Konica Minolta Maxxum 7D Digital SLR Camera In Review
If you’re tired of cameras from Canon and Nikon, you may want to look into the Konica Minolta Maxxum series of cameras. In particular, in this article, we discuss the features of the Konica Minolta Maxxum 7D.
The Maxxum 7D is a midrange digital SLR that can apply optical image stabilization with any lens. It has an interesting and unique Anti-Shake system which works with all lenses and also has an efficient control layout. Let’s find out more.
The Konica Minolta Maxxum 7D is finished in a businesslike matte black - similar to most standard DSLRs. Its angular styling, although conventional, looks good. The body, a hybrid of magnesium-alloy and plastic, is sturdy and well crafted. The grip is nicely contoured and feels secure, and without a lens, the camera weighs about 30 ounces, which is an ounce or two heavier than average for this class.
The Maxxum 7D omits the separate status LCD and instead relies on the camera’s main LCD to display shooting settings, which is an appealing design convention. On this particular Maxxum, the large 2.5-inch LCD has room to show more settings than the usual status LCD. These settings include ISO, color mode, and image parameters, to name a few.
The optical system of the Konica Minolta Maxxum 7D has noticeably been carefully designed to allow one to take great photos. The digital camera comes with a 6.1 megapixel resolution and an Anti-Shake mechanism.
The Anti-Shake device averts picture blur caused by camera movement. This mechanism is in the Maxxum 7D’s body, working by shifting the CCD, so it operates well with all Konica Minolta autofocus (AF) lenses.
The Konica Minolta Maxxum 7D’s advanced AF system includes nine focus points.You can leave all of them active and let the camera choose which to use from shot to shot or you can select the active point yourself. You can also set the camera to automatically switch to continuous or tracking AF operation if it detects subject movement.
Many exposure features are to be had on the Maxxum 7D. These include all four customary exposure modes; three light-metering modes (14-segment honeycomb, center-weighted, and spot); ambient exposure compensation either in half-EV increments to plus or minus 3EV or in one-third-EV increments to plus or minus 2EV. The sensor’s sensitivity can be set to auto or from ISO 100 to ISO 3,200 in 1EV increments.
On to user controls for the Konica Minolta Maxxum 7D. As with any dedicated shooter’s camera, the most important options are controlled using dedicated external buttons, rather than being part of the menu.
Thumb and forefinger command wheels control exposure adjustments along with other shooter settings. The white-balance control consisting of a rotating switch surrounding a button that smartly accesses multiple menu choices is the fastest and most flexible to date.
You will find a dial on the camera’s top-left side for setting flash or ambient exposure compensation. The same adjustments can also be made using the forefinger wheel, which seems to be more efficient. As a whole, control position and operating efficiency on this camera are among the best on any DSLR.
The Konica Minolta 7D’s advertised battery life is more or less sufficient for a full day’s shooting. If a long battery life is very important for you, you can always pack along some extras - buy them at your local camera store.
The Minolta 7D stores your photos in CompactFlash Type I/II memory cards. You can also use a MicroDrive should you choose. Pictures are transferred easily from the camera to the PC with the USB 2.0 interface.
Of course there are some quirks I noticed in the Konica Minolta Maxxum 7D, and of course you want to know what they are. One such peeve is that the camera is slow to start-up. You are also restricted to one JPEG compression ratio in raw-plus-JPEG, and there is no way to avoid noise reduction processing in high ISO images.
I hope this review of the Konica Minolta Maxxum 7D has been helpful in your decisions on cameras. If you’re looking for a respectable professional SLR camera to take shots with, then the Konica Minolta Maxxum 7D should be at or near the top of the list. Make sure before you open your pocketbook to do your homework first. With that in mind, see you at the store!
