Image adjustments
The DiMAGE A1 builds on the wide range of adjustments which
was a trademark of the DiMAGE 7 line of digital cameras. Just like the
7 series the DiMAGE A1 provides adjustment for Color Mode, Filter, Color
saturation, Contrast and Sharpness. However it provides a wider latitude
of adjustment for Filter, Color saturation and Contrast, all of which
can be adjusted in the range of -5 to +5. This makes the image output
from the DiMAGE A1 the most customizable of any digital camera (including
digital SLR's). For this alone Minolta and the A1 get extra Kudos points!
- Color mode: Vivid sRGB, Natural sRGB, Adobe RGB (and Embedded),
B&W, Solarized
- Filter: -5 (cooler; blue) to +5 (warmer; red)
- Color saturation: -5 (less) to +5 (more)
- Contrast: -5 (less) to +5 (more)
- Sharpness: Hard, Normal, Soft
Note that in addition to the adjustments listed above you can also fine
tune each of the white balance presets individually from -3 (cooler; blue)
to +3 (warmer; red).
Color mode
Continuing from the benchmark set by the DiMAGE 7Hi the
DiMAGE A1 provides selectable color space from the camera menu, as such
it remains one of the only prosumer level digital cameras to provide selectable
color space. The color mode menu allows you to select the output color
space as well as a variety of color effects in the sRGB space. Adobe RGB
is available in two different options with out without embedded ICC color
profile, the later of which will be automatically recognized as Adobe
RGB by ICC aware applications such as Adobe Photoshop. Embedded Adobe
RGB files are saved with the .JPE extension instead of .JPG (for some
reason).
Remember to view the Adobe RGB images correctly you must
load them into a color space aware application such as Adobe Photoshop
and ensure the Adobe RGB color space is assigned.
Below are three sample images taken in each of the default parameter
sets, below each sample is that image's CIE u'v' Color Distribution chart;
larger gray triangle approximately represents the range of color which
the human eye can resolve, the inner triangle the available gamut in each
color space (sRGB or Adobe RGB).
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| Vivid sRGB |
Natural sRGB (default) |
Adobe RGB (or Embedded) |
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| B&W |
Solarization |
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Filter
The Filter option allows you to change the warmth of the final image,
it could be likened to adjusting the white balance in slight steps and
could be useful for tine tuning the preset white balance settings to match
artificial light. As I commented in my 7Hi review would have preferred
this option to literally control white balance and be implemented as 'white
balance fine tuning'. Note, with Color Mode (above) set to Black &
White the Filter option provides different coloured B&W images.
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| Filter: -2 |
Filter: 0 |
Filter: +2 |
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| Filter: -5 |
|
Filter: +5 |
Colour saturation
This option controls the saturation of color in the image with a range
of -5 (less) to +5 (more).
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| Color: -2 |
Color: 0 |
Color: +2 |
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| Color: -5 |
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Color: +5 |
Contrast
This option sets the amount of contrast in the final image, it adjusts
the 'S-curve' which is applied to all images in the final output stage.
A setting of low contrast will leave images looking more flat but will
be less likely to clip highlights.
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| Contrast: -2 |
Contrast: 0 |
Contrast: +2 |
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| Contrast: -5 |
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Contrast: +5 |
Sharpness
The DiMAGE A1 allows you to control the internal sharpening of the image
by a degree of one plus and minus it's "normal" sharpness. It's
odd that Minolta provide eleven steps of adjustment for all other image
parameters but only three for sharpness.
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| Sharpness: Hard |
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| Sharpness: Normal |
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| Sharpness: Soft |
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