Just few words. I got D90 after several years of using D70. Also used to shoot in studios with most Nikon and Canon bodies. Must say that D90 is very long step ahead from D70! If you choosing between D90 and D300 and you don't really need 14-bit color and not a "manual settings forever" guy, then D90 is perfect choice!

Based on all the great features and great reviews I had made up my mind to buy a D90 to replace my old D70s; but I always check out a camera in a brick and mortar store before I make my final decision. Good thing!

This camera has a grip that just does not fit my hand very well. It feels awkward and cramped.

I picked up a D40, a D80 and a D300 to compare and they were all much more comfortable to my hand than the D90. I liked the D300 and the D80 was fine; heck, even the smallish D40 felt pretty darn good.

In a side by side comparison with the D80 I saw the problem immediately: the space between the RHS of the camera body and the buttons on the back is much narrower on the D90! In fact, part of my palm actually overlaps some of the buttons which gives me the 'cramping' effect.

I really want to love this camera, but I know I can't hold it in my hand for very long with this grip.

FYI: I wear an L in a golf glove or winter glove, so...if you are thinking of buying this camera...get to a store and pick it up first! It will be surprise if you are a previous Nikon user.

So now its either wait for the price of a D300 to come down or buy a D200 at a bargain price.

Happy Shooting!

I am fairly new to photography. Last year I got the D40. I just upgraded to the D90 because I was tired of futzing with the white balance of the D40, and I wanted more low-light sensitivity (better ISO), as well as the flexibility of using faster lenses, many of which are not AF-S.

I have been very impressed with the D90. I'm comparing it to the D40. The things that I think are important are ranked from most to least important.

1. Active D-lighting (ADR). This has gotten me photos with large dynamic ranges of light (highly shaded subjects with a bright background) that I would have otherwise botched. Also, we rent a house where they did a quick paint job in white, but there are splotches of beige and light green underneath. We've never successfully taken photos of this with the D40 or our point-and-clicks. The D90 pulls these out (without flash) to the point where it's easier to see them in the photo than by eye, and it nails the colors! I also suspect that the ADR is helping tame the noise at high ISO levels (see #3 below).

2. White Balance. The white balance is a big improvement over the D40, which botched AWB lots of times. If you look closely, it's not perfect, but close enough for all but the perfectionists, and the beauty is it works in Auto. That means that you can focus on taking pictures and not on fiddling with your settings so much. There's also a lot of flexibility to set your AWB defaults with a lot of precision.

3. Low light photography. I take a lot of shots indoors without flash. Until very recently, there weren't any f/1.4 prime lenses that were AF-S (needed on D40). The D90 helps in 2 ways: a) takes AF-D lenses and b) has better high ISO performance. I did controlled tests using my 55-200mm VR lens at 55mm (f/4) and looked at ISO sharpness and color on the D40 and D90. I did it in manual mode, following the exact procedure of Ken Rockwell (tripod, VR off, remote trigger). I find that the D90 is between 1 and 2 stops better ISO than the D40. D90/ISO 6400 is too dirty, but D90/3200 is pretty usable. With the D40 at ISO 800, the sharpness is slightly better than the D90 at 3200 (but worse than D90/1600), but there's a lot more out-of-control, day-old pizza look in dark sections with the D40 at 800 than the D90 at 3200 (I'm guessing that ADR is helping here). The D90's color starts to fade at little at ISO 1600, and drops more at 3200, then quite a bit at 6400.

4. The 11-point AF has helped get things in focus compared with the D40's 3 spots. AF also feels faster. Autofocusing is a big improvement.

5. I also really like that it's quicker changing ISO, WB and QUAL because of dedicated buttons. I've also set AF as my top choice under My Menu, making it 1 button away as well (hit the Fn button). This was another Rockwell suggestion.

6. The screen is amazing, as others have said. Also, you can navigate a zoomed image on the screen really fast.

7. I'm also looking forward to using my SB600 flash remotely in commander mode (you can't do that on the D40).

Another observation: I'm not that familiar with the D300 and D700, but the D90 feels pretty solid compared to the D40. I thought that weight would help stabilize hand-held shots, but I also find that it's shutter is stronger than the D40, and that vibration tends to cancel out its heavier weight in terms of holding the camera still.

