A 200 What's it like?

[Geoff Chandler]

Does anyone out there own, or has anyone tried the A200? I am interested to know what it's like compared to some of the competition. It seems to have a lot going for it. Even if it isn't maybe the very best in some areas, it may win some over. I like the idea of a manual zoom, the decent zoom range, good adjustments to contrast, sharpnes etc. Plus it's not as large as some of the others in this class. On the downside - I am not so sure about the 8mpx quality, the noise at higher ASA (like most non dSLR).
I'd be interested in your comments
Geoff

[Geoff Chandler]

Oh dear - sorry about that question - it was only afterwards that I spotted some chat about it.
I wasn't comparing it with the Oly8080 or the Nik8800 actualy - as I think it is a bit smaller and cheaper - so I was pitting it in my head against the Oly C-7070. I quite fancy the IS & the zoom ring & the extra zoom range from 28mm
Not sure how good it actually is though.
Never mind
Geoff

[Rex914]

Got a related question on the big brother, the A-2. Many of the reviews said that the A-2 would be a dream camera if it weren't for the softness problems. Jeff suggested that this actually quality control rather than an inherent flaw in the camera. If this is true, has KM smoothed things out or is there still a good chance of getting a "lemon?"

[David678]

A200 is a good camera but the 800X600 movie quality is 30% worse compare to Dimage Z2.

[Geoff Chandler]

Don't really use the video facility, least ways I haven't yet on my Oly UZ. The A200? Feels quite plasticky. Nice zoom range, but that too feels uneven and plasticky. Can't really make my mind up about it. I think I favour the Oly C-7070 but haven't done the direct comparison in a shop yet. The difference between 110mm and 200mm is not as huge as I thought it would be. The oly feels far more substantial. However - I like the IS and the natural quality of the pics.
Geoff

[Geoff Chandler]

Plastic feel aside.

Has anyone got one, or had one a while with an opinion goood or bad - some say it produces soft images - but that seems to be at the default 'lower contrast & sharpness than most' settings. Can a good sharp result be produced without post processing. It should be possible with all the tweakability on it - unless the lens is not up to it, or something...
Any comments???

Geoff Chandler

[Rex914]

Wasn't it the A2 that produced the soft images, not the A-200?

I think the A-200 has been doomed to not selling so well. I'm actually seeing the A2 sold at cheaper prices in brick and mortar stores ($700) than the supposedly cheaper A200 ($700-$800). Even the though the A2 has the softness flaw (might be fixed by now), there's so much more going for it than the A200 like its stellar EVF.

[Zutonic]

I got the A200 because I wanted a camera I could carry around nice and easily when I didn't want to haul my Canon 10D and a load of lenses around. I've had it about... a week and a half now, and so far I'm very happy with it.

The anti-shake system really does work well. I took a tele-macro shot at 1/15 sec and it came out nice and sharp. It doesn't work every single time at really slow speeds, but it does most of the time, and gives you a very good chance of getting a sharp shot compared to no chance of getting a sharp shot.

The mechanical zoom for the lens is very nice to have, especially as I'm used to it on SLR lenses. Manual focussing isn't wonderful using the LCD screen or the EVF, but it does get easier the more you use it. I can get sharp shots using manual focus nearly all the time, but it does take much longer to make sure everything is sharp, compared to an SLR viewfinder.

The image quality is very good. The sensor and lens pick up a lot of small details, more than I was expecting from a non-SLR. Noise is no problem at all at ISO 50 and 100, and at 200 you probably wouldn't notice it on smaller prints. I wouldn't go above 200 though personally (although you could probably get good 6x4 inch prints from ISO 400 and 800 images).

Luckily, even though I'm in England (where people will die of shock if they wake up and it isn't overcast outside :)) I've found that I usually don't have to go above ISO 50 anyway, thanks to the fast f/2.8 lens and the anti-shake system.

Things that let it down are the speed of the autofocus, which can sometimes be very pedestrian. It also fails to lock on at all every now and then. It's not too bad though, as it has been able to lock onto our black cat, sleeping on a dark blue suitcase. If you don't shoot too many action shots though, it's not too bad. Not great, but it's certainly not so bad that it makes me think I bought a bad camera. For most things, it isn't a problem.

So, I would definitely recommend it as a very good (if a little slow) camera. I don't know about anywhere else, but at the mo it's much cheaper than the A2 in England. I got mine for £429 and the cheapest I could see the A2 for was just over £500. Oh, and I've had no problems with soft images on my A200.

[Geoff Chandler]

Well - I ended up getting one. I discussed it with Jim Last and we decided that there won't be such a thing as a perfect camera - so you have to find the one that does the most things you want it to.
Jessops were great - they gave me a very good discount after I showed them a bargain price from another shop. They were also very helpfull with all the other incidentals so I can recomend them to anyone in England.
I also phoned the KM tech support as my PC was being difficult with the camera driver - not a camera problem really, but they too were great. So I am quite impressed with KM on the whole and pleased so far (it's only 1 day!!) with the camera - I shall spend some time now deciding what settings I prefer.
Personally I like the natural appearance the pictures have - almost film like. Not sure about the Vivid setting as it seems a bit in your face - but maybe it would help in dull situations, or maybe kids parties where you need lots of colour...

Geoff :)

[NCR]

Hello!

I quite new here but, here goes:

Have any of you guys had any problems with dead pixels on the TFT and/or the EVF?

I´v had this KM A200 now for 1 day and already I have two dead ones. It that normal? I called the Minolta Helpdesk for us Swedes and the girl there told me "we have a very simple pixel-policy, if you are unhappy, just send it in to the repair-shop". Nice and customer friendly, BUT 1 day and 2 dead pixels...well. :(

[Geoff Chandler]

Sounds like exceptionally bad luck to me - the only one I have heard of
Now after half a year nearly I am very happy wit mine - yep see if you can send it back - or better still take it back to the shop (if it was a shop) and see if they can exchange it - replace it I mean.
You could say you are not confident your model is a good one and you want an altogether new one. (Ie rogue model)
Mine seems pretty robust after my initial feelings that it was plasticky - it's actually quite tough as my wife demonstrated by dropping it the other day!!! Not damage or problems at all.
Good Luck
Geoff

[NCR]

Ah, yes. I thought of returning it at once, but since I bought it from a website here in Sweden, they told me to send it to KM, and they in turn said "a minimum of 15 workdays until they would return it, and here in Sweden almost everyone is on vacation right about now, so I’m thinking about waiting until September before I send it in.

I do feel a bit cheated though. I bought this camera (among other things) because I had the impression that KM had superior quality. :(

[Geoff Chandler]

Some credit cards do insurance - does that apply - maybe you could claim defective goods? I am so sorry you have been so unlucky!
Other than that - yep send it to Minolta - BTW make sure they do all the latest updates, firmware etc, while it's there.
At least you should get an A1 example at the end I guess...
Geoff

[Coltess]

The LCD on my A200 totally died on me while I was on vacation. I mean it showed nothing but a bunch of vertical stripes fading from white in the middle to black on either side. :eek:
Thankfully it was still under warranty, and now I get a new 6 month warranty for my trouble.
Other than that I'm quite satisfied with it, though I wish they had kept the EVF from the A2.

[Rob vdKam]

Not much traffic here on the A200 it seems...?

I'm currently evaluating the A200 (we in Canada can buy almost anything and try it out for two weeks before we are committed to keeping it) after also trying out the Sony H1 and the Canon S1. I keep getting higher priced cameras thinking the little weaknesses will be gone. But one writer put it well...you cannot get the perfect camera.

The A200 is plastic but it is far more robust than the others I tried. Very tough (to my thinking) and a great grip. The zoom lens is certainly a good balance of zooms - you give up the 10/12x zoom for more wide angle and each person has to individually decide on tht evalue of that. The zoom lens does seem weak and I'm not happy with the change in resistance I feel as I turn it at various zooms - not at all nice and "greasy" like my cheap old SLR zooms. But I may be sold on this camera just for the plethora of well engineered little things, like the diopter focus that actually clicks and the LCD hinge that doesn't seem like it will ever break off. This camera feels great to me.

As for photos, I'm still trying to figure out how to evaluate sharpness and focus after only having had a film SLR 10 years ago. I keep wanting to zoom into the image to see how sharp it is, but then it pixelates of course and I feel disappointed. I'll have to print some out to see what that looks like. I've seen posts of people's pics and they seem fabulous but I don't zoom in to those.

Rob

[jroztocil]

It's taken a while to really get the knack for this camera (happily purchased 12/2004) but I get some really nice images. The drawbacks are well-documented and minimal.

So now I'm ready for some accessories. I've looked at the ACT-100 and ACW-100. These seem pretty straightforward and it seems recommended to stick to the (more expensive) Konica Minolta lenses. Has anyone gone a different route?

The on-cam flash can stand some improvement so I've looked at the 3600/5600 HS D flashes but I don't really see a lot of discussion comparing these so it's hard to know what to get. It seems that one is just the more expensive big brother. Anyone with experience in this area?

I'd also like to pick up a circular polarizer and a standard UV/Haze filter for everyday use (and to protect the lens). From the manual it suggests that 49mm filters will likely cause vignetting at wide angles so they recommend a 49->62 stepup. My old 49mm UV/Haze (from my X-700 days) has some minimal distortion so getting the step-up and a new 62mm seems like the way to go. Getting a good polarizer would then follow. The recommendation on manufacturer and brand for good glass seem pretty wide and varied. Does anyone have a tried configuration that works on their A200?

Sounds like maybe too many issues for one thread but I'd welcome any advice.

Appended was a tough natural light shot with lots of contrast (not to mention the subject is three). The only thing I did to it in post is reduce the image size to 25% to fit the upload guidelines. Constructive comments to an amateur welcome. ;-)

[Geoff Chandler]

My tried & tested configuration: -
Sharpness = hard
contrast +1
Saturation +2 (~ less on an extreemly sunny day)
Usually use Daylight White - manual white would be better - but too much fuss to keep changing it for each situation.
I try to keep it at 50ASA (ISO) but 100 is pretty good
I have gone all the way to 800 - but it gets more noisy
I also tend to use Aperture priority 90% of the time
prefered apperture at or around f5.6 for the sharpest images.
I tend to set it at 5 or 8mp depending how long it will be before I can download - and also set to fine as it seems sufficient and saves heaps of space.

Still not 100% understanding the different focus modes - I want it
to always focus in the centre and I would then always know where it will focus, and I could do the pre-focus bit if I want the edge of a pic as the focal point - but even in spot it seems to beep and show the red rectangle off to one side or the other - anyone got any helpfull suggestions>??

[Coltess]

Still not 100% understanding the different focus modes - I want it
to always focus in the centre and I would then always know where it will focus, and I could do the pre-focus bit if I want the edge of a pic as the focal point - but even in spot it seems to beep and show the red rectangle off to one side or the other - anyone got any helpfull suggestions>??

Assuming you are talking about your KM A200:
Try using the Flex Focus Point. That never seems to move around unless you move it yourself.

I don't think the focus area can change on its own if you are in the Spot AF areas mode. Sure you're not in Wide focus area? (see the "Changing AF-area modes" in you manual (p.46 in the American version).)

Hope this helps.

[Geoff Chandler]

There - and I've avoided Flex Focus Point because I thought it would nove around!!
I'll try your suggestions, and check the CD manual - couldn't find enough in the booklet.
I don't have too much of a problem except just sometimes it focuses where I don't want it to. Focusing in the centre sorts it all out - I'll know exactly what to expect and I am used to that more.
I have got confused too knowing if it id focus or exposure that is centre spot.
I am after wide area exposure for general use with centre spot focus.
The camera doesn't seem to make it clear for my dyslexic interpretation, what IS centre spot.
Thanks for the quick reply
Geoff

[Rob vdKam]

I've finally settled on the A200! I've just returned from a Baffin Island vacation and my wife and I are both extrememly pleased with it. The 8MP replaces the need for a 10x zoom and the design of the camera is very "camera-like" (as opposed to toy or device-like?) and allows us to learn as we go.

I also found that flex focus point eliminated the jumping focus point/box. Call it a translation error (of which there are a few) but the focus box in this mode is controlled by you, not the camera. In spot focus mode, it is also controlled by you. Only the regular mode jumps around as it hunts for a focus point.

I should add that managing the flex point is easy. While choosing either the flex or spot focus mode with the centre button pressed (and the focus symbol showing in blue), just use the directional controller to choose which box or which spot on the frame you want to use to focus. Press the centre button (or half press the shutter as always), and you're shooting.

