Minolta’s New Dimage 5 The “Little Brother” Makes Good
Written: Dec 09 '01 (Updated Dec 10 '01)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Excellent Image Quality, World Class Zoom, Lots of User Input
Cons: Electronic View Finder, Mandatory Use of Proprietary Imaging Software
The Bottom Line: The Minolta Dimage 5 Digital Camera offers a winning combination of Features and Pro Performance at a Reasonable Price
|
|
|
| Howard_Creech's Full Review: Konica Minolta DiMAGE 5 Digital Camera |
The Minolta Corporation stole a march on its competitors in 1985 with the introduction of the Minolta Maxxum, the world’s first auto focus SLR system camera. This move changed the 35mm marketplace forever and forced Canon to play an ugly game of catch-up that alienated hundreds of thousands of loyal customers. Canon had to abandon their popular FD mount in favor of a new auto focus only mount for their EOS line of cameras. Nikon spent more than four years figuring out how to avoid the acrimony and animosity engendered by Canon’s no warning mount switch, and was finally able offer auto focus without dumping their time honored “F” mount. Minolta became the overnight leader in auto focus camera sales.
Minolta has had a much tougher time establishing a leadership position in the rapidly changing and super competitive digital camera game. Minolta’s first interchangeable lens digital SLR camera, the RD 3000 was not well received and is seldom mentioned as a real competitor to Nikon’s D1 family, the Canon D30, or the Fujifilm S1 PRO. This is because the RD 3000 works with an incredibly complicated arrangement mirrors and prisms in the light path to split images into left and right halves, each of which is then projected onto its own dedicated 1.5” CCD. The two images are then rejoined electronically (with in camera software) to become a single 2.7-million pixel image. The RD 3000’s second fatal design/marketing error was that it didn’t utilize Minolta’s wide selection of 35mm auto focus lenses, but rather used APS format lenses from Minolta’s Vectis SLR system.
The Minolta Dimâge RD 3000’s $4000 price tag ($5000 in kit form with all five available Vectis lenses) discouraged professionals and serious amateurs and alienated Minolta’s millions of 35mm users. Many potential purchasers were suspicious of the stitched together image (which actually worked pretty well) and many early reviews criticized the RD 3000’s erratic metering. Very few Vectis system owners were really interested in upgrading to a professional level digital SLR, and many shooters who were heavily invested in Minolta’s 35mm system were reluctant to purchase a system that didn’t allow them to use their Maxxum lenses, and instead was based on a handful of non-professional lenses that weren’t designed to stand up to the heavy abuse of professional work. Minolta refused to allow their failure with the RD 3000 to discourage them.
The new Minolta DiMAGE 7 was the first “consumer” five-megapixel digital camera to hit the market. The DiMage 5 is the “little brother” to Minolta’s super five-megapixel digital camera. The two cameras are virtually identical, with the only major difference being the D5’s 3.34 megapixel CCD. Both models share the same advanced feature set and lightweight magnesium alloy body. They also share an all-new 7X optical Minolta zoom lens. This relatively fast f/2.8-f/3.5 (equivalent to 35mm - 250mm) APO lens uses (AD) glass and aspheric elements to provide sharp, bright images at all focal lengths. Both cameras feature a 2x digital zoom and Super Macro capability, providing users with the ability to shoot macro images of subjects as close as 5 inches.
New Variable Position Viewfinder
One salient feature of both cameras that I don’t like is the variable position Digital Hyper Viewfinder (I prefer optical viewfinders, because even the best electric viewfinders can’t really tell you if the image is actually in focus) that can be tilted up to 90 degrees for added flexibility and creativity in shooting. The Digital Hyper Viewfinder allows the photographer to simultaneously monitor the image and camera settings. In low-light situations the viewfinder signal is amplified (sort of like night vision devices) which means fewer missed low light shots.
The Digital Hyper Viewfinder is the latest salvo in a battle to offer the most interesting adjustable digital camera feature. Nikon has the tilt/swivel lens on the Coolpix 900 family of digital cameras, Canon has the fully articulated LCD screen on the G1/G2 (also featured on Nikon’s new Coolpix 5000) and now Minolta offers a variable position electronic viewfinder. What I’d really like to see next is a digital camera that featured a tilt/swivel lens, a fully articulated LCD screen, and a variable position electronic viewfinder. That would be a true Rube Goldberg imaging device that would surely fascinate the world’s “techies” and probably confuse and stymie every photographer on the planet.
Auto Focus
The DiMage 5 has a superb auto focus system that features an extra-wide focus area. The central cross-hair (AF) sensor is able to determine subject distance regardless of horizontal or vertical subject placement, which radically improves AF accuracy. Minolta's Flex Focus Point allows users to change (by simply pressing a button) the extra-wide focus area to a "spot" focus point, which can then be moved anyplace in the image area. The Flex Focus Point can be used for off center placement of subjects or to single out one specific subject from a number of objects at varying distances.
