Review: Nikon D90 DSLR Camera Review Part-II

Preamble: Here is my complete video review on Amazon.com that is now the most helpful critical review, thanks to your votes:-)

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Here is part I of this review if you missed it. I recommend you read part I first to understand the context.


I confirmed that D90 had better noise performance in day-to-day use as compared to Canon 50d. Again, no lab tests, no controlled environment.. but just regular in-house pictures.. and I can see more chroma-noise with Canon 50d pictures. Also, no matter what I tried with the Canon pictures style editor, it was near to impossible to get the 'punchy' colors that nikon produces. In all fairness, Canon's picture style editor is a great idea, and it does help a lot too (see my blog here). But the limitations are with how we can only select and change 100 discrete/individual colors, and there is no easy way to just plain rotate the color cone for all the possible colors. I decided to return the Canon 50d for these reasons.. plus the fact that it started giving me lens mount errors right out of the box. Come what may, I have re-ordered the D90 kit (I know.. but at least I tried both and found out what I like).


I know I will miss the tack sharp live view and the hot-pixel-less sensor from Canon, but I have come to realise that what counts is the ultimate aesthetics of picture-taking, and Nikon D90 gave me that. I caught myself frequently comparing D90's output pictures with the 50d's. And no matter what I did, I always spent more time staring at and panning and zooming in the Nikon results.
I plan to deal with the hot pixels with Adobe Lightroom which automagically maps them out from raw images. Or I will write scripts to map them in batches from both RAW and JPEGs in Capture NX2 (yes.. I found out that Capture NX2 allows you to remap hot pixels even in JPEGS.. so you dont necessarily have to shoot RAWs to avoid the hot pixels. as is the common misconception!).



So if you have read this review so far, please know this: I chose aesthetic pleasure over technical (or specification) superiority.. a personal choice. And if I could change the star rating of this camera, I would now make it 4-1/2. The half points will still be gone for hot-pixels and inferior live view with no exposure simulation.
There. I lived through two great cameras, and embraced one. Its your turn now. Good luck.. and whichever you choose, make sure you like the end result.. and not just the camera's specifications or mega pixel count:-)

Adding vividity to Canon 50D colors with Canon Picture Styles

I am not sure if it is a general consensus, but I found default colors produced from the two Canons I owned (XSi and 50d) lacking the punch that I desire. I actually also owned a Nikon D90 briefly just because I liked the vivid colors it produces (in fact Nikons are known for that.. isnt it?). Here is an example:

Unfortunately I had to return the Nikon because of sensor problems, and ineffective live view.

So now, I am a happy camper with a Canon 50d, and while looking for a way to give its default colors a punch, I came across the ability of Canon's Picture Style Editor to allow to remap the colors (upto 100) in the HSL space (Hue, Saturation, Lightness). Note that a simple boost in saturation and contrast settings didnt do what I wanted. This is because the colors come out differently treated by default (in RAW format) by 50D and D90's sensors.



Here is a first attempt at vividifying the picture styles, for landscape. The vividified image is the second one:



Here are 100% crops from the images before/after the picture style application:



And here is the same location with a Nikon D90 (on a different day though, so not directly comparable with Canon shots):



If you like the work, please drop a comment here. Thanks!



Updated 02/20/2010. I get many emails every week asking for my custom picture styles, and how to upload them to your camera. Here are the answers:

[1] If you are interested in a copy of the picture styles that you can import to your Canon 50d camera, visit this link, and download the files. No catch here, its available for free. I am a big proponent of the "free resources for all" policy:-)

[2] Check this link for how to upload a custom picture style to your Canon camera, provided your model supports it. If it doesnt support it, you can still apply picture styles after you download pictures to your computer.

Nikon D90 Pictures

Visit here for an index of all D90 sample pictures on this website.

