KONICA MINOLTA DiMAGE A2
Konica Minolta high-end digital camera
A Review and Photo example of the DiMAGE A2 digital cameras.
Table of contents
Gallery
Review
1．Usage
The DiMAGE A2 is a Konica Minolta digital camera.
I caught this camera because it was being sold for four figures at a certain camera shop’s New Year’s junk sale. This camera was originally priced at 140,000 yen, so I was able to use it at a reasonable price because it was an old model.
The reason it was junk was because the EVF was not working properly, and when I searched for information on the web, I found similar EVF-related problems. It seems that this model’s proud 922,000 pixel EVF will wear out due to aging, but fortunately the rear LCD screen can be used normally, so there is no problem with shooting or setting.
The successor model, the DiMAGE A200, released nine months later, has a regressed EVF to the same specifications as the DiMAGE A1, probably due to cost reduction, so it can be seen that the A2’s EVF was cutting edge and expensive at the time.
The wide-angle 28mm (7.2mm) lens has a barrel distortion of about 4% when shooting distant landscapes in Raw, and the distortion is noticeable when shooting buildings, so correction is required during development. I don’t use it much, but the 50mm to 200mm (13mm to 50mm) has a clear image without distortion.
The lens is designed in the same way as the MINOLTA SLR lenses, and I really like the design, including the gold lines. The DiMARGE high-magnification zoom series was released with the series model numbers DiMARGE 5, 7, 7Hi, A1, A2, and A200. Since the same lens has been used throughout the series, it has not changed since 2001, and by 2004, when the A2 was released, the design felt old, with distortion on the wide-angle side.
The AF speed is slow, and at night or with subjects that are difficult to distinguish, the AF focus mark will light up and the shutter will be released even if the subject is not in focus. It is difficult to determine the focus state with the 130,000 pixel rear LCD, and I think the problem would be alleviated if I could use the 920,000 pixel EVF, but as mentioned above, the EVF on the camera I have is dead.
Images captured on sunny days are generally fine, but because the sensor size is small, there are times when white blowout, black crush, and noise in dark places are noticeable.
The camera is equipped with a sensor-shift type image stabilization mechanism, but because it is an early version of the image stabilization mechanism, overestimating its effectiveness can result in blurry photos.
2．Overview
The DiMage A2 is a lens-integrated digital camera released by Konica Minolta in 2004.
The specifications are summarized in the table below, but the main specifications are an 8 megapixel CCD sensor, a 922,000 pixel EVF, and a lens that covers 28mm to 200mm in 35mm format. The AntiShake sensor-moving image stabilization is an early device that compensates for blur in three steps.
The accessory shoe has an original MINOLTA shape, so if you are looking for a flash, you will need to look for one made by MINOLTA. The PROGRAM FLASH 3600HS(D), 5600HS(D), and 2500(D) are compatible products. As of 2023, all of them are available at low prices.
The recording media is a compact flash, and with firmware 1.1.3j or later, media of 4GB or more can be used. The raw image format is MRW (short for Minolat RaW?), and each image is 12.1MB. If you use an 8GB media, you can shoot about 600 shots with only Raw recording, but the shot counter on the camera body will not go above 352.
The battery is the same lithium-ion battery NP-400 as the α7 Digital, and the same voltage and shape are used in various models such as the SIGMA SD14 and PENTAX K20D, so it is fortunate that it is still easy to obtain on the market as of 2024. I was able to shoot about 150 shots with a slightly worn-out battery, so photographers who take a lot of shots will probably need a spare.
Regarding the firmware, the unit I own seems to be running firmware 1.1.4j, the final version, but as of January 2023, the KENKO TOKINA website, which took over maintenance, seems to have deleted all information on KONICA MINOLTA products, and it is no longer possible to obtain the firmware.
The firmware information for the Dimage A2 is available on KONICA MINOLTA EUROPE, although it is written in English and may not be applicable if it is managed by region.
I hope Japanese manufacturers will also keep as much information about their old products as possible. There is a possibility that the products you created are still in use.
3．Comparison with competitors
2004 was the peak of the lens-integrated digital camera era, when Nikon released the CoolPix 8400 and 8700, and Olympus released the C-8080, both with the same 2/3-inch sensor. Also, during this time, interchangeable lens APS-C size sensor digital cameras such as the α7 Digital were released at slightly higher prices, and sales of this camera were becoming difficult.
