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In a ballsy move that will either have you going yay or nay, camera boys Nikon have announced that video functionality will make its way into their latest DSLR, the D90. Recording video in M-JPEG format, what’s probably the niftiest part about this new functionality is that like a regular DSLR, you’ll be able to utilize various lenses (such as macro, wide angle and fisheye lenses) while shooting these videos.
More information on the D90 are available here and here, but there’s still no word how much this bad boy will set us back in Malaysian Ringgit.
Full feature list after the jump.
Nikon Corporation is pleased to announce
the introduction of its newest DX-format digital SLR, the D90. More
than just a new camera, the D90 represents a new era of digital SLR fun
and creativity.
The first thing that will amaze photographers about the D90 is its
stunning image quality, which 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 exclusive EXPEED image
processing to deliver outstanding images featuring fine details, smooth
tones, rich colors and low noise across a wide ISO sensitivity range.
The D90 is the world’s first* digital SLR camera with a movie
shooting function that delivers genuinely cinematic results, enhanced
by the creatively shallow depth of field made possible by the DX-format
sensor. This is further refined by the optical quality and broad
selection of NIKKOR lenses — the same lenses relied upon by
professional photographers the world over. 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.
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 color 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 the 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 colors and fine details
Nikon’s comprehensive digital image-processing EXPEED technology is
optimized for the D90 to realize 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
In a world first* for D-SLRs, the D90 offers a movie function,
allowing you to shoot 320 x 216 pixels, 640 x 424 pixels or HD720p
(1,280 x 720 pixels) movies at the professional smoothness of 24 frames
per second in motion JPEG format. The D90’s sensor, which is much
larger than the sensor of a typical camcorder, ensures higher image
quality and exceptional low-noise, high ISO sensitivity performance,
even during movie shooting. Capturing creative movie clips or the drama
of life’s moving moments is further enhanced by the wide selection of
incredibly sharp NIKKOR interchangeable lenses that are available, from
fisheye to wide-angle to super-telephoto. And Micro NIKKOR lenses bring
the magic of extreme close-up imagery to movie making.
*As of August 27, 2008, according to research conducted by Nikon Corporation
Note: Autofocus and some other functions are not available when recording movies.
Scene Recognition System integrated with Face Detection System
The D90 precisely reads the color and brightness information of each
scene from the 420-pixel RGB sensor, and applies this to auto focus,
auto exposure and auto white balance. The D90 also recognizes human
faces using the new Face Detection System, data which is incorporated
during calculation, resulting in faces with newfound definition and
accuracy as well as enabling face priority AF in Live View mode and
immediate zoom into people’s faces in playback zoom.
Easy-to-use Live View mode
One press of the Live View button activates the D90’s Live View
mode, delivering a bright, crisp image to the 3-in., approx. 920k-dot
color LCD and allowing comfortable shooting without looking through the
viewfinder. There are three contrast-detect AF modes that let you focus
on any point in the frame: Face priority AF automatically detects up to
five faces and focuses on that calculated to be the closest. Wide area
AF offers a large AF area suitable for handheld shooting, and normal
area AF provides focus with pinpoint accuracy when using a tripod. And
when Nikon VR (Vibration Reduction) lenses are in use, photographers
will enjoy the benefit of a VR-smoothed image, even in Live View mode.
Picture Control System: Customize the visual style of your images
Nikon’s Picture Control System enables users to customize the look
and mood of images. Six original setting options are available —
Standard, Neutral, Vivid, Monochrome, Portrait and Landscape — for easy
customization of image preferences.
Active D-Lighting for smooth tone reproduction in high-contrast lighting
The D90’s Active D-Lighting accurately restores details in the
shadows and highlighted areas, which are often lost in high-contrast
lighting situations, by localizing tone control while shooting. There
are four levels, including the new “Extra High.” Active D-Lighting can
be used manually or set to Auto mode. It is also possible to bracket
your pictures, allowing the capture of one image with Active D-Lighting
and one without.
Versatile, practical 11-point AF system
Thanks to the Multi-CAM 1000 autofocus module, the D90’s 11-point AF
system offers fast and precise autofocus coverage across the frame with
the most sensitive AF sensor operating from the center. In addition,
the D90 features versatile AF-area modes to handle most shooting
situations: Single-point AF is recommended for stationary subjects,
dynamic-area AF for moving subjects, auto-area AF for spontaneous
shooting and 3D-tracking (11 points) AF for when you want to change the
composition after focusing on your subject.
Bright pentaprism viewfinder featuring frame coverage of approx. 96%
The D90 has a precise eye-level pentaprism viewfinder with approx.
96% (centered) frame coverage and an easy-to-view 19.5 mm eyepoint (at
-1.0 m-1). The built-in 16-frame superimposed grid display can be activated to assist in the creation of better-balanced compositions.
Advanced Scene Modes for superior image quality
The D90 features Advanced Scene Modes: Portrait, Landscape,
Close-up, Sports and Night Portrait. These modes not only adjust
exposure and image processing, but also judge the optimum Active
D-Lighting and Picture Control settings to obtain the best results. The
D90 also recognizes if VR (Vibration Reduction) is on or off and
minimizes noise even in dimly lit scenes.
Extensive palette of in-camera Retouch Menus
The D90’s designers incorporated a wide variety of image editing
functions, making it easy for users to enhance images within the
camera. The D90 introduces several new retouch options: Distortion
Control adjusts lens aberration, Straighten corrects inclination of the
image, while Fisheye produces optical effects similar to a fisheye lens.
Engineered for precision and durability
Accurate exposures rely on precise shutters and the D90’s
electronically timed shutter mechanism was specifically engineered for
long, accurate service. To ensure this, D90 shutters, assembled in D90
bodies, underwent exhaustive 100,000 shutter-release cycle testing.
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