Review: Nikon D90 DSLR Camera

Preamble: Here is my complete video review on Amazon.com that is now the most helpful critical review, thanks to your votes:-)

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It is an amazing camera by Nikon, especially for amateur and enthusiast level photographers. The feature list is fantastic, plus the fact that it has the sensor of similar quality as the professional grade D300 model, and of course how can you forget the HD video capabilities? The sensor is highly rated for amazing dynamic range and color depth (the blues and greens are dreamingly rich, see my images in the customer images section). Please watch the video for a comparison with Rebel XSi that I owned before this one.

Pros:
[] Great sensor, amazing colors out of the camera
[] Auto D-lighting to restore shadowed regions
[] Feels great in hand, very comfortable to hold... lighter than a Canon 40d/50d.
[] The optical viewfinder is bright and big, with great coverage
[] AF tracking points are easy to spot and switch to
[] Great 320K dots LCD
[] Video feature is great.. you can make some really slick short movies after some practice. It is a bit difficult to master both autofocus and zoom and exposure control in video mode, but I guarantee you a huge share of fun with it.. especially with DOF tests:-)


Cons:
[] My copy of the camera came with one big bright hot pixel that was ON even at low ISOs like 200 and at fast shutter speeds. I was just about to learn to ignore it by using the software to map it out, and 2 more developed within a week of normal usage. Not good for a $1K camera right out of the box. I searched online and found many many others with the same issue. Further, you will have to pay at least one way shipping to a Nikon service center to have them mapped out, and yet they say it may develop more with time. I dont understand why a brand new camera has this issue. And its not jut my copy, you can search "Nikon D90 + hot pixels" and you will find many many recent posts on this topic.
[] The live view is just a gimmick. It doesnt stand in front of the implementation in a cheaper Canon XSI even. It lacks exposure simulation (the mode which brightens or darkens the LCD view based upon live shot setting changes like ISO/aperture/exposure time etc.). Further, it only goes as high as 6.7X while the XSi and 40D/50D go upto 10X zoom. To add to that, D90 seems to extrapolate the live view image at high zooms from a lower resolution image... showing bad interpolation artifacts like blocks at 6.7X zoom. You have to see it to believe it. Try a Rebel XSi and a D90 live view, and you will know what I mean. Also, there is no exposure scale overlay on the live view image to guide the user whether the shot is under/over exposed. You will have to switch to optical view finder to confirm the shot exposure level. All this renders the live view practically useless for anything but framing a snapshot or a video. In fact it should have been called an LCD view finder and not the live view, which it is not. D90 also only has one auto focus mode in live view which is contrast based, and too slow. Even 40d has a fast phase detect mode. Also, the D90 LCD refreshes only 15 frames per sec while a 40d/50d refreshes at 30 fps - better for sports. If you wear glasses and are hoping this live view will help you take pictures without having to goto the top LCD or the optical view finder, you will be shocked. Having owned an XSi and tried a Canon 50d, I can say with confidence that Nikon really has to improve their live view, or at least stop calling it that. I have let the Nikon customer support know of the interpolation issue at least, and they say it may come as a model update later, probably not an easy firmware update. But their answer was not clear. It took many emails just to explain the problem.
[] The zoom (+/-) buttons are for the left hand. They may have been like this for most of the Nikons, but coming from Canon, it was a big discomfort to me to first switch the camera weight to the right hand, then move my left hand to use the buttons to the left of the LCD, then switch the hands back. This can be a pain if you have a heavy lens (like 70-300mm VR) and don't have a tripod.
[] The pixel depth is only 12-bit as compared to 145-bit in a Rebel XSi or a Canon 40d. This is not that obvious, and it is actually surprising that D90 produces great colors for a shorter pixel depth.
[] The video mode can possibly age your sensor quicker than it should. Because of prolonged exposures (upto 5 minutes in HD mode), the sensor may develop more hot pixels over time than usual. It is also hard to lock exposure while in video.. else there are jerks when the auto-exposure-compensation mode jumps in as the scene brightness changes.

