Digital Trends

Konica Minolta Maxxum 5D

September 15th, 2005 | by David Elrich

Conclusion

If you owned an older Minolta camera and have a collection of Minolta A-mount lenses, choosing this $899 D-SLR is a no-brainer; it's an excellent D-SLR. The brain buster occurs for folks with a clean slate and are surveying the ever-growing D-SLR landscape, some of the better 7- and 8MP digicams or the wild card 10.3MP $999 Sony DSC-R1 due November 20th. Although I really liked this camera, I was just slightly disappointed by the overall quality since I love my eye candy. Yes it took very nice photos indoors and out and some of the prints were lovely. Yet they weren't as good as the 8-megapixel Canon Rebel XT. I even tweaked saturation levels and it really didn't help that much. Even though that camera is nowhere near as sophisticated as the 5D and is less solidly built, I'd opt for pure picture firepower. It's amazing to say but 6MP really doesn't stand out in 2005—especially if you like large prints as I do or have reviewed many 7- and 8-megapixels cameras. Safe to say, most D-SLR owners like large prints for their walls, friends and family. And I have my eye on the DSC-R1, the updated version of the DSC-F828 with a 24-120mm lens. Although non-interchangeable this is a good, convenient focal length. I vividly remember getting sick and tired of swapping lenses on my old classic Nikon F2 and buying one of the first point-and-shoot 35mm cameras with a 35-105mm zoom. Although it didn't have the cachet of a Nikon, that Olympus IS1 did the job. I hate to punt but if you're a true photo enthusiast without Minolta lenses in the closet the 8.2-megapixel Canon EOS20D is the best bet for D-SLR buyers. At $1,299 for the body only, it's no bargain but it is a great camera, generally considered the finest “non professional” D-SLR. Then again I might wait for that 10-megapixel Sony. Choice is really a terrible thing...

Pros:

• Very sturdy, hefty build
• Accurate color, fine detail
• Extensive manual adjustments
• Excellent battery life (550 shots per CIPA standard)
• Uses affordable CF cards

Cons:

• Images don't “sing”
• Fairly step learning curve for beginners
• Much, much heavier than a point-and-shoot
• Also much more expensive
• LCD could be better