Advice on an A2 welcomed

On a whim I just ordered an A2 and a hood from KEH. Should be here middle of next week. So far, I have found several archived reviews on Luminous Landscape, DPReview, Imaging-Resource, and a Konica Minolta blog. I also found a source for batteries and a manual. I already have a good supply of CF cards as I have a Canon Pro 1.

I thought it would be fun to compare the Pro 1 and A2 since they use the same sensor, have the same focal length range, and are from the same generation.

I was particularly encouraged by Michael Reichmann's comments on the A2. Pity he just passed away.

So, any advice on the set up would be appreciated. It seems to have a lot more options for settings than the Pro 1.

I was particularly impressed that it has Image Stabilization, a 922,000 dot EVF that swivels upward, a full range of image parameter adjustments including noise reduction, and the ability to fine tune the WB presets. A lot of stuff that was way ahead of its time. I can do all of that with my Panasonic FZ1000; but there's 11 or 12 years between them.

Congrats on the A2. There were firmware updates that you may want to assure were performed. Search this forum for that info.

Also, be aware that a common failure point was cracking of the flexible ribbon cable on the EVF, which was not easy to repair (search this forum). Many users "locked down" the pivoting EVF to prevent this failure, which blacks out the EVF.

I own the Minolta A200, which has the same 8MB sensor and imaging pipeline. It was an excellent camera in its time. I still use it, and get very good results in daylight or with flash. I use it with a wireless trigger, and the ability to sync at 1/800 seconds is a great advantage over my SLR.
That 8MP sensor is OK at ISO 50 and 100, but not so good beyond that. You probably have the same experience on your Pro 1. The lens is excellent though, and stays fast even at the telephoto end, so you can stay at low ISOs in low light.
Have fun, and post some pictures!

Regards,
Parang.

Thanks all.

Parang,: Yes, I am familiar with noise at higher ISO on the Pro 1. I've owned several over the years, and they evolved over the 2 years they were manufactured. I didn't keep the early production models; but I've owned 2 of the late ones, and they have a lot fewer problems. The two things that were never fixed were the lack of IS, and the latency in the displays - what they showed are 1/4 to 1/3 second delayed from real time, so it's impossible to catch fleeting expressions or any kind of fast action. I'm hoping the A2 will be better in both areas.

One thing that was in the original DPReview reviews of the five cameras with this 2/3" sensor was a table showing the differences in ISO from what the camera indicated to an accurate ISO, The Pro 1 was off by 100% at ISO 50 (ISO 50 set was actually ISO 100.) and by 2/3 stop at 100, 200, and 400. It appears from other data that the A2 is about 1/3 stop conservative. Compared to other late model Canon and Panasonic P&S models, the Pro 1 is one full stop off. Something I want to check out on the A2.

Wayne,

I followed your advice and found a link to the Minolta support site. They had manuals for the camera and the DiMage Viewer SW. I downloaded both. The user manual is, well, a manual; but it seems pretty well done. The Viewer manual is also well done and makes me hope I can get the SW to work on my Windows 7 Pro computer. They only support 95, 98, and XP; but I've managed to get other SW to run. HP Photo Printing was my favorite light editor for JPEGs, and it runs fine on Win 7 Pro.

The site also has firmware updates; but there are no instructions for use, and the Owner's Manual is no help. Do you have any idea what the last update # was?

Instructions and firmware here:

Congrats on getting the A2. As you said, it was ahead of its time. IMHO the ergonomics and design is still unsurpassed by the bridge cameras of today.

I still have mine. I bought it in 2004 and it is still fully functional. The original battery has died, but I got a replacement from Jupio that works fine.

I used it a lot in the past but do not use it much anymore; I moved on to a Sony A55 in 2010 and got a Sony A77II in 2014. But my wife is still very happy with it. I offered her to take the A55 with a Tamron 18-270 PZD, but no: she prefers the A2 which she find more comfortable to hold and use.

