Optics and picture control. You see what you get on the excellent viewfinder, so no surprises with very difficult photos like sunsets etc.

Does not seem to be very sturdy. On the 3rd mounth the front cover of the grip went loose, and after I lost the rubber eypiece.

Very happy with the optics and the amount of (easy) control on colour, contrast, EV etc..

Customer Service

For the first problem waited 1 month but they gave me a replacement Dimage. For the lost eypiece I did'nt bother yet...

Similar Products Used:

Sold them !

Lens Features 28-200 optical zoom Fully programmable to fully manual operation Through the lens EVF (see also weakness) Ability to add on filters, supplemental lenses

As with all cameras this class--battery life--just be smart and be prepared. EVF--not true through the lens but (up until recently) digital SLRs have been consideralby more pricey. If you are already shooting Canon or Nikon AF systems, and have a bevy of lenses, you would probably be better off spending the money on one of those systems; but, if not...Minolta is the winner.

I have always been a Minolta user. When it came to this purchase, however, I through all loyalty out the window and did research on all the similar models including Nikon 5700 (and lesser models), Olympus Camedia E20 & 10 (?), and Sony. I was looking for 5 megpixel and above but budget constraints prohibited true digital SLR. After reviewing all, the Minolta won--mainly because of the reviews of the lens. The all have similar features and are similarly priced. I recently attended a workshop in Santa Fe and we toured The Image House, a high end digital print lab (Epson 9600 x 3) producing fine art prints for many well known as well as the common joe-blow photographers. According to Don Gray, owner of Image House--pixel count is not nearly as important as lens quality as far as quality of image. All that I have read, the Minolta has an excellant lens. Yes, there is a learning curve, but it is not all that difficult and the camera is absolutely packed with features--form totally manual (lets hear it for manual exposure) to fully programmable w/ both shutter and aperture priority modes. The 28-200 optical zoom with macro modes at both ends of the zoom takes gret shots. Battery life: if you use the LCD on the back, battery life is shorter. So, buy rechargable batteries--it takes 4 AA. Buy two sets and you will be fine. A better alternative--I found an add-on rechargable LiIon battery pack that mounts onto the tripod mount. This is very convenient and will give you 100+ RAW images befor needing to be recharged (again based on usual use of the EVF rather than the LCD). Don't rely on the electronic viewfinder for color/contrast. Trust yourself. Use it to compose, frame, and for general exposure settings. You will find that what you see by eye is what you will get.

Customer Service

no experience--no problems

- 28-200 GT lens (great range and lens quality) - Mechanical zoom ring (surely better than the electronic zoom which is slow, noisy, and inaccurate) - selectable viewfinder screen: e.g. grip, scale..which helps a lot for critical composition - great autofocus speed (far better than D60); - multi focusing points (great for critical focusing such as macro photography. - Light weight but solid built

Noise level

I used Canon D60 with L lens before. The photo quality is great but it is bulky and the auto-focus is a nightmare. I sold it finally and want to get a small, light, but still give me a pro-feel camera. Yes, 7Hi is the case.

Customer Service

not used yet.

Similar Products Used:

D60 (sold), Pentax 330, other Canon film camera and lens