Reviews for Konica Minolta DiMAGE 7Hi 5 Megapixel Bridge Camera - Black

Konica Minolta DiMAGE 7Hi 5 Megapixel Bridge Camera...

Strengths: Use of standard AA batteries (no mfgr-specials) Extremely wide magnification range, from 28mm wide angle to 210mm tele. Very small shutter lag. Histogram lets you determine correct lighting.

Weakness: Autofocus isn't. Filter ring is so small you'll get vignetting if you use any filters with wide angle magnifications [get a step up ring and 62mm or larger filters to prevent this]. Noise at high IS

I'm a Minolta fanatic, having owned both SRT and Maxxums -- I bought this camera to replace a Sony F505V (2.0Megapixel) that went belly up after over 10,000 pictures. I take thousands of pictures of marching bands every year -- they generally don't move very fast, but you want to catch everyone in a good position.
This camera had great promise, but it never made it due to the autofocus problem. At 28mm widest, I could fit most of a football field (with marching band) in the picture. Sadly, it was not meant to be. In the end, I had to use manual focussing (with its resulting lost time) to get pictures that weren't blurry; for a 5MP camera, I was getting worse results than with the preceeding 2.0MP camera. I finally replaced this camera with a Sony F717, which let me snap off a zillion crystal clear in-focus pictures of my band on the field. Minolta customer service never managed to help me solve this problem; even a firmware upgrade didn't help. I gave this camera to my daughter for a photography class, and she (and her instructor) had exactly the same problems, so it wasn't user error.

I'm really sorry this Minolta didn't work out -- it makes me gunshy against trying any other Minolta product in the future.

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Konica Minolta DiMAGE 7Hi 5 Megapixel Bridge Camera...

Strengths: Very good to excellent pictures, tons of customization, fast focusing, nice internal buffer size, available at good prices- since it's discontinued.

Weakness: Moderate image noise in lower-light situations or in contrasty scenes.

I've owned several digital cameras, including the nearly legendary Coolpix 995. The 7hi is a very good camera that's available at an excellent price. The enormous amount of customization in features and shooting modes makes this camera more of a pro-sumer grade model, as some of the options may be too complex and confusing for those just looking for a point-and-shoot camera. The lens is fantastic (indeed, this camera has the same lens that the new A1 and A2 have), and the controls are very well laid out and easy to use.

The only negative that I can find about the camera is that some images do have more noise than I'd like to see. Not unlike older, grainy 400speed 35mm film, you will get noise in most shots if you look hard enough. Don't bother using the camera at ISO 400 or 800, as most of your pictures will come up so grainy that they're almost impossible to use. You can improve the noise in post-processing, however. And the noise only becomes apparent in printing 8x10's or larger .

The other complaint that many people make is battery life. It is true that the Dimage 7 series cameras love batteries. But if you use some comon sense and buy good NiMH batteries you won't have a problem. You simply can't use alkaline batteries in this camera. The included 1850 mAh NiMH batteries are made by Sanyo, and are not very good. I can get 30ish shots on them before they battery status goes from good to low, and another 20 or so before they give out completely, with a charger that takes 8 hours to recharge - that's pretty bad. I had read from reviews that the 7hi needed good batteries and purchased 4 Energizer NiMH 1850 mAh w/ a 15-minute charger for $20, and 4 Energizer 2100 mAh for $10 at the local W-Mart before I even bought the camera. The Energizer 1850's last about twice as long as the Sanyo's, and the with the 2100's I can take over 200 photos before they even report a low battery. I shot about 500MB worth of photos at a recent event over the course of 3 hours on the 2100's. There are other batteries that are even better than the Energizers, so I've read. There isn't a problem with battery life *if* you use some good NiMH batteries.

Just go buy yourself some 2100 (or greater) mAh NiMH batteries and you will have no problems with this camera.

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Konica Minolta DiMAGE 7Hi 5 Megapixel Bridge Camera...

Strengths: good image

Weakness: very bad company support.

we had a horrific experience with the company when we sent defective camera back for repair. we finally are having camera sent back to us so we can have the problem remedied at our expense. caveat emptor !!

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Konica Minolta DiMAGE 7Hi 5 Megapixel Bridge Camera...

Weakness: short battery tim; poor pic quality; manual zoom

battery sucker. what's worse is the color/pixel. it is very blotchy and grainy. the CCD is the worst as I ever see. pic quality is worse than 3 MP Nikon Coolpix. Don't buy it !!!

