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#1
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Comments on Maxxum D7 spec
Well the spec is out and we are pleased. Of course the Canon 20D now leads this segment of the market and it will probably take Minolta a while to catch up ... if at all ... (the encouraging note here is that the A1 went from 5 to 8 MP within months ... but a different sensor size of course). The highs and lows a The D7 (whether Maxxum or Dynax depending on where you live) has a very strong spec. Using (we assume) the same Sony CCD sensor as the Nikon D100/D70 and getting the same resolution and pixel numbers with a 12 bit ADC. A fixed low pass filter is employed. The high point wrt the sensor integration is that it will have a slow sensitivity of ISO 100 and reach up to 3200. The real bonus here is of course that the sensor is mounted on the Anti-shake technology first deployed by Minolta on the A1 and A2 SLR-like predecessors. This will give anti-shake margin of at least 2 stops, 3 stops is claimed by K-M. So all my lenses will benefit. The system employs about all of the over achieving specifications of the film Maxxum 7 with a few minor sacrifices (below). Flash sync is a bit slow, with 1/160 (A-S off) and 1/125 with AS on. This is a 1/3 stop margin between A-S on and off, so it would seem in the studio that 1/125 with A-S on will result in cleaner handheld studio shots than at 1/160 ...not accounting for subject motion of course. I'm disappointed, K-M should have had a quicker sync speed, at least 1/200 and 1/300 from the Maxxum 9 would have been preferred. The max shutter speed is 1/4000 which again is odd, as the Max 7 has a 1/8,000 shutter speed. In practical terms this is no real problem. The link above says "DOF" unknown. But previous releases indicate that DOF preview is included. Let's hope that K-M have not dropped this ball (the photos provided hide the position where the DOF button is located). Viewfinder: The spec says 95% and this has me perplexed. If this is the Max 7 frame then with a 1.5X crop the viewfinder should be something well in excess of 100%. I hope that K-M have not crippled the VF as the spec here seems to indicate. (Could be they just copied over the Max 7 spec without adjustment for the sensor ... I hope so). Flash covers all the bases from the built-in flash, wireless flash and a PC sync terminal. In a nutshell, a great first DSLR from K-M (Yeah I know it isn't really the first one, but few people bought their expensive kludge of a few years ago... the RD-175). So, the two big questions remain: WHEN? Maybe Photokina will reveal this... HOW MUCH? as above... The spec appears to have been rushed out to me and is possibly a reaction to the release of the Pentax *ist DS announcemnt of a couple days ago. K-M seem to continuously be in reaction mode. Cheers, Alan -- -- rec.photo.equipment.35mm user resource: -- http://www.aliasimages.com/rpe35mmur.htm -- e-meil: there's no such thing as a FreeLunch.-- |
#2
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Alan Browne wrote:
in addition to the prev. comments: -there appears to be a DOF switch by the lens assembly in other photos at the German K-M site (account required to visit). -An adaptor is available to use SD memory in the CF slot. -- -- rec.photo.equipment.35mm user resource: -- http://www.aliasimages.com/rpe35mmur.htm -- e-meil: there's no such thing as a FreeLunch.-- |
#3
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Alan Browne wrote:
in addition to the prev. comments: -there appears to be a DOF switch by the lens assembly in other photos at the German K-M site (account required to visit). -An adaptor is available to use SD memory in the CF slot. -- -- rec.photo.equipment.35mm user resource: -- http://www.aliasimages.com/rpe35mmur.htm -- e-meil: there's no such thing as a FreeLunch.-- |
#4
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Alan Browne wrote in
: -An adaptor is available to use SD memory in the CF slot. There has been for some time. However, other such adapters are available at better prices from other manufacturers -- the Minolta is most likely a OEM unit anyway. |
#5
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Alan Browne wrote in
: -An adaptor is available to use SD memory in the CF slot. There has been for some time. However, other such adapters are available at better prices from other manufacturers -- the Minolta is most likely a OEM unit anyway. |
#6
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Alan Browne wrote in
