Konica Minolta Maxxum 7D Digital SLRs
Konica Minolta Maxxum 7D Digital SLRs
USER REVIEWS
[Jan 04, 2008]
J
Professional
Strength:
Anti shake built into the body.
Weakness:
No longer made. Parts may be hard to find.
A fine camera good for any type of photographer. Enough for a pro and plenty for a beginner but not too overwhelming.
Customer Service Not used so far but Sony has been fine in the past. Similar Products Used: Various 35mm SLR cameras over the years. Mostly Nikon.
|
[May 06, 2007]
jackwoo
Intermediate
Strength:
Excellent user interface. Basically you don't need to read the manual and each button is very reasonable located.
Weakness:
I tried to use the flash in wedding, I was shocked that why the flash explosure is incorrect. That was first time I use digital camera. I wonder it is my eyes' problem or not and I used a lot of time to test the Sony 56 flash. I found that the flash explosure is incorrect.
When it first selling in Hong Kong, I bought it at an expensive price. Then, I discover that there are a lot of problems with this camera.
Customer Service Sony service is better. Sony service center is in Monkok and open up to 8:00p.m.
Similar Products Used: Minolta Dynax 7 (film camera)
|
[Sep 18, 2006]
allan everett
Expert
Strength:
SOLID BODY, EXCELLENT CONTROLS AND MENUS, EXCELLENT LENSES FROM KM.
Weakness:
THE RUBBER HAND GRIP IS A PARTY POOPER! KM SHOULD HAVE MADE THE GRIP SOLID LIKE ON THE CANON 30D AND THE NIKON SERIES.
THIS IS ONE GREAT FEATURED, SOLID BUT UNDERATED CAMERA. THE PHOTOS AND LOW NOISE IN THE HIGH ISO ARE EXCELLENT. |
[Jul 25, 2005]
dtrph
Beginner
Strength:
controls are intuitive - no digging thru menus, feels like a real slr, anti shake lets me shake, and the km lenses are great
Weakness:
since i've gotten this camera i have less time for everything else and less money as i already bought 3 km lenses 1new/2ebay used. i haven't used an slr since my canon ae-1 was stolen 20 years ago. after much research i settled on the km7d and it's been LOTS of fun. Customer Service not used Similar Products Used: canon ae-1 35mm film, |
[Feb 15, 2005]
Phyrr
Expert
Strength:
ERGONOMICS! Try using the Nikon D70 and then try using this camera. Yes the D70 and Canon model are cheaper but they don't feel as well to use and you have tons of menu options to go through to set simple things up like exposure control etc. On the Maxxum 7d everything is on a dial so your every need is done with one CLICK. Great camera to use in the dark because feeling for the controls is easy to learn (even easier if you're moving from the 35mm version Maxxum 7). ANTI - SHAKE. This feature is a GODSEND. Especially for semi-low light photography or concert photography. It will grant you wonderful results. If you couldn't hand hold a camera for a 1/15s exposure, now you can! It is even still effective with a 300mm lens! This gives you TWO full stops of room. The viewfinder is very BRIGHT which makes easy review of the images.
