Embargo broken! Get the A1 preview now!

  • Thread starter Thread starter Phil Askey
  • Start date Start date
Thanks Phil, looking forward to your full review...
Hi guys,

Well having worked until the early hours of the morning I was a
little surprised this morning to see so much info on the A1
published more than 12 hours before the embargo time everyone had
been given. So as I now consider that to be void you can get our
preview now:

http://www.dpreview.com/articles/minoltadimagea1/

(Annoyed - a little)

--
Phil Askey
Editor / Owner, dpreview.com
 
Of course, but all of the major publications had this:

Please do not post anything online about these cameras until 12:00
PM (EST) on Thursday, August 7, 2003.
I had a look in the web and found a second explanation for EST. EST/AEST = (Autstralian) Eastern Standard Time, UTC+10 hours, i.e. Brisbane. Maybe it´s just an mix up of the time zones. I don´t believe that digitalkamera.de would break the NDA on purpose...

Regards
Dat Ei
--
http://www.d7galerie.de/gallery/DatEi
 
Yes, I know. But most people will want to make use of the Fine or X-Fine modes to capture more photos on the CF.

Emmanuel
Only 3 frames in a burst is a shame. I don't use the burst mode on
my D7Hi very often but when I do I'd usually need around 3 to 5
frames. For those wanting to shoot sports and make the most of the
high speed predictive AF capability 3 frames burst is quite a
limitation. What a shame!!

Emmanuel
You can get 5 shots by using RAW - of course they'll take longer to
write to the CF card.

daveR
 
I love the GT Lens system on the 7x series. My problem with the 7Hi is a high rate of waste in low light due to blur, AF speed/accuracy (and also the photographer himself). The new Anti-Shake and improved AF will help immensely. I anticipate these 2 features alone are worth the upgrade for enthusiasts like me.

Cheers,
  • Max
 
Yep, it's a mystery at the moment why they've done this. The 7Hi allowed you a lot of flexibility and tradeoff between burst rate and image size/compression. This seems to have been lost in the A1 despite the same (large) buffer and what appears to be a faster CCD (based on the 1/16,000 top shutter speed).

Perplexing.

daveR
Emmanuel
Only 3 frames in a burst is a shame. I don't use the burst mode on
my D7Hi very often but when I do I'd usually need around 3 to 5
frames. For those wanting to shoot sports and make the most of the
high speed predictive AF capability 3 frames burst is quite a
limitation. What a shame!!

Emmanuel
You can get 5 shots by using RAW - of course they'll take longer to
write to the CF card.

daveR
 
I don't think so, Daniella, remember what is to me, the feature
number 1 of the 7 series, the 28-200 mm lenses.
Ok but with a DSLR you can have a much wider variety of lenses. Althought I like the 28mm lens, I really miss a 300 or 400mm with the D7.
--
Daniella
http://www.photosig.com/go/users/userphotos?id=26918
http://www.pbase.com/zylen
C7OO FORUM: http://www.c700uz.com

c7OOuz, Dimage-7, Tcon14tele, C210tele, Cokin-173, Grad-ND, Hoya-red-Intensifier, Hoya_R_72.
 
I'm certain not many people would find the need for the 1/16000 shutter speed. My Dynax 9 has a max of 1/12000 but I've hardly made that much use of it. I would of preferred to of seen say 1/8000 but with bulb facility that allows the shutter to remain open for up to 5 minutes.

Emmanuel
Perplexing.

daveR
Emmanuel
Only 3 frames in a burst is a shame. I don't use the burst mode on
my D7Hi very often but when I do I'd usually need around 3 to 5
frames. For those wanting to shoot sports and make the most of the
high speed predictive AF capability 3 frames burst is quite a
limitation. What a shame!!

