Nikon F90 review by Richard de Bulat
What do you look for when you get a first camera? Price, capability, all the specs? It is easy to go for the obvious candidates, whether digital or analogue, in the big hitters, but there are some real gems in the often overlooked section and the Nikon F90 is in this category. While it is not an obvious choice if you want a film camera, not everyone can start out with a Leica M or even a Nikon F3; and if you have been a digital shooter, then the transition to analogue can be a bit of a challenge. The Nikon F90, in this case, is a clear contender: it is excellent value, capable of auto focus, aperture or shutter priority and fully manual operation, meaning you can learn as you go. I took this camera out for a test shoot; it had a battery grip which added to the weight, but was well balanced in the hand equipped with a 28mm f2 lens.
I went out with a roll of HP5+ expecting rain or heavy clouds at the very least and then the sun came out. Undeterred, I took a short walk around the lower end of town and within a short period of time realised how much I enjoyed using this camera. Set on aperture priority and centre weighted focusing, it was not hard to use apart from standing in the right place and framing – just like a point and shoot, but that belies more than 50 years of photography experience. In fact, this camera is much more capable than a basic point and shoot and should be considered a semi- professional tool. However, it is simple enough to use as a first analogue camera and will reward anyone who takes the time to use it and learn its ways. I liked it so much, the day after testing it out, I went and bought my own F90 and a cheap 28/80mm lens, that is actually very good.
In the test, as I say, the camera was easy to use and all of the negatives were usable; I would say that, as a result of the sunshine and consequent contrast, the camera over exposed but about 2/3rds of a stop and in future I would use the exposure compensation function to correct this. I didn’t use a light meter, relying entirely on the camera’s ability to expose correctly. I tend to expose for the highlights and let the shadows fall where they may, but auto exposure, being what it is, will inevitable open up shadow detail which this can be corrected in lightroom in most cases.
The camera requires 4AA batteries, which is very straightforward and then you are good to go. I really should have downloaded a manual, but I got along without it, setting the camera to aperture priority and the camera did the rest. Using the buttons and dials to make changes and corrections is fairly intuitive and apart from not having a rear screen, it is not unlike a modern digital camera in use. But, it can be used in manual mode, making it like any basic analogue camera except for its electronic functions.
There are a few cameras that are a joy to use, that you want to take out and make photographs with and this, without a doubt, is one of them. Please note, I say make photographs – you can take a photograph with any camera or phone nowadays, but making photographs is a creative process and this is, despite its apparent simplicity, a good creative tool.
