INTRODUCTION
The Nikon F90X is known as Nikon N90S in US, and is one of the most favourite professional series in Singapore.
There are quite a number of Nikon F90X users in my photography club ever since it was release in 1994. Even though it might not have the many features that other camera like Canon has, it still appeal to many users around the world.
I have many encounters with the Nikon F90X, since there are so many users in my photography clubs. I have no plan to get the Nikon F90X though, but I am convinced that Nikon is right to maintain its existence in the market even with the arrival of the better Nikon F100. It will continue to serve well in a market served between the Nikon F100 and Nikon F80.
BUILD
The Nikon F90X has a very sturdy and strong body. One hold on the camera and it will give you the impression that it deserved the professional tag and she will not fall apart easily.
The knobs and buttons are all located properly for ease of use. And also with the shape of the body, and with the well-designed handgrip, shooting in both vertical and horizontal position proved to be easy and sturdy.
Weighing about 750 grams with the basic body only, it is definitely a heavy beast. With the battery pack on, it will weigh close to a kg. Carrying the whole unit around can be rather tiring for some, especially if you have the battery pack on.
FOCUSING
The Nikon F90X provides both Auto Focus and Manual Focus mode.
In the Manual Focusing mode, the focusing ring on the body is turned till the image through the viewfinder is clear and sharp. The Manual Focusing mode comes with electronic rangefinder.
In the Auto Focusing mode, it offered 2 choices, namely,
01) Single Servo AF
02) Continuous Servo AF
The Nikon F90X employed a Nikon CAM246 module TTL Phase Detection System. It has an AF detection range of EV -1 to 19 at ISO100.
EXPOSURE
The Nikon F90X offers 3 types of metering systems, namely,
01) Matrix
02) Centre Weighted
03) Spot
It has a metering range of EV -1 to 21 for matrix and centre-weighted and EV 3 to 21 for spot metering.
It offers 7 build in vari programs modes for casual users, as in
01) Portrait
02) Portrait with Red Eye
03) Hyperfocal
04) Landscape
05) Sports
06) Close Up
07) Silhouette
As well as 4 Advance modes, as in
01) Program
02) Shutter Priority
03) Aperture Priority
04) Manual
FEATURES
The Nikon F90X also provides the following features
01) Exposure Compensation
02) Auto Exposure Lock
03) Shutter Speed of 1/8000s to 30s, Plus Bulb
04) Eyepiece Shutter
05) Changeable Focusing Screen
06) 4.3 fps
07) Self Timer
08) Depth of Field Preview
09) Changeable Film Back
10) Flash Sync of 1/250s
11) Automatic Balance Fill Flash
LENS
The Nikon F90X used the old and reliable Nikon F mount, and it accepts the whole range of very high quality lenses from the Nikkor Lens range (both AF and MF) as well as a wide range of good quality third party lenses maker like the popular low cost Sigma, Tokina, Tamron... etc.
To achieve high picture quality and most important, sharpness, I would not recommend users of the high quality F90X to partner the camera with any of the third party lens maker as none of this cheap lenses maker is comparable to the original Nikkor lenses.
QUALITY TEST
I have used and tested the Nikon F90X (Nikon F90X in Singapore) numerous times ever since it was release in 1994. My most recent use of the Nikon F90X was during last year Singapore’s National Day in 9th August 2001, when a few of us from the photography club managed to get tickets to the yearly event.
In the following, I will refer the Nikon F90X to Nikon F90X as I am more comfortable with the Asia notation.
With the help of the chairman of the club, I managed to get a unit of Nikon F5 for this shooting event, together with a Nikon F90X as a backup body. Both the body is loaded with Kodak Supra 800 negative print 35mm film for the events, each mounted onto Manfrotto NAT190 tripod for the whole night event.
Although I have used the Nikon F90X numerous time, but I still need the manual for refreshing. The night before the event, I spend the whole night reading through both the manual of Nikon F5 and Nikon F90X. The Nikon F90X is not an easy camera at first try. The many buttons on the body will need some explanation to operation correctly.
Although the camera layout is good, using them is not going to be easy for beginners. For long time users of the Nikon F90X, they might have different opinions, just like my friend who is so used to his Nikon F90X that he finds them no problem. For new users, I would strongly recommend spend some time to go through the manual together with the manual to fully appreciate all the provided functions.
The Nikon F90X offers a range of shutter speed from 1/8000s to 30s, plus bulb. This is a fantastic range of speed offered for professional SLR. Virtually every type of situations can be recorded provided the correct type of film is used. For many applications, you will seldom have any chance to go faster than 1/4000s.
Coming next is the Auto Focus modes, it comes with Single Servo AF and Continuous Servo AF. I do most of the shots with Single Servo AF. Focusing is very fast and easy, pictures taken on the night were all well focused and sharp. The use of Continuous Servo AF is also very promising, because of the actions on the nights, I have to switch to this mode to capture fast actions. Unlike some other models, the Nikon F90X did not disappoint me with its fast and accurate Continuous Servo AF. Except for one shot, all my other shots using this mode were very sharp and well in focus.
The only metering system I used during my test is the Matrix Metering system, I did not try the Centre Weighted and Spot Metering mode, so I cannot comment about them. The pictures taken with the Evaluative Metering were all very well exposed. Even for tricky backlighting or side lighting, the picture remains well metered.
One very good feature is the fast film advance speed of 4.3 fps. I used it numerous times during the night to capture fast actions shots. All the shots taken are all kept sharp and in focus, and exposure is equally good.
The only disappointment I have with the standard Nikon F90X is the unavailability of Multiple Exposure capability. Although it can be provided with the use of a different film back, it also means an additional expenditure.
SUMMARY
With the introduction of the Nikon F100 and the flagship Nikon F5, the Nikon F90X has fallen to a lower ranking in the Nikon SLR Camera lineup. Also thanks to the early retirement of the superb Nikon F4, the Nikon F90X then managed to keep itself in the top 3 at the moment.
With many units available used in the market at a very appealing price of under $400, it is definitely a bargain to many, considering it was a really capable professional SLR camera from a well known Nikon.