If this body had a sensor of 1 inch or more, the position of the camera may have been different, but it seems that the ideal form has been inherited by its direct descendants, the Sony RX100 series, the Panasonic TZ, FZ, TX series, and the LEICA V-LUX series. The fact that cameras of this format still exist in 2024 suggests that the aim of this camera was not bad.
Specification and Competitor
| Item | DiMARGE A1 | DiMARGE A2 | DiMARGE A200 |
| Camera Effective Pixels | 5 megapixels | 8 megapixels | ← |
| focal length (distance) | 7.2〜50.8mm F2.8〜3.2 (35mm format ：28mm〜200mm) | ← | ← |
| Lens configuration | 16elements 13group | ← | ← |
| image sensor | 2/3 sensor | ← | ← |
| image processing | SUPHEED CxProcess III | SUPHEED CxProcess II | SUPHEED II CxProcess III |
| back LCD | 1.8 inch 118,000 pixels Tilt | 1.8 inch 134,000 pixels Tilt | 1.8 inch 134,000 pixels variegated angle |
| viewfinder | 0.44-inch, 235,000 pixels Tilt | 0.44-inch 923,000 pixels Tilt | 0.44-inch, 235,000 pixels Tilt |
| battery | lithium-ion battery （NP-400） | ← | ← |
| Dimensions (mm) | Width x Height x Depth 117 × 85 × 113.5 | ← | Width x Height x Depth 114 × 80 × 115 |
| Weight (g) (body only) | Approx. 560 | Approx. 565 | Approx. 505 |
| Release year | Sep. 2003 | Feb. 2004 | Nov. 2004 |
| Price(Yen) | 130,000（Open） | 140,000（Open） | 100,000（Open） |
| Tele-converter ACT-100 | Wide-converter AWT-100 | |
| Lens configuration | 5elements 3group | 3elements 3group |
| converter magnification | x 1.5 | x 0.8 |
| Composite Focal Length | 76.2mm (35mm film equivalent: approx. 300mm) | 5.8mm (35mm film equivalent: approx. 22mm) |
| composite aperture | Unchanged | ← |
| Size | φ89×80mm | φ89×36mm |
| Weight (g) | 500g | 250g |
| Supported models | DiMAGE 7i/7Hi/A1/A2 | ← |
| Note | Use at the telephoto end of the body lens | Use at the wide end of the body lens |
Options
- Grip
- Tele-converter ACT-100
- Wide-converter AWT-100
After purchasing the camera, I got optional lens converters, a teleconverter (AWT-100) and a wide-angle converter (ACT-100). Although these are camera options from nearly 20 years ago, there were quite a few listings on Yahoo! Auctions and Mercari, and I was able to get them on Yahoo! Auctions for a few thousand yen. The item I got had some scratches on the exterior and scratches on the lens, but it was not in a condition that affected the image.
Both are huge converters, and when attached to the camera, the impression of the camera changes.
The wide-angle converter multiplies the angle of view by 0.8, making the lens a wide-angle lens of 28*0.8=22.4mm, but the distortion, which is 4% at 28mm, worsens to 8%. The instructions for the wide-angle converter state that the focal length of the lens should be fixed at the 28mm position by turning the macro switch, so when this is attached, the camera becomes a 22.4mm prime lens camera. The amplification of distortion is a concern, but it is fun as a wide-angle lens.
Although there is a warning that the teleconverter should only be used at the telephoto end, when I attached the teleconverter and zoomed, I could see a large amount of kicking at focal lengths of 42mm to 150mm (35mm equivalent, actual focal length 28mm to 100mm). When zooming, I supported the teleconverter while turning the zoom ring. Even so, it’s a bit scary to shoot outdoors with a teleconverter attached in the extended position (focal length 200mm position), which is heavier than a wide-angle converter.
It feels like the lens barrel will break if you don’t support the teleconverter all the time.
The teleconverter and wide-angle converter were sold with a list price of 49,800 yen. If you buy them as a set with a camera, it should be close to 200,000 yen even with a 20% discount, so I think that people who bought them at the time of release were either hobbyists who fell in love with the system and took the plunge, or wealthy. The lens converter is a screw-in type with a diameter of 49mm, so it can be used for other lenses, but since the performance is not that high, I don’t think there is any need to do so.
Reference links
- DiMAGE A1 KONICA MINOLTA News release
- DiMAGE A2 KONICA MINOLTA News release
- DiMAGE A200 KONICA MINOLTA News release
- Pc-watch DiMAGE A1 article
- Pc-watch DiMAGE A2 article
- Pc-watch DiMAGE A200 article
Update history
- 2024.10.19
- 2023.1.24
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