In conclusion,

- if you can live with a sensor that may come with hot pixels, or may develop more sooner than expected,
- if you don't mind using both hands to manage controls while also holding a heavy lens,
- if you don't use live view at all and will only use the optical view finder, and
- if you have about $1200 to spare (as of Jan 12 2009), and a few hundred more down the line for expensive Nikkor zooms,
then this is a great camera for you. You will be more than satisfied with the colors that come flying out of it. Otherwise, allow me to recommend Canon 40d or 50d with pretty much all of the basic imaging done the right way.
The live view and the hot pixel issues are a big reason why I gave this camera only 3 stars. Especially so because it is a still camera first.. and if they ship out defective units (with hot pixels) in a brand new box, and ask you to use a software to take 30 minutes just to wait for them to me mapped out, I think they fail to provide the basic purpose of this camera. Plus the live view isnt useful at all except only for shot framing.

Edit to add: Here is a website that will let you compare the sensor quality between different models for your information. I am not sure how reliable they are, but they seem genuine.. still I advise you to interpret that data at your own discretion.

Edit#2: I have since returned this camera and have ordered a Canon 50d. I want to take good still pictures first, and the video mode and the ineffective live view and the LCD werent helping me too much in doing that. Regardless, it may fit your requirements, in which case please enjoy all the features it comes with, and dont forget to share your first video:-) Here are mine:

[1] The Toast
[2] The Broom

And heres a link to the video review.

Edit to add: Here is part II of this review, with slight comparison with Canon 50d.

Another D90 hot (pixel) story

I bought a D90 kit online from Adorama Camera last month. First off, the manual bag was torn. It looked like it wasnt packed right, OR it was repackaged after use. I was living with it.. until the next day when I removed the LCD plastic cover to clean the LCD with a brush, and it was *scratched*!!!

Now I was sure I needed to return it. So I got in touch with Ms. Helen Oster (their cust svc ambassador), who was very polite and agreed to have it returned. I returned that one, and bought a second one from them for the same price since I didnt want to wait for a 10 day exchange cycle.

Guess what: the second one arrived clean, with the manual bag only partly damaged (still not intact), BUT with one bright green hot pixel in lower left corner visible even at ISO 200 and fast shutter speeds!!! I contacted Adorama again, and even this time Helen offered to exchange it. And while we were discussing that, a new one developed.. within 2 days of purchase!!

I also talked with Nikon Cust Support and they are asking to look at it under warranty, BUT I will have to pay the forward shipping. WHY????

I am pissed. I know it is pixel peeping, AND I love the camera otherwise, AND I can use a software (Capture NX2 or Lightroom OR Photoshop) to auto map them out, but why cant Nikon have better quality control and reject sensors that show hot pixels even at ISO 200 in bright conditions? Why must we have to pay extra for software fixes for hardware faults?

I agree hot pixels may develop with time and use and environmental conditions. But right off the box?? How bad is their testing?

If I didnt love the camera otherwise, I would return it for a full refund.



Good luck guys!

P.S. I must commend Ms Helen Oster for being courteous through this whole episode and for suggesting alternatives. However now its like a lottery game.. no one knows if the 2nd replacement will be better or worse.. only NIKON knows. Funnily enough, in the Rebel XSi I owned before, I never noticed any hot pixels.. not even at 1600 ISO. And with the D90, I could see the hot pixel right there in a normal day light shot.
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Digital Photographer galleries

After reading the Digital Photographer magazine at Borders store today, I signed up with their online galleries. Here is a link to my proile.

They even have a face-off where your pictures get voted for. And also an annual competition for the 6 genres.

My first picture there is this one that I took today:



I am gonna invest in a real DSLR camera if I get encouraging votes.. hell I will get one even otherwise:-) My current camera is not an SLR (FujiFilm FinePix S5100), but its not bad. Looking forward to some good shots....

A bruised rose...

A bruised rose from our backyard: