If only ...

[beachluvr]

I just received my Konica Minolta 5D. It is a great value for the price, I'll post a mini-review after I get a chance to use it a bit. After KM's marketing decision the 5D started disappearing from stores and online within minutes and as of January 29 they seem to be almost gone. Those few dealers who have them quickly bumped the price up! It's not the best cameras ever made but might be best-in-class for many users. KM's transferring their technology and support to Sony should have no impact on us customers. None of these sub-$1000 are "professional" cameras, most people who buy a D50, D70, Rebel or the Pentax/Olympus or other equivalents are looking for something to use for general purpose photography (as opposed to snapshots). For me the Anti-Shake was the tiebreaker for more reasons than I can list. What almost decided against the 5D for me was the lack of a status screen. KM insisted that after they put on the external controls and huge LCD on the camera there was absolutely no room for a status screen. I disagree, and submit the attached rudimentary illustration to show how it could have been done. If only ...

[coldrain]

Haha, nice idea.

[beachluvr]

My lens (the KM 18 - 200) won't be here until tomorrow so I've been playing around with the 5D body and reading the manual. I'm impressed with the quality of the manual, a good manual is all too rare for products like cameras. Nikon and Canon owners please don't take offense (remember I am a life-long Nikon user), but the in-hand feel of the 5D body just feels "so right" to me, everything falls to hand and feels just a little more robust than comparatively priced Canons or Nikons. Many reviewers seem to be getting a bit bored with the flood of new DSLRs because they are all good. When I pat myself on the back for chosing the 5D I don't mean to criticize the other brands. I took a leap buying a brand I've never owned and I'm hoping my choice will serve my needs for a versatile, well-made camera that turns out some decent images.

[Clyde]

My lens (the KM 18 - 200) Nikon and Canon owners please don't take offense (remember I am a life-long Nikon user), but the in-hand feel of the 5D body just feels "so right" to me, everything falls to hand and feels just a little more robust than comparatively priced Canons or Nikons.

I took a leap buying a brand I've never owned and I'm hoping my choice will serve my needs for a versatile, well-made camera that turns out some decent images.

While there may be a few who think you are hopelessly lost because you didn't buy their brand, most of us recognize that every purchase presents different considerations. Be it a legacy of lenses, or simply prefering one cameras button layout, different people chose different cameras for reasons that are often very good. We are aware that Jeff finishes his reviews with a sentence something like this:

"As always, I strongly recommend trying the XXX#XXX and its competitors before you drop the big bucks on a camera!"

Though I am a canon owner, I believe I can summarize the general impression of most DSLR forum posters here, be they nikon, canon, pentax, fuji, or XXX#XXX owners:

"Congratulations on purchasing a great camera. Now you will not be able to blame your camera for bad photos. We look forward to seeing your photos as you experiment."


Clyde

[beachluvr]

While there may be a few who think you are hopelessly lost because you didn't buy their brand, most of us recognize that every purchase presents different considerations ... now you will not be able to blame your camera for bad photos.

Very true. As I have said many times, a shoebox with a pinhole in the right hands can create a better photograph than the world's most expensive camera. Having owned Nikon, Rolleflex, Hasselblad, Zeiss Contax and other fine brands I'm not about to compare my new Konica Minolta 5D to them or any other brand or model. I bought the camera to fill my own personal needs, which (for this camera) is something that I can take anywhere and be prepared to take pictures of family, travels, hobbies like cars, nature and some creative stuff. I have a drawer full of pocket point-and-shoots that are always around for quickie snapshots but I missed the control an SLR gave me. The current breed of sub-$1000 cameras from Canon, Nikon, Pentax, etc are all good and are all a step up from almost any fixed lens camera.

[Rambler358]

That info on your makeshift status screen, already shows on the LCD - so I'm not exactly sure what you're asking for?

[beachluvr]

That info on your makeshift status screen, already shows on the LCD - so I'm not exactly sure what you're asking for?

Not something that troubles me much or that I personally am asking for. The illustration was simply to show that KM could have done something that some would say wasn't possible.

Like I said it "almost" made a difference to me until I realized I could live without a status screen. But a lot of users and reviewers seem to think it's an issue. The advantage on a SLR of a small status screen is you don't have to light the whole LCD, which not only uses more battery power, but more importantly can be a distraction in certain application. A status screen uses almost no power in daylight, and if it has a backlight it is much more discreet for nighttime photography.

On my 5D I use the status info in the viewfinder and have little need to light the big LCD.

[Rambler358]

When you take your eye away from the viewfinder, the LCD is your status display - showing that info and more. So I don't know why you'd even want the status screen.

[beachluvr]

When you take your eye away from the viewfinder, the LCD is your status display - showing that info and more. So I don't know why you'd even want the status screen.

Answer: The advantage on a SLR of a small status screen is you don't have to light the whole LCD, which not only uses more battery power, but more importantly can be a distraction in certain application. A status screen uses almost no power in daylight, and if it has a backlight it is much more discreet for nighttime photography.