[Geoff Chandler]

Got that! - also found a similar description elswhere (Steves Digicams Forum). ~ press the centre button and the square turns blue - then use the roller to scroll through options - So I understand how to move the spot focus box - but couldn't move the Flex point focus cross - I assume it's simple once you find it??
Rob - glad UR happy with the camera - if you have any questions I am sure one of us should be able to help. I think I have most of it sorted - just that focus mode business tripped me up.
Geoff

[Rob vdKam]

apologies if I'm repeating, but this may help...

press the centre button and the current focus icon turns blue
- roll the wheel to change to a different focus type (large area, flex point, spot point)

or

- use the arrow keys to choose a box (flex) or move the spot

[Geoff Chandler]

I'm really glad I have that sorted now.
In Spot you canmove the rectangles to your desired point - but in Flex Point (with the little cross) I assume it's fixed?
Now I will go and put my Exposure area back to wide (256) area.

[Rob vdKam]

Ah yes, you're right. The "spot area" is the box, and the flex point is the point. But the point is not fixed. The box can be selected from the 11 choices, but the flex point can also move as you please.

And note that the exposure spot meter can be synched/linked to the flex point so when you move the latter, the former moves with it (the spot meter doesn't move around on its own). This is done via the menus.

[Geoff Chandler]

Ah yes, you're right. The "spot area" is the box, and the flex point is the point. But the point is not fixed. The box can be selected from the 11 choices, but the flex point can also move as you please.

And note that the exposure spot meter can be synched/linked to the flex point so when you move the latter, the former moves with it (the spot meter doesn't move around on its own). This is done via the menus.
Ok - so how do you move the flex point?? Or does it move itself.

[Rob vdKam]

The flex point is moved the same way you choose a different box in spot area mode - just use the four-way buttons while the icon is blue. I just tried it and it works fine for me. Note that you press Shift/Centre button to return to the centre of the screen.

I wouldn't expect to use this, of course, unless on a tripod and having time to compose.

Regards

[Geoff Chandler]

Yeah - it all works. Thanks Rob for your clear instructions.
No more frustrating beeps as it focuses on the wrong bit of the picture.
It also seems a tad faster in Flex point than in Centre point - maybe my imagination...
Geoff

[Rob vdKam]

Ah, yes. I thought of returning it at once, but since I bought it from a website here in Sweden, they told me to send it to KM, and they in turn said "a minimum of 15 workdays until they would return it...(
Hi NCR,

I've got good news and bad news. The good news is that I bought my A200 from a local shop because I worried about problems like this when dealing with a web site in order to save some money. The bad news you already know - that when dealing with web sites on certain kinds of items (like cameras), you are taking a risk. I would send your camera in as soon as possible in order to capitalise on the "but it's brand new" argument.

I realize most Swedes take the summer off (my wife is from Uppsala and reminds me all the time) but surely in the new global business environment, people like KM would have to overcome that somehow? Or maybe not, as long as it's internal to the country. What do you think?

[Rob vdKam]

[...]
I'd also like to pick up a circular polarizer and a standard UV/Haze filter for everyday use (and to protect the lens). From the manual it suggests that 49mm filters will likely cause vignetting at wide angles so they recommend a 49->62 stepup. My old 49mm UV/Haze (from my X-700 days) has some minimal distortion so getting the step-up and a new 62mm seems like the way to go.

I'm about to get a 49-62 step and try my Nikon 6T close-up lens and will report.


Appended was a tough natural light shot with lots of contrast (not to mention the subject is three). The only thing I did to it in post is reduce the image size to 25% to fit the upload guidelines. Constructive comments to an amateur welcome. ;-)

Your photo is just fantastic! Care to share your EXIF info? Is it a "100% crop" (that is, are we seeing any resampling)?

[jroztocil]

I'm about to get a 49-62 step and try my Nikon 6T close-up lens and will report.

An unnamed company tried slip me the Crystal version of the ACT-100 and ACW-100 macro and telephoto lenses for cheap when I purchased my 5600HS. I can assure you that the Crystal lenses don't work with the A200. These are on a 49-52 (not 62) step-up and give you a very nice view of the inside of the lens adaptor (I'll share pics if any one is interested).


