Minolta Dimage 7 Digital Camera.
Reviews, Price Comparison and Ratings.

  Annotation: Reviews, Ratings, Price Comparison and Full Information for Minolta Dimage 7 Digital Camera.

Editors' Rating:
8.0 of 10
 

 • Value for money 6
 • Ease of Use 8
 • Performance 7
 • Image Quality 7

Average User Rating:
10.0 of 10
(125 votes)

 • Value for money 8
 • Ease of Use 9
 • Performance 9
 • Image Quality 9

Where to Buy ?
$395.00
different prices

 PROS
 • Fully manual focus and exposure
  Fast mode switching
 • Powerful lens
 • Easy operation
 • High resolution

 CONS
  Short battery life
  Sluggish autofocus
  Noisy electronic viewfinder
  Only 16MB memory card included
  Grip gets hot

Includes: Minolta Dimage 7 Digital Camera, 16MB Lexar 8X CompactFlash card, 4 AA alkaline batteries (non-rechargeable), Neck strap, Lens hood, Lens cap w/strap, USB cable, Video cable, CD-ROM featuring DiMAGE Image View Utility and drivers, 147 page camera manual + 67 page software manual (both printed).
Recommended Accessories

  The Minolta DIMAGE 7 camera is, perhaps, an entirely finished conception of a digital camera. The experience will show whether this solution is viable. But I think that this camera starts the epoch of maturity of digital photo cameras. The matrix quality is rather high, and now one will hardly notice that the image quality is mainly determined by the lens whose resolution is higher in the center than on edges. But the price for good lenses does not usually drop with time or drops insignificantly. Further development and reduction of prices in the sphere of electronics will hardly affect cameras of this class. I think that in the future belongs to the digital cameras with removable optical instruments like Leica when anyone will be able to equip his camera with a lens he likes.


Dimage 7 Major Features:

True 5.24-megapixel CCD delivering resolutions as high as 2,568 x 1,928 pixels.
12-Bit A/D conversion.
Digital Hyper Electronic viewfinder with 90-degree variable position.
1.8-inch TFT color LCD monitor.
7.2-50.8mm lens (equivalent to a 28-200mm lens on a 35mm camera) with a maximum aperture of f/2.8 or f/3.5, depending on the zoom setting.
2x digital zoom.
Auto and Manual focus.
Macro setting at maximum telephoto.
Program AE, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, Manual, and Subject Program shooting modesl.
Shutter speeds from 1/2,000 to 4 seconds, with Bulb setting for longer exposures (up to 30 seconds).
300 Multi-Segment, Center-Weighted, and Spot metering options, with AE Lock function.
Adjustable ISO with five settings.
Built-in, pop-up flash with three operating modes, a flash metering system, and adjustable intensity.
External flash hot-shoe for Minolta accessory flash units.
Continuous Shooting, Interval, and Movie shooting modes.
Digital Effects Control for Exposure, Color Saturation, and Contrast Compensation with Bracketing.
Adjustable White Balance with six modes.
Saturation, Sharpness, Contrast, and Black and White modes.
RAW, uncompressed TIFF, and JPEG file formats.
Images saved to CompactFlash Type I or II memory cards (16MB card included), Microdrive compatible.
USB cable and interface software for connecting to a computer and downloading images.
NTSC and PAL selectable video output signals, with cable included.
Power supplied by four AA batteries or separate AC adapter (available as an accessory).
DPOF (Digital Print Order Format) compliant.
Full Specs

Customer Reviews

Dianne Hughes, from Rohnert Park, CA, US, Mar 29, 2002

This is the BEST digital camera I've ever tried (and the fourth one I've owned).. the only con I can think of is that the autofocus doesn't consistently focus correctly (but, I prefer to focus manually anyway) under certainly lighting conditions. I also have to say that (oppsed to the Editor ratings) I've never had the grip get hot on me, and as for low battery life.. I've NEVER had a digital camera that doesn't have that problem.. the answer is to either get the $20 battery recharger and a second set of rechargeable batteries~ I always have a HOT set ready to go. The only other thing I can add.. is that if you aren't totally set on ALL the features the Dimage 7 offer.. save yourself a couple hundred dollars and go for the Dimage 5 instead! Good luck!
dhughes.

  Installation 10
  Image Quality 10
  Ease of Use 8
  Compatibility 8
  Overall Value 9

Steve Cohan, from Phoenix, AZ, US, Mar 14, 2002

First, let me say the negatives on this camera simply aren't true. This is my fourth digital camera and I think I have a perspective. For all you Minolta autofocus film camera owners, this is the camera for you. The controls are virtually the same so you will have a VERY short learning curve. In fact the remote cable for my 8000i is the same for the Dimage 7. I had numerous 1600mAh batteries and two 340MB Microdrives from my previous camera. All work fine and the battery life is not short. I THOUGHT it was short. WRONG. The camera shuts down after being idle for a short period of time to conserve battery life. I thought the batteries were exhausted. For the serious photographer all of the functions are accessed through dials and buttons on the surface of the camera so there are no buried menus to explore. You can make quick changes. The focusing is reasonably fast and you can focus in virtually sheer darkness. The viewfinder is not TTL. It is better and is like that of a video camera. The reason it is better is that you can see the effects of changes to f-stop and shutter speed in the viewfinder as you make them. Also the viewfinder flips up 90 degrees do you can look down when shooting. The Minolta website has some good Q and A's. Also, read the warranty info there. The warranty is invalid if the camera in purchased outside the US. There must be several packages made for marketing. I bought mine at a local camera store and it came with a charger and four 1600mAh batteries in the box. Step up to the plate and buy one locally where you can get assistance. I think a lot of the negatives on this camera are due to lack of knowledge and improper user operation.

  Installation 10
  Image Quality 10
  Ease of Use 10
  Compatibility 10
  Overall Value 10


  The Lowest Price is not always best !


When you buy a digital camera, the basic package almost always includes extras such as a battery charger, lens cap, batteries, flash memory card, and software. One of the more disreputable practices a dealer can engage in is called unbundling. These dealers remove items from the  package that are normally included in the price and price them separately.

When purchasing a camera you have three components of the price to consider - the camera price, postage and handling, and taxes. Many dealers lower the price to make the camera more attractive, then increase the postage and handling to boost their profits.

Hesitate before accepting extended warranties. Every knowledgeable consumer expert says it's better to gamble. Most of a company's profit is in the sale of these warranties so they press, and press hard. Your job is to resist, and resist hard. The only thing to keep in mind is that digital cameras can be horribly expensive to repair. If you want peace of mind, you may want the warranty, even though it's probably overpriced. The cost of a repair can approach, or even exceed, the original purchase price.

When you buy a camera from a reputable dealer, you expect to be able to return it if you aren't satisfied. Some dealers try to discourage this by requiring a restocking fee for returned merchandise. This is always explained as a way to recover their costs of checking the merchandise and restoring the packaging you may have opened.

Many dealers is truly a false, deceptive and a total crook. Bait and switch tactics used. Does not sell new merchandise and will ship used or refurbished goods without notifying customer. They then try to charge a restock fee on top of their exobitant shipping fees to make a profit where they could not on their goods. A try case of buyer beware.

Where To Buy Minolta Dimage 7 Digital Camera ?:
$395.00
different prices

 


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