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Photo web site of photographer Martin Joergensen
Photo web site of photographer Martin Joergensen
Minolta Dynax/Maxxum 7D
My first digital SLR — and a great camera too
Date: 28/06/2006 - Updated: 26/01/2007 11:06
 Fence [Dynax 7D, Sigma 90mm, f2.8 macro]
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I guess I thought that the 7D was a film 7 — just digital.
Not so!
The 7D was different in many ways even though it superficially looked like the film 7 and by many was considered a film 7 gone digital.
I personally liked the film 7 a lot more than I have ever gotten to like the 7D. Don't misunderstand me. Minoltas first digital SLR is a fantastic camera — a photographer's camera — with lots of extremely nice features, a fantastic set of controls and great performance. Mine has taken around 16,000 images and is still clicking away.
But the film 7 was just much more than the 7D will ever be in my eyes. The shape is not quite as perfect. It's a bit more cluncky than the film 7 and not as perfectly balanced. It also has a more rugged feel to it, and I'm not quite sure whether the film 7 is not just a tiny bit more robust than its digital counterpart.
Well, anyways... I have shot so many pictures with the 7D now, and it has grown on me. I surely love it and it has produced some stunning images in my humble hands. It has also taken quite a bit of abuse including tropical rain, saltwater and sand plus the odd drop on hard stones.
Not so!
The 7D was different in many ways even though it superficially looked like the film 7 and by many was considered a film 7 gone digital.
I personally liked the film 7 a lot more than I have ever gotten to like the 7D. Don't misunderstand me. Minoltas first digital SLR is a fantastic camera — a photographer's camera — with lots of extremely nice features, a fantastic set of controls and great performance. Mine has taken around 16,000 images and is still clicking away.
But the film 7 was just much more than the 7D will ever be in my eyes. The shape is not quite as perfect. It's a bit more cluncky than the film 7 and not as perfectly balanced. It also has a more rugged feel to it, and I'm not quite sure whether the film 7 is not just a tiny bit more robust than its digital counterpart.
Well, anyways... I have shot so many pictures with the 7D now, and it has grown on me. I surely love it and it has produced some stunning images in my humble hands. It has also taken quite a bit of abuse including tropical rain, saltwater and sand plus the odd drop on hard stones.
 The Konica-Minolta Dynax/Maxxum/Alfa 7D — a photographer's camera if I ever saw one. Equipped here with a vertical grip and a Sigma EX D 24-70mm f2.8 lens.
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Thoughts on AS <
I have found the Anti-Shake (AS) function on the 7D to be a nice feature to have in a tight spot, but never the killer-feature that many — including Minolta — have touted it to be.
AS has saved me a few pics, but good glass and a sturdy tripod has done sooo much more. And any camera can be equipped with good glass and a tripod.
I have shot a ton of pictures with my telephoto-lenses, and honestly: I have never been able to see the big difference between the ones with AS compared to the ones without. A 300mm tele-lens will blur most images when shot hand-held almost no matter what. A tripod or a monopod saves that — not Minolta's AS, VR, IS or any other smart technology in my experience. I have come to the same conclusion with my Nikon 18-200 VR.
AS has saved me a few pics, but good glass and a sturdy tripod has done sooo much more. And any camera can be equipped with good glass and a tripod.
I have shot a ton of pictures with my telephoto-lenses, and honestly: I have never been able to see the big difference between the ones with AS compared to the ones without. A 300mm tele-lens will blur most images when shot hand-held almost no matter what. A tripod or a monopod saves that — not Minolta's AS, VR, IS or any other smart technology in my experience. I have come to the same conclusion with my Nikon 18-200 VR.
Read more about these subjects
Cameras - Digital - Autofocus - Image stabilization
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