Your photo is just fantastic! Care to share your EXIF info? Is it a "100% crop" (that is, are we seeing any resampling)?

I got really lucky on this pic - I'm not even going to pretend it was skill. This was just a straight no-crop image. Just Photoshop->Image Size->25%. As far as resampling - ummm.... all of this is not my area of expertise. I have to assume that Photoshop is doing something drastic to throw away the other 75%. Maybe perhaps you could educate me so that I can better understand the question (and the answer...)? I would certainly appreciate it.

I've got a few other "lucky" ones and happy to say I'm getting them more and more often. I think it must be that my subjects are improving... ;-)

So, being completely unfamiliar with an appropriate way to post all that EXIF data, I'm attaching PICT1313.txt generated by Exif-O-Matic v1.1.8. Let me know if this acceptable and what you are looking for.

Thanks.
Jake

[Rob vdKam]

My Nikon 6T Close-up lens seems to work fine with the 49-62 step.

Of particular interest to me, your EXIF says:
1/160 s (shutter speed)
F3.2
Program priority
100 ISO
Spot focus
32mm focal length (35mm film equivalent?).

These are the settings I know how to control and change, and it looks like, as you said, you didn't worry too much about the settings. It does amaze me how theA200 balances exposure so well (your bright vs dark areas).

As for resolution, if I understand correctly, your 25% image size is a resampling process. It's just like "fit to page". If you have an image that is larger than your computer screen, and you ask the program to show the entire image (fit to page), the picture gets resampled so that not every pixel is shown (or, it looks at the colour of a certain sized group of pixels and replaces it with a single pixel of an average colour). I don't know which process is used but I know that resampling remomves some of the pixels.

[jroztocil]

That's about what I thought. I would put the original up but it is just a bit larger then the upload limits. The shot had just the right morning sun coming in the window to balance off the darker contrasts. I didn't have time to think about anything except squeezing the shutter before the girl or the sun moved. Subsequent shots just weren't it.

I find that the learning curve with the A200 is much like my X700 years and years ago. I started out in "P" to learn just how the camera drives then slowly graduate to more and more manual settings.

I see that you can pick up your 6T lens at B&H for around $50. <newbie question, please> Does the 2.9 diopter mean "2.9x"? If what you are saying is true, this is certainly a much more cost effective choice then the KM parts.

Thanks,
Jake

[Rob vdKam]

I see that you can pick up your 6T lens at B&H for around $50. <newbie question, please> Does the 2.9 diopter mean "2.9x"? If what you are saying is true, this is certainly a much more cost effective choice then the KM parts.
Jake

Sorry, I dont' know. I believe it is only useful for up-close work, whereas the lens adapters are good for infinite distance focus. So they are different animals.

[jroztocil]

Looking at your Nikon 6T lens made me get the itch to accessorize again after the fiasco with almost getting the ACT-100 and the ACW-100. Have you (or anyone) had any experience with other lenses and the a200? A generic google on "a200 telephoto lens" turned up a link:

http://www.raynox.co.jp/english/digital/egdimage7hi.htm

Again, since I'm new to this and still trying to figure out what's good and what's not, how does Raynox rate?

Jake

[Geoff Chandler]

Hi guys

Nice to see you sharing all this info - I will read al your comments carefully.
3 things I want eventually for the A-200 (still paying off for mine!!)
1) Spare battery
2) Close up lens (I assume I need that 49 - 62 adaptor)
3) External flash
- Have any of you found a reasonable decent spare battery for this camera?
So far I haven't managed - but the internet is brimming with confusion. Cheapest I saw so far was £16-50 which I didn't trust at all!
Then there is an Energiser one for around £25=
It goes on up and up beyond the £45= mark!!!
I would, obviously, prefer one with a decent life (mAh)
Any suggestions???
Geoff

[jroztocil]

I went out on a limb earlier this summer and purchased one from SterlinkTEK.com for $11.99 (US). Works like charm. Hopefully posting the link is OK:

http://store.yahoo.com/sterlingtek/kominpeqbapa1.html

There are other threads in other places that discuss what using an OEM battery may or may not do to your warranty but I don't know that anything has been confirmed and I haven't checked the docs myself.

