Konica Minolta DiMage A2 Digital Camera

Konica Minolta DiMage A2 Digital Camera, originally uploaded by Capt Kodak.

Manufactured 2004 by Konica Minolta Holdings, Inc. of Japan. An �SLR-Like� 8.0 Megapixel digital camera. It used a Minolta GT 28mm to 200mm (equivalent in 35mm film camera) f/2.8-3.5 lens and a 2/3 inch CCD to produce a 8.0 Megapixels or 3264x2448 pixels image. Like the A1 before it, the A2 had a unique image stabilization system that actually moves the CCD sensor to adjust for camera movement. I�ve personally used it to hand hold exposures down to 1/10 of a second that come out tack sharp! This became so successful, it was used on into the Maxxum digital SLRs and then to the Sony Alpha line. Storage was to Compact Flash cards or MicroDrive. It had a TTL metering system selectable to either multi Segment Metering, Center-Weighted Average or Spot mode. This supported operation modes of full Program, Aperture preferred automatic, Shutter preferred automatic and fully manual. It also had special program �Scene� modes: Portrait, Sports, Sunset, Night and Text. Up to four sets of camera settings could also be saved and recalled by the user. It simulated ISO ratings of 64 to 800. It was NOT interchangeable lens, but did give the feel of a small 35mm SLR�especially with the accessory grip show here (which held an additional Lithium-Ion battery or could be fitted with six AA Lithium or NiMH batteries in a pinch). It could shoot continuously for at approx. 2.7 fps for 3 images and supported shutter speeds up to 1/4000 of a second. There was no optical viewfinder�it used an electronic viewfinder using a Ferroelectric LCD (similar to DiMage 5, but higher resolution) that could be swiveled upwards through 90 degrees, provided a frame coverage of 100%, had diopter adjustment and an automatic mode to detect locality of eye to turn it on. It could even shoot short movie clips! It used high end Minolta accessories such as dedicated flash units and wired remote controls. It could focus as close as 4 inches in macro mode. It had a small built-in flash which could perform red-eye reduction or do fill flash outdoors. It used contrast detection to focus. Manual focus was provided by an electronic "focus by wire" ring at rear of lens barrel and �manual focus after autofocus� was an option. In short�you could do just about anything you could do (and some things you couldn�t) with a high end 35mm SLR on the market at that time EXCEPT change the lens. It was powered by a NP-400 Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery (7.4V 1500mAh).

See also: www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Konica_Minolta/konicaminol...