The A2 really benefits from modern post processing software. I use Lightroom a lot and you can really improve the quality of the photos taken with the A2. Shoot Raw en process afterwards for optimal results. The Jpg engine of the A2 is not so good; another reason to shoot Raw.

There are some nice accessories for the A2. I have the ACT-100 1.5X Teleconverter and the CL49-200 close up lens. The teleconverter is optically very good, but a little clumsy to use. The close up lens is really good with IIRC a diopter of +5.

Enjoy your new camera .

Used within it's limitations it give very good results .

So keep the ISO low and shoot RAW and you'll be happy , for processing I use Lightroom with good results .

.

I have both the a2 and a200 , I prefer the ergonomics of the a2 including the better EVF and larger battery , but I use the a200 more as the swivel rear LCD comes in very handy for low down shots .

I normally use mine when shooting film but want to take a digital camera also , partly to keep a record of surrounding area , date , time etc .

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Accessory wise , apart from the close up diopter as already mentioned , I would recommend you get the MINOLTA WIDE-ANGLE CONVERTER ACW-100; 0.8x , this gets more use with me than the teleconverter . Depends on what you shoot , but it's cheap enough to have both now .

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As Wayne mentioned , there is a common fault where over time the ribbon cable for the EVF snaps .

This can be prevented either by sticking the EVF down and preventing it being tilted up or by re-enforcing it .

If you do a search on this forum there are a few threads that show where the break occurs , and it shows how to put a bit of self adhesive tape over it to strengthen it .

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Here's one of the most recent shots I've taken with my a200 , same lens and same sensor . Just a different body .

As you can see , nothing wrong with the image quality , nice and sharp , good colour and contrast .




Max



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That's a nice shot of the dog. A black Lab? Very good detail and color and I like the composition a lot.

I appreciate the tips. Mine hasn't arrived yet, I'm hoping today or tomorrow at the latest. I'm anxious to do a comparison to my Canon Pro 1 with the same sensor, and also to my FZ1000 and FZ200.

I've had several Pro 1's over the years, an old favorite, but not used a lot anymore. But I still take it out in the fall for the colors as the leaves turn - it does that better than anything else I've tried. I also have the tele converter for the Pro 1. It's 1.5x and big and heavy. It would probably work on the A2; but its size and weight worries me. The Pro 1 has an adapter for it that attaches to the body, not the lens. The A2 lens assembly must be more robust; but the Minolta telex must be a lot lighter.

Actually, the Genuine Minolta Wide Angle and Telephoto accessory lenses are HUGE and HEAVY, IMO. I have always been concerned about all that bulk hanging off of the front of the zoom...

Yes, they are both heavy. That is probably one of the reasons that you have to lock the lens with the macro switch when using the converter. To prevent the camera from going to macro mode you have to set an option in the menu and indicates that you use the tele or wide angle converter. Setting the converter option also takes care of the proper focal length value in the EXIF data.

The ACT-100 teleconverter is more problematic, since it is used at 200mm, so the lens is at maximum length. The ACW-100 wide angle converter is used at 28mm, so the lens is short.

I have used the ACT-100 regularly in the past and never had any real problems. You just have to support the lens with your hand.

The A2 arrived this evening. I only had time to unpack it and turn it on. It looks wonderful! It came with a Minolta battery; but the charger is an aftermarket Vivitar with folding prongs. It also came with the hood, lens cap, and hot shoe cover. No neck strap; but I have a good collection of those. I bought a hood from KEH when I ordered the camera, and it fits; but it's silver; so I'm glad to have the proper black one. I'll have the time for pictures and learning the controls tomorrow afternoon.

Thanks to all for the help and advice so far.

We demand a full report on performance, including photos!

I spent the afternoon going through the manual, learning the controls, menus, etc. and around 4 PM started taking some pictures and trying various control settings. I have provisionally settled on Vivid (the effect is pretty subtle compared to the Pro 1) and exposure compensation at -0.3. That gives a pretty accurate rendition of the actual subjects using AWB. The camera handles well and feels solid.

