Embargo broken! Get the A1 preview now!

[David Race]

Interesting, the PDF from the Dimage site confirms that the A1 has 64MB SDRAM and states:

"With RAW, you can capture up to 5 images at once. With TIFF or JPEG, you can shoot up to 3 images in a single burst. JPEG capture has extra advantage of being ready for the next 3-shot burst in only 1.5 seconds. The camera’s high capacity 64MB SDRAM can store as many as 9 images
(5.0 megapixels, Fine mode), ensuring effective use of buffer memory
during continuous shooting."

That's all a little confusing to me but suggests that the camera can take 5 shot bursts in RAW mode and implies that in some modes you may be able to take 9 shot bursts.

What does seem to have gone is the UHS mode. Was this any good in the Hi? It is almost useless my upgraded 7.

daveR

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

--
Phil Askey
Editor / Owner, dpreview.com

 

[oldgranite]

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.

 

[Ulysses]

He can't say a whole lot about it as he's using a pre-production model at present:

"This preview is based on a pre-production DiMAGE A1. You should remember this when looking at close-up images of the camera as the fit and finish may not accurately reflect the final production camera. At this early stage Minolta do not wish us to post sample images from the camera. We will be producing a full in-depth review of the camera when a production model is made available to us."

We'll need to wait for a full production level camera before seeing pics or hearing what he thinks about the image quality. That sort of stuff can sometimes change dramatically between pre-pro and final production.

Thanks Phil,

a shame noting is said about the noise at the higher iso levels so
now I have still doubts about buying this one, or spend really
bucks on the EOS10. Can you say anyting about when the full review
is available?

Thanks for you time and your great reviews all the time....

--

Ulysses

 

[Ulysses]

Heheheh... Each company releases a camera with its own bag of tricks, but let's not get too excited just yet. We haven't seen any pictures.

Furthermore, are there any pics out from the S7000 yet? If not, that's also an unknown factor.

I do not believe Nikon has released anything truly new for the prosumer class yet, have they? Certainly you're not referring to the 5400.

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.

--

Ulysses

 

[Petteri Sulonen]

Phil Askey wrote:
[snip]

Thanks for the excellent and detailed preview again, Phil. Going by it, this camera looks like a winner. The anti-shake, better EVF, and improved build combined with the lens, comprehensive feature set and well laid-out controls inherited from the 7Hi will make this one a very good contender for the "best SLR-like prosumer" spot. And if they've managed to improve image quality as well, it'll be a very tough game to beat.

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
--
Portfolio: [ http://www.seittipaja.fi/index/ ]
Pontification: [ http://www.seittipaja.fi/ ]

 

[Manuel Guerra]

If it was something like 800$ maybe.

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

--
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.

--
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 don't think so, Daniella, remember what is to me, the feature number 1 of the 7 series, the 28-200 mm lenses.
--
Manuel Guerra
http://www.pbase.com/mguerrat

 

[Petteri Sulonen]

hmmm at this price maybe it's better to buy a 10D or another DSLR no?

If it was something like 800$ maybe.

Different machine, different mission. A DSLR will still end up costing more, once you factor in the lenses, and if your shooting style demands a compact superzoom, the A1 may be the better choice even if you take cost out of the equation.

Petteri
--
Portfolio: [ http://www.seittipaja.fi/index/ ]
Pontification: [ http://www.seittipaja.fi/ ]

 

[martin_chabot]

Normally progressive scan CCDs have bigger pixel size (in fact bigger CCD storage size), which means lower noise and higher dynamic.

Sensibility should be the same because of the microlenses on the array which is the same size.

On the other side, they have a smearing/blooming problem when overexposed ...

Even tho it is not officially revealed, wouldn't it be likely that
Minolta has once again gone with a Sony 2/3" sensor?

Nope. And to be honest most manufacturers (other than Sony and
Fujifilm) don't reveal who makes the sensor

--

Ulysses

 

[yinkhoon]

Probably some over-zealous staff eager to put the latest works of Minolta on show... not that I blame them! Haha.

Graeme
:

 

[oldgranite]

I'd guess that a lot of people might go through the 7Hi, G5, 5700, 5400 S602/S7000 and so on sort of elimination process, each has its strengths in particular areas, though the suggested price of the A1 may take it out of competition with these cams.

But yes, we'll have to wait and see what it can actually produce in the real world!

Furthermore, are there any pics out from the S7000 yet? If not,
that's also an unknown factor.

I do not believe Nikon has released anything truly new for the
prosumer class yet, have they? Certainly you're not referring to
the 5400.

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.

--

Ulysses

 

[Ulysses]

Normally progressive scan CCDs have bigger pixel size (in fact
bigger CCD storage size), which means lower noise and higher dynamic.

Hmm... but that's not the case here. It's still a 2/3" sensor, with 5 million pixels, which still gives it a unit cell size of 3.4um, I believe.

Sensibility should be the same because of the microlenses on the
array which is the same size.

You mean sensitivity? That has little to do with the microlenses. And I'm not sure how the progressive-scan fits here as a difference.

On the other side, they have a smearing/blooming problem when
overexposed ...

