Customer Reviews

Konica Minolta Dimage A2 8MP Digital Camera with 7x Anti Shake Optical Zoom

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I should preface this review by saying that I am not an expert, rather a moderately experienced digital camera user who wants to learn more.

This camera has it all (read the stats), but some of the unique features include the viewfinder (best on the market - almost like looking through the lens on an SLR), manual zoom, and "anti-shake" which gives some protection against shaky hands. I have only had the camera for a few days. I find it to be rather easy to use, even though it is a different brand from my prior digicam (the Canon PowerShot S30). Got outside today and the results were stunning - fast focus, great zoom, impeccable detail, true color (not the "bling bling" color some cameras produce that just aren't real). The prints (from the Canon 860) are gorgeous. Indoor shots were typical digicam shots, difficult to take good ones, though we have had terrible light in the house the past few days.

It is heavy, for a digicam, but fits my hands well. There are lots of buttons and dials but they feel intuitive to me, again, even though I used to a different brand of camera. I think it would be a hard camera for someone who has never used digital or done much photography, but for moderately experienced digital or film user, it will be a dream. It uses compact flash (none included, I would get a 512 at least) and a proprietary battery (which seems to last very well, much better than my Canon did).

I give it five stars after two days. I might revise my review as I continue to use it, and uncover weaknesses. This camera has an infinite array of features - I know, not literally true -and can do most anything you might ever want to do.

Highly Recommend - Enjoy!

Having a Konica Minolta DiMage X with which I am very happy, I decided to get this camera when I wanted an 8MP camera with better zoom capability. At first I was unpleasantly surprised with the amount of noise (color specks) showing in the pictures. Later I discovered that by putting the ISO setting on 64 instead of Auto, the noise is greatly reduced. Now I'm basically happy with the camera, but it seems that they should mention this in the documentation. Pictures at the highest ISO settings (400 and 800) are really bad - I guess these settings are there only for extreme low-light situations.

The electronic viewfinder is amazing. I'm nearsighted and have trouble with the LCD display, but I can easily see everything in the viewfinder (including menus and playback of pictures). I just keep the LCD off all the time.

If you are interested in taking black-and-white photographs for creative photography, A2 is the perfect choice! As compared to other competitors at the similar price and resolution (8 MP), A2 has the following good features. 1. It has a black-and-white mode. 2. The file can be saved as TIFF for artistic editing without losing resolution after repeated saving. 3. The battery function is satisfied. 4. A2 has a rapid focusing and antishake device.

I HAVE PARKINSON'S DESEASE, THIS CAMERA GETS THE SHAKE OUT, AND THE QUAILITY IS GREAT. THE PHOTOS ARE CRISP AND CLEAR. OPERATION IS SIMPLE. WAIT TIL YOU TRY THE VIDEO, THE SOUND AND FILMING IS SIMPLE. LOVE THIS CAMERA!.

I've owned my A2 for roughly 1.5 months. This camera performs like a champ and am glad that I ended up buying it. I originally had my eye on the A1, but as soon as I found out about the A2, I wasn't going back.

Due to that fact alone, I've been reviewing cameras for the last 7-8 months. I've looked extensively at the 8 megapixel camera arena. It really came down between the Sony F828 and the Minolta A2. In the end I picked the A2. The raw format is actually usable on this camera as well as the UHS drive mode (allows you to take up to 8 shots/sec). Another feature thats great on this camera is the anti shake. Allows you to save up to 2 FStops alone.

If you need further proof of this cameras superiority, just check out the reviews online (luminous-landscape, digital outback photo).

There is so much to like about the Minolta A2. Despite the large plethora of features, the learning curve is surprisingly easy, and before long using the camera feels very intuitive to use. Once the camera is set up you rarely have to use the menus as nearly all functions can be changed with buttons. The layout of these buttons falls so nicely that you can change many of them while looking through the viewfinder. Focus is fast and once I had set the camera to 'flex point focusing' I rarely encountered any focus issues. I did find that the flash default setting produced underexposed pictures so I had to compensate with 0.7+ flash exposure compensation. I also found that the auto white balance with flash did not work correctly and resulted in green or yellow pictures, but seemed to be easily corrected by setting the white balance to flash. The anti-shake feature really works and extends the usefulness of the camera. I was able to take reasonably sharp pictures even at 1/8 shutter speeds. To summarize, the ergonomics of the camera are superb and it really is a joy to use.

But..and it's a big but...the problem for me is that the resolution is just too poor. My previous camera was a Canon G2 so I was expecting (naively perhaps) similar resolution on images 2X as big. That was not the case. The A2's pictures are noticeably softer. Even when changing some internal settings such as contrast and in-camera sharpening the results were not much better. I also tried taking some pictures using Raw but could not match the sharpness of the G2. I tried some side by side tests of taking pictures with the G2 and A2. I was rather alarmed when I printed the pictures (at 8x10) only to discover that the unprocessed G2 was considerably sharper than the A2. There was detail in the G2 picture that just simply vanished in the A2. It was obvious too even with 4x6 pictures. There's always the possibility of doing post-processing of course but I feel that with a camera in this class that shouldn't be necessary on *every* picture.

So, relunctantly I'm returning my A2 for a refund which makes me feel very sad because it fulfills so many of my needs in a camera. But in the end it felt like driving a very nice and well-equipped car with every possible convenience but where the car couldn't drive faster than 50 mph! It is of course quite possible that I have a lemon. Judging by other people's experiences on various forums there do seem to be some quality issues with the A2. All this makes me even more reluctant to return this for a replacement.