: a very strong spec. Using (we assume) the same Sony CCD sensor as the Nikon D100/D70 and getting the same resolution and pixel numbers with a 12 bit ADC. A fixed low pass filter is employed. The high point wrt the sensor integration is that it will have a slow sensitivity of ISO 100 and reach up to 3200. The 100 low limit means it's not the same sensor (most probably a variant of it though). All cameras using the same architecture of the sensor has a low limit of 200; the spec of the *ist DS is unknown WRT that however. It may be a slightly revised Sony chip. I'm disappointed, K-M should have had a quicker sync speed, at least 1/200 and 1/300 from the Maxxum 9 would have been preferred. The max shutter speed is 1/4000 which again is odd, as the Max 7 has a 1/8,000 shutter speed. In practical terms this is no real problem. That, and the lack of a focus assist beam, clearly are cost-cutting measures. The shutter disturbs me more than the focus assist beam, but with HSS it's no biggie for me really. In a nutshell, a great first DSLR from K-M (Yeah I know it isn't really the first one, but few people bought their expensive kludge of a few years ago... the RD-175). Hey, don't badmouth my camera! It feels (as) bad as it is! ;-) The spec appears to have been rushed out to me and is possibly a reaction to the release of the Pentax *ist DS announcemnt of a couple days ago. K-M seem to continuously be in reaction mode. Rumours have been flying about a 15-17 sept announcement for weeks now. It's no reaction. |
#7
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Alan Browne wrote in
: a very strong spec. Using (we assume) the same Sony CCD sensor as the Nikon D100/D70 and getting the same resolution and pixel numbers with a 12 bit ADC. A fixed low pass filter is employed. The high point wrt the sensor integration is that it will have a slow sensitivity of ISO 100 and reach up to 3200. The 100 low limit means it's not the same sensor (most probably a variant of it though). All cameras using the same architecture of the sensor has a low limit of 200; the spec of the *ist DS is unknown WRT that however. It may be a slightly revised Sony chip. I'm disappointed, K-M should have had a quicker sync speed, at least 1/200 and 1/300 from the Maxxum 9 would have been preferred. The max shutter speed is 1/4000 which again is odd, as the Max 7 has a 1/8,000 shutter speed. In practical terms this is no real problem. That, and the lack of a focus assist beam, clearly are cost-cutting measures. The shutter disturbs me more than the focus assist beam, but with HSS it's no biggie for me really. In a nutshell, a great first DSLR from K-M (Yeah I know it isn't really the first one, but few people bought their expensive kludge of a few years ago... the RD-175). Hey, don't badmouth my camera! It feels (as) bad as it is! ;-) The spec appears to have been rushed out to me and is possibly a reaction to the release of the Pentax *ist DS announcemnt of a couple days ago. K-M seem to continuously be in reaction mode. Rumours have been flying about a 15-17 sept announcement for weeks now. It's no reaction. |
#8
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Magnus W wrote:
Alan Browne wrote in : a very strong spec. Using (we assume) the same Sony CCD sensor as the Nikon D100/D70 and getting the same resolution and pixel numbers with a 12 bit ADC. A fixed low pass filter is employed. The high point wrt the sensor integration is that it will have a slow sensitivity of ISO 100 and reach up to 3200. The 100 low limit means it's not the same sensor (most probably a variant of it though). All cameras using the same architecture of the sensor has a low limit of 200; the spec of the *ist DS is unknown WRT that however. It may be a slightly revised Sony chip. It may be a revised v., may be the same (may be something else entirely)... the ISO limits is a system integration issue ... how you drive it and read it will have an effect on the sensitivity limits. I'm disappointed, K-M should have had a quicker sync speed, at least 1/200 and 1/300 from the Maxxum 9 would have been preferred. The max shutter speed is 1/4000 which again is odd, as the Max 7 has a 1/8,000 shutter speed. In practical terms this is no real problem. That, and the lack of a focus assist beam, clearly are cost-cutting measures. The shutter disturbs me more than the focus assist beam, but with HSS it's no biggie for me really. http://www.dpreview.com/news/0409/ko...lta/km7d02.jpg http://www.dpreview.com/news/0409/ko...lta/km7d01.jpg Seems to show a focus assist beam xmiter below the blue logo. (This may also be a pre-prod that is too close to the 7 and not rep of the final). In a nutshell, a great first DSLR from K-M (Yeah I know it isn't really the first one, but few people bought their expensive kludge of a few years ago... the RD-175). Hey, don't badmouth my camera! It feels (as) bad as it is! ;-) Gee, as if I aimed that comment at you! (heh heh!). The spec appears to have been rushed out to me and is possibly a reaction to the release of the Pentax *ist DS announcemnt of a couple days ago. K-M seem to continuously be in reaction mode. Rumours have been flying about a 15-17 sept announcement for weeks now. It's no reaction. Given the overall poor announcement quality and the poor state of the website dedicated to the camera (lot's of place holder stuff, very little meaningful detail) it seems reactionary. Their marketing people are not being very sharp, IMO. It looks like very poor prep prior to Photokina ... vice Pentax' first class rollout of the *ist DS including a full review by Phil Askey on dpreview. Minolta D7 site: http://konicaminolta.com/products/co...-7d/index.html Cheers, Alan PS: Magnus, see other rpe35mm post 17-35 (Tamron). -- -- rec.photo.equipment.35mm user resource: -- http://www.aliasimages.com/rpe35mmur.htm -- e-meil: there's no such thing as a FreeLunch.-- |
