Minolta Dimage A2 Digital Camera. Reviews, Price Comparison and Ratings.

The Minolta A2 is one of the best 8 megapixel digicams around. It has a great feature set, is capable of producing high quality images, and has a great user interface. The zoom range of 28-200mm (35mm equivalent) makes it a great camera for a wide range of situations, making it an almost ideal travel camera. The Anti-Shake feature works well, and helps stabilize the camera. On the negative side, by default, images come out a bit soft directly from the camera (but can easily be fixed in post-processing, or alternatively, improved using in-camera settings). Like any camera, it has its own unique set of strengths and weaknesses, and, it is up to you to decide if this camera is right for you.
The A2 enters the eight megapixel fray which is currently made up of another four digital cameras: the Canon PowerShot Pro1, Sony DSC-F828, Olympus C-8080 Wide Zoom and the Nikon Coolpix 8700.

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.