For someone who doesn't like to adjust the manual settings very much, the main benefits of the D90 over the D40 are the ADR and WB. These upgrades will probably appear in the D40 replacement in ~6 months. I might wait for that. For others who use their manual settings regularly, this is quite a camera.

There are plenty of reviews out there, and I don't want to be redundant. So here are some helpful points that I had a hard time ferreting out when doing my research before pulling the trigger on this purchase, given that I was upgrading from a D60 and that I am, like many who are reading reviews on this product, not a professional:

1. I owned the D40, then the D60. So this is my third Nikon. I had trouble deciphering how my lenses, purchased for the D40/D60, would behave when used in this new model. The answer is that the D90 handles all of them perfectly. This includes lenses that have the HSM built in (the Hyper Sonic Motor is packaged in the lens, because the D40/D60 range doesn't have a built in auto-focus motor) as well as those with no internal motor. The D90 has an internal focus motor, so all lenses built for Nikon cameras will auto-focus, including the Nikon 50mm f1.8 lens that I had to manually focus in the D60.

2. The D90 is heavier, but certainly not uncomfortable to hold or carry. Weight will not be a discouraging factor in purchasing this camera.

3. The D90 takes different batteries, so any spares you have for the earlier models will not work on it. Battery life is truly outstanding. I am not even going to buy a spare battery.

4. The user interface is completely different from the D40/D60. I found it intuitive however. The functionality is just superb, much easier and more flexible. This is a pro level camera with the ease of use of a high end amateur camera.

5. Live view is a great enhancement. Really.

Overall, there is nothing I can say negative about the D90. It's everything I was hoping it would be, and it's so worth the money to upgrade. I'm selling the D60 for half what I paid - and doing it gladly - because the D90 is worth more than it's being sold for. I absolutely highly recommend it.

I also thought I would offer some lens advice, because I had trouble finding a reviewer that just cut to the chase and said "look, just do this." So, look, just do this: I do NOT recommend the kit lenses that you can obtain bundled with the D90. Get the body only, and buy yourself that Nikon 50mm f1.8. It's a no-brainer at the price point, and the images I have already achieved have been just excellent. For the rest of your lenses, I highly recommend Sigma. I own the 18-200, the 10-20, and the 150-500. I cannot say enough positive things about the quality of the lenses or the images. Pack the 50mm and the 18-200 superlens for normal occasions. If you can stand the extra weight, you absolutely cannot go wrong with the 10-20 for landscapes, it just pulls in everything and the quality is shocking. The 150-500 is enormous, you are not going to want to carry that thing around, but when you need it, you really need it. I captured images of my son playing in a soccer game that blew me away; could not have gotten the shots without the big lens. Get the lenses in the order I have specified if you cannot afford them all.

I have just learned all this over the past 2 years. I am no expert but I have discovered the joy of capturing great images that you just cannot get from a point-and-shoot. I think once you see the quality you can achieve with a better camera, you will be thrilled with the decision to spend the money and the energy. And Nikon has truly produced the best camera at this price point in the world. It's a pro camera with an amateur price and it's very easy to use. Words really don't do it justice; you need to experience it to understand.

Any questions, please send me a comment. Happy to help!

I recently upgraded from a D40x to a D90 and the difference completely blew me away. The live view & video is a nice plus, but the best thing about the D90 is the excellent picture quality at high ISO settings. Shooting at ISO 1600 on the D90 looks better than ISO 800 on the D40x. The D90's controls are a lot easier to use. Instead of having to go to the menu for everything, you can set the ISO, image quality, etc. with a single button. The D90's lens support is also a lot better. It has an internal auto focus motor, so I can use auto focus with my 50mm/f1.8 lens.