I do have a question about the EVF. It's quite faded looking as far as color saturation and accuracy goes. Everything has a sort of semi-sepia look - is that the way they are; or is this one on its way out?

I promised some pictures, and more will be coming; but here's the first installment.




These are from Mother's Day. Vivid, -0.3 EV

The images look pretty sharp with no sharpening or added contrast. I do have Noise Reduction turned off, as that was recommended by one web site; but it's dark frame subtraction noise reduction for long exposures and high ISO and I wouldn't expect that to affect ISO 100 or 200. If we get some sun tomorrow I'll get started on my shootout with the Canon Pro 1 and the Panasonic FZ200 and FZ1000 with both of those set down to 8 MP (the FZ1000 at 8.9 MP). for a fairer comparison.

--
Jerry

My A2's EVF has fairly good color rendition, don't know what your issue might be (ribbon cable issue?).

It gray and rainy, so no outdoor shots. But I did get some indoor test shots from the four cameras. Here's the group:




From left to right: Canon S3IS, Canon Pro 1, KM A2, Panasonic FZ200, Panasonic FZ1000

The S3IS was not tested and was included for a size comparison. I did two resolution test shots from each and viewed the shots on PixBuilder Studio, as it's my best viewer. The test target was a Katun chart used to calibrate office copiers. It's 8.5" x 11" and has sets of resolution figures comprised of both horizontal and vertical parallel lines in spacings from 1 line per millimeter to 6.3. All the cameras were set to a 4:3 aspect ratio, and 8 MP, although the FZ1000 can only get to 8.8 MP. P mode, AWB, base ISO, and tripod mounted. The results:

Pro 1 resolution was 4.5 L/mm, ISO 50, f/4, 1/250, 699 grams

A2 resolution was 3.6 L/mm, ISO 64, f/4, 1/250, 676.5 grams

FZ200 resolution was 4.5 L/mm, ISO 125, f/4, 1/320, 665 grams

FZ1000 resolution was 6.3 L/mm, ISO 125, f/3.9, 1/320, 930 grams

The cameras had about the same brightness of images. I find the Pro 1 and A2 ISO sensitivity to be the same, and based on shutter speeds, right about ISO 100. In other words, both the Pro 1 and A2 have true ISO's that are about ISO 100 when set to 50 and 64 respectively. That pretty well confirms DPReview's ratings in their review in 2005, and it makes sense, in that they use the same Sony sensor.

The most disappointing part though is the significantly lower resolution of the A2. The acid test, of course, is whether that's an issue in real world shots; but I need decent light for that. I tested resolution at the f/6.3 the camera selected for a reading of 3.2 L/mm; and then at f/4 for 3.6 L/mm. The lens is better closer to wide open which I know to be true of the other three. The wisdom of using f/5.6 or f/6.3 is really true of SLR and DSLR lenses; but most small sensor digicam lenses are optimized nearer to wide open to minimize diffraction losses. That seems to be true of the A2. The FZ200 is at it's best at f/3.2.

I also weighed the five cameras with hoods, lens caps, batteries, memory cards, and neck straps. Camera companies usually give weights with card and battery; but without the other stuff. The weights for the FZ200 and FZ1000 are with a clear filter on the lens. There is no filter on the Pro 1, A2, or S3IS, and the S3IS has no hood; but does have four lithium cells inside. It weighed in at 511.5 grams.

--
Jerry

I gave up on outdoor shots and instead relied on my old buddy Sher Khan, a large stuffed tiger that has been my mascot, photo subject, and sound absorber for my stereo system. All shots used a sturdy tripod.




Sher Khan, My long term photo subject, mascot, and sound absorber

The next group are head shots of the tiger. Go to 100% and look at the white area just above the eye. There are two sets of very fine whiskers there. On the left is three whiskers twisted together and standing up almost vertically. On the right are two whiskers in a V and lying horizontally. Also look at the white and black fibers in his ruff, down from his ear ear. All the cameras were focused on his eye. Lighting is a mixture of outdoor light (cloudy bright) coming in from the windows and a sliding door to the right; and a three bulb ceiling fixture with 3500 Kelvin LEDs, a desk lamp with a single 5000 Kelvin LED, and a floodlight with a Sylvania clear bulb that's pretty white.



