Dont picture it Dimage it! (Minolta Dimage 7)

Member Name: mykp

Product:	Minolta Dimage 7
Date:	27/03/02 (281 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Superb Images, Zooooooooom, large image sizes :)

Disadvantages: battery killer, needs lots of memory

I have been looking for a new Digital Camera and after much deliberation I had decided either on the Fuji Film 6900Z or the Minolta Dimkage 7.

Both cameras are around the same specification, both have a 6x+ Zoom and 5+ mega pixels, although the 6900Z is higher it is only 3 mega pixels which are interpolated, see my digital camera review for meaning. The Dimage 7 has a optical zoom of 7.1x and also has a digital zoom of 2x where as the Fuji Film is 6x.

The thing which swung me towards the Dimage 7 was not the technical specifications though but the fact that the Dimage 7 takes normal AA batteries and uses Compact Flash memory, where as the Fuji Film uses a non standard Fuji Battery and smart media memory. So big deal I hear you cry, well I already have both of these so buying the Fuji Film would have required extra funds for memory and batteries. The other reason was that the Dimage uses AA batteries and even if the rechargables I have run out I can always just buy normal batteries anywhere. The Special battery for the Fuji cant be.

So, what features does the Dimage 7 have that make it so special?

I am not going to go on about all the features of the camera as if you are reading this you must be interested in the camera and probably already know.

What I am going to waffle about is the ease of use and quality of the images this camera produces.

First the ease of use.

Get the camera out of the box and put in the supplied memory card and AA Alkaline batteries, then switch on the camera, turning the dial on top to the photo position. Point the camera and press the button. You've just taken your first picture. Now turn off the camera as the AA batteries that came with the camera have just expired! Well nearly, I took just 14 pictures before the batteries gave up the ghost and died. This was on 1 setting down from maximum, so I dont know how long they would last on max. Also on Max the memory card is full
after 1 shot on Maximum. File size is in the region of 14megabytes on Max. However on max the quality is superb. NiMh batteries will let you get about 70 images from them but my batteries arent very high amperage. Mine are 1550 mah, 1800 mah is now the maximum.

If the camera is set to 1 down from max you will get 7 shots to the supplied memory card.

I really, strongly recommend that you purchase an additional memory card to go with this camera. I ended up buying a 1 gig IBM Microdrive which at the cameras maximum setting will still only allow 68 pictures on it. However at one down from maximum will allow 550 pictures. Obviously the lower settings will allow over 1000 images to be taken.

The camera also lets you take 60 seconds of video at 320 x 240. This is reasonable quality although there is no sound with the video. One video clip takes up as much as one image does.

Once you have got a decent set of batteries and a decent size memory card this camera is a joy to use as the quality of the images it produces are superb. The final results when printed on a decent printer will amaze most people.

The camera itself is knobs and buttons city. In total 5 dials and 12 buttons which allow you to change the settings of the camera. There is a LCD screen on the back of the camera which can be used as a view finder and to view images you have taken. It is also used to display any menus and camera settings. There is also another LCD display on the top of the camera which displays the quality settings of images. Also on the top is the view finder which also doubles as a mini screen for viewing settings and menu's. The camera automatically switches between the LCD on the back and the view finder when you put your eye close to it.

On the left of the camera is another set of dials and buttons which are used to setup the quality and size of the images your about to take.

On the front of the camera is the Lens which wh
en turned will zoom the lens in and out, also is a macro switch on the side for up close picture taking. Also at the back of the lens is the focus ring which focuses the image when manual focus is used.

On the right hand side is a little door which houses the port for the connector to your pc and also the Compact Flash card, which a Type II housing. This means that you can use Type I and Type II compact Flash cards.

Oh, also on the back is the latch for the battery opening. You'll have to get familiar with this as it wil be used quite a lot.

So after a few weeks of use how would I rate this camera. Well apart from the speed it flattens batteries (1550MAh), I am very impressed with this camera. No I am very impressed.

The image quality.

At high quality the images are superb and even at 1 down from maximum the quality is still excellent. I am also impressed at the speed you can take images. Press the button 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 its as quick as that although at highest quality be prepared for a wait as it takes about 30 seconds to save the image (14 megs), one down from max images are about 2 meg.

Viewing the images is just as easy, turn a dial and press the right and left buttons for next and previous pictures.

Downloading the images is a boring process especially with a large memory card but this can be speeded up using a card reader.

Size wise the camera is quite chunky, about the size of an average SLR but the extra features, quality and speed make up for more than larger size than other cameras.

I am extremely happy with this little toy and I am looking forward to taking lots and looking at lots of pictures with it. I have only had the camera for 4 weeks and have already taken 500 pictures. Mainly to get used to all the settings. I must say the images I took at the Gladstone museum where superb.

I'm off out to take more pictures!

© copyright 2002, Mike Porter.

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