Konica Minolta DiMAGE A200

Review Date: February 3rd 2005

Page 1
Introduction / Price
Page 2
Features
Page 3
Specifications
Page 4
Design
Page 5
Ease of Use
Page 6
Image Quality
Page 7
Sample Images
Page 8
Conclusion / Links

Image Quality

All of the sample images in this Review were taken using the 3264 x 2448 image size with Extra Fine quality, which gives an average image size of around 2.5Mb - 4Mb.

Noise

There are 5 ISO settings available on the Konica Minolta DiMAGE A200 which you can select at any time. Here are some 100% crops which show the noise levels for each ISO setting:

ISO 50 (100% crop)

ISO 100 (100% crop)

   

ISO 200 (100% crop)

ISO 400 (100% crop)

   

ISO 800 (100% crop)

 
 
   

The noise levels look excellent at ISO 100 and 200, with some noise starting to appear at ISO 200. At ISO 400 the quality is still pretty good, but ISO 800 suffers badly and should really only be used when you don't have any other options.

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 at the default setting of Normal are just on the soft side, with post-processing bringing out a small amount of extra detail.

Original 100% Crop

Sharpened 100% Crop

   

File Quality

The Konica Minolta DiMAGE A200 has 4 different file quality settings available, including a RAW setting, with Extra Fine being the best JPG option. Here are some 100% crops which show the quality of the various options, with the file size shown in brackets.

RAW (11,856Kb)
Extra Fine JPG (2,518Kb)
   
Fine JPG (1,762Kb)
Standard JPG (1,144Kb)
   

Chromatic Aberrations

One of the problems that plagued the early 8 megapixel cameras was chromatic aberrations, specifically purple-fringing, with the Sony DSC-F828 in particular coming in for some heavy criticism. Thankfully the current crop of 8 megapixel cameras seem to have largely solved this issue, and the Konica Minolta DiMAGE A200 is no different. Only very high-contrast situations caused any problems, with purple-fringing in a handful of test shots as shown in the examples below. The Konica Minolta DiMAGE A200 has a comparitively large 2/3-inch CCD sensor, which helps to keep chromatic aberrations to a minimum.

Example 1
Example 2
   

Macro

The Konica Minolta DiMAGE A200 offers a single Macro setting that allows you to focus on a subject that is 6 inches away from the camera when the lens is set to a focal length of 200mm.

Macro Shot (click to view full-sized image)

100% Crop

   

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.

Flash

The flash options on the Konica Minolta DiMAGE A200 are Fill Flash, Redeye, Slow Sync and Rear Sync. These shots of a white wall were taken at a distance of 1.5m.

Flash Off - Wide Angle (28mm)

Auto Flash - Wide Angle (28mm)

ISO 64
ISO 64
   

Flash Off - Telephoto (117mm)

Auto Flash - Telephoto (117mm)
ISO 64
ISO 64
   

And here are some shots of yours truly. As you can see, neither the Fill Flash or Redeye settings caused any red-eye, although the Redeye flash option did make me look more awake!

Flash On

Flash On (100% Crop)
   

Flash - Red-Eye Reduction

Flash - Red-Eye Reduction (100% Crop)
   

Night Shot

The Konica Minolta DiMAGE A200 maximum shutter speed is 15 seconds in Shutter Priority mode, 30 seconds in Manual mode, and there is also a Bulb option that allows you to make an exposure that is as long as you want - perfect for night photography. The following example was taken using a shutter speed of 25 seconds with an of aperture of f/11 at ISO 50. I've included a 100% crop of the image to show what the quality is like.

Night Shot (click to view full-sized image)

100% Crop
   

Image Stabilisation

The Konica Minolta DiMAGE A200 has a unique CCD-shift anti-shake mechanism, which allows you to take sharp photos at slower shutter speeds than other digital cameras. Konica Minolta claims up to eight times longer (3 stops). To test this, I took 2 sequences of 6 shots of the same subject with shutter speeds ranging from 1/200th sec to 1/8th sec, all handheld, with the lens set to a focal length of 200mm. 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
1/100th
1/60th
1/30th
1/15th
1/8th

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 DiMAGE A200 produced a great set of test images. The 8 megapixel photos were slightly soft out of the camera at the default setting of Normal and benefit from further sharpening in an application like Adobe Photoshop. Noise is well controlled at ISO 50-400, with ISO 800 being more of an emergency option. The Konica Minolta DiMAGE A200's dealt very well with chromatic aberrations, which only appeared in the form of limited purple fringing in high-contrast scenes. Macro performance was fine, not as good as some other digicams on the market, but respectable enough. The built-in flash worked well indoors with no hint of red-eye. Night-shots are a breeze with the Bulb option in the Manual exposure mode allowing lengthy exposures. Finally, image stabilisation 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 in terms of image quality from the Konica Minolta DiMAGE A200.

Page 1
Introduction / Price
Page 2
Features
Page 3
Specifications
Page 4
Design
Page 5
Ease of Use
Page 6
Image Quality
Page 7
Sample Images
Page 8
Conclusion / Links

DIWAPhotographyBLOG is a member of the DIWA organisation. Our test results for the Konica Minolta DiMAGE A200 have been submitted to DIWA for comparison with test results for different samples of the same camera model supplied by other DIWA member sites.