Metering
The Dimage 5 features three exposure-metering modes: multi-segment (256 segments) center-weighted and spot. The multi-segment mode uses both light value and color information to calculate exposure. Minolta has had lots of experience with meters and is justly famous as a major manufacturer of professional hand held exposure and flash meters.
In the Field/Handling and Operation
I got the opportunity to check out the Minolta D5 because my friend sold a new Minolta RD 3000 to a local Doctor, who special ordered the kit with all five lenses. The Doctor picked up the camera and lenses on a Thursday afternoon and left for a three-day trip to Gatlinburg and the Smoky Mountains National Park early Friday morning (without the camera manual) On Monday morning a very frustrated and angry Doctor returned the camera. He had ruined his mini-vacation by trying to use a complicated camera without first familiarizing himself with its operation. To make matters worse, Minolta dragged their feet about taking back a “used” camera. My friend sells and distributes photographic equipment (both analog and digital) and in most cases the profit margin on popular cameras is only a few dollars. My friend quit carrying Minolta digital cameras, although he still sells Minolta 35mm equipment. Minolta recently sent my friend the D5 and asked him to check out the camera, they told him to keep it for as long as he wanted.
We got together on a dreary, dark, cold, and rainy Saturday afternoon to check out the D5 (and two new cutting edge digital cameras that aren’t in the epinions database yet) The D5 is a compact point’n’shoot style digital camera that is just a bit larger than Canon’s G2. In operation the D5 feels like a more substantial camera. 35mm shooters will notice a familiarity and comfort level as soon as they pick up the camera; it feels and operates like a 35mm SLR. The weather really precluded much in the way of an outdoor test, so we rigged up a small set and shot some still life images (of brightly colored plastic toys) to check out the color, built in flash, and macro capabilities.
Minolta’s new 3.34 megapixel camera is a stunning performer. We didn’t shoot the images with a 35mm camera for comparison purposes, like we usually do, but (from a purely subjective point of view) the images were tack sharp, and the color was excellent. The D5’s macro capabilities are so good they will make butterfly shooters and e-bay posters very happy. After it got dark we took the camera for a ride through the Highlands and Cherokee Triangle neighborhoods to shoot Christmas light displays (especially impressive with the reflections from the rain slicked streets) We then spent some time shooting some of the characters who make Bardstown Road come alive after dark on Saturday night. The D5 did an incredible job in this low light environment, the images were very well exposed and there was no detectable noise in the images.
We got together again on Sunday morning to try some outdoor daylight shots with the camera. The weather was much better with bright sunshine and blue skies. It was pretty cold but we bundled up and drove around the scenic loop at Cherokee Park looking for subjects that would challenge the D5. We did a few macro shots at the base of an ancient Shagbark Hickory tree. Between the gnarled old roots there was a carpet of thick emerald green moss sprinkled with red leaves. The light was pretty flat, but the images were vibrant and glowed with what my friend referred to as “Christmas colors”. We took some very interesting shots (along Beargreass Creek) of a large Irish Setter chasing sticks into the frigid icy water for his master. Every time the dog hit the water I would feel this icy chill cover my entire body. The dog seemed to be having a blast, and we got several great shots of him hitting the water at full speed with spray flying in every direction.
After looking at all of the images, both my friend and I agreed, the pictures were all well exposed, shutter lag was minimal, color was great, and the resolution from Minolta’s new 7X zoom was nothing short of astounding. If you are considering purchasing a new 3.34 megapixel digital camera, you should seriously consider Minolta’s “little brother”.
Technical Specifications
Resolution: 3.34 Megapixel (2,056 x 1,544)
Metering: Multi-Segment, Center weighted, and spot
Auto Focus: Wide area and spot focus
Compression/File formats: CCD-RAW, TIFF, and JPEG
Exposure Modes: Program AE with Shift, Aperture priority, Shutter priority and Manual modes
Shutter speeds: from 4 sec to 1/2000th sec and Bulb (30 seconds max.)
Scene Modes: portrait, sports, night portrait, and sunset
White Balance: automatic, preset (daylight, tungsten, cloudy and fluorescent) and custom modes
Sensitivity: auto, 100, 200, 400 and 800 ISO equivalents
Flash: Built-in “pop-up” with three operating modes, flash metering system, and adjustable intensity.
External flash hot shoe for Minolta accessory flash units
Lens: 7X zoom f/2.8-f/3.5 (equivalent to 35mm - 250mm) 16 elements in 13 groups
Image Storage: CompactFlash Type I or II (16MB card included), Microdrive compatible.
