Newly designed Nikon DX-format CMOS image sensor with wide ISO sensitivity range with low noise.
D90's 12.3 effective megapixels provides outstanding resolution, delivering images with extraordinarily defined detail and expanded enlargement capacity. The extremely wide sensitivity range of ISO 200 to 3200 delivers incredibly low-noise characteristics throughout. Furthermore, sensitivity can be increased to Hi 1 (ISO 6400 equivalent) and decreased to Lo 1 (ISO 100 equivalent) to expand shooting versatility. The camera also employs the Image Sensor Cleaning function that works to free image-degrading dust particles from the sensor's optical low-pass filter.

EXPEED for smooth tones, rich colors and fine details
Nikon's comprehensive digital image-processing EXPEED technology is optimized for the D90 to realize the high-quality, high-speed image processing capability. EXPEED also contributes to the outstanding performance of other powerful features such as Live View and the new Face Detection System.

D-Movie: the world's first D-SLR movie mode
In a world first for D-SLRs, the D90 offers a movie function, allowing you to shoot 320 x 216 pixels, 640 x 424 pixels or HD720p (1,280 x 720 pixels) movies at the professional smoothness of 24 frames per second in motion JPEG format. The D90's sensor, which is much larger than the sensor of a typical camcorder, ensures higher image quality and exceptional low-noise, high ISO sensitivity performance, even during movie shooting. Capturing creative movie clips or the drama of life's moving moments is further enhanced by the wide selection of incredibly sharp NIKKOR interchangeable lenses that are available, from fisheye to wide-angle to super-telephoto. And Micro NIKKOR lenses bring the magic of extreme close-up imagery to movie making.

Scene Recognition System integrated with Face Detection System
The D90 precisely reads the color and brightness information of each scene from the 420-pixel RGB sensor, and applies this to auto focus, auto exposure and auto white balance. The D90 also recognizes human faces using the new Face Detection System, data which is incorporated during calculation, resulting in faces with newfound definition and accuracy as well as enabling face priority AF in Live View mode and immediate zoom into people's faces in playback zoom.

Easy-to-use Live View mode
One press of the Live View button activates the D90's Live View mode, delivering a bright, crisp image to the 3-in., approx. 920k-dot color LCD and allowing comfortable shooting without looking through the viewfinder. There are three contrast-detect AF modes that let you focus on any point in the frame: Face priority AF automatically detects up to five faces and focuses on that calculated to be the closest. Wide area AF offers a large AF area suitable for handheld shooting, and normal area AF provides focus with pinpoint accuracy when using a tripod. And when Nikon VR (Vibration Reduction) lenses are in use, photographers will enjoy the benefit of a VR-smoothed image, even in Live View mode.

Picture Control System: Customize the visual style of your images
Nikon's Picture Control System enables users to customize the look and mood of images. Six original setting options are available Standard, Neutral, Vivid, Monochrome, Portrait and Landscape for easy customization of image preferences.

Active D-Lighting for smooth tone reproduction in high-contrast lighting
The D90's Active D-Lighting accurately restores details in the shadows and highlighted areas, which are often lost in high-contrast lighting situations, by localizing tone control while shooting. There are four levels, including the new "Extra High." Active D-Lighting can be used manually or set to Auto mode. It is also possible to bracket your pictures, allowing the capture of one image with Active D-Lighting and one without.

Versatile, practical 11-point AF system
Thanks to the Multi-CAM 1000 autofocus module, the D90's 11-point AF system offers fast and precise autofocus coverage across the frame with the most sensitive AF sensor operating from the center. In addition, the D90 features versatile AF-area modes to handle most shooting situations: Single-point AF is recommended for stationary subjects, dynamic-area AF for moving subjects, auto-area AF for spontaneous shooting and 3D-tracking (11 points) AF for when you want to change the composition after focusing on your subject.

Bright pentaprism viewfinder featuring frame coverage of approx. 96%
The D90 has a precise eye-level pentaprism viewfinder with approx. 96% (centered) frame coverage and an easy-to-view 19.5 mm eyepoint (at -1.0 m^-1). The built-in 16-frame superimposed grid display can be activated to assist in the creation of better-balanced compositions.

Advanced Scene Modes for superior image quality
The D90 features Advanced Scene Modes: Portrait, Landscape, Close-up, Sports and Night Portrait. These modes not only adjust exposure and image processing, but also judge the optimum Active D-Lighting and Picture Control settings to obtain the best results. The D90 also recognizes if VR (Vibration Reduction) is on or off and minimizes noise even in dimly lit scenes.

Extensive palette of in-camera Retouch Menus
The D90's designers incorporated a wide variety of image editing functions, making it easy for users to enhance images within the camera. The D90 introduces several new retouch options: Distortion Control adjusts lens aberration, Straighten corrects inclination of the image, while Fisheye produces optical effects similar to a fisheye lens.

Engineered for precision and durability
Accurate exposures rely on precise shutters and the D90's electronically timed shutter mechanism was specifically engineered for long, accurate service. To ensure this, D90 shutters, assembled in D90 bodies, underwent exhaustive 100,000 shutter-release cycle testing.