I purchased a 5600HS flash for it (expensive but I love it!!) from another vendor who was trying to sell me add-ons as we were completing the sale (mentioned elsewhere in this thread). He also tried to sell me battery for $55 US. I told him that I could get them from the $12 above and he gave it to me for that price. This one is a "CTA" - whatever that is.

If you do some digging, you'll find that the battery is the same as the one (much less expensive) the Nikon EN-EL1 that is used in a few of the CoolPix. In fact, the CTA battery that I from this other vendor actually states that it is a replacement for the "NIKON ENEL1" right on it. This one works just as well.

While I haven't done any testing to prove it, I think that SterlingTEKs claim that their battery is 1100mAh (vs. the standard 800mAh for the A200) is probably true. Between the three that I cycle through one after the other, it seems like the SterlingTEK stays in the longest. I'd definitely recommend them. Good prompt service and I'll buy from them again.

I'm still waiting to find a good deal on a 3600HS so that I can go wireless...

Anyone have anything on the lenses and lens adaptors?

Jake

[Rob vdKam]

My wife has a coolpix that uses a ENEL1 and we had a spare one of those. So we just switch the three batteries between the two cameras. One ENEL1 is about 4 years old and works fine and the other was the same until I put it through the laundry (I'm told the dryer heat killed it). I bought a new one for about CDN$50.

[Sym Heo]

Hi community
Generally, I'm impressed with capturing possibilitis of this little camera.
But one minor thing is puzzled me these days.
I bought my A200 month ago and now i noticed some weirdness it the monitor.
This behavior - is not so obvious to notice.
I ask you users of A200 to check it accurately folowing my steps.


If you will observe this behavior too, I will be sure this is not a malfunction of my camera.
Please remember that this test is in 'Normal record mode' only.

1) Give enough of time (30 minutes) to camera to be completely off.

2) Turn on your A200 and set from Menu #3 Monitor amp. to Normal.

3) From Function menu set Contrast to be less then 0 (-2 - -5).

4) Do not take the lens cap off the lens (this test is with lens closed).

5) Look attentively at LCD screen now and you notice no any hint of
noise on the black - it is almost black and perfectly clean.

6) Keep camera to be constantly powered on for 40 - 60 minutes,
dont let it go to power save mode.


Ok, after this time is gone, now it's time to look at LCD monitor again. Are you seeng the same perfect clean black screen? Or there is some sort of dot-colored noise flickering softly on the black background??

Please, do this simple 40-min. test just for to be sure I have not to take my camera to the service center!
TANKS A LOT!

George.
Kiev

[Geoff Chandler]

In reply to the odd effect with the screen - I am not willing to put my A-200 through that kind of test. I would expect any camera to start to play up after that kind of treatement! In normal use - mine is completely fine - my only possible gripe (and it's minor) is that the screen displays a bit more blue than I want.
As for the batteries - in the UK I cannot easily get anything from sterlingtec - so after many hourse of searching I made do with a similar battery to the standard one - Batterylogic did a very good deal for the UK with a Uniross Nikon one at £12.99 ~ it's fine and makes a reasonable backup.
As for Close up lenses - I got the CL49-200 which is very good - screws straight on - just a little vignetting at the far wide angle end - but I would use it mostly in the 50mm - 100mm range where it is excellent.
Geoff

[Sym Heo]

I am not willing to put my A-200 through that kind of test. I would expect any camera to start to play up after that kind of treatement!
Geoff

Hi Geoff,

I'm curiosed what you mean by 'that kind of treatment'?
do you mean it's dangerous for A200 to work 40 minutes сontinuously?

[Geoff Chandler]

I don't mean dangerous - but the screen is trying to amplify/gain up when there is nothing to see so it will be trying it's hardest to amplify no light.
From an engineering point of view - I don't like to push anything to the limit for a sustained period. In low light the screen gains up to compensate - that is normal use. Also - my camera is set to auto shut off after a preset time to preserve the battery.
To leave it on and trying to amplify darkness for such a long time, in my opinion, is running it into the unknown as far as how it will react. So therefore I say that I wouldn't like to 'put my A-200 through that kind of test. I would expect any camera to start to play up after that kind of treatement! '
Does that make sense??
Under 'normal' use I find no anomolies with the screen - except as previously mentioned - it is a bit on the blue side of neutral which I have to remember to take into account when reviewing photos just on the screen.

