D90 - Satisfies our Craze

Our latest gadget – NIKON D90, to satisfy our craze on photography and art in general. It is not mine but rather we bought it for future ‘Afi’s tool – his art work and aspiration to become an architect.
In Dubai, the cost for the basic unit is USD 2471 or QR 6289 whereas in Malaysia the tag price is RM 4588. However, after went through at least 5 shops at Sungai Wang Plaza, Suria KLCC and Low Yatt Plaza, I managed to cut a good deal with Fotokem Low Yatt Plaza with a total cost of RM 4370 with 5 freebies – a Steinseizer Tripod, a Steinseizer bag, 8GB Toshiba memory card, HOYA filter and a camera cleaner set. Besides the basic unit, I equipped the D90 with NIKON SB-600 Speed light as a ‘slave’, which I bought separately from Amara Beta Sdn Bhd, 3rd floor Low Yatt Plaza for RM 830. To ease one life instead of hauling the whole unit, and tempted with the 25% discount offered by the Foto Shangrila, I grabbed a stylish sling Lowepro camera case for RM 460. The total damage for the whole items was RM 5660 with an expected Return within 3 years time!

What is D90, and its features ?

The D90 is a digital single-lens reflex camera model announced by Nikon on August 27, 2008. It is a "prosumer" model (cross between professional and consumer) meant as a replacement for the Nikon D80. Some of the improvements the D90 offers over the D80 include 12.3 megapixel resolution and live view capability. The D90 is also notable for being the first DSLR to offer video recording, with the ability to record HD 720p videos, with mono sound, at 24 frames per second (for up to 5 minutes or 20 minutes for smaller videos). In summary, below is the basic features and capabilities:

-Nikon's 12.3 megapixel Nikon DX format CMOS sensor.
-Movie mode (720p,with mono 22kHz sound).
-Active D-Lighting (4 levels and Auto).
-3-inch TFT LCD with 920,000-dot resolution (VGA) and 170-degree ultra-wide viewing angle.
-Live View shooting mode (activated with a dedicated button).
-Continuous Drive up to 4.5 frames per second.
-3D Color Matrix Metering II with Scene Recognition System.
-Multi-CAM 1000 autofocus sensor module with 11 AF points.
-Face detection autofocus in live view mode.
-ISO sensitivity 200 to 3200 (100-6400 with boost).
-Nikon F-mount lenses
-Built-in Sensor cleaning system (vibrating low-pass filter).
-HDMI HD video output
-Support for GP-1 GPS unit.
-File formats: JPEG, NEF (Nikon's RAW, 12-bit compressed), AVI (Motion JPEG).
-EN-EL3e Lithium-ion Battery, Battery Life (shots per charge) approx. : 850 shots (CIPA).
-Weight: Approx. 0.620 kg (without battery), 0.703 kg (with battery)