Konica Minolta Dimage 7

I posted in the d7i before but this is a d7.. Let me say the firmware 2.0ug is a must.. those who say it aint worth it aint bought it.. its like putting the d7 on steroids. also the autofocus is just about as fast as any good digital out there.. picture quality 5 stars .. at 800 a 3 (noise) I think the controls screw people up..but i guess when you have so many buttons and dials you have to first consider where they will all fit then figure out the placement and function. They work just have to take a good look at it to decide what you need to press and turn to get it to do what you want.. Learning curve.. working with slrs for over 25 yrs I still aint caught on yet.. yes if you had a "real" slr before it does help. I think anyone who wants a good point and shooter should look at the canon powershots or the olympus digital cameras..both create excellent images and you dont even need to read the manual.. that is if you can find the compartment to put the batteries in em.

Ive seen reviews that save the images range from good to average.. set it to iso 100 and the images are awesom.. you need to use the workspace correction.. it may be a pain.. but hey your dling them to your computer anyway.

iso 800... avoid it! (400 is better) 100- 200 iso is the best.

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I have been using Dynax9 for 2 years before getting this Dimage7 as second SLR like camera. After using it for 2 years now, I found myself using it more than my Dynax9. My first use was on a Lion Dance competition. Major disappointment when I could only get 15 shot with AA alikane and 60 shot with AA Nickel-metal Hydride 1600mAH. Most of my time when I need to travel light this will be my camera company by at least 4 set of batteries. Although it is slow in AF but its image quality is great. I can do print from A4 to A2 faster as film need to be processed and scanned. I heard the new 7Hi is better in AF maybe I will get it or wait for "Dimage9".

Great image quality. Good noise control at low shuttle speed. Most control buttons are easy to access. Colour and white balance is great too.

Drain battery fast and slow AF.

Great image quality and creative control. It does take a bit of learning and trial and error to take advantage of it, though. The 28mm widest angle is a wonderful feature for those who photograph landscapes. Battery life can be a problem but with a couple of sets of rechargeable batteries it's not much of a nuisance. On the downside, the AF system leaves much to be desired. Over 100mm with AF is practically worthless. Also, don't expect point and shoot operation to work very well because AE is not very good, either. IMHO you must be able to work with manual settings and focus to get good results. Minolta did offer a supposed firmware upgrade to these features and some additional features to the camera but you have to pay $50.00 for it. I was upset about this at first and decided I wouldn't pay for it. After reading feedback about upgrade I'm glad I didn't. AF and AE do not seem to be improved from a general consensus.

Image quality, creative control, viewfinder shows exactly what CCD sees (makes it easy to use in manual modes), manual focus ring as opposed to using arrows.

Poor AF especially at longer focal lengths. Poor AE in point and shoot mode especially in low light.

Olympus C-2100UZ, Olympus E-100RS, Toshiba PDRM-5

Never needed.

I like this Camera! Used Nikons for years, last two being F-4 and N-80. Ihad no trouble learning to use this camera, it just took some study and playing with it. I still carry the instruction book with me and use it every now and then. Since I am mostly retired most of my photography is now casual. If I was working with this camera, I probably would like a little quicker AF, but I could use this one. I like the on-board flash. The image quality is great and the controls are as easy as any device that works off minues. I have found that any special battery can go down, always at a bad time so I hate to have to use anything but AAs. The NIMH batteries are great and were one of the main reasons I choose this camera--long life, rechargeable and easy to carry extras.

Good image, good controls and uses AA-NIMH power. Well made and solid but lite.

Auto Focus leaves a little to be desired.

Olympus 3020--also a nice medum priced camera.

Not used.

I bought the D7 when it first came out, so I paid full price. It's now an almost hard to get camera. B&H don't list it anymore and Amazon has it on clearance. This is a great camera, but it takes a bit of work. First, the power. I bought the Quantum QB1+ battery pack with the MDC4 cable. It works great. I've gone into the field for a whole day, taken over 600 shots, with and without flash, and I still haven't used up an entire charge. I charge it back up as soon as I get home, and it's already for the next day. You can even get charges for anywhere in the world. It came with the US charger, I bought the one for Australia and the one for the UK. Second, a filter for the lens. I bought the B+W 49mm UV thin filter. The regular filter shows up in the pictures at 28mm, but the thin version works great. Third, focus. I use manual. I set the aperture an f8 and the focus to 2-3m for close stuff and to infinity for long stuff. If the subject isn't moving, I use the auto focus to range in spot mode only, and then when I flip the switch to manual focus, the range is already set. This works great for action shots and for moving subjects. You see, the problem is that I spent $1500 for this camera, because of the 28-200mm lens and because of the 5.2meg resolution, but really because of the 12-bit A/D converter. Then, when I got it home and the first set of AA batteries were wasted in 15 minutes, I thought, man, what a piece of junk. But I really liked all the buttons and features and how light it was. So, I had to change the way I thought about taking pictures. With my F5, I was used to aiming and firing and getting exactly the shot I wanted. With the D7, I had to teach myself how to use the camera to get the same kind of shots that I got from my F5. It just took some trial and error, but I know a lot more about the technical side of photography now than I ever did. When I'm outside, I set the camera to manual mode, manual focus, and f8. Sometimes I use auto focus to get a range on the subject, but then I switch back to manual focus, that way I can keep shooting without the camera trying to focus every time. When I'm indoors, I set the camera to program mode and I do the same thing with the focus. I get great shots, and with the 12 bit A/D there's plenty of digital information to adjust the colors in Photoshop. It takes work to make this a great camera, but so does my Has

28-200mm lens, 12 bit A/D, manual controls.

Power, which can be solved.

Kodak DC290, Olympus 2100.

Haven't needed any.