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When is the 7i going to be available?
- Thread starter JudyC
- Start date
Russ Meyer
Leading Member
Not soon enough for me. I need it NOW.
--Russ Meyer http://www.photo.net/photodb/user?user_id=450591
[email protected]
Well-known member
June. Sorry I can't be more specific but that's what they're saying. A price would be good to know also, eh?
Hope this helps.
Frank
Hope this helps.
Frank
jennifer91564
Member
A question on everyone's mind....but does anyone know where or if we can preorder them?
pka
Senior Member
European Minolta site http://www.minoltaeurope.com/pe/digital_photography.html (D7i) still keeps the text "NEW - Available in Europe end of April 2002 onwards.", but it does not look like this should be the case. Maybee as no native English speaker I do not understand correctly the impact of the word "onwards" 
Some german on-line stores already let you order the camera for price, which dropped last month from 1299 to 1259 EUR, but I don't know, if this is the "real" pre-order; for sure not of interest for USA.
pka
http://www.volny.cz/digialbum/ (in Czech
Some german on-line stores already let you order the camera for price, which dropped last month from 1299 to 1259 EUR, but I don't know, if this is the "real" pre-order; for sure not of interest for USA. pka
http://www.volny.cz/digialbum/ (in Czech
Russ Meyer
Leading Member
Wm Ambrose
Member
I lust after a 7i too. But I am very thankful that there are so many of you folks out there that want it even worse than I do that you are ready to jump on it before it has been properly vetted. One thing that I have been getting strong and clear in reviews and discussions is how much difficulty Minolta has been having in actually effectively implementing its technology in production. I read many comments about lense caps and buttons falling off. It seems that the autofocus system was released while it was still beta. The problem with the heat in the handgrip is a glaring shortcoming. Minolta should not have allowed the thing into production before they got on top of that at least a little bit. The 7 seems to have been taken out of the oven before it was completely baked. That is the entire reason for the need for the 7i in the first place. Who out there is so naive as to think that that kind of deep rooted problem in providing a well implemented, solid product like the Sony DSC-F707 can be so casually overcome in a small number of months? As badly as I want the 7i I'm prepared to wait and see what kind of backscatter comes from people who want it worse than I do.
Hugo Martinez
Leading Member
Really? Where are these comments? Please provide us with direct links. Thank you.
Chris G.
Active member
I'm desperatly waiting for the D7i as well ... but I'll still wait for a qualified review to see if all the improvements have actually implemented well.
Chris
Chris
Robert Bell
Well-known member
Now being advertised in the U.K. magazines (May editions now out). Cheapest price I can see is at £849.99 sterling. Current price of (old) 7 model is £749.99 sterling with the same company (cameraworld) - Note this company does not have a web-site available as yet, their phone number is +44 (0)20 7636 5005. I checked a few web sites of companies also advertising the 7i in May's magazines and none of them have it available through the web yet, though given they have placed ad's to sell the same I would imagine they are expecting stock within the next few weeks.
Wm Ambrose
Member
Fair enough. Problem is I have been spending a large amount of time lately seining the internet for info on the 7i, and I haven't been keeping track of everywhere I've been. Common enough problem I would guess. I am certain I remember a series of comments in some user feedback forum somewhere to the effect that some kind of a cover or lense cap would not stay on. Another poster down the list ditto'ed that experience. One poster said a button had fallen off. I've spent about 30 minutes so far and have not been able to locate this site. I'm giving up for now, but you can refer to
http://electronics.cnet.com/electronics/0-6613935-1318-6235167.html?pn=1&lb=2&ob=0&tag=st.ce.6613935.bottom.6235167-1
where one user cites an eyepiece falling off after only a day. This link will give you only the negative reviews of the D7i. These only comprised 18% of the total reviews. All of the rest were positive. Many of them were effusive. I always war game the negative side of a consumer product before I buy. Truly great products have uniformly positive, glowing reviews. More problematic products have mixed reviews, with many of them being highly negative. This is the case with the D7. I fairly recently bought an Epson 1280 printer after my 1520 finally crapped out. I was really mad at Epson and was certain I was going for an HP 1220. But I did look at user feedback and found a strong pattern of complaints about the paper feed of the HP. There was exactly the same mix of mostly positive but significant, consistent highly negative reviews. All 32 of the reviews for the 1280 were glowing. I almost made a big mistake. I'm having this same bad feeling about the D7. There is a lot of very negative feedback about it. I'm skeptical the D7i is going to be so completely different an animal as to neutralize the original problems. The Sony 707 doesn't have the specs that the Minolta has, but it is getting the same kind of unqualified positive response that the Epson printer I bought had. The only thing I can figure is that Minolta both hasn't committed to a solid, quality hardware configuration for the DiMage's, and - more importantly - they are not close to being on top of their manufacturing quality control. The wildly differing experiences people are reporting about their experiences with the D7 should give one pause I should think.
If I can find the link to the comments about the loose caps & buttons I will send it along anon.
Bill Ambrose
bob co
New member
Matthew Geier
Forum Enthusiast
If Minolta are sending stock into Europe by the ISO container load by sea, the goods will have already left the production plants in SE Asia. (Assuming they make every thing there and don't have a European Factory).
In which case Minolta Europe probably knows exactly where that container of D7is is and when the ship is due to dock...
The containers for the US market would have to be starting their journey about now, as soon as the ship leaves port, Minolta USA will have a pretty accurate idea of when they willl arrive.
I would think shipping them by air freight would be considered an unnessary 'production' expense, 'floating' them around the world would be so much more cost effective. Every one at this point is probably waiting for container ships to complete their journeys.
If the 'central' SE asian factory is the case, it will be the Europeans that will get the 'first batch of the production line', as their transit time is the longest.
bob co
New member
Please also let me know if there is any retailer or distributor where I can purchase the new 7i from & pay to have it fedex by Thursday, May 2nd.
Thanks,
Bob [email protected]
Hugo Martinez
Leading Member
Those comments must be rare indeed. I have lurked at this Minolta forum since its inception (and at http://www.network54.com/Forum/151930 ) -- I recall many criticisms but not these. Maybe it was late, you were tired and the forum was really for a different camera?
Thanks for the link. One-line comments like ""Dosn't cut it" (not my typo) by "Anonymous" are gems.
Valid but resolvable.
Do note that the D7 has had at least 2 firmware updates. Recent production batches have been more reliable. Minolta hasn't just been standing around, doing nothing.
Consider finding another review site. I have the 1280's predecessor -- the 1270 -- and I love it and may buy another Epson, but both our printers are far from perfect. For example, look at this site's "Printers and Printing" forum... witness the people abandoning Epson for Canon... clogging nozzles... fading... I myself have had clogging, feed and fading problems.
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