D90 speculation? Bring it on!

[GroovyGeek]

I have officially made my peace with the fact that the D200/300 is too much of a camera for me - too heavy, never got quite used the ergonomics, nor the color rendition. As a result of this decision I have just sold my D200 and reverted back to the D70 that was gathering dust in my closet. My next purchase will be a D90 as soon as it is released.

Since the money is burning a hole in my pocket, I thought I would start a rumor/speculation thread about feature set, pricing, and timing of introduction. Please don't flame me, if idle speculation offends your sensibilities just move on to the next message. :smile:

Without much adieu, I start with the feature list of the D300 and my guess what will be preserved in the D90. If you disagree with my editorial comments simply insert your own. Remember, we are doing this for fun, and because we are sitting in front of a computer instead of shooting!

• Sensor: same as D300, 12 Mpx. I don't think that they will use the 10 MPx D60 sensor, because the D90 will be positioned as a competitor to the Canon XSi, which uses a 12 MPx sensor. Like most people on this board I would happily take a 10 MPx version of the D300 sensor. Using the D60 sensor would be somewhat of a downer.
• Raw files: 12/14 NEF. Again, I don't think they will clip it to 12bit compressed NEF only for reasons of competitiveness with the XSi, which is full 14 bit.
• Dust reduction: self-cleaning sensor, same as D300/D700. Nikon cannot afford to leave it out, particularly since the D60 has it
• Auto-focus: most likely 11pt AF similar to the D200, but a significant step down from the 51 point AF mechanism on the D300. This is one of the areas where Nikon usually goes to great pain to distinguish the various classes of bodies they sell. They will also likely leave group dynamic AF out, like they did on the D80. I shoot landscapes, so this is not a biggie for me.
• Lens support: full screw drive, AI lenses mount but do not meter
• Sensitivity: 200-3200 ISO, adjustable in 1/3 steps, same as the D300. Probably no 100-6400 ISO boost, but who needs it anyway.
• Frame rate: 3-4fps, 1/2 that of the D300. Another area where Nikon has historically drawn clear distinctions. As a landscape shooter, this is another "don't care" for me.
• Flash sync: 1/250s, Auto FP. The days of 1/500 sync seem to be gone.
• Image parameters: here come the stupid scene modes and no presets. Fair enough, this is a consumer body after all.
• Active D-Lighting: yes, it is on the D60, but I could not care less
• Viewfinder: pentamirror, 95% coverage, a step down from the 100% coverage pentaprism on the D300.
• MLU: no, but will maintain the 1/4 sec shutter delay option of the D80
• LCD: 3", same as the D300
• Live View: this is an inherently consumerish-type feature, so I am guessing that they will keep it. Does the D60 have it? The XSi does.
• Storage: SD --- grrrrr! C'mon Nikon, copy the D70 and give us CF. I know, I know, when hell freezes over...
• Pop-up flash: yes, can be used as a commander
• DOF preview: yes
• FUNC button: yes, please Nikon, I promise to be nice if you give me that one
• AF-ON button: no, this is the one feature of the D200 that I will miss
• Vertical grip: available as an option, not that I want or need it
• Battery life: somewhat better than the D300, uses EN-EL3e batteries
• Weight: 600g or less. They better not blow that one, it is one of the main reasons I sold my D200
• Cost: no more than $899, maybe even less if the XSi starts beating the crap out of the D80 in the marketplace
• Announced: 8/28/2008
  

 

[Pa]

Unlike you, I am very happy with the D200 except for the size and weight. Since I do most of my photography while traveling or hiking, I would really like a camera with the capabilities of the D200 but with the size and weight of a D40. Your wish list mirrors mine pretty well, but I am happy with the 10MP size of the D200. In fact, I would be happy to "regress" to 8MP.

Oh, and I would appreciate slightly better high-iso performance for those cathedral/museum shots. And I would like the IR remote shutter capability of the D70/D40.

 

[mdruiz]

VR built into the camera!

 

[photolizard]

Times have sure changed. No mention of the metering system. Back in the 1970s and 1980s, we were looking at things like meters. The meter is why I dumped the D80 and had to go to the D200. I even kept my D100 because of the meter.
But, if there was a D80-sized camera with the other features mentioned, I would consider it.

 

[GroovyGeek]

Times have sure changed. No mention of the metering system.

Fair comment, and a significant omission on my part... The metering system is why I am not too hot on buying a used D80 for under $600 now, or under $450 when the D90 comes out. However, I consider this a D80 specific issue, it was not present on the D70/D70s/D50, and as far as I can tell has been fixed on the D40/D40x/D60. I don't think Nikon will make the same mistake again.

 

[Pa]

VR built into the camera!

I wouldn't care for this, as it most certainly would add weight and complexity to the body. And it's not gonna happen,as Nikon is already committed to VR in their lenses.

 

[kungfooren]

Maybe they won't have a D80 replacement?...
force people to shell out for the D300. haha.