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Konica Minolta DiMAGE 7Hi 5 Megapixel Bridge Camera...

Strengths: Speed, powerful built in flash and features laden for a camera you can grow with(price gone south since A1 took over which is a good thing for discriminating consumer on a budget)

Weakness: 7x Zoom photos tend to be blurry since it's prone to hand shakes. You need a very steady hand or tripod to get a sharp photo. Steep learning curve and not recommended for digital camera novices.

I had this camera for a few days and loves it. The quality is absolutely amazing and the features that come with this camera blows me away. Photo is crisp sharp, excellent contrast and color vibrant-all with controlable settings. Once you burn through the manuals you will love the various options available. This is one camera you can grow with.

I didn't have any problem with the battery life which plaques many as I used the newest and most powerful MAHA Powerex 2200 Ni-Mh rechargeble batteries. Definitely a great buy for less than $600. 5mb with 7x zooms and not to mention it's best wide angle 28mm in the digital camera arena(the only one for now at this price range beside the latest Minolta A1 costing $250 more).

Grab one before the present stock went dry.

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Konica Minolta DiMAGE 7Hi 5 Megapixel Bridge Camera...

Strengths: Very high image quality. Excellent ergonomics. Super zoom.

Weakness: Battery life; 800 ISO noise; focus search.

This camera has excellent image quality. It feels wonderful in the hand. The electronic viewfinder is a bit difficult to get used to though. There is some high ISO noise, but it can be cleared up in photoshop. It does eat batteries terribly, and this is a major drawback. Just keep supplied. Also, when erasing an image, it sometimes puts the rest of the images in another file and you don't realize it, and you may think you've erased the whole card. Be carefu1l! The many modes of manipulation are wonderful. All in all, a fine instrument to recommend. The manual must be read backwards and forwards to get all the features.

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Konica Minolta DiMAGE 7Hi 5 Megapixel Bridge Camera...

Strengths: Image Quality, simplicity of use without reading manual, lense focal length range, feels solid in the hand.

Weakness: Battery life - eats batteries for between meal snacking. Had auto-focus problems in low light

This camera has been a joy to use.
I've combined it with a Microdrive and enjoyed "endless" phototaking, snapping shots at the highest res (2.5Kx2K) and processing them down to desired size at home. I also have several sets of batteries with me so that the battery life hasn't been a true problem, but would be if I only had one set. (Short battery life could be due to the Microdrive's battery usage - I've never used the camera without a Microdrive installed.)
Some of the images have been breathtaking, wonderful color saturation, contrast and never a problem auto-white-balance. The wide angle lense enabled capturing images of entire buildings I hadn't been able to take with the DV camcorder.
The camera's build and ruggedness is high, so I've been able to carry it around in my backpack with the water, flashlight, cliffbars, umbrella, etc. My vacation photos turned out very well. The company Christmas party images were a mix of excellent and blurry due to low lighting and inability of autofocus to get the desired target. (If I had read the manual, I would have been able to switch to manual focus.) Photos of the local San Francisco architecture are very pretty. I like the way it feels in my hands.
I'd give it a "5 star" rating, but haven't used another digital camera. I can't say it's "the best", but I can say it's "very good".
I'm not missing 35mm film at all, and I've refound my connection to an art form that I'd forgotten had been so integral to my being.!

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Konica Minolta DiMAGE 7Hi 5 Megapixel Bridge Camera...

Strengths: A remarkable instrument. I come from a Nikon SLR with a 28-200 Nikon zoom lens. I am used to a film camera, in quality of image and physical operation. This camera will now replace everything I own.

Weakness: Get an AC adaptor to save juice when you're editing or downloading. Get 2100 batteries, they last longer. Get a big card, 128, you'll use it. Battery life is part of the deal with digital.

28-200 zoom is everything you need. Double it in the camera and you're twice as cool. Minolta beats Nikon in ease of use and ergonomics. This camera rivals pro 6 megapixel images I've seen. No one will believe you shot these pictures digitally.

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Minolta DiMAGE 7Hi

I've just completed my review of a production-level Dimage 7Hi from Minolta. This is yet another update to Minolta's very successful Dimage 7 design, which was rev'd earlier this year to the Dimage 7i. The faster autofocus speed and reduced shutter delay of the 7i are retained, as were the myriad other improvements in that model. While not as sweeping a set of upgrades as we saw in the 7i, the...

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