It's definitely not a camera that you're going to be slipping into a pocket. The Dimage 7i is professional class in terms of both performance and size, weighing in at over a pound without batteries. That said, its heft is comfortable and can actually be handled with one hand.

The color electronic viewfinder knows when you put your eye up to it, turning itself on and turning off the bright 1.8-inch LCD, which saves on battery life and makes for a nifty party trick. It even has a diopter lens so glasses-wearing users can adjust it to their eyesight.

Captured images were downright impressive--with bright, lifelike colors, and very sharp details. The Dimage 7i sports a long list of advanced features, including a variety of movie capture modes (including low-light), a real-time histogram that lets you adjust your aperture and other settings before snapping a photo, and continuous auto-focus on moving subjects.

You might think that a camera of this level would be a bit imposing to use, but Minolta has laid out the buttons and wheels appropriately, letting you adjust between modes easily and including an LCD panel on top of the camera that keeps you informed of the settings.

It's not the kind of camera you'd want to buy your teenager for a birthday, but if you're looking for a digital camera that can hold its own against top film cameras, the Minolta Dimage 7i definitely deserves a look. --J. Curtis

Pros:

• 5-megapixel resolution produces impressive images
• Huge optical zoom: 7x
• Advanced tools and features, but easy to use

Cons:

• Professional photography is not inexpensive
• Not exactly compact

Optics and Resolution
The Minolta DiMAGE 7i is built around a high-precision electro-optical system designed to maximize image quality. The system contains a 5.24-megapixel, 2/3-type interline primary color CCD with 4.95 million effective pixels for fine high-resolution images. The pixel resolution of the CCD will produce 13-by-17-inch, 150 dpi prints on an inkjet printer.

The Minolta GT Lens featured in the DiMAGE 7i is an optical jewel cut in glass. With enough resolution to produce a fine image on a 7-million pixel CCD, this lens employs AD glass and aspheric elements to ensure sharp, contrasting images with no chromatic aberration at any focal length. In addition, the Minolta DiMAGE 7i's optical zoom lens accepts standard 49mm filters.

With a focal range of 7.2-50.8mm, the DiMAGE 7i's fast 7x zoom apochromatic (APO) lens is equivalent to a 28-200mm 35mm zoom lens. Your shooting options range from wide angle for expansive landscapes and confined interiors to telephoto for intimate portraits. The fast f2.8 to f3.5 aperture easily permits natural light shooting without a flash.

More Features
The DiMAGE 7i is the first Minolta digital camera to incorporate direct manual focus (DMF). DMF is found in professional-level film cameras like the award-winning Minolta Maxxum 7. It allows the focus to be fine-tuned manually, after the AF system has focused and locked on the subject.

The DiMAGE 7i has two displays for critical composition: grid and scale. Usually found in large-format view cameras, the grid makes aligning the camera with vertical or horizontal elements within the image simple. The grid confirms that the horizon or buildings are straight. The scale can be used in close-up photography to judge the relative proportions of the subject. The DiMAGE 7i is fitted with a new 1.8-inch low-temperature high-contrast color LCD monitor, which has an extended color gamut, contrast, and dynamic range.

For low-light situations, you can use the DiMAGE 7i's built-in flash, or use compatible external Minolta flashes. A wireless-remote flash function gives even more control over flash photography by allowing multiple off-camera Minolta flash units to be fired simultaneously by the camera, without cables.

You can record audio along with still images with the voice memo feature, allowing a 16-bit audio track of up to 15 seconds to be attached to an image after it has been captured.

Movie Mode
In movie mode, the DiMAGE 7i produces digital videos in multiple creative formats, including standard QVGA (320 x 240) color movies and monochrome night movies up to 60 seconds with 16-bit audio. The night-movie mode can record movie clips under extreme low-light conditions, while the interval function can produce a series of still images taken at regular intervals, or it can combine the images into a time-lapsed movie at any image size.

The limited resolution of your movies guarantees that this feature won't replace your camcorder, but it's perfect for when you just want to capture a quick movie and e-mail it to a friend or relative.

