Konica Minolta Dynax 5D
(Konica Minolta Maxxum 5D in the USA)
Review Date: October 20th 2005
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Image Quality
All of the sample images in this Review were taken using the 3008 x 2000 Extra Fine mode, which gives an average image size of around 4Mb - 5Mb.
Noise
There are a total of 8 ISO settings available on the Konica Minolta Dynax 5D which you can select at any time. Here are some 100% crops which show the noise levels for each ISO setting:
ISO 80 (100% crop) |
ISO 100 (100% crop) |
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ISO 200 (100% crop) |
ISO 200 High (100% crop) |
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ISO 400 (100% crop) |
ISO 800 (100% crop) |
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ISO 1600 (100% crop) |
ISO 3200 (100% crop) |
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The Konica Minolta Dynax 5D does a great job in terms of noise, with a very usable ISO range of 80-800. Even ISO 1600 and 3200 don't look too bad and can definitely be used - very impressive!
Sharpening
Here are two 100% crops which have been Saved as Web - Quality 50 in Photoshop. The right-hand image has had some sharpening applied in Photoshop. The out-of-the camera images taken at the default sharpen setting of 0 are quite soft and benefit from further sharpening in a program like Adobe Photoshop. Alternatively you can change the in-camera sharpness setting.
Original 100% Crop |
Sharpened 100% Crop |
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File Quality
The Konica Minolta Dynax 5D has 4 different file quality settings available, with RAW being the highest quality option and Extra Fine the best JPEG setting. Here are some 100% crops which show the quality of the various options, with the file size shown in brackets.
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RAW (8,984Kb) |
Extra Fine (5,277Kb) |
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Fine (3,124Kb) |
Standard (1,758Kb) |
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Chromatic Aberrations
The Konica Minolta Dynax 5D dealt extremely well with chromatic aberrations during the review. Only very high-contrast situations like those shown below caused any problems, with very limited purple/cyan fringing present around the edges of over-exposed parts of the image.
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Example 1 |
Example 2 |
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Macro
As the Konica Minolta Dynax 5D is a digital SLR it is the lens that determines how close you can get to the subject, not the camera body. The standard 18-70mm kit lens allows you to focus on a subject that is 38cms away from the camera. The first image shows how close you can get to the subject (in this case a compact flash card). The second image is a 100% crop.
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Macro Shot (click to view full-sized image) |
100% Crop |
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Flash
The flash settings on the Konica Minolta Dynax 5D are Autoflash, Autoflash with red-eye reduction, Fill-flash, Flash cancel and Slow sync. These shots of a magnolia coloured wall were taken at a distance of 1.5m.
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Flash Off - Wide Angle (27mm) |
Auto Flash - Wide Angle (27mm) |
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Flash Off - Telephoto (105mm) |
Auto Flash - Telephoto (105mm) |
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And here are some shots of yours truly. As you can see, neither the Flash On setting and the Red-Eye option caused any amount of red-eye.
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Flash On |
Flash On (100% Crop) |
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Flash - Red-Eye Reduction |
Flash - Red-Eye Reduction (100% Crop) |
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Night Shot
The Konica Minolta Dynax 5D maximum shutter speed is 30 seconds and it also offers a Bulb setting, which is great if you're seriously interested in night photography. The shot below was taken with using the Night Shot scene mode, which used a shutter speed of 30seconds, aperture of f/16 at ISO 100 with noise reduction turned on. I've included a 100% crop of the image to show what the quality is like.
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Night Shot (click to view full-sized image) |
100% Crop |
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Anti Shake
The Konica Minolta Dynax 5D has a unique CCD-shift anti-shake mechanism, which allows you to take sharp photos at slower shutter speeds than other digital cameras. To test this, I took 2 sequences of 6 shots of the same subject with shutter speeds ranging from 1/200th sec to 1/10th sec, all handheld, with the lens set to a focal length of 70mm. The first sequence was taken with image stabilsation turned off, the second with it turned on. Here is a 100% crop of the image to show the results.
| Shutter Speed |
Normal |
Image Stabilised |
| 1/200th |
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| 1/100th |  |
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| 1/60th |  |
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| 1/30th |  |
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| 1/15th |  |
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| 1/10th |  |
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As you can see, with image stabilisation turned off, I can just about handhold the camera and still obtain a fairly sharp shot down to about 1/60th second. With image stabilsation turned on, even 1/15th sec doesn't look too bad, especially compared to the same shutter speed with stabilisation turned off. This feature really does seem to make a difference and could mean capturing a successful, sharp shot or missing the opportunity altogether.
Overall Image Quality
The Konica Minolta Dynax 5D produced images of excellent quality during the review period. The 6 megapixel images were quite soft straight out of the camera at the default sharpen setting of 0 and either require some further sharpening in an application like Adobe Photoshop, or you should increase the in-camera sharpening. Noise is not a problem for this camera, with a very usable ISO range of 80-800 and ISOs 1600 and 3200 also performing quite well. The Konica Minolta Dynax 5D's dealt extremely well with chromatic aberrations, with very limited purple fringing effects only appearing in high contrast situations. Macro performance is avaerage with the standard kit lens allowing you to focus as close as 38 cms away from the subject - you will need to buy a dedicated macro lens if ou are seriously interested in this aspect of photography. The built-in flash worked well indoors with no red-eye and good overall exposure. The night photograph was very good, with the maximum shutter speed of 30 seconds and the Bulb setting allowing limitless creative possibilities. Anti shake is a feature that sets this camera apart from its competitors and one that works very well when hand-holding the camera in low-light conditions or when using the telephoto end of the zoom range. Overall, an excellent performance from the Konica Minolta Dynax 5D.
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PhotographyBLOG is a member of the DIWA organisation. Our test results for the Konica Minolta Dynax 5D have been submitted to DIWA for comparison with test results for different samples of the same camera model supplied by other DIWA member sites.