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N90 or N90s


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I need to know the differences between the N90 and the N90s. I know

that the N90 is the older of the two but nothing other than that.

I could not locate any specific information in this site that cites

the specific differences / advantages and disadvantages...

Thanks in advance for any information / links.

-Naveen

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A quick summary of the improvements in B. Moose Petersen's Nikon System Handbook states:

 

"Now, the fact that It's missing that annoying beeper alone does not make the N90s better (but it helps). But tangible improvements make it stand out among camera bodies, its 1/3-stop shutter speeds and 25% faster autofocus system probably being the most significant."

 

As for the mention of the beeper, he says in the section on the N90:

 

"The shutter release button is in its familiar locale as is the ON/OFF switch with its familiar beeper symbol. On the N90, the beeper sounds twice if activated when a subject is in focus. It also has a number of other signals to let the photographer know if things have gone haywire."

 

I'd have to agree that a beeper on a camera could drive a person crazy...

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There is one more cosmetic difference. Most N90's suffer from a problem with the rubberization on their back - it sometimes flakes off. Nikon fixed this problem on subsequent cameras. It doesn't harm operation. My N90 is one of the units afflicted with this issue - the camera isn't a pretty as it could be but it's still a joy to use.
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Curt,

"Other differences - Added weather resistance. N90s specifically permits use of lithium AA batteries in the body. N90s has significantly larger data storage capacity: 33 rolls of shooting data instead of 2 rolls"

 

Whats the data storage there for? Sorry about my ignorance...

 

Thanks,

 

Naveen

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All things being equal, I'd get the N90s . In fact I bought one yesterday. The N90 wasn't a big enough improvement over my 8008s to be worth considering. The N90s has the 1/3 stop shutter speeds, it has a faster motordrive (over 4fps vs 3 point something on the the vanilla n90). Better autofocus. More rugged. I talked to a pro using an 8008s. He said he'd used the F4 and N90 and had nothing but trouble with the n90. Multiple breakdowns on three different N90 bodies. No problems with his 8008s. I've heard other problems with the original model , but none that I know of from the s version. My brother has an n90s too. He is an advanced amateur/semi pro and swears by it.

I was put off by the price of the n90 cameras (both versions) compared to the n8008 on the used market, but someone offered me one at a really good price with an MB 10 battery grip so I took it. Otherwise I would have stuck with my 8008s.

Just an opinion based on my personal experience. Hope it helps.

Aloha,

Rob Sato

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Data storage - the N90s, as well as the F5 and I believe the F100, can store information about individual exposures for each roll. For instance, shutter speed and aperture, lens focal length, whether flash was used and what the compensation factors were. If you have a data back it can print a sequential roll number on frame 0 (the leader) that will also be recorded by the software to help correlate the data with the actual roll. It is designed to be used in conjunction with the PhotoSecretary software, but I understand that is no longer offered; however there are 3rd party products which are equivalent or possibly better. Only you can judge whether this feature is useful. I assume very few people use it, but I have found it useful when I am shooting lens tests, etc., and once when I used it in the field it helped isolate an exposure problem that Nikon fixed under warranty.
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