My experience of the Nikon D90 as an amateur photographer.

Advantages: Excellent picture quality, lots of useful features, well designed controls, great kit lens
Disadvantages: More expensive than some other DSLRs, quite big and heavy, limited movie mode

... How I made my choice I recently bought the D90 to upgrade from my Olympus 560UZ bridge camera, so this is my first foray into DSLR photography. Most people starting in DSLR photography will opt for the cheaper D40, or the D60, D70 and D80. I am not particularly rich, and in the end chose the D90 because I didn't want to grow out of the smaller DSLR and have to buy a new body quickly. I have found that the prices of Nikon DSLRs haven't decreased significantly over the last 3 years, so I decided (maybe wrongly) that this option would save me money in the long run. I found that it is very important to go into a shop and hold the camera in your hands before making a choice. All the photography shop assistants said that the Canon series was just as good as the Nikons, but I discounted them because I didn't get on with the feel...

potoroo99 15.09.2009 (22.09.2009) · Read review
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Review of Nikon D90

Nikon D80 - Superb Prosumer DSLR

Advantages: Image quality and build quality
Disadvantages: Lots of noise at high ISO

...positions it becomes second nature. The main program mode wheel has programs which you would find on both point and shoot and professional DSLR cameras which reinforce Nikons message that this is the camera to go for if you need to bridge the gap between consumer and professional. Below are the list of modes which are available on the D80; - Auto (all the cameras functions are automated based on sensor readings) - Portrait (special mode for portrait shots, usually enhancing skin tone colours) - Landscapes (special mode for Landscapes) - Macro (for close up photography) - Sport (for capturing fast moving subjects) - Night Landscapes (as landscape mode but in the dark!) - Night Portrait (as portrait but in the dark!) - Manual (You dictate the full setup of the camera) - Aperture Priority (You dictate the f-stop the camera decides...

apestyler 01.02.2008 · Read review
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Review of Nikon D80

Nikon D40 is the DSLR you'll ever need

Advantages: Excellent image quality, good core functionality of an DSLR, cheap, portable and lightweight.
Disadvantages: Megapixels may not be sufficient for some, no autobracketing and no autofocus with non-AFS lenses

...Although introduced many years ago, Nikon D40 is still my favorite DSLR due to its compact size and affordable price tag. It is the best entry level DSLR in the market, at a price much cheaper than the more expensive compacts and semi-pro. Nikon D40 is a fast 6MP camera with a large 3-inch LCD, 2.5fps continuous shooting, 1/500s flash sync and a bright viewfinder. What it lacks are a status display and a built-in auto-focus motor. Megapixel count does not matter. It only matters if you like to crop your pictures or print huge sizes. In fact, the higher the MP count the more noise is produced during capture. At 6MP, you can comfortably print at postcard size without visible loss of detail. In fact, in low light shooting, a 6MP SLR will crush 12MP compacts any time of the day. High MP count does not equate image quality, but since...

geft 14.10.2009 · Read review
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Review of Nikon D40

Nikon D80 DSLR + 18-135mm Nikkor lens

Advantages: perfect grip, large prismatic viewfinder
Disadvantages: doesn't have internal memory

... Nikon D80 My first real DSLR camera, which I have become addict to even if it requires me to learn a lot and keep challenging myself into operating it better and better ammoed with knowledge. It had been my dream to own a SLR camera, I've always had a passion for the big cameras and I was jealous of the pro photographers and the pictures they got. When I was little, my parents had an old Czech-made camera including all the stuff you need to develop the pictures yourself at home and so we were always full of photographs of me and my brother, that's where I started to love the stuff. Unfortunately the old equipment doesn't work anymore and my first camera was a simple automatic one and even if I liked to take pictures, I soon found out how expensive it was to have them developed and to buy new and new films. Now, in the age...

jeaniecz 22.06.2008 (09.07.2008) · Read review
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Review of Nikon D80

Nikon D90 - My Next 'Last' Camera

Advantages: Movies, LiveView, 12.3 mpixels, build quality, excellent lens range
Disadvantages: Still quite bulky for casual use. Expensive if that's all you want it for

...There?s been a legion of digital cameras that have passed through my hands since they started to become a serious contender for 35mm?s domination of the amateur market. Going from memory, they?ve included Philips, Casio, Canon, Nikon and errr?..Nikon. Of course the last one, my first DSLR, a Nikon D70 was going to be the last; but then we all say that don?t we, lads? What I really meant was ?the last for quite a while?. LOOKS LIKE THE ?QUITE A WHILE? HAS EXPIRED Then my daughter started making noises about a night-school class in photography, where the minimum kit requirement just so happened to be a DSLR, and I got to thinking about letting her have the D70 for a ?song?, whilst good ol? Dad treats himself to the later and much higher-specified D90. Since I bought the D70 four or five years back, things have moved on apace...

