Konica Minolta Dimage 7I Kit

WHAT'S HOT: The DiMage 7i, a refinement of the DiMage 7 we reviewed a year ago, has all of the same great features as its predecessor: extensive controls, 5-megapixel imaging, a 7X optical zoom that starts at a wide 28mm focal length (35mm equivalent), and a horizontally and vertically swiveling electronic viewfinder that automatically turns on when you place your eye to it.

The most important new feature in the DiMage 7i is audio recording--something sorely missing in the DiMage 7. Not only do you get audio with your movie clips, but you can add audio notes of up to 15 seconds to your still images. Other improvements include a maximum shutter speed of 1/4000 second (up from 1/2000) and a new seven-frames-per-second continuous shooting mode. Called "UHS continuous advance," this setting has some limitations: You can take up to 15 shots at a the relatively low maximum resolution of 1280 by 960 and the JPEG compression set to "fine," but you cannot use the better "superfine" or RAW settings. (You can shoot bursts of up to four frames at 2560 by 1920.)

WHAT'S NOT: We are still not thrilled with the electronic viewfinder held over from the DiMage 7. Images appear somewhat grainy in it, and they tend to jump as you pan the camera. Sony's Cyber-shot DSC-F717, which we reviewed at the same time, has an electronic viewfinder that seems both faster and sharper--and more pleasant to use.

The 7i's pop-up flash is also a bit harder to use than the Sony's. In low light, the Sony's flash pops up automatically; the 7i's flash must be manually raised/engaged. And very few other cameras, especially advanced models, force you to go into menus to change basic flash settings.

Minolta's support hours are among the shortest offered: 9 hours, weekdays only.

WHAT ELSE: The DiMage 7i has the bulk and weight (1.5 pounds) of a traditional 35mm single-lens reflex model; this is not a pocketable camera. Despite a near excess of buttons and dials, it's easy to work with. In the tradition of 35mm SLRs, it has rings on the lens for adjusting focus and zoom settings, making focal-length changes especially quick. A dedicated button lets you switch immediately into program mode. And though the menus are layered, navigating them is easy enough.

Image quality as about the same as what we found in the DiMage 7, about average for the cameras we've tested. Overall our test images were a bit underexposed and tended toward high contrast, especially our outdoor shot with lots of blue sky and shaded walls. And while the images were sharp, samples from competing models were a bit sharper.

Battery life seems to have improved with the 7i. One set of four AA batteries delivered only 169 shots with the DiMage 7; we took 250 shots with the 7i before its batteries gave out. And the camera's autofocus seems to work better, as well. Minolta states that the 7i's autofocus locks twice as fast as the previous model does. Though we couldn't test that claim because we didn't have both cameras at the same time, the 7i did not exhibit any of the focus swimming (in which the camera's focusing mechanism grinds back and forth as it tries to lock) that we noted with the Dimage 7. It's still not especially fast, but it's tolerable.

UPSHOT: Powerful and flexible, the DiMage 7 is a serious hobbyist's camera.

SUMMARY

Minolta DiMage 7i 5 megapixels, 2560 by 1920 maximum resolution, 28mm to 200mm focal range (35mm equivalent), f2.8 to f8 aperture range, shutter speeds from 4 seconds to 1/4000 second, electronic and LCD viewfinders, USB and video connections, 16MB CompactFlash media, four rechargeable AA batteries, 13.6 ounces with batteries, Minolta Dimage Viewer software. One-year parts and labor warranty, toll-call support for 8.5 hours on weekdays. $1000 201/825-4000 www.minoltausa.com