I have read others in forums talking about problem A2's and having to return several to get a good one. Perhaps I was lucky but mine has been perfect right out of the box. Even my wife who thinks I am crazy to buy so many digital cameras agrees that the photos from this one are fantastic. As I am getting older the anti-shake feature is a real bonus. I traded in a Sony 828 on the A2. The Sony was a good camera, nothing really wrong except a little purple fringe under certain circumstances. None of that on my A2. I couldn't be more satisfied.

Bought this camera before going to Europe. Left my Nikon SLR at home. I have no regrets. Excellent viewfinder, no digital lag when taking photos, compact, lightweight, excellent zoom lens, long battery life. We are done with film at our house. Great for point and shoot, but also lots of bells and whistles for tweaking photos depending on conditions. Well thought out. Kudos to Minolta on an excellent product.

Choose this camera if you have ever had problems with camera shake.

This is my first ever "pro-sumer" camera. I upgraded from a point-and-shoot 3.2 mega pixel Sony model because I enjoy being able be creative. If you're like me, someone who is ready for more than just point-and-shoot photography, the Dimage A2 is a good match for you.

There is undoubtedly a learning curve associated with the Dimage A2. Since it has 8.0 mega pixels under the hood, making some final touches in post-processing can dramatically improve the final image.

One of the Dimage's most beneficial features of this camera is the real-time histogram. I'm also impressed with the quality of the electronic view finder (EVF). Overall, my wife and I are very satisfied with our investment into the Dimage A2.

The main reasons I bought the Dimage A2 camera was for the manual zoom lens that starts at 28mm, (one of the very few that starts this wide), the tilt adjustable viewfinder, (the only digital camera I know of that has this great feature) and the ability to shoot RAW or RAW + JPEG at the same time, the anti-shake feature and the hope that 8 Megapixels would produce better images.This camera has many more features and adjustments which can overwhelm some people. I had a few of the focusing and exposure quality problems some other reviewers reported but after updating the firmware and spending allot of time reading the manual thoroughly twice also trying different adjustments, I've managed to improve the focus and exposure quality of my photos. A soft focus shot still shows up once in a while though. I think the focusing sensor needs to be enhanced. I believe most people who buy this camera may be a little disappointed with the images produced with the camera at its default settings out of the box. You must experiment and adjust most settings to your taste. KonicaMinolta's own website has an excellent section on the Dimage A2 that clearly explains with illustrations, all of the A2's features and their purpose. The manual informs you on page 35 that the camera will have trouble focusing on a low contrast area or if it's too dark or if the subject is near a very bright object or area. Also, I strongly suggest you turn Off the Continuous focus setting but keep Tracking AF On in the menu system and not use the default focusing mode, it is not too reliable. By the way, I have read some posts from other A2 owners that the lens on their A2 has excessive play. Mine has no play at all, it is on solid so I must assume that this was a quality control problem at the factory and may be one of the factors in some autofocusing problems some A2 owners are having. For macro photography you must use a tripod and manual focus for best results. Do not rely on the anti-shake feature too much, it is only activated under some circumstances (read the manual). The anti-shake feature is nice but has its limited use and it is not a substitute for proper camera handling techniques. Optical stabilization is better but very expensive.
This is a good camera but, it has room for improvements
(as most do). Now that I am very familiar with the camera I am satisfied with it but I was hoping that 8 Megapixels would produce images that would be clearly better than a 5 Megapixel camera's but the images are not better in my opinion. This only proves that there is more to producing sharp high resolution photos than more megapixels. I'd rather have fewer megapixels but better image quality.
The improvements I would really like to see are;
I wish the Dimage A2 could take advantage of high speed flash memory because it is annoyingly slow at writing data to the flash card, especially RAW and RAW+JPEG. I used a regular Simpletech CF card and a Sandisk Ultra card and Lexar 80x card to see if it made any difference and it did not. Improved discernible image processing is a must to stay competitive in this category of camera. At least a 2" LCD that could tilt down at least 45 degrees would be an excellent improvement. Reduced noise at all ISO's but especially at ISO 200 and above. A wireless remote control that could work up to 20 feet away would be a great accessory feature. A more powerful flash. A wider and more responsive manual focusing ring and a larger histogram display in color. An internal focusing lens sinilar to the one on the Panasonic FZ-30 would be very nice. If Panasonic can do it certainly KonicaMinolta can do it. Video should be bumped up to VGA 640X480 30 fps. And of course, improved precise autofocusing in all modes. I hope the A3 or whatever they call the next model in the A line series includes these features if KonicaMinolta has decided to continue this line. I would gladly pay an extra $100 for these improvements because this camera just balances well and feels right to me.
I know the A200 has some of the features I would like but at the expense of having eliminated other features which I would also like to have. Oh well, nothing's perfect.
The Dimage A2 is a camera for people who are active in photography and like to experiment but don't want to invest a ton of money on DSLR's and lenses. If all you want is to put your camera in program or auto mode and shoot, then buy a point and shoot camera not the Dimage A2. Remember, this camera and indeed, all advanced cameras demand that you invest a bit of time studying and experimenting with them. Also, you must use proper camera handling techniques to get the best performance from any camera.