Geoff

[Sym Heo]

Oh well, now I see your point, but
That's why I made my post with use of exact 1), 2), ....

So, if you look at 2), you will see it is exactly for 'turning off amplifycation' of the video signal'! There is pure test without additional gaining up. I did this test with using of possible narrow 'dimentions'.

So please, I'll be VERY thankfull to you if you will do it for me...
Just dont sure yet... sould I go to the the service centre! Please!!

Btw, about LCD's colors. It seems to me it has lack of blue when in live monitoring mode. So in reviewing mode it really may seem having more of blue. All in all I see very big difference of its colors between these two modes, despite I have a color problems in green-red detection in my eyes.

George

PS. I showed my camera in the Minolta servise already and they said me there is not a problem with it... but I know how they are eager to take anything being under a warranty period for repair! I purchased one A200 before I changed it on this second I have now. The first camera had very noticeble blurrrr in the left corners in maximum zoom. Defect was very observable (for me but not for them!).

[Geoff Chandler]

I have to admit to being a little confused.
Are you telling me that you normally do this to your camera??
Does the problem ever surface in normal use??
I know many devices when put though extraordinary use will do
out of the ordinary things.
I am still not willing to put my camera through this test - it doesn't cause
me any problems right now - if doing this causes a problem to arise
then I may be stuck with a problem. By not making it ever happen - it may
never happen at all. By making it happen - could cause a weakness or a
problem that I then need to get fixed... does all that make sense??
As for colours - normally the screen is very slightly blue in all modes - but
only very slightly. My default settings (not the cameras) return the same
apearance with the preview and the photo after - s at least I have consistency.
Good luck with your problem.

[Sym Heo]

I have to admit to being a little confused.
Are you telling me that you normally do this to your camera??


You got me being not little confuzed but a lot!

Normally "do this" to my camera? - do *what*???
Yes. I normally use the LCD monitor in my work constantly around 30 minutes per a session!!! Is this the thing that confuses you so?
Do you mean you dont use LCD monitor not longer then per a 5 min at once or so?
I wonder, is my english so ugly that you can not understand that I'm talking actually NOT about the "test" but about NORMAL photo-session, with only difference that is:
A) look at the LCD screen first right after turning camera on with Lens cap covered, and see how it is black, and
D) enjoy your photosession 30 minutes (is it too much?) then cover on Lens cap again and look at the LCD again. Is this still as pure black as before?
Thats all!

I'm very apologizing if my English is incorrect here, really, it may be, and if I named what I did "the test" at all.

Thank you again for your answer.

[Geoff Chandler]

Ahh - I though you meant to switch on - with the lens cap on - and leave it on ~ with the contrast down ~ for 30 or 40 mins. - That's what I meant by
'Normally do this to your camera'
Actually I rarely use the monitor as I prefer the EVF.
And I only have the camera on for a minute or two usually.
I am suprised, also, that you have the contrast down.
I experimented with mine and decided to stick with it at 0, +1 or +2
depending on the situation.
Anyway - if the screen is on for a prolonged period I would imagine a
mark might apear on it from it being on for a prolonged period - try it with your television - watch a frozen image from video - after the screen has been on a while - then switch the lights off and turn off the TV - you may find a slight odd glow on the screen - residual effect of the light - also you can do this with the TV off - shine a light on it then switch off all the lights and the screen will glow for a while - maybe your camera screen is doing something a bit similar??

[Sym Heo]

Yes this is really similar and like I can see on TV screan.
Well, I hope really this is peculiar to the internal physics of this model and is not a defect. But I had noticed it right after i had began to use AC adapter cause the battery life didnt suite my sessions. I was thinking maybe that may be the AC adapter dependence. but I try the battery and it remains. I made conclusion this effect is not correspondes to LCD monitor but to the video signal processes of semiconductors 'before' the LCD. All in all I tryed to use to work with it even for much more prolonged time and made sure this effect does NOT increase. This means that effect acheaves its maximum and goes to be stable.

BTW, interesting opinion about contrast settings. As for me, I came to conclusion, when I set contrast less then default, I can see more 'range of dynamics', I can see more gradations of gray in pictures. Of course image may look more expressive with contrast set to +X.