I have to admit that coming from a D40 background I didn't think the learning curve would be that much, but this camera is full of features (it is after all a baby version of the D300) with extra knobs and a top LCD screen so it will take you a little while to learn about all the features. I look at this as a good thing because I was starting to get a little bored with my D40 and had reached its limits. So if this is your first DSLR and you're on a budget, it MAY be a good idea to hold off on this and learn with a lesser camera first so you would appreciate it more (and save a little money)

If you're a serious amatuer, the camerea itself is a beautiful thing. the high ISO performance is awsome. Once I learned about the secondary control wheel, i could change my camera settings much faster than the D40. Having an Autofocus motor also has opened up a whole new world of classic nikkor lenses which surprisingly autofocus fast. Flash commander mode works like a charm too. Overall a great great camera for the money and I don't regret it one bit.

Just do yourself a big favor and just get this camera... happy days will soon come... Excellent control and user interface layout... low light photography with the kit lens alone is a knock-out!... 4.5 frames/sec. got you covered for action shots... the HD video feature is a plus... but you'll be turned off by the mediocre audio quality... Feature by feature the best pro-sumer DSLR to date... Easily, the camera which bridges the consumer and professional photographers... so why are you still sitting there?... go get it!

I was going back and forth between the 90 and the 300. Obviously the 300 is a slightly more professional camera with a better frame, faster shutter, better autofocus, etc., but the D90 is so close to it and comes with a slightly better sensor and is $500 cheaper. Also, it has video. Now, before you stop reading because I mentioned that, let me make this statement. Video had nothing whatsoever to do with my decision. I had no interest in using a DSLR for video. But now that I've played with it, I think it is incredible. Now, it won't replace my camcorder but it will allow me to capture brief (<5 min) videos of things my child does that I would otherwise have to capture by switching physical cameras. The video quality if frankly amazing. The sound could be a little better, but is more than adequate. Now, on to the photography portion. The image quality between my D40x and the D90 is certainly noticeable. Pictures are clearer and more vibrant. All of the features that I used to have to access through the menu system (bracketing, image quality, burst mode, exposure, etc) are all available quickly using buttons and wheels on the camera. This is making a world of difference. The kit lens isn't the best by any stretch of the imagination but I have to be honest - it is better than I was expecting. I will try to post more as I continue to use it. But if you're considering moving up to a D90, DO IT!!! You won't regret it.

I am not a camera expert at all. I wanted to take a digital SLR class, and to do so, I needed to buy a digital SLR. I was looking at the Canons in the $650 price range.

I mentioned this to a friend of mine who is a professional photographer. She said that if I had any willingness at all to spend more, I should get the Nikon D90 - that it stood alone in class - it was the only pro-quality camera that was priced as though it were not a pro camera.

This is what she said "This camera is sick and does video too. You may have seen the ads for it on TV. It has these brand new Nikon sensors which are incredible at shooting at all light levels. A lot of people are saying it's technically almost the same as my five thousand dollar camera. It's the kind of camera which is making pros scared that people will not hire pros any more."

A professional photographer I trust endorsing it to this level, basically telling me that it was my only option - that was enough for me. More than my analyzing a chart of what features it has and what it doesn't - things I don't understand yet. So I bought the camera and brought it to work, and a coworker's husband is a professional photographer and he said that the Nikon D90 was his backup camera and he can't tell the difference. So that makes two pros who unequivocally say it stands alone in its class.

So I'm not a pro, and what I can say is that it was very easy to learn, the video quality is also actually quite good, I've been taking pictures that look great, and the battery lasts forever. Also, any of my friends who know I have a camera drool when they find out I have the Nikon D90.

The short answer is this - either trust me that I've had two pros tell me what I've told you, or find a professional photographer and ask them about the Nikon D90. I'm positive that they will tell you that there's nothing comparable unless you want to spend 5 times as much.

Sometimes you just want the expert to point and say - that one, that's the right choice - your only choice. Sometimes you don't want to analyze tables of features and try to make heads and tails of it.

I purchased a D90 this weekend. I had used a D80 for over two years and loved it. The reason I purcahsed the D90 were as follows: Amazing clarity at 1600+ IS0. I live near Seattle and most of the days the sun is not out. I am an avid bird watcher (www.johnandcindi.blogspot.com)and need to bump up the ISO with my long lenses (Nikon 70-300MM VR, Tamron 200-500MM) to keep the shutter speed up. So far I LOVE this camera.