d90 and d2xs

[mdtusz]

So I recently bought a d90, but now see a used (3200 clicks) d2xs for sale for less. I'm a little pressed for money right now, but I was thinking I could return my d90 (for 1050 as purchase price) and get the d2xs (950) then have some money in the pocket. I'm aware the ISO performance of the d90 is much better, but the d2Xs is a pro-body, that is, solidly built with vertical grip, and the extra frame rate that comes in handy with sports (albeit with a 6mp crop).

Is it worth it? Everything I've read makes me more indecisive.

 

[Derrel]

The D2x has a much better viewfinder system--clearer, crisper, just easier to see through. The AF system in the D2Xs is also different than that in the D90--better in most ways. The camera responds faster too--mirror up time, mirror return, shutter lag times, the D2x is, well, a former $5,000 flagship body. At lower ISO setting, the D2Xs has a slight imaging edge, but it gets noisy at higher ISO settings. The D2x has user-configurable "banks", so you can custom-tune the settings and then Alpahabet-letter through your shooting banks. The D2x also allows you to do voice annotations,which can be handy if you shoot events or things where you need to do in-field captions to identify steps in a process or people in the shot w/o a notepad, or just to get a voice clip of things. The D2x is a good camera with AF or AF-D lenses; it has a hi-torque AF motor in the body. To me, the main advantage of the D2x is the superior viewfinder and focusing system,and the sheer speed the camera does everything at. The D2Xs is however a big, heavy, obvious camera. It draws attention. The 1.5x normal FOV at FF at 5fps and the 2.0x FOV with the push of a button at 8.2 FPS is nice when you need to make one lens do double-duty from a single shooting position, like at a baseball stadium or soccer field.

 

[mdtusz]

Hmm. The only thing that concerns me is the noise at higher ISO's. I've read that at 800, it is unuseable, and with my d90, I've been shooting at 800 indoors at restaurants and places like that without noticing noise at all. All the other features make me want it over the d90 though. Decisions decisions decisions...

 

[Derrel]

Yes...elevated ISO shooting demands noise reduction for the best possible results. The in-camera JPEG noise reduction does a pretty good job. it is hard to imagine or articulate the difference between a flagship-level Canon or Nikon and a mid-level body. Even lengthy reviews like this one Nikon D2x and D2xs Review by Thom Hogan

cannot fully describe the difference between what was at one time the absolute state of the art from Nikon, and a later designed, lighter, smaller, less-capable camera with a better,newer sensor. The D2Xs is going to have the faster, more agile one-shot focus acquisition, and the better handling, but the D90 has video clips and better High-ISO sensor performance. Each camera has its own strengths and weaknesses.

 

[ocular]

Stick with the d90, you will have more options to experiment and play with over time.