Konica Minolta Minolta Dimage 7

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)

WHAT'S NOT: Handy though it may be, the electronic viewfinder in the Dimage 7 is still a poor substitute for a good optical (i.e., glass) viewfinder, because the picture jumps as you move the camera, and fine details tend to get lost, which makes it harder to focus precisely. The photos our test model took were far from pleasing, as well: Images looked grainy, and test patterns were subject to marked moiré distortions. The overall graininess in the viewfinder has the added disadvantage of making it difficult to work with the camera's manual focus. Using and adjusting the flash is somewhat more difficult than on run-of-the-mill digital cameras. To take a flash shot, you have to manually pop up the flash head. Moreover, it's one of the few cameras we've tested that makes you go into the menus to change the basic flash settings.

The auto-focus seems a bit sluggish, compared to other cameras, and when trying to lock in on an object, it tends to swim back and forth too much. It was, for example, unable to focus automatically on a dark bird-feeder with a bright, sky background, forcing us to switch to manual focus. The Dimage 7's price--nearly $1300--may also give you pause.

You can shoot video clips with the Dimage 7, but no sound to go with it--surprising for a camera in this price range. It's also missing a panorama mode. Battery life is well below average, compared to other digital cameras we've tested. We managed only 169 shots on one charge of the camera's four rechargeable AA batteries.

WHAT ELSE: The Dimage 7 is not a compact camera by any measure. It has a stylish, vaguely single-lens-reflex-like shape, with a large lens barrel and bulky body. Deleting shots on the fly is easy enough; a dedicated button gives you an instant review of the last shot taken. Press it twice, and you have the option of immediately deleting it.

The Dimage earned an overall image quality score of good in our lab tests. It earned top scores for indoor shots with flash; shots of our test mannequin, Gloria, had pleasing skin tones, accurate exposures, and sharp details. On the other hand, it tended to mute bright colors, like the reds in Gloria's scarf. Our still-life shot produced sharp details, accurate grayscale tones and few distortions such as color banding or moiré. However, the still life and outdoor images tended to look a bit too dark.

The camera's more interesting features include support for Epson's Print Image Management format, auto-bracketing (a setting that lets you shoot multiple shots in succession, each with different exposure settings), the capability to store user-defined settings, and support for IBM's high-capacity Microdrives. The wealth of exposure options include spot, center-weighted, and multipoint metering.

UPSHOT: The Dimage 7 is a powerful and versatile digital camera that should interest serious digital hobbyists who can live with the electronic viewfinder and the high price, but we've found better images in far-less-expensive cameras.

SUMMARY

Minolta Dimage 7 5.2 megapixels, 2568 by 1928 maximum resolution, 28mm-200mm focal range (35mm equivalent), f2.8-f8 aperture range, shutter speeds from 4 seconds to 1/2000 second, electronic and LCD viewfinders, USB and video connections, 16MB CompactFlash media, four rechargeable AA batteries, 18.4 ounces with batteries; DiMAGE Image Viewer software. One-year parts and labor warranty, toll-call support for 8.5 hours on weekdays. $1299 201/825-4000 www.minoltausa.com