Camcorders, look out! Nikon announced yesterday its D90, a digital SLR camera that promises to do things that no point-and-shoot digital camera or even non-professional camcorder can.

[UPDATE Dec. 12, 2008: The Nikon D90 has now been fully tested by our technicians. See our latest blog entry: "Digital SLR Ratings: Nikon D90 and other new models." If you have a subscription to ConsumerReports.org, you can find the D90 in our latest Ratings of Digital SLRs. —Ed.]

[UPDATE Sept. 30 , 2008: We tested the D90's video capabilities. See our post, "Claim Check—Nikon D90: The first D-SLR with hi-def video." —Ed.]

Nikon says the D90 (Click on the image at right for a closer look) records both high-definition (720p) and standard-definition video using interchangeable lenses, while taking advantage of numerous other SLR benefits, among them low-light sensitivity, fast continuous shooting, and high-capacity batteries. Nikon says the D90 will be available sometime in September and list for $999 (camera body only) or $1,299 (with lens).

A few highlights:

• With a D90, you can shoot videos using many of Nikon's lenses such as its fish-eye and macro lenses, for the same creative control you get with stills. For example, with some lenses, you should be able to reduce the camera's depth of field enough that, when shooting video, the subject stands out because the background is noticeably out of focus.


• Because the D90 uses an image sensor very similar to the one found on the Nikon D300 (model information available to subscribers), you should be able to shoot decent quality video or still images in very low light without a flash. The D300 is the only model in our Ratings of digital SLRs (available to subscribers) able to capture, in low-light, images good enough to enlarge, even when set as high as ISO 3200. (Most SLRs can do so only up to ISO 800 or less, our tests found.) It was also one of only three SLRs with excellent overall image quality and dynamic range.