BNibbles 04.08.2009 · Read review
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Review of Nikon D90

Nikon D40x DSLR

Advantages: Compact for an SLR, easy to use, excellent picture quality.
Disadvantages: Battery life only allows 1000ish photos to be taken

...My review is about the Nikon D40x Digital Single Lense Reflex camera. For the last 3 years i've been taking photographs using my dad Konika Minolta Dynax 5D, but as of a few months ago i've moved in with my other half and no longer have access to my dads camera, so before christmas it was decided that we needed our own digital SLR. I'd got a couple of models in mind, the Canon EOS 500d and the Nikon D40, they both did what I wanted of them and were around the right price. Having researched them on the internet and finding somewhere to go look at them off we went to Jessops in town to have a look at them. I asked the assistant if I could look at and have a play with both and thats when I spotted the Nikon D40x, it hadn't come up in my searches on the internet and turned out that it was a better version of the D40 and had...

almarsden 19.03.2008 (20.03.2008) · Read review
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Review of Nikon D40x

Sony a200 - one of the best budget dslr cameras available.

Advantages: Great battery life, comfortable in the hands, picture quality.
Disadvantages: Flimsy memory card and remote release slot.

...I was looking for a new camera and had a budget of around £300. Compact cameras such as the Panasonic Lumix TZ and the Nikon Coolpix P80 kept coming up, as did the Nikon D40 and the Sony a200. I decided to go for the Sony in the end as it was a name I trusted and I had used a compact Sony in the past. The quality difference between my old compact camera and this camera was incredible. Shots always seem to come out crisp and clear, whatever lighting conditions the picture was taken in. Battery life is great and the percentage meter of battery power remaining is invaluable. The camera fits well in large hands, and all of the buttons and dials on the camera are comfortably positioned. Having only used a compact camera in the past, the sheer number of options took a while to get used to, but once I was familiar with the camera everything...

je12g08 09.09.2009 · Read review
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Review of Sony a (alpha) DSLR-A200K

Nikon D50 - good first DSLR

Advantages: Great pictures, SD card storage, ease of use
Disadvantages: Desire to try a more expensive option when you've seen how good the basic model is

...This camera is a great first step into the DSLR market. The in its silver guise it looks at a glance like a slightly large compact camera, which in turn means it attracts less attention than the standard black model that is hard to distinguish from its far more expensive Nikon stablemates. The camera controls all fall easily to hand when holding the camera, and far from being complex I have found the layout to be logical and comfortable. It is similar in many ways to the rival Canon EOS350, and has a similar set of functions. Fantastic results can be achieved simply by setting everything to auto and using it as a point and shoot compact, although one that can take sequences of shots until the memory card is full. Advantages - lightwieght, comfortable to hold and use, short start-up time and virtually no shutter lag, great...

SvenP 31.01.2008 · Read review
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Review of Nikon D50

Great entry level dslr at a great price

Advantages: Great camera at a great price
Disadvantages: Body looks cheap

...This is the first digital slr camera i ever purchased and i was not disappointed. The camera ************* This camera offers an affordable move up from the compact to a digital slr. It incorporates a huge range of creative options plus brilliant picture quality. Here are some of the features that the camera offers 10.2 effective megapixel CCD sensor plus optimised BIONZ processor for enhanced picture quality, reduced image noise and responsive operation High sensitivity up to ISO3200 with high-ISO noise reduction for successful handheld shooting in low light without flash D-Range Optimiser adjusts brightness and contrast for beautifully-exposed backlit scenes Enhanced SteadyShot INSIDE image stabilisation offers 2.5-3.5 steps anti-shake performance with all α-mount lenses* Large 2.7-inch Clear Photo LCD with easy...

falcon1959 12.07.2009 · Read review
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Review of Sony a (alpha) DSLR-A200K

Nikon D70, new owner of entry level DSLR crown

Advantages: Its a full digital SLR with interchangeable lenses
Disadvantages: Slight noise at 400ISO, poor strap design, nowt else !

...makes it all the more clever. I looked at a mains power supply, but at nearly £80 for a 9VDC 500mA supply, I was not tempted. Nikon have also stopped us using cheap and cheerful car boot sale power plugs by using an unknown power connector on the camera. Clever idea Nikon, but not appreciated !! Infra Red remote - Great idea, much easier than the cable release system on the Coolpix models and also on the Nikons main opponent, the Canon 300D. Essential for long exposure shots for my astronomy to avoid body vibration. Carry Strap - sadly not the most brilliant design. The strap attaches to the body by looping thru two small slots on the side. This means that the strap is under a bending stress when carrying the camera, and this leads me to believe that the strap will suffer from wear before too long. I have got around this by using...

g8ina 18.06.2004 · Read review
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Review of Nikon D70