Borrowing a D90 from a friend

[GadgetRick]

Ok, as I mentioned in another post, I'm borrowing my friend's D90. She doesn't really use it very much and keeps saying she's going to learn how to take good pics. Anyway, since I'm thinking of buying a D90 to replace my D50 later this year, I thought it would be great to be able to get some time with the D90 to make sure it's what I want.

Charging the battery right now so no shots yet. Just writing to say, although the D90 doesn't feel cheap by any stretch, it feels much less sturdy than my D50. My D50 feels like a tank. The D90 feels solid but not that solid. I'm not rough with my gear so I don't think it'll be an issue. It's certainly lighter than my D50...not the worst thing in the world.

Going to try and make some time to play with it today. Unfortunately, we're expecting snow tomorrow night and my son's wrestling match might be canceled Saturday morning. I really want to see how it performs at higher ISOs which is the reason I'm planning on upgrading. Oh well, that'll have to wait a week then.

I'll let you know how I like the D90 as I shoot with it over the next few days.

[Shokinen]

I start to be carefull above ISO 1600. Anything below never bothered me.

[GadgetRick]

Originally Posted by Shokinen

I start to be carefull above ISO 1600. Anything below never bothered me.

Thanks. I'm hoping to be able to shoot at 1600 as I can't on the D50.

[Nicole]

Funny you say it's lighter than the D50...
D90 (no battery): 620g (1.4 lbs)
D50 (no battery): 540g (1.2 lbs)

I think it feels as solid as the D50. I mean, I wouldn't be throwing either on the ground, but it feels pretty sturdy. After all, dimension-wise it's ever so slightly larger than the D50, so it doesn't feel tinier or like I'm going to break it.

I think the key thing to remember when shooting high ISOs is to expose properly. A good exposure will have much less noise than a poorly exposed shot that has to be fixed in post.

[Sterling]

Charging the battery right now so no shots yet.

It's certainly lighter than my D50...

Maybe because the battery's not in it?

[Raoul Isidro]

Try the movie mode.
It's fun!
Cheers!

[GadgetRick]

Originally Posted by Sterling

Maybe because the battery's not in it?

LOL! It was in, I guess my internal scale needs to be calibrated...

[GadgetRick]

Ok, played around with it around the house last night. Here are some examples.

ISO 2500, f1.8, 1/200 No Noise Reduction


Same shot with noise reduction (Noise Ninja)


ISO 3200, f1.8, 1/125 No Noise Reduction--VERY dark room
http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p...R/DSC_0005.jpg

Same shot with noise reduction (Noise Ninja)
http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p..._0005-Edit.jpg

Overall, I'm quite impressed. Yes, there is noise, no, these aren't great shots. Not sure I'd even have to go as high as ISO 2500 but, wow, if I shot at 1600 (max) on the D50, these pics would hurt your eyes to look at they'd be so noisy!

Oh, I have all NR turned off in the camera for all shots.

My son's wrestling match looks like it may get snowed out tomorrow so the sports shots will have to wait....

[GadgetRick]

For some reason the board won't let me go back and fix the previous post with the last two images hot linked. Keeps telling me I have 5 images. Oh well, here they are...

ISO 3200 f1.8 1/125 no NR (very dark room)


Same pic with Noise Ninja


Even at 3200 it's actually much better than I'd think it would be. Again, not really usable but pretty good. A little better lighting and better exposure would help for sure.

[Shokinen]

Originally Posted by Nicole

I think the key thing to remember when shooting high ISOs is to expose properly. A good exposure will have much less noise than a poorly exposed shot that has to be fixed in post.

Framing properly is also very important. Do not rely on cropping because the noise become more visible.