Product Reviews

Konica Minolta's Dynax 7D is the company's long-awaited digital SLR for Minolta A-Type Bayonet lenses. Costing £1149 for the body alone, it features 6.1 megapixel resolution, a large 2.5in LCD display, stacks of manual control and it's the first digital SLR to boast built-in anti-shake technology.

The CCD sensor generates 18MB (uncompressed) images with 3000 x 2008 pixels and enough detail to be reproduced up to 10 x 7in at 300dpi. Like other digital SLRs at this price, the sensor is smaller than a frame of 35mm film, resulting in an effective multiplication of all lens focal lengths. In the case of the 7D, it's 1.5 times, so the new 17-35mm f2.8~4 lens used for testing effectively performed like a 25-52mm zoom. This lens costs £419 and at the time of writing there were no bundles.

Images are recorded onto Compact Flash memory cards and Microdrives are supported; like other digital SLRs you need to supply your own card, though. The 7D can record images at three different resolutions with the choice of three compression levels (best-quality Jpegs measure around 4MB each). There's also a RAW mode, which can record accompanying JPEGs if desired.

Where possible, buttons and nested-menu options have been exchanged for physical switches, levers and dials - for example, an entire dial is devoted to exposure and flash compensation settings. The upper portion controlling exposure compensation is itself split into two halves offering -2 to +2EV in 1/3 increments on one side and -3 to +3EV in half increments on the other. It all makes for a faster experience. Along with a pop-up flash, there's a hotshoe and PC sync port for external lighting. Sensitivity runs from 100-3200 ISO, while burst mode records up to 15 frames at 3fps.

The rear panel is dominated by a large 2.5in screen, which dwarfs the typical 1.8in screens on most digital SLRs. Rather than employing the usual secondary screen for exposure information, all shooting details are shown on this main colour display. Sensors within the camera detect if the body is turned for portrait aspect shots and cleverly flip the information round. A pair of sensors under the optical viewfinder also detect when your eye is pressed against it and shut

ADVERTISEMENT

down the display backlight to save power.

While the large screen and wealth of physical controls are unusual for a digital SLR, it's the built-in anti-shake system that makes the 7D really special. Rival anti-shake systems adjust optics within special lenses. The advantage is being able to see the result through the viewfinder, but you'll obviously need to buy anti-shake lenses to enjoy it. By contrast, built-in anti-shake technology means it can be exploited by any lens.

The system works by mounting the CCD sensor on an adjustable platform. Motion detectors analyse the wobbling and use fast-reacting piezo-electric actuators to shift the chip by up to 5mm in any direction. Since there's no live output from the CCD, you sadly can't see its effect through the viewfinder, but five lights indicate how hard it's working. As long as five or fewer lights are illuminated in the viewfinder, the 7D should be effectively counteracting any wobbles or shakes. The system also only starts shifting the chip at the instant you take the picture, thereby saving power.

In practice, it all works very well. Konica Minolta reckons you can handhold shots up to three times slower than before, and in tests we found quarter-second exposures with the wide lens could be perfectly sharp. Even a long 300mm telephoto could be just about handheld at a 60th of a second. It's a revelation not having to compromise either depth of field or ISO sensitivity to achieve handholdable shutter speeds.

In terms of resolution and image quality, the 7D performed similarly to other 6 megapixel digital SLRs, such as the Nikon D70 and Canon 300D, although its noise levels at higher sensitivities were slightly lower. Costing £1149 for the body alone, though, the 7D is much more expensive. This price puts it closer to models such as Canon's EOS 20D, which boasts faster startup, focusing and burst mode, not to mention two extra megapixels. Of course, none of these other cameras have built-in anti-shake or as large a screen.

If you already own Minolta lenses, the 7D is a no-brainer, but for those without optical commitments, the choice boils down to budget and which features you value most. If you're simply after the most affordable 6 megapixel digital SLR, go for the Canon 300D or Nikon D70. You can also buy an image-stabilised zoom and still probably spend less than the 7D with a new lens.

Alternatively if you've got around £1200 to spend, you'll have to weigh up the 7D's anti-shake and large screen against the Canon 20D's faster performance and slightly higher resolution. Just like looks and handling, this is a highly personal choice. What we can tell you is the 7D performs very well and is a wonderful camera to use. The large screen is a joy and the anti-shake really works. It's highly recommended.