Design and construction

Cheaper, smaller and lighter Dynax/Maxxum 5D launched

Note - If you have come straight to this page, you may want to go to page 1 first as this has been revised after feedback from Konica Minolta UK.

Origins The Konica Minolta Dynax/Maxxum 7D is directly developed from the Dynax/Maxxum 7 film SLR (below). Much of the retained controls from the 7 are in the same places on the 7D's body. Even the large mono status LCD legends from the 7 are similarly reproduced on the big 2.5 inch colour LCD of the 7D. One immediately noticeable difference is the tilting of the exposure compensation knob via the 7D's dropped 'shoulder' and another is the styling of the top of the pentaprism that incorporates the pop-up flash unit.
Although the 7D shares a lot with the original 7 film SLR (above) a quick glance, especially at the front, doesn't instantly indicate this.
The hand-sensitive grip, which forms part of the 7's automated autofocus and auto exposure activation system, has also been dropped, though the proximity sensors that served the 7's Eye Start system remain. Konica Minolta UK's digital camera product manager, Paul Genge, comments: "The two sensors below the viewfinder are not light sensors, they are proximity sensors, just as with reversing sensors on the back of executive cars. We have been using them since 1992 with the introduction of the Dynax 7xi. Since then we have used them in ten Dynax SLR film cameras and six DiMAGE digital cameras.

"They have been used for different purposes with both product types. In Dynax they were used in combination with grip sensors for a feature called Eye Start that was tasked with starting the AF without the pressing of the shutter release button partway. The grip sensors detected moisture in your skin and knew that the camera was being held.

"As the camera was brought to the user's eye the proximity sensors detected this and activated the Eye Start. In the Xi series from 1992 cameras were launched with Xi lenses that also provided automatic composition of the subject using the lens' zoom. This was stopped in the following si series as consumer demand was not great enough.

"In the DiMAGE 7 and A series, as well as the one 5 model, all have proximity sensors. These alternate the view between the EVF and rear LCD according to whether the camera is being held away from or close to the user's face. This technology remains exclusive to Konica Minolta."

Controls and exterior features identified
(Front of camera, above) A: Front control dial, B: Shutter release button, C: White balance dial, D: White balance button, E: Pop-up flash (not deployed), F: Konica Minolta proprietary flash hot shoe (cover on), G: Lens release button, H: AF mode selector, I: Self timer lamp.
(Rear of camera, above) A: Playback/review button, B: Delete button, C: Image preview magnify/zoom button, D: Display mode button, E: Menu button, F: On/off power switch, G: Flash exposure compensation dial, H: Exposure compensation knob (with central release button), I: Eye-level viewfinder eyepiece (with dioptre adjustment), J: Proximity sensor for automatically switching display on and off, K: Exposure mode selector knob with central release button, L: Drive mode dial, M: Auto exposure lock button and exposure meter area mode selector, N: White balance mode selector, O: Direct Manual Focus (DMF) switch, Q: Rear control dial, R: Lip for opening compact flash slot flap, S: Four-way navigation pad and AF point selector button in centre, T: Focus area selector, U: Memory card busy indicator lamp, V: Anti-shake mode selector, W: Memory set button, X: ISO speed select button, Y: LCD status and preview monitor screen, Z: Screen protect attachment locators.
Above is a photographer's eye view of the camera – virtually everything apart from the AF mode selector is visible
Minolta has used a proprietary flash shoe (above) fitment for some time
You can just see (above) that the status display remains active while the camera is switched on, even when the back light has switched off
There aren't many other digital cameras that have dedicated dials for flash and non-flash exposure compensation
This close up shows the white balance mode selector and the exposure mode dial, with its three custom function memory settings. The shutter release button is unfashionably close in to the body
On the underside of the exposure mode selector knob is the drive mode selector. You can also see the exposure meter area mode selector. On my sample pre-production camera this was too easily knocked into the left-most spot meter mode position
With the large screen accommodated there is precious little space for the numerous controls but Konica Minolta's design risen to the challenge well and the space is used well without over-compromising usability
Above is the AF mode selector. The 'A' setting stands for Automatic AF and leaves the camera to choose between single shot (S) and Continuous (C) depending on the subject's motion. MF, of course, is manual focus mode
No difficulty was encountered inserting or removing compact flash cards
There has been some speculation about whether or not the 7D supports Lexar's Write Acceleration (WA) for reducing memory card read/write times. Paul Genge answers: "Konica Minolta is not a partner of the Lexar Write Acceleration scheme. We do have ongoing agreements with Lexar, also Sandisk and IBM/Hitachi for compatibility of memory cards in all digital products. WA is not part of that program at this time, should this change we will announce it."

We were issued 1GB Sandisk Ultra II cards, which are at the top-end of memory card performance and we experienced no negative performance issues in this respect.

As there was no RAW processing software available, we used best quality JPEG mode. File sizes ranged between just under 2MB to just over 3.5MB. In our cameras the JPEG file extension used was, unusually, .JPE rather than.JPG or .JPEG. Thumbnail files (.THM) of around 5K in size were also created by the camera for each image shot. (Note - I have since discovered that the .JPE file extension and .THM thumbnails are there because I set the camera to Embedded Adobe RGB mode. sRGB JPEGs carry the standard .JPG file extension and there is no accompanying thumbnail image and RAW files carry the .MRW file extension plus a thumbnail. Thanks goes to Trevor Nicholson for pointing this out.)

The high-speed USB 2.0 port lies under the compact flash compartment door, but this incorporates a little hatch for access without needing to open the door
The external DC power socket is covered by a very flimsy rubber flap…
…as is the PC sync flash socket above
Meanwhile, the remote control cable connector gets its own sliding hatch
There isn't a great deal to say about the underside of the body, though a possible area of weakness for wear and tear is the base of the rubber grip, which is quite thin and not entirely bonded to the body at the edges. Just to the right of the Anti-Shake logo is the depth of field preview switch
Finally, the battery, which looks much like its competitors' but makes do with just two contacts.
We don't have any shots of the camera with the lens off, which was our oversight (these pictures were rather hurriedly taken in the hotel we were staying in rather than at leisure back at the office). But we'll put that right when we get our production sample camera to review.

On the final page in this revised article, we look at a selection of camera menus.


Konica Minolta official Dynax/Maxxum 7d press release and specifications
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