the ability to press the AF button and turn the sub-command dial to change the AF area mode, just as turning the command dial already changes the AF mode. The AF button/sub-command dial combo isn't used for anything, and this would save us from going into the menus to change the AF area mode.