Nikon D90 vs D5000

[leighonigar]

But.... If I am not mistaken, the D5000 supports metering with old AI lenses while I seem to recall that the D90 does not.

Is that correct?

No. Good God. This isn't that hard. The D200, D300, D700, D3, Fuji S5 Pro etc. have everything, they can meter with old manual lenses. They can also autofocus with AF and AF-D lenses as well as the AF-I and AF-S lenses with internal motors.

The D100, D70, D50, D80, D90, Fuji S2, S3 have a motor and so can autofocus with Af, AF-D, AF-I and AF-S lenses. They cannot meter with non-electronic lenses like MF AI and AI-S ones.

The D40, D60, D5000 have no in-body motor and so can only focus with AF-S and AF-I lenses, they will not meter with manual focus lenses (barring the odd AF-P or chipped nikkors).

If the OP doesn't know what this means then I'll wager the D5000 will do a fine job.

 

[uaecasher]

i bought the D90, and I'm very happy with it

 

[leighonigar]

i bought the D90, and I'm very happy with it

Great Stuff!

 

[uaecasher]

Great Stuff!

indeed!

here is some pics from my d90:

http://s375.photobucket.com/albums/oo194/gupshupp/

 

[cutsman]

2 other major differences that make the D90 better than D5000 (other than the whole AF motor thing)...

a) 2 command dials for adjusting shutter speed and aperture independently

b) wireless flash commander mode which lets you trigger an external flash unit using the body's pop-up flash

 

[hogfaninga]

The D90 does not meter with AI lenses. They will work on it, but won't meter which is important to many people. I don't know about the D5000 (no interest in it), but I highly doubt a consumer body (like the D90 which is a consumer body) has that feature.

Edit: Sorry I just read the whole thread (one of my pet peeves and I did it) and Leighonigar did a good job stating it.

 

[nizmoz]

Sorry, the D80 has a built in internal focus motor. That is why it is able to auto focus AF lenses...be careful of your absolute statements!

I'd have to agree with westsideguy. These days nikon is pushing out newer technologies and while you are limiting yourself in the lenses you can use with the D5000, some of the top notch lenses out there have incorporated VR and dust reducing technologies that are desirable anyway. I can see the limitations for D5000 users if they are looking to get legacy lenses or perhaps lower cost AF lenses such as the 50mm 1.8.

I just checked and you are right it does. The Biggest difference is the D90 has a CMOS and the D80 doesn't.

 

[leighonigar]

I just checked and you are right it does. The Biggest difference is the D90 has a CMOS and the D80 doesn't.

Sounds like you're suggesting a CMOS sensor is inherently a feature.

 

[nizmoz]

Sounds like you're suggesting a CMOS sensor is inherently a feature.

A CMOS sensor is better than the older sensor the D80 has. That is a major upgrade imho for Nikon.

 

[leighonigar]

A CMOS sensor is better than the older sensor the D80 has. That is a major upgrade imho for Nikon.

Clearly that particular CMOS sensor is better than the CCD in the D80; it is newer. To claim that any CMOS sensor is better than any CCD is nonsense.

http://www.dalsa.com/corp/markets/CCD_vs_CMOS.aspx

 

[nizmoz]

Clearly that particular CMOS sensor is better than the CCD in the D80; it is newer. To claim that any CMOS sensor is better than any CCD is nonsense.

http://www.dalsa.com/corp/markets/CCD_vs_CMOS.aspx

Oh then how come all the "good cameras" have CMOS's and not CCDs if you think a CCD is better in some cases? Never seen it. Quit trying to make the cheaper cameras look better when they aren't.

 

[uaecasher]

some photo's from my D90

http://mozymac.com/images/DSC_0373.JPG

http://mozymac.com/images/DSC_0378.JPG

http://mozymac.com/images/DSC_0038.JPG

http://mozymac.com/images/DSC_0010 1.JPG

 

[leighonigar]

Oh then how come all the "good cameras" have CMOS's and not CCDs if you think a CCD is better in some cases? Never seen it. Quit trying to make the cheaper cameras look better when they aren't.

Idiocy. Loads of cheap webcams have CMOS sensors. The old EOS E30 had a CMOS sensor, compared to any modern CCD SLR it's junk, the D70, D80 put out better images. Most of the current DSLRs do indeed have CMOS sensors, I guess they must be cheaper for current applications.

I'm not saying that CMOS sensors are worse at the high end, just that there is a good range of quality of both types and saying 'a CMOS is better' and ending it there is wrong.

 

[nizmoz]

Idiocy. Loads of cheap webcams have CMOS sensors. The old EOS E30 had a CMOS sensor, compared to any modern CCD SLR it's junk, the D70, D80 put out better images. Most of the current DSLRs do indeed have CMOS sensors, I guess they must be cheaper for current applications.

I'm not saying that CMOS sensors are worse at the high end, just that there is a good range of quality of both types and saying 'a CMOS is better' and ending it there is wrong.

So you are saying the D70 and D80 put out better images over a D90? Sorry but please give me some of that you are smoking seriously.

