Is the D90 dead??

[Calxoddity]

okay, back at home now. Here's a D40 shot across Lake George with the Sigma 17-70 at 70mm, and a 100% crop of the wind farm in the distance.

If you look carefully, you can see where the pixels are sagging from old age. After all, there's only six mega's worth of them, so they have to work so much harder at holding hands to keep the pikkie from falling apart.

Okay - if I hadn't told you it was 6MP, would you have been any the wiser? (and they're mid-quality jpegs to get them below the size limitations).

[cafezeenuts]

Nup, it comes down to research and buying the best device for the job you want it to do.

Haha, one can never cover all the variables. A individual could do all the research they want and know the product inside out. But if the same individual don't the money to buy the product they need or want for the job, at the end of the day they have nothing but dreams....

[DJT]

okay, back at home now. Here's a D40 shot across Lake George with the Sigma 17-70 at 70mm, and a 100% crop of the wind farm in the distance.

If you look carefully, you can see where the pixels are sagging from old age.......

wow, I had better show this to my dad, as he will most likely be having the same problems with his D50. oh no his pixels will be falling off his screen having an even older camera than the D40. Have you been able to find a fix for this Calxoddity .

[swifty]

I would not imagine that they would put a better sensor than the D300s in there.

Logically it'd seem unlikely they'd put a better sensor in a lower model but if they don't cannibalise their own models, others will. Plus the D90 and D300 are on different cycles.
Ppl who appreciate what the D300s has to offer will still likely pick it over a D90 successful even if the sensor in the D90 successor turns out to be better.
If memory serves me right, didn't the D70 sensor out-do the D100 sensor when it was released?
But of course the question is what sensor does Nikon (Sony?) have ready?
Maybe some of that D3s research will migrate down the pipeline to APS-C.

[Calxoddity]

I'm working on it this very minute.

The D40 is in the oven getting the sensor up to temperature. Next I reverse mount the lens and look thru it to spot the droopy pixels, before quickly taking the lens off again and whilst the camera is still hot, poking the offending pixels into the right shape with a knitting needle. I then stabilise the pixels with a small (very small) dab of epoxy. You can also tie them off with extremely short pieces of string, but I have trouble tying off the knot.

You should not try this procedure without extensive training. I happen to be an expert in the field of nanoscale pokage - give me a call if you need assistance.

On a final note, please be aware that the D50 pixels may be beyond recovery, having drooped so far that they've swapped position with adjacent pixels. Unless you only use the D50 upside down for at least two years, you will suffer chronic adjacent pixels reversal errors. These typically show up in photos as unexpected placement of vases and banjos in otherwise mundane scenes.

Regards,
Calx

[farmer_rob]

Here is what i wrote earlier

"Most people will eventually upgrade to full frame sooner or later if they are committed to this hobby."


That's why i said "most people" the keyword here, i didn't say "everyone" will upgrade to full frame. I believe i cover myself quite well here....

I've have a question, are you guys using full frame body yourself at the moment or thinking of upgrading to full frame??? If so, why?

And my answer to why "most people" will upgrade to full frame. It's quite simple really, it's because we're human. It's the same reason people upgrade to 1080p LCD panels from CRT, bigger house, 600cc motobike to 1000cc bikes etc etc...

Why? because we want the latest and greatest.... That's WHY....

Following your argument, people will then all go to medium format and then large format - but this isn't happening.

Most/few/being human.... It's the "committed" part that I disagree with.

Most people committed to their hobby will try to achieve the best out with it. The best in this instance is the best picture (preferably printed) - and sensor size has very little to do with it.

Bigger is not always better. The *only* advantage to full-frame cameras is an engineering one - it is easier to get lower noise and higher sensitivity (ISO) when you have more area of pixel to work with. A basic understanding of trigonometry and optics makes clear that there are NO other issues that can't be solved with the right lenses.

[farmer_rob]

I'm working on it this very minute.

The D40 is in the oven getting the sensor up to temperature. Next I reverse mount the lens and look thru it to spot the droopy pixels, before quickly taking the lens off again and whilst the camera is still hot, poking the offending pixels into the right shape with a knitting needle. I then stabilise the pixels with a small (very small) dab of epoxy. You can also tie them off with extremely short pieces of string, but I have trouble tying off the knot.

You should not try this procedure without extensive training. I happen to be an expert in the field of nanoscale pokage - give me a call if you need assistance.

On a final note, please be aware that the D50 pixels may be beyond recovery, having drooped so far that they've swapped position with adjacent pixels. Unless you only use the D50 upside down for at least two years, you will suffer chronic adjacent pixels reversal errors. These typically show up in photos as unexpected placement of vases and banjos in otherwise mundane scenes.

Regards,
Calx

Are you sure you're not seeing pixelrot (like bitrot in computers - when you have to throw the computer out after 3 years because the newer model is out ms windows has corrupted its registry you want a new computer the bits are burnt out.)

Have you thought of trying dental floss? You can really wrap it tight around the pixels, and it has a nice minty flavour for when you are tying the knots.

Anyway, the advantage of the d40x is that it has 4mp of spares to keep image standards the same as the d40. So you can rope in the extra pixels to fill out the missing ones.

[farmer_rob]

...
Having said that, I don't really know what improvements they could make to the successor and keep it at a similar pricepoint and not cannibalise sales of current higher spec models. Maybe a lot of "non-core" stuff related to video, wireless uploads, etc?...

