Nikon Introduces D-SLR With HD Video Recording

By Greg Scoblete -- TWICE, 8/27/2008 11:03:00 AM

Melville, N.Y. — With its new D90, Nikon is the first manufacturer to integrate digital video recording into a digital SLR.

The firm’s new 12.3-megapixel D90 can record 720p video clips at 24 fps with sound. It can also record VGA-resolution video at 24 fps. It features an HDMI terminal for outputting video to HDTVs.

The camera features an ISO range of 200 to 3200, a DX format CMOS sensor, a 3-inch, 920,000-dot resolution LCD and an 11-point AF system.

The D90 offers a live view mode, face detection and the company’s Scene Recognition System previously used on higher-end cameras. It can burst at 4.5 fps, and has an ISO sensitivity of 200 to 3200.

It features a dust-reduction system and in-camera editing to adjust lens aberration, straighten horizons or reproduce the effect of a fisheye lens.

Thanks to new circuitry, the D90 offers a battery with greater endurance at 850 shots per charge battery. Additional features include a built-in flash, a viewfinder with 0.94x magnification. The unit will incorporate Nikon’s Pictmotion in-camera slideshow technology for playing back images with background music.

The camera has also been programmed to recognize when a wireless Eye-Fi SD card is being used. The “Eye-Fi Connected” feature will adjust the D90’s settings to regulate power consumption, along with a dedicated menu in the camera to turn the Eye-Fi card’s wireless radio on or off.

A body-only version of the D90 will sell for $999. A kit with a new AF-S DX Zoom 18-105mm VR lens will retail for $1299.

Nikon also said it would ship a GPS accessory for use with the D90, the GP-1, in November. Pricing was not announced.