D80 vs D90. CCD vs CMOS. The D90 is much better in this area as the CMOS shows it in all the tests. Reason why all the past Nikons were not great in High ISO performance or any CCD camera for that matter because it used a CCD and not a CMOS.

This is why Canon cameras clearly shine in this area.

 

[HBOC]

So you are saying the D70 and D80 put out better images over a D90? Sorry but please give me some of that you are smoking seriously.

D80 vs D90. CCD vs CMOS. The D90 is much better in this area as the CMOS shows it in all the tests. Reason why all the past Nikons were not great in High ISO performance or any CCD camera for that matter because it used a CCD and not a CMOS.

This is why Canon cameras clearly shine in this area.

Canon has been producing their own CMOS sensors for years now. That is why they may have had a one up in the "pro" line, but now Nikon is catching back up.

I do believe a lot of cameras with CCD sensors (even in P&S's) used Sony chips. I think now most manufacturers have their own in house R&D for CMOS chips..

 

[chewbaccacabra]

Love the LCD on the back of my D90 (used my father's D80 quite a bit and the difference is striking). That makes it worth it to me over the D5000.

 

[toxic]

Oh then how come all the "good cameras" have CMOS's and not CCDs if you think a CCD is better in some cases? Never seen it. Quit trying to make the cheaper cameras look better when they aren't.

CMOS is not inherently better than CCD. it is simply for the case of photographic sensors (specifically for SLRs), CMOS has, for whatever reason, a much better implementation.

 

[leighonigar]

So you are saying the D70 and D80 put out better images over a D90? Sorry but please give me some of that you are smoking seriously.

D80 vs D90. CCD vs CMOS. The D90 is much better in this area as the CMOS shows it in all the tests. Reason why all the past Nikons were not great in High ISO performance or any CCD camera for that matter because it used a CCD and not a CMOS.

This is why Canon cameras clearly shine in this area.

That's not what I was saying, no. Toxic has it right.

 

[Abstract]

Yeah, CCD is potentially better. Too bad we get better images from CMOS on DSLRs. Too bad the CCDs used in consume more power, get hotter (think "amp glow" in long exposure shots), and are more expensive than CMOS. The switch from CCD to CMOS was one of the reasons why the D300's battery power lasted so much longer than the D200. Even if CCD technology finally enabled it to produce less noise than CMOS, I think CMOS is always going to be arond in the DSLR (and micro-4/3s) world, because MOS is cheaper to produce, and which camera company doesn't like that?

It has also been said that CMOS may not do nearly as well on point and shoots, which is why people haven't moved on to CMOS point and shoots yet. Canon is planning to, but who knows how that will turn out?

 

[kubota99]

I stand corrected. But the D80 does not have the built in Focus motor. Also many others things that make the D90 better.

http://www.cameralabs.com/reviews/Nikon_D90/verdict.shtml

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/compatibility-lens.htm

Sorry, wrong again, the D80 DOES have the built-in focus motor.

I have mine right next to me, and it clearly does have the motor.

If you have trouble understanding what the motor is, look at a D80 body, under the D80 logo, their is a "kill" switch that enables Manual or Auto focus for the MOTOR in the body.

K99

 

[MorganK]

I have a D90 and love it. My main reason for going with it over the D5000 is that my glass from my D40 would work on the D90 as well. I could buy the body for the D90 and get a better camera for the same price as a D5000 kit. So it was just logical for me to get the D90 and use the same lenses I already had instead of investing in new ones. I am VERY happy with my D90!

 

[puckhead193]

I was considering both but was leaning towards the D5000 because of price. Once the sales person handed me the D90 I was sold. It feels so much more solid in my hands and I also have the built in motor for non-AF lenses.

 

[M-5]

I own a D5000 and I really enjoy it. It can do pretty much anything a D90 can and can produce the same images.

The D90 is a really great camera however, and you might be willing to spend the difference to get the extra features. It does feel more solid in the hand (not to say that the D5000 doesn't). And I never had a problem with my screen on the D5000, but when I used my friend's D90 I saw just how much better that screen is. I should also note that the info that's shown on the screen such as Aperture, Shutter Speed, and ISO are a little more intimidating than on the D5000, so if you're relatively new to DSLRs, you might be more interested in the D5000.

Another thing is the built in focus motor that the D5000 doesn't offer. I was originally considering the D40, because I just didn't have the money to spend on a camera and lens, but then I decided to spend a little more for the D5000 since I knew it would produce the same results as a D90, even though I couldn't afford the D90.

 

[PsyD4Me]

D90 is a nice prosumer product, but for pro I stick with canon and their lenses

 

[Westside guy]

D90 is a nice prosumer product, but for pro I stick with canon and their lenses

This seems like a silly comment to throw in - it adds to the "Nikon D90 vs D5000" discussion how, exactly?

BTW I can't see anything that doesn't have mirror-lockup as "prosumer". Right now I don't know that Nikon has anything that is truly prosumer - it seems like the line jumps from the consumer stuff (D90) to better-than-prosumer territory (D300s, D700). Because of price those cameras might be called "prosumer", I suppose, but there's very little to point at and say "see, that camera doesn't have feature X that Nikon's D3/D3x has" - FPS isn't significantly lower, they have the same 51-point autofocus, etc.