Decisions, decisions...

[reaper]

Need some advice.

Switching camera system from Olympus to Nikon (Apparently, in Thailand, the trend is towards the PEN series, not the the E series, and that is not what I want)... Anyway, was wondering if the D90 (the price is currently within my budget) is a camera worth replacing my E series camera setup. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance

 

[r0n1n]

Im an Oly user too before switching to Nikon. What camera are you using now? I was using E-30 before so when I switched to Nikon, I got D300S which I think is the counterpart in Nikon. D90 is a good choice, but if you can stretch your budget a bit, also consider the newer D7000.

 

[daredevil123]

The shift in preferences is also partly caused by Oly's decision to concentrate in m4/3. It was revealed in one of their statements or interviews.

I know many e system users were extremely disappointed.

 

[ovaltinemilo]

I have never owned the Oly before. Anyway, I agree with what ron1n advise on getting D7K if budget allows,if not D90 is already a capable enough cam for its price.

 

[r0n1n]

The shift in preferences is also partly caused by Oly's decision to concentrate in m4/3. It was revealed in one of their statements or interviews.

very true. and I think this is the reason why it took them 3 years to replace the flagship E3 model with the new E5. they're more focused on m4/3 market.

 

[akerue]

very true. and I think this is the reason why it took them 3 years to replace the flagship E3 model with the new E5. they're more focused on m4/3 market.

im a secret oly lovers, having played with the E3 before, but the replacement E5 bears nothin to shout abt..... no offence to the E User community....

to TS like others have tell, stretch ya budget to fit a D7000, no regrets... if not pair up the D90 with some good glass....

 

[reaper]

Was thinking of getting a D90 with the standard kit lens (18-105 VR) and then slowly get 3rd party lenses, like the Sigma 70-200 f2.8, Nikkor 50 f1.8/1.4

 

[skyhawk88]

I was once a d90 owner and made an upgrade to d7000. Very frankly, u should go straight for the d7k its too good to be true. haha it has usable iso to 3200 and its AF 39 point is what i really like. Moreover 2 SD card slots is really sweet. I dun like CF as my laptop has inbuilt SD cards. I just find SD cards to be really convenient

Frankly for D90 its a good beginner camera, my learning curve increased alot using that camera as u have internal focusing motor, EV in 1/3 stops (my friends 500D all in 1stop), usable iso till 1600 and basically v nice ergonomics. Nikon's button layout made me try every button to understand metering, AF modes, white balances etc quite well. All these i never really explored when i used my friend 500d becoz its not so easy to reach.
But i found that the biggest point i found hard for the camera was the AF. 11 point AF will sometimes make the camera confused when tracking an object that runs in between the AF points. Its something my d7k does really well in now.
Also although 4.5fps is ok but sometimes i found the 4.5fps to be a tad slow for shooting sports. I brought it to f1 singapore and in between each shot the car move v far ardy haha.

Also i tried a d300s too but in the end i prefer the smaller package of the d7k as i use my 35mm f1.8 most of the time. So its v compact and portable

 

[ZerocoolAstra]

Need some advice.

Switching camera system from Olympus to Nikon (Apparently, in Thailand, the trend is towards the PEN series, not the the E series, and that is not what I want)... Anyway, was wondering if the D90 (the price is currently within my budget) is a camera worth replacing my E series camera setup. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance

The shift in preferences is also partly caused by Oly's decision to concentrate in m4/3. It was revealed in one of their statements or interviews.

I know many e system users were extremely disappointed.

I guess it makes commercial sense.
No use throwing money into a fight with the bigwigs if it's just gonna be a losing game. Might as well carve up yer own niche

That could be one reason why Canikon have yet to release an m4/3 camera. Perhaps they feel it would be a drain on resources.
Rumours abound though, nonetheless

 

[bethpapa74]

i am the 1st time owner of d7000, previously use only the PS camera.
Dslr world is full of excitement and surprises ... really! The image I took on my kids is far better than what is taken with any PS camera.
I regret not getting dslr earlier though

Anyway ... i am very happy with my d7k, its fps, dual SD, buttons, ... and i realised that i am shooting lesser in auto/scene mode now, mostly aperture priority .
Things i dun really feel comfortable with d7k ...
1) quite light .. when you pair up with heavy pro-lenses like 17-55, 10-24, 18-200 ... you can feel that the weight is toward the front.
2) abit small for guys hand .. in this sense, d300s feel much comfortable on hand. (I am waiting for d400 )
3) 39AF pt ... initially i am v impressed with 11/39 AF pts liao ... but then i tried 51pts (d300s/d700) ... those are the really fast!

In every way i am ''hiaming'' my d7k now ... i am still v v contented with it and i hope within this 1-1.5yrs, i can get the most out of it ... so i got more reasons in future to move up to d400 or even d800!

 

[ovaltinemilo]

I was once a d90 owner and made an upgrade to d7000. Very frankly, u should go straight for the d7k its too good to be true. haha it has usable iso to 3200...

I think you are being modest...hahah...even on D90, iso 3200 is already very usable shooting jpg. D7K has at least 1 stop advantage.

Shoot raw to utilize it further..