The real difference in the models is build quality, weather sealing, features accessible with switches and knobs, and shutter life. I doubt that a new mid-range camera would really cannibalise the top end models in any serious way regardless of image specs. If the d90+ is superduper everything, you know that those specs will appear in a better dxxx and dx series body soon, with further enhancements. So the Dx and Dxxx market will just hang on.

[DJT]

I'm working on it this very minute.

The D40 is in the oven getting the sensor up to temperature. Next I reverse mount the lens and look thru it to spot the droopy pixels, before quickly taking the lens off again and whilst the camera is still hot, poking the offending pixels into the right shape with a knitting needle. I then stabilise the pixels with a small (very small) dab of epoxy. You can also tie them off with extremely short pieces of string, but I have trouble tying off the knot.

You should not try this procedure without extensive training. I happen to be an expert in the field of nanoscale pokage - give me a call if you need assistance.

On a final note, please be aware that the D50 pixels may be beyond recovery, having drooped so far that they've swapped position with adjacent pixels. Unless you only use the D50 upside down for at least two years, you will suffer chronic adjacent pixels reversal errors. These typically show up in photos as unexpected placement of vases and banjos in otherwise mundane scenes.

Regards,
Calx

Awesome thanks for that. I'll tell him not to panic & there is a fix. He wont believe it when I show him how easy it is
But if we get stuck I'll call you.

[peterb666]

I have a team of pixies fix my wayward pixels but have never tried it on a Nikon.

[Calxoddity]

I have a team of pixies fix my wayward pixels but have never tried it on a Nikon.

now you're just being silly!

[ving]

I have a team of pixies fix my wayward pixels but have never tried it on a Nikon.

are you saying they are canon pixies? I think there would be a compatibility issue if you tried to use them on another brand....

on a more serious note, D40 pixel sag is a real problem! I recently took a pic of a tree stump on a dry lake bed. when i had a look there was an orange and green glass vase floating as if by magic in the air... I swear it wasnt there when i took the picture.
I can see I am going to have to try tying some cotton on my sensor to keep those pixels from dropping right off....

[farmer_rob]

Wouldn't the nikon pixies be nixies?

[mcdesign]

Best bang for bucks lens would have to be the 18 - 70

I would agree with this, it came with the D70s as a kit lens, I still have mine and it is great for Landscape work, plus a good walking around lens, Cameras Direct have it for a good price, it will do you for a long time until you decide what else you need...buying lenses is addictive! https://www.camerasdirect.com.au/ind...low-stock.html.

I also had the Tamron 18-200 mm F/3.5-6.3, it was a lovely lens too, very sharp...I dropped it but still have it but can only use it a level angle.

Don't buy lenses at a Camera store, there are plenty of places online that are very reputable like Cameras Direct and D-D-Photographics, I have bought most of my lenses there. There are others too.

[campo]

Don't buy lenses at a Camera store, there are plenty of places online that are very reputable like Cameras Direct and D-D-Photographics, I have bought most of my lenses there. There are others too.

There's nothing wrong with a camera store and it's not hard to find one that'll match the best prices you can get online for a reputable Australian (non-gray-market) product.

Once you're gone through a warranty repair with an online seller, having to package everything up, spend a fortune on registered/insured post and wait for months you realise where those few extra dollars may have been better spent (ie. with a local dealer who'll look after this hassle for you, if not help you out with a loan item etc)

[dowden photography]

work says its still got a little while to go.

The cash back thing is done because they only get about 60% of people doing it.
Its better than dropping the price by $200.

The D700 started last week or so, the D90 finished the end of the month

[Wayne]

There's nothing wrong with a camera store and it's not hard to find one that'll match the best prices you can get online for a reputable Australian (non-gray-market) product.

Once you're gone through a warranty repair with an online seller, having to package everything up, spend a fortune on registered/insured post and wait for months you realise where those few extra dollars may have been better spent (ie. with a local dealer who'll look after this hassle for you, if not help you out with a loan item etc)

Well and good if you live anywhere near a camera store, and I would say that the retail of OZ market items in many cases will be somewhat more expensive than grey or online, and that saving often offsets the cost of returning the item to an online seller or warranty place.

I don't live within 900km of a camera store, and I calculate I have saved several thousand $$ in buying every piece of camera gear ($20K worth) I own from O/S in the past 12 months, and I have had 1 small warranty issue and sent the item back to USA at a total cost of $70 postage for the return journey. The key here is to buy from reputable online sellers, not the cheapest, most obscure seller you find.

[Mr Lensbaby]

Looks like the $200 rebate finishes very soon their is a $200 rebate on the D700 as well

[Watchamacallit]

Appears Nikon have extended their rebate, so it looks like a near end-of-year update could be possible (or maybe pushed back to clear stock?)

http://www.nikon.com.au/pagearticle....243-e3ed3e297e

A quick summary if you don't want to click through:
D3000/D5000/D90 extended to 31st August, 2010 with cashback of $50/$100/$200 respectfully - claims in by 14th September, 2010
D700, extended to 30th June, 2010 with cashback of $200 - claims in by 14th July, 2010

[ving]

no one has send me their obsolete d90/700 yet... mustn't be that obsolete hey?