Connectivity: USB
Power: AA type 1700mAH NiMH rechargeables. I averaged between 90 and 100 shots (using the flash about 40% of the time and keeping LCD use to a minimum) with a fully charged set of batteries
I was extremely impressed with the new 7X Minolta zoom; it’s an excellent lens that has been perfectly matched to the camera’s imager. The D5 is one of very few digital cameras that offer razor sharp resolution from edge to edge. There is no detectable chromatic aberration (the purple fringing that is a prevalent problem with many consumer level digital cameras)
Unlike its competitors the D5 features a full manual zoom, giving users a lot more control. Creative shooters using the D5 won’t have to push a button and wait on a motorized zoom. The manual zoom ring gives you an infinite number of focal length settings (vs the preset and often jerky steps used with power zooms) The manual zoom ring is a little stiffer than usual, a feature that should appeal to old timers who lament the lack of damping in most modern AF lenses. There is a manual focus ring on the lens barrel and this (combined with the magnified viewfinder image) lets the photographer take control of focusing whenever needed. The lens has threads for easy attachment of (traditional) 49mm filters or other add- on lenses without a special adapter. Strangely, the D5 lacks a focus illuminator, which could have been coupled with the low light capabilities of the electronic viewfinder to make the D7/D5 the low light focusing champ among digital cameras.
Shooting at full resolution, TIFF images require about 40-45 seconds to process and record. The Raw mode is a bit quicker (typically 30-35 seconds) be advised that the EVF/LCD goes blank during image processing, the camera can’t be used until it's finished. In JPEG mode you can fire off one shot per second (for up to four frames) and then you must wait for the camera to processes the images. You can shoot again in 6-7 seconds, or wait about 30 seconds for the camera to process and empty the entire buffer.
Overall, the Dimage 5 is faster than most of its competition. Startup and cycle times are about average but shutter lag and shot to shot times are quite fast. The D5's user interface is more sophisticated than most digital cameras on the market today and the camera provides significant user control over most settings. Because of this, the camera will quickly become intuitive for film-based photographers once they are familiar with the controls and operation.
A Few Concerns
You MUST run all of the D5's images through Minolta’s DIVU utility because Minolta uses a proprietary color space in the D5 that is close to sRGB but not identical. The Minolta D5 digital camera is not for the technologically faint of heart, and it won’t work very well as a “point’n’shoot” camera unless you are fairly adept as a photographer.
Conclusion
Overall the D5 is an excellent choice for serious digital photographers who want to shoot quality images but don’t want to have to raid Junior’s college fund to pay for a digital platform. The D5 provides one of the best cost to features ratios available in today’s digital camera marketplace. It has all the user control and operational flexibility that serious photographers demand, and at a price that is quite competitive. If you've been yearning for a five megapixel digital camera, but just can’t afford/justify the high tariff, the D5 comes pretty close to delivering all the same goods available with the Dimage 7, except the five megapixel images and the higher price.
If you would like more information on Digital Cameras in general please see my review:
“How to Choose a Digital Camera”
http://www.epinions.com/elec-review-2E46-17B174E2-39A418E3-prod1
If you enjoyed this digital camera review, please read my other digital camera reviews:
Nikon Digital Cameras
Nikon Coolpix 885
http://www.epinions.com/content_46290931332
Nikon Coolpix 995
http://www.epinions.com/content_40256769668
Nikon D1X
http://www.epinions.com/content_36023996036
Nikon D1
http://www.epinions.com/elec-review-4868-E2433E5-38737CF8-prod2/tk_~CB003.1.78
Nikon Coolpix 880
http://www.epinions.com/elec-review-2DA8-DF21E52-39E118CA-prod5
Nikon Coolpix 990
http://www.epinions.com/elec-review-3B78-3C431D90-3A345313-prod3
Canon Digital Cameras
Canon Powershot G2
http://www.epinions.com/content_47646084740
Canon Powershot S10
http://www.epinions.com/content_7563808388/tk_~CB003.1.74
Canon EOS D30
http://www.epinions.com/content_11625991812/tk_~CB003.1.58
Canon Powershot PRO 90IS
http://www.epinions.com/content_30440001156/tk_~CB005.1.9
Canon Powershot G1
http://www.epinions.com/content_8768294532/tk_~CB003.1.70
Canon Powershot PRO 70
http://www.epinions.com/elec-review-6496-25768DA-38C3E01A-prod9/tk_~CB003.1.70
Sony Digital Cameras
Sony MVC-CD300
http://www.epinions.com/content_45591793284
Sony DSC-S50
http:http://www.epinions.com/content_15885897348
Sony Mavica MVC-CD1000
http://www.epinions.com/elec-review-5F01-365BA12-3980602C-prod3/tk_~CB003.1.14
Olympus Digital Cameras
Olympus Camedia C3040
http://www.epinions.com/content_42675179140
Olympus Camedia C3000
http://www.epinions.com/content_26106105476/tk_~CB003.1.30
Olympus Camedia E10
http://www.epinions.com/elec-review-59FB-183DFC73-3A17388F-prod2/tk_~CB003.1.42
Fuji Digital Cameras
Fujifilm Finepis S1 Pro
http://www.epinions.com/elec-review-5591-16816C34-39047A87-prod5
Just “cut’n’paste” the URL into your browser’s address window.
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
Howard_Creech
|
 in Electronics |
 in Home and Garden |
 - Top 10 |
|
Member: Howard Creech
Location: Louisville, KY
Reviews written: 333
Trusted by: 1274 members
About Me:
Photographer/Writer fascinated by Movies, Music, Books, American Diner Food, History, "Popular Culture", and Travel.
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.