 

[ZerocoolAstra]

i am the 1st time owner of d7000, previously use only the PS camera.
Dslr world is full of excitement and surprises ... really! The image I took on my kids is far better than what is taken with any PS camera.
I regret not getting dslr earlier though

Anyway ... i am very happy with my d7k, its fps, dual SD, buttons, ... and i realised that i am shooting lesser in auto/scene mode now, mostly aperture priority .
Things i dun really feel comfortable with d7k ...
1) quite light .. when you pair up with heavy pro-lenses like 17-55, 10-24, 18-200 ... you can feel that the weight is toward the front.
2) abit small for guys hand .. in this sense, d300s feel much comfortable on hand. (I am waiting for d400 )
3) 39AF pt ... initially i am v impressed with 11/39 AF pts liao ... but then i tried 51pts (d300s/d700) ... those are the really fast!

In every way i am ''hiaming'' my d7k now ... i am still v v contented with it and i hope within this 1-1.5yrs, i can get the most out of it ... so i got more reasons in future to move up to d400 or even d800!

you must be a pretty big guy
I found D90's grip quite ok.

I'm not 100% sure about this, but I believe that having more AF points does not make AF-lock any faster to achieve. It's more for objects that are moving across the frame, from 1 AF point to another.
Maybe the more 'serious' cameras have more cross-type AF points (which are more accurate), thus making focus-lock faster to achieve.

D7000 is indeed a very capable camera. Don't be in too much haste to replace it. Use it well and you should be quite amazed by it

 

[daredevil123]

There is a very high chance that 'd400' and 'd800' will be delayed for quite some time.

As for heavy lenses, it will still be the same with d300s or d700. Only way around it is to get a battery grip. But do know a battery grip will add weight. It will give you more strain, and you have to spent quite a bit more money for stronger and more stable tripods and heads. Everything adds up.

Accessories will also add up. You can no longer use the cheap IR remote. battery grip cost more, CF cards cost more. Etc. These adds up as well.

 

[ZerocoolAstra]

I think you are being modest...hahah...even on D90, iso 3200 is already very usable shooting jpg. D7K has at least 1 stop advantage.

Shoot raw to utilize it further..

Wah really har? I didn't like D90's output at about ISO2000. Hehehehe maybe I'm a nitpicker. The noise is indeed rather noticeable from around ISO1600, but details still captured.

 

[daredevil123]

I think you are being modest...hahah...even on D90, iso 3200 is already very usable shooting jpg. D7K has at least 1 stop advantage.

Shoot raw to utilize it further..

It is not a linear curve. The NR algorithm in the d7k kick in more at higher iso and give more advantage. But at low iso, differences are not that great. From samples I have seen, it is around 0.5 to almost 1 stop advantage depending on situation.

That said, I still like to do my own NR from raw. Because I like to control the level of details.

 

[ovaltinemilo]

Wah really har? I didn't like D90's output at about ISO2000. Hehehehe maybe I'm a nitpicker. The noise is indeed rather noticeable from around ISO1600, but details still captured.

ya, maybe I got more tolerance for luminance noise...usually I look for details. I just can't tolerate chroma noise. probably coming from a d70 with very visible chroma noise at iso1600, iso3200 on a d90 is very usable....esp if you are using LR3.
If you are the nit pick type, probably u can selectively sharpen/selectively NR your raw file to keep noise minimal...got to put in abit more effort here..haha..

This was with D70 iso 1250 or 1600(can't really remember).. I know alot of ppl won't shoot over iso800 on the d70 but I thot it works fine. So with the D90, I am rather happy with it's Iso3200. (sorry I don't have d90 iso 3200 photos for illustration as most are test shot of silly pikachu toy at home)
http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/26809_375128047433_590982433_3751739_2309148_n.jpg
selective sharpen and NR.

 

[Cowseye]

Hope they scrap the idea of CF card for D400. Price to speed ratio, SD card has a better edge right?

 

[daredevil123]

Hope they scrap the idea of CF card for D400. Price to speed ratio, SD card has a better edge right?

CF is faster and more robust. I doubt they will scrap it completely. Or else many users will get real unhappy.

 

[akerue]

There is a very high chance that 'd400' and 'd800' will be delayed for quite some time.

As for heavy lenses, it will still be the same with d300s or d700. Only way around it is to get a battery grip. But do know a battery grip will add weight. It will give you more strain, and you have to spent quite a bit more money for stronger and more stable tripods and heads. Everything adds up.

Accessories will also add up. You can no longer use the cheap IR remote. battery grip cost more, CF cards cost more. Etc. These adds up as well.

hahahaha, tell me abt it, the more expensive range of DSLR u buy, dont even come with freebies... hahahahahah...

TS, the way to go is the D7000, although i find it a bit small, but it shld suffice u for a few years... if u have no intend of upgrading the body, collect good glasses, body will follow suit soon...

 

[Fotophilic]

Need some advice.

Switching camera system from Olympus to Nikon (Apparently, in Thailand, the trend is towards the PEN series, not the the E series, and that is not what I want)... Anyway, was wondering if the D90 (the price is currently within my budget) is a camera worth replacing my E series camera setup. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance

Used E3, Pen and D90 before. My opinion is if you do not need the weatherseal capabilities of the E system, D90 is a good choice. I also find 4/3 images not very edit-able, somehow (maybe i am missing something), although I find olympus striaght out of camera jpg more pleasing most of the time.

The current olympus flagship (E5) and the 12-60 is quite a good combi on its own. Its hard to find something in that range which produces pretty good image quality, together with the robustness and weathersealing of the whole package, at a pretty affordable price compared to other brands. Guess you have to choose what is more important for you. Good luck.