#9
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Magnus W wrote:
Alan Browne wrote in : a very strong spec. Using (we assume) the same Sony CCD sensor as the Nikon D100/D70 and getting the same resolution and pixel numbers with a 12 bit ADC. A fixed low pass filter is employed. The high point wrt the sensor integration is that it will have a slow sensitivity of ISO 100 and reach up to 3200. The 100 low limit means it's not the same sensor (most probably a variant of it though). All cameras using the same architecture of the sensor has a low limit of 200; the spec of the *ist DS is unknown WRT that however. It may be a slightly revised Sony chip. It may be a revised v., may be the same (may be something else entirely)... the ISO limits is a system integration issue ... how you drive it and read it will have an effect on the sensitivity limits. I'm disappointed, K-M should have had a quicker sync speed, at least 1/200 and 1/300 from the Maxxum 9 would have been preferred. The max shutter speed is 1/4000 which again is odd, as the Max 7 has a 1/8,000 shutter speed. In practical terms this is no real problem. That, and the lack of a focus assist beam, clearly are cost-cutting measures. The shutter disturbs me more than the focus assist beam, but with HSS it's no biggie for me really. http://www.dpreview.com/news/0409/ko...lta/km7d02.jpg http://www.dpreview.com/news/0409/ko...lta/km7d01.jpg Seems to show a focus assist beam xmiter below the blue logo. (This may also be a pre-prod that is too close to the 7 and not rep of the final). In a nutshell, a great first DSLR from K-M (Yeah I know it isn't really the first one, but few people bought their expensive kludge of a few years ago... the RD-175). Hey, don't badmouth my camera! It feels (as) bad as it is! ;-) Gee, as if I aimed that comment at you! (heh heh!). The spec appears to have been rushed out to me and is possibly a reaction to the release of the Pentax *ist DS announcemnt of a couple days ago. K-M seem to continuously be in reaction mode. Rumours have been flying about a 15-17 sept announcement for weeks now. It's no reaction. Given the overall poor announcement quality and the poor state of the website dedicated to the camera (lot's of place holder stuff, very little meaningful detail) it seems reactionary. Their marketing people are not being very sharp, IMO. It looks like very poor prep prior to Photokina ... vice Pentax' first class rollout of the *ist DS including a full review by Phil Askey on dpreview. Minolta D7 site: http://konicaminolta.com/products/co...-7d/index.html Cheers, Alan PS: Magnus, see other rpe35mm post 17-35 (Tamron). -- -- rec.photo.equipment.35mm user resource: -- http://www.aliasimages.com/rpe35mmur.htm -- e-meil: there's no such thing as a FreeLunch.-- |
#10
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Alan Browne wrote in
: The 100 low limit means it's not the same sensor (most probably a variant of it though). All cameras using the same architecture of the sensor has a low limit of 200; the spec of the *ist DS is unknown WRT that however. It may be a slightly revised Sony chip. It may be a revised v., may be the same (may be something else entirely)... the ISO limits is a system integration issue ... As I understand it it's more of a register issue and thus directly related to the sensor hardware. 3200 as max (the *ist D has it, the Nikons not) is likely a design decision though; 3200 is too bad so they are not giving it even as an option. That, and the lack of a focus assist beam, clearly are cost-cutting measures. The shutter disturbs me more than the focus assist beam, but with HSS it's no biggie for me really. http://www.dpreview.com/news/0409/ko...lta/km7d02.jpg http://www.dpreview.com/news/0409/ko...lta/km7d01.jpg Seems to show a focus assist beam xmiter below the blue logo. (This may also be a pre-prod that is too close to the 7 and not rep of the final). No, that is the final camera, and no, that's a self-timer led or maybe some sort of IR remote release window. The D7D has AF illumination from the built-in flash, or from an accessory flash. Rumours have been flying about a 15-17 sept announcement for weeks now. It's no reaction. Given the overall poor announcement quality and the poor state of the website dedicated to the camera (lot's of place holder stuff, very little meaningful detail) it seems reactionary. Maybe they don't know themselves. The camera is finalized (some people have review samples) but software might not be finalized -- sources (Minolta officials!) says delivery by November. I certainly hope that's a misunderstanding. |
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