Nikon's D90: 12.3mp, 4.5fps, 24fps in 720p movie mode (first trad. SLR w/movies)

http://www.nikonusa.com/Find-Your-Nikon ... 6/D90.html

MSRP: $999

The upgrades from the D80 include:

4.5 fps
12.3mp CMOS sensor (should be the same chip as the D300)
True VGA 3" LCD
Native ISO 200-3200 (100, 6400 in boost)
Built-in flash can act as wireless commander
LiveView with 3 AF methods, including Face Detection AF

And the big one:

Movie with sound
HD 1280 x 720/24 fps VGA 640 x 424/24 fps QVGA 320 x 216/24 fps
All in AVI format

This was another of the worst kept secrets. We knew the date it would be announced and heck even the specs basically got leaked a little bit ago. But here we have the first ever traditional SLR that includes a movie-mode.

Even USA Today got word of it early!

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industrie ... htm?csp=34

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I find it interesting the the dSLR's are starting to add the LiveView functionality. One of the reasons I loved the jump to dSLR was the fact that I had a viewfinder again and could compose my shots within the viewfinder. The LCD was a pain in the !@#$%^ for me to work with, especially in sunny conditions.

I think the only time I'd use the LiveView would be when I'm setting up my tripod for firework shots. Currently, I have to set the tripod up so high that my diminuitive stature cannot reach the viewfinder unless I'm standing on a stool. So I have to take a picture, look at the preview on the LCD and then adjust the tripod and repeat until I get the correct alignment...LOL

 

That's one of the great uses for live view - tripod-based night shooting. Though I enjoy having an optical viewfinder, and use it 90% of the time, that 10% of the time I can flip out my LCD to a variable angle, and use live view to compose my shot while using the tripod at some awkward angle, makes all the difference.

Another nice advantage of live view capability is to use it to check and set white balance - seeing the visual on screen makes it quick and painless, either setting the kelvin or setting WB on a grey card or white object.

And the occasional overhead above-the-crowd shot, or way-down-low ground level shot, where the flip LCD and live-view let me not have to bend over or guess where I'm aiming!

 

so, I dont fully understand?
does the movie mode work the actual shutter at 24fps sounding like the 1930's?
or does it just go straight to some other processor in the camera hooked to the live view?
and does it allow all the zooming and f stops of the lenses?

 

Craig,

As far as I can tell, it will lift the mirror, open the shutter and turn on liveview - then the camera can record 24 frames with sound at the lower resolutions provided. So yes, you can zoom, and have the f-stops of the lenses.

The item that has been brought up is that apparently you can't even use the contrast AF during movie mode, so it would be MF only. This seems odd to me - I know you can't have the mirror plopping down during the movie to AF using phase-detection, but it has two kinds of contrast AF in liveview otherwise.

 

uh, manual focus movie mode doesnt seem like its going to go over well with the group of consumer that this would be aimed at? ???

my gut told me they would not use the shutter and 24 fps. i had this vision of people everywhere holding there new d90's with the guts falling out of the front of the camera after 10 minutes of video use!

 

Manual focus! OMG what were they thinking?!?! Why even do it. Everyone is going to be upset when what they thought was a well focused image on that tiny LCD turns out to be a nausea inducing blurry video

 

If the 3"LCD is in focus, the shot video will be in focus... heck it'll have a better VR system than what most camcorders have now. I'm thinking that someone will be issuing a firmware update sooner rather than later...

 

Roger,

My experience with my D80 has been many of my photos look awesome when previewed in the LCD after being shot, but once downloaded and viewed on a monitor look out of focus and horrible.

So, I don't think one can make the claim that the LCD will give a very accurate predictor of the quality of the shot when you have to manually focus. Especially, when you are talking about moving pictures where the focus will constantly need to be adjusted as the subject(s) move closer or further away

 

The new LCDs are 640x480 which is very close to the high limit of the movie recording mode, so it should be basically the same.

 

OK. So the resolution on the LCD is greater than mine, but how do we explain Nikon's desire for us to be focusing while filming. Heck, I don't know how many professional lensmen could do that on a movie set

 

Honestly I don't know. Maybe they want to save AF for a camera that has two CPUs?

 

Roger,

If your hypothesis is correct about the video being manual focus, Nikon may have an iPhone-sized debacle on their hands when people buy the camera and find out it isn't what they thought it would be just like people are upset about the iPhone's lackluster 3G performance

 

Probably. But I think they may be thinking that the better market for a non-AF movie mode will be the D60x crowd when it is released early next year, or better yet, before Christmas. Even the Edsel shipped with no-AF period in LV. Now every one has contrast AF, even the 1Ds got it. Sony on the other hand has it because of their better liveview system.

Sony should be able to quickly add video to their next releases. Same with Oly/Pana.

 

CONGRATULATIONS! ENJOY!

 

at a boy, mike. you gotta show my this one next time we come down. i still owe you a little -101 training - i didn't forget.