 

[scooptdoo]

I wouldn't care for this, as it most certainly would add weight and complexity to the body. And it's not gonna happen,as Nikon is already committed to VR in their lenses.

LIKE THEY WERE COMMITTED TO THE DX FORMAT UPUNTIL THIS PAST DECEMBER....

 

[mi2ark]

I'm also interested

I really REALLY like my D300 but if the D90 gets close to the specs of the D300, I may be convinced to switch as well.

(of course as soon as I do, I'm sure I'll miss something on the the 300)

 

[Jeff Lee]

In camera VR would be a great addition IF the D90 can use at least D lenses. Of course we will have to see the price point....

 

[pforsell]

I think Nikon will most likely reuse the D300 sensor just like they did with D200 -> D80 -> D40x -> D60 and D100 -> D70 -> D50 -> D40.

They are known for not always crippling the lower bodies like Canon seems to do as Canon is more marketing driven company with very strict product line boundaries. It is not uncommon for Nikon to have a lower cost body to trump the higher cost predecessor body in some features.

Guesswork: there will be a 12 Mpixel "D90" (plastic, SD card, 4-5 fps, LiveView, maybe 21 pt autofocus, lossy compressed RAW) and a "D65" (plastic, 3 fps, LiveView, 5 point autofocus, AF-S lenses only, lossy RAW).

 

[Triggaaar]

[*] AF-ON button: no, this is the one feature of the D200 that I will miss

Can't you just use the AE-L/AF-L button (or do you use that for it's originally intended purpose)?

 

[GroovyGeek]

The AE-L/AF-L button overrides focusing action by the shutter release. The AF-On button has an entirely different function. It allows you to completely shut off focusing by the shutter release. This has many useful applications, both for landscape and action shooters, that were discussed on a thread in this forum not long ago. For me, the benefit is that it makes landscape composition a breeze.
1) Point the camera to the object that you want to be in focus, force focus with AF-ON
2) Recompose, dink around with tripod/ballhead and exposure adjustments to your heart's content
3) Press the shutter button to take picture, while still maintaining focus at the point set in step 1

Sure, you can achieve a similar thing with press-and-hold, or the AF-L function, but it is not nearly as convenient.

 

[JeffKohn]

Here's what I'd like to see, although I don't hold out much hope that it will actually happen.

10-12MP CCD sensor
3" LCD and LiveView
Mirror Lockup

Those three features would make it the ideal camera for IR conversion. Alas, the newer CMOS sensors just aren't any good for IR, even with the internal filter removed.

 

[Richard GT]

I have a D80 and love it. The D90 (?) I can wait for. In fact the D80 does everything I want/need. I plan to get another while new ones are still available at bargan basement prices.

 

[GroovyGeek]

Here's what I'd like to see, although I don't hold out much hope that it will actually happen.

10-12MP CCD sensor
3" LCD and LiveView
Mirror Lockup

I think that the first two are a certainty. The third one will not happen, except for the 1/4s shutter delay already present on the D80.

 

[JeffKohn]

I think that the first two are a certainty. The third one will not happen, except for the 1/4s shutter delay already present on the D80.

Hmm, but you predicted a CMOS sensor in your own post unless I'm misreading you. I most definitely do not want a 10mp version of the D300 sensor.

I might be able to live without MLU, although I would hope they at least increase the Exposure Delay to a full second like they have on the D3 and D300. 1/4s is not enough.

 

[GroovyGeek]

Oops, you are right, the D300 does have a CMOS sensor, I keep forgetting.

 

[Triggaaar]

The AE-L/AF-L button overrides focusing action by the shutter release. The AF-On button has an entirely different function.

No it doesn't, there is an option in the menu to have AE-L/AF-L act as if it were an AF-ON button (at least there is on my D70, so I can't see why there wouldn't be on newer models).

It allows you to completely shut off focusing by the shutter release. This has many useful applications, both for landscape and action shooters, that were discussed on a thread in this forum not long ago. For me, the benefit is that it makes landscape composition a breeze.
1) Point the camera to the object that you want to be in focus, force focus with AF-ON
2) Recompose, dink around with tripod/ballhead and exposure adjustments to your heart's content
3) Press the shutter button to take picture, while still maintaining focus at the point set in step 1

That's exactly how it works on my D70.

 

[Leif]

They are known for not always crippling the lower bodies like Canon seems to do as Canon is more marketing driven company with very strict product line boundaries. It is not uncommon for Nikon to have a lower cost body to trump the higher cost predecessor body in some features.

I am not sure what you mean by cripple. IMO Canon low end bodies are fully usable because they have the same sensor and MLU, albeit with a plastic body, and harder to use controls. They reduce the specs such as FPS, and AF, but what do you expect. Nikon on the other hand remove MLU from non-pro bodies making the camera little more than a toy for my purposes. Shame because the D80 is a nice camera.

I suppose it might depend on your intended use as to whether or not a given body is crippled, though I do not think many pro nature photographers would use anything less than a D200 as a backup.