Hmm... again, I'm not sure I see the relevance.

Do you have further detail?

--

Ulysses

 

[Phil Askey]

I've got an A1 in my hand and can confirm that in JPEG mode you can only shoot 3 images in a burst, in RAW mode you can indeed shoot 5 images in a burst. Crazy.

"With RAW, you can capture up to 5 images at once. With TIFF or
JPEG, you can shoot up to 3 images in a single burst. JPEG capture
has extra advantage of being ready for the next 3-shot burst in
only 1.5 seconds. The camera’s high capacity 64MB SDRAM can store
as many as 9 images
(5.0 megapixels, Fine mode), ensuring effective use of buffer memory
during continuous shooting."

That's all a little confusing to me but suggests that the camera
can take 5 shot bursts in RAW mode and implies that in some modes
you may be able to take 9 shot bursts.

What does seem to have gone is the UHS mode. Was this any good in
the Hi? It is almost useless my upgraded 7.

daveR

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

--
Phil Askey
Editor / Owner, dpreview.com

--
Phil Askey
Editor / Owner, dpreview.com

 

[Léon van den broek]

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.

Then, to shake the dust off your CCD, you just shake your camera ;=))

BTW someone in another thread called it the DA1; nice name!
Definitely DA1!

Léon

 

[David Race]

Ok, first off I reckon you're about 20 miles away so expect a knock on the door in the next hour or so

Secondly - had you noticed that they've compressed the RAWs? Still don't understand why you can take 5 shots in RAW but only 3 in JPEG. I guess there's more processing involved with JPEG (obviously) but that should affect the time between shots not the total burst legth.

As you put it... crazy.

So, any idea what they're referring to when they talk about storing 9 shots?

daveR

"With RAW, you can capture up to 5 images at once. With TIFF or
JPEG, you can shoot up to 3 images in a single burst. JPEG capture
has extra advantage of being ready for the next 3-shot burst in
only 1.5 seconds. The camera’s high capacity 64MB SDRAM can store
as many as 9 images
(5.0 megapixels, Fine mode), ensuring effective use of buffer memory
during continuous shooting."

That's all a little confusing to me but suggests that the camera
can take 5 shot bursts in RAW mode and implies that in some modes
you may be able to take 9 shot bursts.

What does seem to have gone is the UHS mode. Was this any good in
the Hi? It is almost useless my upgraded 7.

daveR

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

--
Phil Askey
Editor / Owner, dpreview.com

--
Phil Askey
Editor / Owner, dpreview.com

 

[GothtinPowers]

Hmm i wonder if you found the pre-prod version to have better image quality than the production 7HI, and you mentioned that, if Minolta would be mad.....It must be so fun to get to try out all these cameras before many people even know they are about to be released..

jealously,
Chris

"With RAW, you can capture up to 5 images at once. With TIFF or
JPEG, you can shoot up to 3 images in a single burst. JPEG capture
has extra advantage of being ready for the next 3-shot burst in
only 1.5 seconds. The camera’s high capacity 64MB SDRAM can store
as many as 9 images
(5.0 megapixels, Fine mode), ensuring effective use of buffer memory
during continuous shooting."

That's all a little confusing to me but suggests that the camera
can take 5 shot bursts in RAW mode and implies that in some modes
you may be able to take 9 shot bursts.

What does seem to have gone is the UHS mode. Was this any good in
the Hi? It is almost useless my upgraded 7.

daveR

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

--
Phil Askey
Editor / Owner, dpreview.com

--
Phil Askey
Editor / Owner, dpreview.com

 

[Emmanuel54656]

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

"With RAW, you can capture up to 5 images at once. With TIFF or
JPEG, you can shoot up to 3 images in a single burst. JPEG capture
has extra advantage of being ready for the next 3-shot burst in
only 1.5 seconds. The camera’s high capacity 64MB SDRAM can store
as many as 9 images
(5.0 megapixels, Fine mode), ensuring effective use of buffer memory
during continuous shooting."

That's all a little confusing to me but suggests that the camera
can take 5 shot bursts in RAW mode and implies that in some modes
you may be able to take 9 shot bursts.

What does seem to have gone is the UHS mode. Was this any good in
the Hi? It is almost useless my upgraded 7.

daveR

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

--
Phil Askey
Editor / Owner, dpreview.com

--
Phil Askey
Editor / Owner, dpreview.com

 

[imtoad]

Any guess as to when it might be released?

Hilary
http://www.pbase.com/imtoad
http://www.milostongue.com

 

[David Race]

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

 

[Dat Ei]

Hey Phil,

have you thought about the possibility that there might have been a mix up of AM and PM in Minoltas communication? The official Minolta sites were up with the news in the early morning - european time!

Regards
Dat Ei
--
http://www.d7galerie.de/gallery/DatEi

 

[Phil Askey]

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.

Hey Phil,

have you thought about the possibility that there might have been a
mix up of AM and PM in Minoltas communication? The official Minolta
sites were up with the news in the early morning - european time!

Regards
Dat Ei
--
http://www.d7galerie.de/gallery/DatEi

--
Phil Askey
Editor / Owner, dpreview.com