Storage and Transfer
Images are stored on CompactFlash memory cards, and the memory slot is compatible with CompactFlash Type II cards as well as Microdrives. The included 16 MB card holds approximately eight images at 2,560 x 1,920 pixel resolution (standard mode, high). CompactFlash cards are reusable, but you will definitely want a bigger card. A 128 MB card is a good starting point, but we recommend a 256 MB card to get the full benefit of the DiMAGE 7i.

To transfer images to your computer, simply attach the included USB cable between your PC and your camera--your computer should automatically recognize the camera and let you move the pictures to your hard drive.

Power
The camera is powered by four NiMH rechargeable batteries, which are included along with a battery charger.

Size
At 4.6 by 3.6 by 4.4 inches and 18.5 ounces, the DiMAGE 7i is definitely not an easily pocketable point-and-shoot camera.

Contents and Recommended Accessories
The package includes the DiMAGE 7i camera, 16 MB CompactFlash card, four NiMH rechargeable batteries, battery charger, neck strap, lens hood, lens cap with strap, USB and video cables, CD-ROM with DiMAGE Image View Utility software and drivers, and printed camera manual.

Everything you need to get started is included in the box, but we recommend additional NiMH batteries and a higher-capacity CompactFlash card.

The camera was designed to look and feel like a 35mm single reflex camera. It has a 7X optical zoom, which make a big difference if you are comparing zoom quality. As always, to me optical zoom is far better than digital zoom. Another nice feature to the camera is its manual zoom mechanism. This gives you a better control when zooming. The lens also has an adapter thread ring so you can add a whole lot of filters and lens effects. The option to add a hot shoe mount for the flash is another nice option that the Minolta people added to this camera.

One of the biggest complains to the Dimage 7 is that it consume batteries like a child eats candies. Its not the end of the world. Think positive. There are battery packs and rechargeable you can buy if you are not happy. But the best thing about the battery situation is it uses AA batteries and if you ran out, you can always go to a corner store and buy some. Or better yet, you can always take away that batteries you gave your kid for their hand held video games.


Minolta Dimage 7i personal review   June 20, 2002
 71 out of 74 found this review helpful

I researched many cameras in stores and on line. I wanted high pixel, lots of zoom and movie with sound. Nikon 5700 with 8x zoom is more expensive and was not available. Nikon 5000 does not compare in the zoom.
I was sold on the Minolta. I am still experimenting with all the amazing features. Automatic does a great job. I recommend reading the manual several times,,,, actually I study the manual and then practice on the actual camera. I bought an AC adapter and run an extension cord and practice on that and not use up the batteries,plus walk around the rooms taking pictures connected to the AC adapter...

This camera is like buying a small computer. I love it. It is the best buy out there for a 5+ pixel with the 60 second movie with sound. I love the macro switch for close up work! There is even a menu to shoot black and white if you need to do some art work. You can change so many variables and even label your files that will come up on the PC when you download. In the LDC screen there is a small keyboard that shows up so you type in your own name to a photo file. I also bought a compact flash reader that connects to your USB and I don't even have to download from the camera. Plus with my printer I can just put in the card and print directly. I also bought a compact flash card with more MB. It comes with Sanyo rechargeable batteries and the recharger. I can't say enough about how please I was to find this camera. And actually a review like this about a Dimage 7 helped me realize the Dimage 7i is the newer model with sound for the movie! The investment of $1000 is worth it. This camera's technology will be around for a long time. Have fun !!!


Special camera   July 27, 2002
 41 out of 42 found this review helpful

I've spent some time looking for a digital camera. I was looking for the best value in about ~[$$$]range and this camera is probably one of the best choices. What is so special in this camera?

- 28-200 zoom. It's very unusual to find a digital camera with zoom starting as low as 28 mm. And it makes a huge difference when you take pictures inside buildings. 28mm means significantly wider view then 35 or fourty something.
- Manual zoom. Many close competititors have motorized zoom. It's slow. Manual zoom gives you better control.
- Autofocus. It's just great. It's fast and if there is not enough light it switches to B&W mode so if you can see anything yourself in most cases your camera will be able to get autofocus to work.
- Manual focus. There is a ring and you can focus manually or tune after AF.
- EVF. Some people like optical viewfinders but keep in mind that on EVF you see what will be on your picture real time. Like if you shoot man on the snow you can see if his face too dark or too light before you press the button, not after.
- Lots of features. Minolta has probably the richest set of features in the class.

