Konica Minolta Minolta DiMAGE 7

Minolta Dimage 7 Review

by Tracey Capen

- WHAT'S HOT: True 5.2-megapixel imaging and a 7X optical zoom top this camera's long list of high-end features. You also get over a dozen dials and buttons, for quickly accessing functions. You can zoom from 28mm to 200mm (35mm equivalent) by twisting the large rubber grip on the lens barrel. Not only is this far faster than the rocker-button zoom you find on most digital cameras, but it's also more precise. An efficient, tag-team combination of settings and selector dials handle many of the camera operations and exposure controls typically buried in menus on other cameras. For instance, when you set the selector dial to "PASM," you can switch from shutter priority to aperture priority by simply pressing a button and turning the selection dial. Release the button and the selector dial lets you spin through aperture values. All the information for these changes is displayed on the LED status panel on top of the camera, the color LCD viewfinder, and the electronic viewfinder (which replaces the optical viewfinder found in most digital cameras). Other dedicated buttons include an automatic/manual focus button, a macro switch, and a big square button that switches you instantly into Program mode. The Dimage 7's electronic viewfinder has another handy feature: It rotates from the typical horizontal orientation to vertical, making it more comfortable when shooting at almost any angle. To save power and review shots faster, the camera can automatically power up and power down the viewfinder or the LCD panel, depending on which one you are using. How does it work? Sensors in the electronic viewfinder detect when something--such as your eye--is next to it. The viewfinder has another advantage: It lists many of the camera's vital settings while you're composing a shot (something sorely missing in the optical finders of most digital cameras)