Amateur Photographer - UK (2019-09-27)

subscribe (^03303331113) Iwww.amateurphotographer.co.ukI 21 September 2019 59
Thescreenonthebackis
smallbutserviceable
JohnWadereviewsanearly,butstill
usable,digitalbridgecamera
Minolta Dimage 7
THETURNof the20th
centurywasa transitional
timefordigitalphotography.
It wasprettymuchaccepted
thatdigitalcameraswere
heretostay,butforaverage
consumers,choicewas
restrictedtocompact-type
models.Therewerevery
fewdigitalSLRsaroundbut
theirpriceswerecounted
in thousandsof pounds
againstthemerehundred
orsoneededtobuya film
SLRof thetime.
Intothisclimatecamea group
of acceptablypricedcamerasto
bridgethegapbetweencompacts
andSLRs,withreflex-style
electronicviewfinderstosimulate
theviewtakenin bythelens.The
Dimage7 is onesuchcamera.
Thecamerais silverandstylish,
andlookslikea 35mmSLRwith
halfthebodychoppedoff.The
specincludesshutterpriority,
aperturepriority,programand
manualexposuremodes,plus
autofocus with a macro setting for
BLAST FROM THE PAST
LAUNCHED 2001
PRICEATLAUNCH£650-700
GUIDE PRICE NOW £20-35
Tech Talk
closefocusingdownto
25cm.Thef/2.8-3.5
MinoltaGTlensoffers
a 35mmequivalentof
28-200mmzoom,and
imagesonthe^2 ∕ 3 -inch
sensorcanberecordedin
JPG,TIFFandrawformats.
The1.8-inchLCD
screenonthebackis small
bytoday’sstandards,but
adequate.Toconservepower,
it automaticallyswitchesoffasthe
camerais raisedtotheeye,when
a smallerviewfinderLCDswitches
itselfon,andviceversa.A video
option, pop-up fl ash and choice of
shootingmodes– portrait,night,
sportandmore– areamong
otherfeatures.It runsonfourAA
batteriesandrecordsimageson
CompactFlashcards.
Somaybethepicturequality
isn’twhatyou’dexpectbymodern
standards,andits5.2megapixels
soundprimitivetoday.Butit still
turnsouta decentA4-sizeimage
at 200dpi.Notbadfora digital
camerathat,oneBay,can
sometimessellforaslittleas£10!
What’sgoodR e fle x - t y p e
shooting;viewfinderflipsupto
90°;manualzoomcontrol.
What’sbadViewfinderflares
whenshootingagainst the light;
eats batteries fast.
Viewfromthetopwiththe
viewfinder angled up at 90°
MinoltaDimage7 withits
pop-up flash open for action
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