I really enjoy this camera. Highly, Highly recommended.


Dimage 7i   February 20, 2003
 41 out of 44 found this review helpful

I was very hesitant to buy a digital camera being an avid SLR fan.But I'm pleased to say the 7i has exceeded my expectations & I can say goodbye to conventional film. I've discovered it is a power hog but I've overcome this obstacle by purchasing 2 sets of Monster batteries(note the battteries that come with the camera are useless).I can shoot around 300 pictures w/flash no problem plus I have the ac adapter for home use when I'm snapping pictures of the kids.I can blow up my pictures to any size and the clarity is awesome! You lose no resolution.In fine I find I can take good action shots, when you get into superfine or RAW it takes the camera a few seconds to catch up to you. This camera is not for amateur's. It's too complex, but if you are an advanced photographer you will find this camera to be a thrill! You will need to purchase a flashcard a minimum of 256mb.I ordered a 256mb card because the 16 mb card that comes with this camera is a joke! You can take 1 picture in RAW or Superfine and maybe 8 in fine. I'm looking to get at least a GIG for vacations probably 2.Another important consideration is that this is compatible with Minolta Vectis SLR lenses & flash units a huge mark to its favor.


Makes film cameras obsolete   October 29, 2002
 38 out of 38 found this review helpful

Unlike other 5 megapixel SLRs, this one is reasonably priced, but still has every feature you could imagine. I discovered that standard resolution images, at about 1 MB each, are all you need to make 35mm quality 5x7 prints. I couldn't see any improvement at the fine resolution that requires twice as much memory, and superfine requires so much as to be impractical. The camera only comes with a 16 megabyte memory card, so you will want at least a 256 megabyte CompactFlash card which will store 150+ standard images. Advanced 35mm photographers will be pleased that this camera has all the features you expect on a quality SLR, such as shutter or aperture priority or manual exposure modes, spot metering, exposure and focus lock, auto/manual focus, etc. But on top of that you get the equivalent of a 28mm-200mm f2.8 macro zoom in an incredibly compact package, electronic versions of every color correction filter, a 2x digital zoom (on top of the 7x optical zoom; on my old 2 MP camera, digital zoom was worthless - on this camera I still got acceptable images with digital zoom) and the ability to change "film" speed (which affects the image noise level) from ISO 100 to ISO 800 whenever you want to get more sensitivity. There is also an adequate built in flash, or you can add an external flash. The lens is also threaded for external filters like a UV lens protector. Connection to my Windows XP PC was effortless.

Drawbacks: even with the best 1850 mAh NiMH batteries, this camera is very fast to warn you that your batteries are low, so be sure to get several sets of batteries and fast chargers (one set of batteries and a charger is included). And there are so many buttons and features, it takes a while to remember which feature or menu or option goes with which button; I think there's some logic to it, but I haven't figured it out yet. It does have a simple "put me back in dumb point-and-shoot mode" button, but a technophobe might not appreciate all the capabilities of this camera. Finally, the optional AC adapter is outrageously expensive, but generic ones are available for less than half the price.

Update: 1. If you have your heart set on using the "super-fine" mode, besides the fact that it uses a large amount of memory, be aware that the camera "goes dead" for about a minute while the image is written to the flash card. 2. At first I thought an optical SLR viewfinder would be better than electronic, but I really love this camera's EVF. It lets you see exactly how your shot will be exposed, which is really nice for critical high-contrast shots like landscapes. 3. Next, the camera seems to overexpose slightly outdoors, but this is readily apparent in the EVF and easily compensated for using the digital effects control. 4. Finally, if you want a Remote Cord, they are very expensive, as all the Minolta accessories seem to be.

Update 2: If you want more power than the built in flash, I've discovered that although this camera uses the same Minolta flashes as the Maxxums, generic dedicated flashes made for Maxxums WILL NOT work with this camera, so you have to buy a Minolta flash. The 3600HS(D) is the cheapest and a very nice flash, but still relatively very expensive if you just want a little more power than the built in flash.