Before I begin, I have to admit. I am a lover of Canon DSLRs.

"OK," you may demand, "how come the article concerning a Nikon D90?"

"Fabulous observation," I might reply. It's actually in regard to an admiration I have for Nikon and Canon in general.

The fact is, both Canon and Nikon are extraordinary DSLR camera manufacturers, and it doesn't matter which one you have, I'm sure you are extremely happy with it. Both companies are very much into improving upon technology and presenting photographers with a wonderful picture-taking experience.

The desire of camera manufacturers to capture the DSLR market have resulted in some great new features and technology in their newer released cameras.

So, enough with the double-speak. Many photographers are loyal to their brand. If they own one model of camera, they will uphold the benefits of that brand name and many times speak poorly of the other. However, I am not a Nikon-basher, even though I have owned several Canons. I have also used Nikons, and I would be just as happy is I owned one of them.

Here is my question of the day:

"What is the secret of a great digital SLR? And since this is about the Nikon D90, what makes a Nikon D90 great?"

Truly, I will answer this question, but first a little bit of understanding into why I think the way I do about this subject.

Being a school teacher, part of my responsibility is as the Yearbook adviser. It is actually my first year doing this gig, and I am learning as I go. One of the important aspects I am learning is that there are not adequate enough folks taking pictures at my school. I have battled finding photographs of events.. actually, no, that is not true.. I have had limited success getting pictures that are "good enough" to use in the yearbook.

I can't go to every single function myself, so I have requested several students, parents, and other teachers to help with this problem. The results are discouraging. Typically there is no photo coverage because the people are just not interested in getting them. And when they do take pictures they are not of sufficient quality.

That is until this week. I came across a student in the hall who said, "Hey, I have some photos of the track meet. Would you care to use some of them in the Yearbook?"

Needless to say, I said I did. Even so, I was not all that enthusiastic about getting them thinking about what I had seen in the past from students and parents.

Wow, was I surprised when I downloaded those 210 pictures to my computer. They were superb! And some were just downright amazing.

So I went to find this budding young photographer to find out how she did this. "Oh, I really like taking pictures with my Digital SLR," she replied. "It's a Nikon D90, and I have been getting a lot of pictures with it. The more I use it the more I like photography."

I was so pleased with her that I recruited her as a "Certified Yearbook Photographer."

She was thrilled, but not as much as I am.

Now, the answer to the burning question of the day: What makes the Nikon D90 a great camera? It's user passion. Pretty simple, huh?

If that student leaves her camera at home, it's not worth anything. But, armed with her beloved Digital SLR and a passion for the results she knows are sure to come when she views her photos on the computer, she IS a Certified Yearbook Photographer.

Here's a quick rundown of some of the most looked for features of the Nikon D90

• 12.9 megapixel DX-format CMOS sensor (effective pixels: 12.3 million)

• 3.0-inch 920,000 pixel (VGA x 3 colors) TFT-LCD (same as D3 and D300)

• Live View with contrast-detect AF, face detection

• Image sensor cleaning (sensor shake)

• Illuminated focus points

• Movie capture at up to 1280 x 720 (720p) 24 fps with mono sound

• IS0 200-3200 range (100-6400 expanded)

• 4.5 frames per second continuous shooting

• Expeed image processing engine

• 3D tracking AF (11 point)

• Short startup time, viewfinder blackout and shutter lag

• Extensive in-camera retouching including raw development and straightening

Don't forget, the Digital SLR is great if the passion of the photographer is great!