A2 vs 7Hi

I currently have a 7Hi. The CCD has been replaced. The camera works fine. I have been thinking about buying an A2. The anti-shake and the great EVF are what have attracted me to it. My concern and my understanding is that 8 mega-pixels on the same size CCD used in the 7Hi only adds to the noise level. If this is true, is it much worse? Is the A2 a better camera than the 7Hi? Is this even worth thinking about?

My guess is that the A2 will be faster than the 7Hi and the screen will be smoother. The A1 has somewhat better sensitivity than the A2 (ISO100 on the A1 is supposedly really ISO160 and the A2 has to go down to ISO64 to get similar noise performance, I believe). So, if the sensor on the 7Hi is the same as the A1, it may be more sensitive than the A2.

That said, I've never used either. If you're happy with the 7Hi, stick with it until it dies.

RS

gerardkelley said:

I currently have a 7Hi. The CCD has been replaced. The camera works
fine. I have been thinking about buying an A2. The anti-shake and
the great EVF are what have attracted me to it. My concern and my
understanding is that 8 mega-pixels on the same size CCD used in
the 7Hi only adds to the noise level. If this is true, is it much
worse? Is the A2 a better camera than the 7Hi? Is this even worth
thinking about?

Click to expand...

The A2 is a better camera, and, with the latest firmware, it is quite speedy with RAWs --- at least, for its type it is.

Also, please don't worry about noise.

Whilst there are more pixels, and they are naturally smaller, which does increase noise when viewed at 100%........

........ 100% on screen is BIGGER than it is with 5MP, because the pixels are smaller and there are more of them!

When that 8MP image is viewed same-size-on-screen as the 5MP image....

....(which is how you should be doing it when making comparisons)....

.... there are more pixels (per unit area) interpolated into the display of that 8MP image, and the process cancels the extra noise.

The same thing happens in printing, only more so, because printing itself tends to smooth out noise.

As to the relative ISOs, I cannot comment.

My experience is of D7ug and A2 only. I find they match, ISO-for-ISO, and they both match my Minolta flashmeter, too. Indeed, before I abandoned film entirely, I used to use my D7ug as a supplementary exposure meter, and as a kind of "electronic polaroid", when exposing 5x4" reversal sheet film.
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Regards,
Baz

Well, you could start out with the obvious, and look at the reviews of the two. While the A2 is no star in terms of noise performance, it actually looks a bit better than the 7hi to my eyes.

That- plus the additional pixels, amazing evf, AS, improved interface (dual scroll wheels) faster operation and focussing, etc make it still an unbeatable camera IMHO.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/konicaminoltaa2/

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/minoltadimage7hi/

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Hi,

Just in order to make matters simple: the A2 has a 7Hi inside, ...and a lot more!

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Cheers, Feri

'I can look at a fine photograph and sometimes I can hear music. Ansel Adams.'

Ferenc MOGOR said:

Hi,

Just in order to make matters simple: the A2 has a 7Hi inside,
...and a lot more!

Click to expand...

err.. Yeah! That's about it. Cheers, Feri!
--
Regards,
Baz

Agreed.

I started with a 7hi then sold it to a colleague when I bought an A2. You won't regret it. It's faster, much better viewfinder and has AS.