Emmanuel
You can get 5 shots by using RAW - of course they'll take longer to
write to the CF card.

daveR
 
I know it's impossible for you to comment on image quality this
early in the game, but here's a couple of questions you may
be allowed to answer:
  • Thus far, are you more impressed with the new ccd stabilisation
technology or the new faster/improved AF ?
  • Can you state that image quality at the present stage looks
at least 'promising'?

thx. : )
Phil Askey wrote:
Hi guys,

Well having worked until the early hours of the morning I was a
little surprised this morning to see so much info on the A1
published more than 12 hours before the embargo time everyone had
been given. So as I now consider that to be void you can get our
preview now:

http://www.dpreview.com/articles/minoltadimagea1/

(Annoyed - a little)

--
Phil Askey
Editor / Owner, dpreview.com
 
--I really don't think so. That makes no sense considering the new SSM lenses. I think they're using the A1 (formerly the 7xx line) to fine tune the feature sets for their forthcoming DSLR. And I honestly feel it's just around the corner. (fingers crossed) :))
Sol

Sometimes a photograph captures reality.
Sometimes a photograph captures the imagination.
Ultimately, a photograph simply captures a moment in time.
And then, . . . it lives forever.
 
Only 3 frames in a burst is a shame. I don't use the burst mode on
my D7Hi very often but when I do I'd usually need around 3 to 5
frames. For those wanting to shoot sports and make the most of the
high speed predictive AF capability 3 frames burst is quite a
limitation. What a shame!!

Emmanuel
Hi Emmanuel,

Maybe the thought here is that if you shoot photography that requires 5 fps, then your probably a pro, semi-pro, or tweak, and are probably going to shoot RAW images anyways. Just musing. : )
--
Sol

Sometimes a photograph captures reality.
Sometimes a photograph captures the imagination.
Ultimately, a photograph simply captures a moment in time.
And then, . . . it lives forever.
 
Nice to see a detailed preview Phil - rather than a rehash of the
specs list ;-)
--Agreed! Thanks Phil.
Sol

Sometimes a photograph captures reality.
Sometimes a photograph captures the imagination.
Ultimately, a photograph simply captures a moment in time.
And then, . . . it lives forever.
 
hmmm at this price maybe it's better to buy a 10D or another DSLR no?

If it was something like 800$ maybe.
--Hang in there Daniella. Check my earlier comment in this thread.
Sol

Sometimes a photograph captures reality.
Sometimes a photograph captures the imagination.
Ultimately, a photograph simply captures a moment in time.
And then, . . . it lives forever.
 
After the fairly lacklustre recent 'new' models by Nikon, Canon and
Fuji, which are barely evolutionary never mind revolutionary, it's
good to see Minolta taking this sector of the market by the scruff
of the neck and on the face of it, bringing out a model that
represents a genuine, worthwhile step forward.

Let's hope that this is born out in practice.
--Absolutely agree. And it should be pointed out that most, if not all these advancements in the A1 had to be in progress and accomplished pre- Konica Minolta merger. So, point being, Minolta (great to see) obviously were not just watching from the sidelines.
Sol

Sometimes a photograph captures reality.
Sometimes a photograph captures the imagination.
Ultimately, a photograph simply captures a moment in time.
And then, . . . it lives forever.
 
1/16,000 is there to let people use all apertures even in bright light - even so I agree 1/16,000 does seem a little over the top.

daveR
Emmanuel
Perplexing.

daveR
Emmanuel
Only 3 frames in a burst is a shame. I don't use the burst mode on
my D7Hi very often but when I do I'd usually need around 3 to 5
frames. For those wanting to shoot sports and make the most of the
high speed predictive AF capability 3 frames burst is quite a
limitation. What a shame!!

Emmanuel
You can get 5 shots by using RAW - of course they'll take longer to
write to the CF card.

daveR
 
Yup, I was a surprised as you.
So... Possibly In a few months there'll be an A1Hi with extended
buffer memory....? Rip off, eh?
Not sure it's that simple - the A1 has the same 64MB SDRAM as the 7Hi and the pixel count remains the same.

So either there's something complex we don't know about or they'll take the brakes off via an upgraded moel - ala certain drum printers way back when.

daveR
 
Now, if the anti-shake actually works, what I'd really like to
see is an implementation on a DSLR. That would really make us folks
with Canons or Nikons go green. :-)

Petteri
--Can't imagine this isn't coming to thier DSLR. You can't break new ground like this, and not make it your central "bragging rights". Look at the (well deserved) mileage Canon got out of thier "first to arrive" IS lenses.
Sol

Sometimes a photograph captures reality.
Sometimes a photograph captures the imagination.
Ultimately, a photograph simply captures a moment in time.
And then, . . . it lives forever.
 

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