Pro 1, Program mode, ISO 50 set




Canon G15, I put this in for a comparison, 12 MP




Panasonic FZ200, set to 8 MP mode, ISO 125




Panasonic FZ1000, 8.8 MP, ISO 125




Konica Minolta A2, ISO 64

These were all shot using Auto White Balance. As you can see the Pro 1 and A2 differed a great deal in color from the G15 and the two Panasonics. There was no easy way to get the G15 down to 8 MP, so it's closer to 12. The FZ1000 is 20 MP in a 3:2 aspect ratio. It has a 10 MP EZ mode, and then setting the aspect ratio to 4:3, it gets the pixel count down to just below 9 - the best I could do. The FZ200 does have an 8 MP EZ mode. EZ is shorthand for Extra Optical Zoom, a form of Digital Zoom. The cool part about the EZ mode is that they do not interpolate back up to 20 MP, as most digital zooms do. EZ is just a crop out of the middle of the sensor with no interpolation and just normal JPEG processing. They do have other modes, IResolution, and Digital Zoom which add processing and interpolation; but not appropriate here.

There's plenty of fine detail and color to look at here. The overall shot from the FZ200 is pretty accurate for colors. Its AWB is tweaked by adding 2 steps of amber to warm it slightly. The FZ1000 also has 2 steps amber in WB fine tuning. I wish I could fine tune the AWB on the A2. The other WB presets allow it; but not AWB. Panasonic is ambivalent about it as some models allow it (all the FZ series), but not their travel zooms and many others. You can't fine tune older Canons; but many newer ones have it.

As far as detail resolution, the fine details nicely agree with the resolution chart numbers, the FZ1000 being the best, the A2 being the worst. However, you'd have to go to at least 50% view to see that clearly.

This is my last post of test results, although I will respond to comments or questions. It has been a lot of fun as well as a learning experience for me. It also shows that a 1/2.3" sensor is equal or better to 2003 technology.

I found the handling to be quite good with a nice deep grip and a proper thumb rest. It's roughly the same size and weight as the FZ200 and Pro 1, and better balanced than the Pro 1. But there are buttons, knobs, switches, levers, and dials everywhere - it's a little overwhelming.

In the end, I have decided not to keep the A2. Not because of the lower resolution; but because of the complexity of controls; the tiny and low resolution LCD, and the faded EVF screen on this one. I just don't enjoy using it.

My main cameras are the FZ1000, FZ200, G15, Canon ELPH 330HS, and a Canon S95. The Pro 1 is an old, long term favorite that I get out once in a while. It's particularly good for fall colors. The FZ1000 is my serious camera, replacing a Canon 70D DSLR. It can do wireless TTL control of off-camera flashes for portraits and group shots (so can the A2); but is still compact and light enough for air travel. It can do anything the FZ200 can do, and then some; but the FZ200 is a stand in for hazardous locations, like whale watching, and a backup for the FZ1000. The G15, ELPH and S95 are all pocketable in a pants pocket. There's also a Canon SD950IS that lives in my car 24/7. It uses the sensor and processor from the G9.

Lastly, thanks to all who helped me get started and offered advice. This is one of the friendlier forums (the Panasonic one is, also).

--
Jerry

Thanks for the update and comparisons .

Probably doesn't help with the EVF being at fault , but if something doesn't feel right for you there's no point keeping it .

I have all the Minolta bridge cameras , DiMage 7 , 7i , 7hi ( finally found one without the faulty sensor !) , an A1, A2 and A200 .

All operate in a similar fashion , I prefer the A2's ergonomics , but the A200 gets more use due to the swivel screen .

I use quite a few different cameras of different brands for different purposes , Whichever one suites best at the time . These older cameras are cheap enough now to have a few to play around with .

Enjoy using what you have .

Regards , Neil .