Optics
There are about forty different Minolta af lenses out there, and these are complemented by the line-up of third-party manufacturers such as Sigma, Tokina and Tamron. It is possible to buy the Dynax 7D in a kit with the newly developed 17-35mm f/2.8-4 wide zoom lens, which has a FOV range equivalent to that of a 25.5-52.5mm lens on a 35mm body. See more about this lens in the AF Speed section!

AS System
AS is Konica Minolta's proprietary system for image stabilisation, first introduced in the Minolta DiMAGE A1 prosumer bridge camera. As opposed to lens-based image stabilisation systems, this solution moves the CCD, instead of a lens element, to counter any camera movement caused by shaky hands. This implementation has the huge benefit that it works with any lens that otherwise fits the mount (and has a large enough imaging circle - some of the newly developed "digital" lenses of third-party manufacturers, which project a reduced-size imaging circle, might not be suitable for AS use - though I personally haven't tried any of these on the Dynax 7D). The downside is that you do not see a stabilised image in the viewfinder as the CCD is of course located behind the mirror. To make up for this drawback, Konica Minolta have included an "antishake-meter" in the viewfinder: a row of LEDs that light up progressively to show how hard the antishake system is working. In practice, this system works to 2.5-3 shutter speed stops below what the reciprocity rule would suggest. [Note that you must use the 35mm equivalent focal length - not the physical one! - when calculating the reciprocity ratio.]

AF Speed
The Dynax 7D is endowed with a nine-point af system. The af points are visible in the viewfinder, and the active one lights up in red when the shutter release button is pressed down halfway. There are three af modes, S, C and A. The S mode is used for stationary subjects, C is for tracking continuously moving ones, whilst A is the best of both worlds: you can lock focus on a still subject, and when it starts to move, the camera automatically switches to continuous tracking mode. In all of these modes, you can have the camera pick the af point(s) it will use, or choose the af point yourself. If you want to use the same af point for a number of consecutive shots, you can lock its position to prevent yourself from accidentally changing to another one.

As far as speed is concerned, I have put the af system to a tough test in the dim lighting of the basement camera shop where I tried out the D7D. With the new 17-35mm f/2.8-4 lens, focussing was fast and accurate for the lighting. Locking focus was not exactly instant, but I reckon it would have been in somewhat better lighting. Hunting was experienced only once or twice, at the long end of the zoom where the widest aperture is only f/4 - and even then, focus lock was finally achieved. Overall a very impressive performance given the low light. With my bulky first generation Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 APO Macro lens, it was a whole other story: focussing was slow, and hunting was a regular occurrence (but when it did lock focus, this inexpensive third-party lens produced a very sharp image even wide open; at least at the short end of its focal length range - see http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1027&message=11852757 ). This goes to show how lens selection can influence the af performance of the very same camera.

Viewfinder & LCD
The viewfinder has 95% coverage, which is nothing to get excited about, but it has a 0.9x magnification, which is nice. A spherical acute matte focussing screen ensures that only in-focus subjects look sharp in the finder, whilst out-of-focus ones appear naturally blurred. The af points are permanently displayed, making manual focussing a little difficult. A split-image centre would have been nice. A whole lot of information is displayed in a monochrome LCD bar just below the finder - the only thing missing is the current sensitivity. However, all this info dumping comes at a price: the small letters and numbers are hard to read.

As the camera has no LCD at the top, the rear TFT monitor doubles as a - very informative - status display in record mode. It even displays the current setting of the sensitivity - a very important piece of info missing from the status LCDs of most DSLRs. This LCD is huge, measuring 2.5 inches diagonally. I got the impression that it could use a few extra tens of thousands of pixels, as the resolution does not seem to match the size. Still, it is much nicer to use for reviewing images than the more common 1.8-inch displays used on other camera models. In record mode, the proximity sensors around the viewfinder ensure that the LCD automatically switches off when you raise the camera to look in the finder. If you feel you do not need the LCD at all in record mode, you can switch it off manually. In this case, it will only light up when you change some settings, thereby saving you power.

Exposure Modes
The mode dial has all four standard exposure modes, P, A, S and M plus three memory registers for easy retrieval of settings you often use. Gone are the useless "Digital Subject Programs" that I have criticised in my review of the A1. Exposure compensation and flash exposure compensation have their own dedicated dials, taking the place of the film-rewinding dial from the film Dynax 7. You can not only set the exposure compensation with this dial but can also tell the camera whether you want to use the EV compensation in 1/2 or 1/3 EV increments using the same dial, without having to enter the menu system. How cool is that?! The mode and expo-comp dials are protected against accidental turning: if you want to turn them deliberately you have to push and hold a release button at their centre. Longtime SLR users will be instantly familiar with this.

Flash Photography with the D7D
The camera has a built-in fill flash that you can raise manually when you want to use it. It can handle Minolta's proprietary Advanced Distance Integration (ADI) system, but only with newer lenses. With older ones, particularly those from third-party manufacturers, TTL flash control is to be selected from the menu. The max sync speed with the on-board flash is a sluggish 1/160th of a second. This can be a problem when filling in the shadows on a backlit subject, at least if you wish to hold detail in the brightly lit background. A strong neutral density (ND) filter can help. High-speed flash sync can also be achieved with certain dedicated Minolta flashguns, namely, the 3600HS (D) and the 5600HS (D). Older versions of the 3600HS/5600HS - ie the ones that do not carry the "(D)" designation - are reported not to have full dedication when used with the Dynax 7D. I tried my (Minolta-shoed) Sunpak MZ440AF-MX, and am happy to report that TTL metering works flawlessly, just as it does when used with the Dynax 505si 35mm SLR. The metering takes care that the highlights are not clipped when using this flash, whether directly or bounced. [Of course, this flash is not designed to work in high-speed mode.] Non-dedicated third-party flash units can be connected to the camera eiher via the standard PC sync terminal or via a hotshoe adapter (FS-1100, if my memory serves me well).

Image Quality
My test shots show that this camera is able to capture very good detail, although you will have to use an unsharp mask to give these details more definition - just like you would on any DSLR except the Sigma SD9. Between 100 and 400 ASA, noise is very well controlled. At 800 ASA, some luminance noise is evident but is hardly objectionable. At 1600 ASA, chrominance noise starts to pick up, too. My initial tests show that by shooting RAW, you can achieve somewhat better results at this high sensitivity setting than by shooting JPEG. I think true justice will only be done to those 1600-ASA photographs when the Dimage Master software is released, or when RAW Deal gets support for D7D RAWs. Currently, I could only open these *.mrw files using Dimage Viewer (DiVu), which is not the best RAW converter around (with the A1, RAW Deal works much better than DiVu).

So: Who Is It For?

Those with a heavy investment in expensive Canon, Nikon or Pentax lenses and system flashes will be unlikely to trade all their gear for this camera, as these other manufacturers have some very decent models too. It also seems obvious that those who already own Minolta lenses and flashes will be happy to embrace this formidable camera. So the question is: should those with no lenses (such as those who have been shooting with a fixed-mount lens EVF camera), or those that own an entry-level DSLR with only one or two inexpensive lenses consider the Dynax 7D?

My answer is yes. By all means. At $1209 for the body (lowest online price, January 16, 2005), this camera is the best value you can find.

Recommended:
Yes

This Camera is a Good Choice if You Want Something... Solid Enough for a Professional