Weakness:
I'm re-writing my review since the new firmware 1.1 upgrade fixes the one weakness it had - slow CF write speeds. NOT ANYMORE! I use a Lexar 80x 1G card and it only takes 2-3 seconds to write a 9meg RAW file. I shot 40 consecutive images and the buffer still had plenty of room. On another note... http://www.friedmanarchives.com/flash.htm this guy has all the info you need on these portable studio flash setups. I've been using the Maxxum 7 35mm SLR ever since it came out and has been my favorite/main camera ever since. After getting the camera and using it a little, it's just like using the old film camera. I don't have too much experience in digital but I do know the technicalities. Since this uses the larger sensor it produces no noise at ISO 100 and virutally none up to 400. You can still get a decent 8x10 print with ISO 800-1600 (looks like you got an 8x10 by some pro 800 speed 35mm film). The viewfinder IS optical and not digital (thankfully). However I don't believe this means you can just watch the display panel and frame your shots that way as I haven't discerned a way to have the display on full time (but I haven't finished the manual yet either). Ergonomics are great and prints come out great. The viewfinder area is smaller than the Maxxum 7d or any other 35mm camera for that matter since it's almost a straight conversion and they have increased magnification for it. However this is easy to get used to and isn't a big deal. The camera also feels solid in your hands during use. All of this makes the jump to digital photography an absolute joy! No more waiting for the pro-lab to process your prints. Get a card reader or use the USB cable and you can do the rest yourself on the viewer program that comes with the camera or preferably use a copy of PhotoShop. Did I mention anti-shake for EVERY LENS YOU BUY? When you compare that with buying one of the Canon or Nikon DSLRs and buying specialty lenses it actually comes out cheaper. I love the fact that all of my old Maxxum lenses work seamlessly with this new camera. My Kenko macro extension tubes also work which means I can still make all my lenses macro! Customer Service Haven't needed it yet. Go to www.minoltausa.com to get your firmware upgrade. www.dyxum.com is also a great community resource. Similar Products Used: Nikon D70 Canon D1 |
[Feb 10, 2005]
prole
Casual
Strength:
Ease of use (I'm new to SLR photography and I have no problems - I'm sure serious Amatures will be equally pleased), build quality, anti-shake, image quality is good with a reasonably cheap lens, so wack a good 'un on there and it should match the samples available online - with a little sharpening.
Weakness:
Underexposure, write speeds (I feel so cheated on that expensive, fast CF card), plastic back, slight loss of detail at higher ISOs - can't compete with the Canon 20D in this respect. Was bought in England so that's 940 Pounds, not dollars. Having researched this camera (along with about 4 others) since before it came out, I pretty much knew it before I got it. Only once have I had to delve into menus as EVERYTHING you need for day to day work is a button, dial or switch - and it's so easy to get the hang of as shown by the manual being opened but 3 times merely for quick reference. Anti-shake - I took a sharp photo with 50mm lens at 1/2 a second hand held with no support, aided by the shakeo'meter which could be adapted as a diagnosis for Parkinsons. Anyone who is expecting to be able to do 30 second exposures hand held is being silly - it won't part the Red Sea, but it'll definately help prevent disappointment and give you some room to play around in more demanding situations. LCD - Big, bright and detailed, this is used as the data display as well, which could be annoying, but the viewfinder sensor means it only turns on for a few seconds if needed, allowing a quick settings check. The implementation of the eye sensor is almost as perfect as apple crumble with custard and I think it deserves more credit than it currently gets in reviews. Images straight out of the camera are far too soft (although I'm not using the best of lenses I can't believe it's all down to that), so you'll either need to toy with the sharpening or use Photoshop or something similar. This camera is a lot more expensive than other 6MP D-SLRs and the Anti shake is only part of this. Overall design is far superior to the D70 or 300D, not just in build quality but in terms of ease of use and ergonomics (when I played with the D70 I found it very uncomfortable, but that's prolly just me). You pay extra for those little tweaks and finishing touches that turn a camera from (to use stoner speak) groovy to hippyish. The camera does tend to underexpose but the ease of picture review (move your eye from the viewfinder after you shoot and you'll see) and the ease of exposure compensation (a chunky dial) mean this is a non-issue, although I keep mine set at +1EV almost all the time. Write times to CF are poor, and on a par with the Olympus C-8080 or similar. A buffer bordering on the size of an American president's ego ensures that this is less of an issue, but it's painfully slow on continuous shooting mode when you fill the buffer. I'd say this camera will satisfy most people, although I'm using a cheapo borrowed lens at the moment (waiting for decent lenses on order) so I can't properly comment on image quality - so far so good, with decent AF and good colour balance. All the ISOs produce images you can use, although there's some softening at the higher settings, and some fine detail is lost. Customer Service Not used, but if they're the sort that keep me on hold and play annoying music with "your call is important to us" interdispersed throughout, I'll be reposting. I'm sure they do that just to make people think they'll live with the problem and hang up. Similar Products Used: None for extended periods, just played with quite a few: Nikon D70, Canon 300D, Canon 20D, Pentax ist Ds, etc. i.e. Most of the competition. |