Almost exactly two years after the D80 was announced comes its replacement, the rather predictably named D90. The D80 has been one of Nikon’s quiet successes, and even today, despite being positively Methuselah-like in digital camera terms it continues to sell and often makes its way into our top 10 most clicked on cameras. Because it looks so similar to the D80 the D90 appears at first glance to be one of those rather subdued incremental upgrades, but dig a little deeper and you’ll find there’s plenty to keep Nikon fans happy.
Lurking inside the Live View mode is video capability. Oh your say. That’s interesting. Nikon announced their D90just last week. Must be a trend.
Well, yes. It’s a trend alright. In fact I’ve been forecasting the convergence of stills and video for quite some time now, as anyone who reads this site regularly knows.
So – let’s see – how does it work and what are the specs?
This is clearly a first generation product. Nikon saw an opportunity to add video capability to the DSLR and did so in a simple manner with little intention of creating a new type of hybrid camera. The D90 is a stills camera (and a very good one) at a very reasonable price, that happens to also shoot moderate quality video.
There’s little doubt that stills / video convergence is on the way. The Nikon D90 though is simply a harbinger, and shouldn’t be seen as much more than that. As discussed above, while it is no replacement for a camcorder (even a consumer grade one), in the hands of Indy film makers it will likely turn out to be a productive tool, filling in when shallow DOF or special lens use is required.
It has been quite an interesting three years since Canon first released the original EOS 5D. At the time, it was the first full-frame, compact digital SLR that sold at a somewhat affordable price of $3,299 at launch. It proved popular with dSLR Dads who required really big pixels for their landscape and portrait work. Remarkably enough, it is only recently that Canon has faced competition in the space it created with the introduction of Nikon’s D700 and Sony’s Alpha A900. And while those are some mighty fine cameras, Canon has once again decided to set itself apart from the crowd. With the introduction of the 21.1 Megapixel full-frame EOS 5D Mark II, Canon is also the first to introduce 1080p high-definition video recording in a digital SLR Camera.
Given the announcements and release of still cameras from “others” that now shoot video, RED is excited to enter this game. From our vantage point, it is a lot easier to enter the still market from a motion background than visa-versa. The biggest issue that needs to be solved by the still capture group is skew… slow read-reset of CMOS imagers. This “typical” CMOS issue shows itself by moving the camera during motion capture. It is seen as “jelly movement”. Red has overcome this issue with a rapid read-reset CMOS sensor program. The Monstro Mysterium sensor is the fastest read-reset CMOS known to man enjoying the same motion characteristics as a film camera.
The World’s First Digital SLR that Shoots High Definition Video
Yes you read that correctly. The new Nikon D90 digital SLR Camera is the world’s first dSLR to also shoot video. With the ability to record up to 5 minutes of High Definition 720p, 24 frames-per-second, mono-sound video, the Nikon D90 is definitely a game changer.
True, the 12.3-megapixel CMOS sensor, expanded ISO range, and Live View shooting is nice, but it’s the HD video that really makes a dSLR Dad eager to use this camera. The Nikon D90 DX 12.3MP Digital SLR Camera will be available in two versions this September.
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