The Nikon D90 – the first DSLR with HD video

It seems logical that with almost everything being dragged into the convergence mix like matter into a black hole, that the seemingly parallel streams of still and moving image capture should eventually morph and Nikon made the first move this week with the much anticipated announcement of the a high quality Digital SLR with a movie shooting function that delivers quality HD 720p (1,280 x 720 pixels) video. Thanks to the D90’s large image sensor, D-Movie images exhibit less noise than those of a typical camcorder, most notably in low-light situations. This is a landmark camera and will be the first of many remarkable all-in-one imaging devices using quality lenses and technology suitable for both modes. VERY exciting!

The D90 takes its inspiration from Nikon’s flagship DX-format digital SLR, the D300. The D90’s image sensor and 12.3 effective megapixels combine with Nikon’s EXPEED image processing to deliver outstanding images featuring fine details, smooth tones, rich colours and low noise across a wide ISO sensitivity range.

The D90 also provides remarkable performance and operability, featuring Nikon’s exclusive Scene Recognition System that advances precision in auto focus, auto exposure, and auto white balance in diverse shooting situations. Live View mode allows shooting while confirming the subject on the large 3-in., approx. 920k-dot high-density colour LCD and offers three contrast-detect AF modes to allow photographers to focus on any point in the frame, enabling a greater variety of composition. In addition to wide and normal area AF, the D90 offers face priority AF in Live View mode for even sharper pictures of people.

All of these powerful features and more are housed in a compact, comfortable-to-hold body, with intuitive controls. In other words, the D90 is a camera that will satisfy the requirements of passionate photographers who demand superior image quality and crave exciting new photographic possibilities.

Nikon D90 Feature Highlights

Newly designed Nikon DX-format CMOS image sensor with wide ISO sensitivity range with low noise D90’s 12.3 effective megapixels provides outstanding resolution, delivering images with extraordinarily defined detail and expanded enlargement capacity. The extremely wide sensitivity range of ISO 200 to 3200 delivers incredibly low-noise characteristics throughout. Furthermore, sensitivity can be increased to Hi 1 (ISO 6400 equivalent) and decreased to Lo 1 (ISO 100 equivalent) to expand shooting versatility. The camera also employs an Image Sensor Cleaning function that works to free image-degrading dust particles from the sensor’s optical low-pass filter.

EXPEED for smooth tones, rich colours and fine details

Nikon’s comprehensive digital image-processing EXPEED technology is optimised for the D90 to realise the high-quality, high-speed image processing capability. EXPEED also contributes to the outstanding performance of other powerful features such as Live View and the new Face Detection System.

D-Movie: the world’s first D-SLR movie mode

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