[Rob vdKam]

Hello Geoff and Sym,
Very interesting conversation indeed. Today is April 4 so there's been no further discussion for some time. I will say that my own approach to "toys" like this is that you can never expect them to work as expected and you'd better use them minimally if you want to avoid trouble. Any trouble is just too much trouble for me so I go out of my way to NOT do anything I don't really need to do with my A200. I do that with everything in life, actually.

Hello Everyone,
Anyway, if anyone is reading this, I was wondering if anyone had any problems with picture sharpness at full (7x) zoom. One reason I bought this camera is because it provides an alternative for higher zoom by allowing cropping of images due to large number of pixels. I think that when I do zoom in on an image to 100% (i.e., no on-the-fly resampling), the focus/sharpness just isn't there. This includes images taken at 1/1000s exposure, not just on-the-edge shots. Iplan to do some testing but wondered if anyone had already done so. Is the lens okay?
Rob

[Geoff Chandler]

Actually - having lived with it now for over a year, I have no worries really in
that respect. OK, yes - like any other point and shoot it does hesitate sometimes and also sometimes doesn't like to focus on a virticle when in portrait mode.
As for focus generally - it's nearly always wonderful, natural and generally crisp.
I have to say that, in general, the sharpest images are found at F5.6. That said - on the more telephoto images wher depth of field is less - the sharpness is still good at larger (lower number) appartures - this might be because of the telephoto effect highlighting the 'in focus' parts - but I think it's just a think with the lens. I always try for f5.6 as a starting point for nice crisp photos.
I pressed the centre button and selected the small rectangle for focusing - you can also select the small crosshairs - that one is more precise for point of focus - but generally you can point the recatangle at the bit you want sharpest. The larger rectangle in blue is less good and I think this is where people have the problem.
Yes you can sharpen - but I shy away from it as I find the A-200 very natural - I set the sharpness on Hard. but the photo on Natural - not vivid and not portrait. Then I have the contrast up +1 and the saturation up +1 except where I wish to vary it slightly.
Colour? Auto White is best throughout winter - but gets a tad on the Red side in the summer. Daylight White is better in the summer but a touch greeny yellow in the Winter - either are pretty good - of course manual white is the best. I vary between 1 step towards the blue and in the middle with the digital filter.

On the digital zoom issue - I would advice not to use it much - or at all!
I did an experiment with full zoom and 2x digital - vs a full zoom photo cropped using my PC software the later was sharper.

I hope some of this info helps you.

Geoff Chandler

[Rob vdKam]

Well, it's a year later and I'm still not happy with this A200. I was out taking photos of aircraft landing at Montreal airport (CYUL) and nearly every one was sooooooo soooooooft and fuzzy. I tried all kinds of focus methods and zooms and etc. The best photos were the result of doing a half-shutter press to lock focus on some nearby object, then reframing on the aircraft, but even those were nothing like the nice shiny aircraft photos you see on the Internet. If I had money and time, I'd try different cameras, but this beast cost a lot!!! and I assumed it would handle pretty difficult situations. Poor lens maybe?:(
(Or poor photographer!)

[Geoff Chandler]

The lens is good.
The image quality is good below 200 ISO
I believe it has different focus modes Single AF, or Continuous AF
There is also the Auto focus point (Flex Focus point ??)
or spot focusing of any portion of the frame. I ended up using the
crossed hairs - maybe at times slower if the subject was off to one side - but quite accurate.
See attached image from Steves Digicams
This is a point and shoot camera though. As such it can be slow to focus and shoot which is frustrating - this is true of most point and shoots though.
The A-200 is bad at focusing in low contrast or bright situations - such as lots of sky. Sometimes rotating it 90degrees will help. I found it not good in these areas. Once my daughter put her fish in the bath while she cleaned the tank ~ the A-200 completely refused to focus with all that white, my old Olympus C-740 struggled but succeeded where the A-200 failed. So it does have some limitations.

With planes in the sky however - manual focus at, or near infinity, and a reasonable F-stop of 5.6 or better above. (F8 is very nice!) Should work and also speed up the shooting. (no waiting for the focus)

I would try that and I reckon you would get the results you wanted.