Minolta DiMAGE A1 Review

Note that all onscreen images and overlay data can be displayed on the EVF or the color LCD, just flip the display control switch located on the back.

In Program AE mode the camera selects the best combination of both shutter speed and aperture automatically. If you have the "Shift" option enabled you can vary the shutter speed/aperture combinations by rotating the Control Dial. In the bottom right you see the "DMF" icon which indicates that we have enabled the Direct Manual Focusing option. This means that even with auto focus turned on you can turn the manual focusing ring to make critical adjustments. We also have the live Histogram display option enabled. The yellow "hand" icon indicates that the Anti Shake stabilization system is enabled.

In Shutter priority mode you set the shutter speed desired to freeze rapid action or blur motion and the camera automatically selects the proper aperture setting.

In Aperture priority you set the desired aperture for control of depth of field and the camera will automatically match the proper shutter speed.

In Manual mode you have control of both the shutter speed and aperture value.

The Minolta DiMAGE A1 zoom features a dual-focal macro system that allows the lens to be set at the wide-angle or telephoto position to take advantage of different focal lengths. At the wide-angle position, the larger field of view and depth of field create a strong perspective and a sense of space. The telephoto position isolates the subject and minimizes distortion with a narrow field of view and shallow depth of field.

Here's a screen display with all possible EFFECT icons displayed; flash exposure compensation, color, saturation, contrast and exposure compensation are all enabled. The white balance has been set to fluorescent and the ISO is locked at 100.

Record mode menu:

Page 1
Image Size - 2560x1920, 2080x1560, 1600x1200, 640x480
Quality - RAW, TIFF, Extra Fine, Fine, Standard
Flash Mode - Fill, Redeye-Reduction, Rear sync or Wireless
Flash control - ADI, Pre-flash TTL, Manual
AEL button - Set function of AEL button
Reset - Reset all settings to default

Page 2

Interval set - Set the interval timer, 1-60 minutes
Bracket set - Step value for AE Bracketing; 0.3, 0.5 or 1.0 EV
Data imprint - Date, Time stamping, Text or Text+serialization
Inst. Playback - Show last image captured for 2 or 10 secs or disable
Voice memo - Off, 5 or 15 seconds

Page 3

Color mode - Vivid sRGB, Natural sRGB, Adobe RGB, Embed Adobe RGB, B&W or Solarization
Sharpness - Hard, Normal, Soft
Noise reduction - On or Off
Monitor amplification - Auto or Normal
Manual exposure - Exp. priority or Display priority
Mag Button - Flex magnifier or Digital zoom

Page 4

DSP set - DSP or Memory recall
Tracking AF - On or Off
AE Lock - On or Off
Spot AE area - Center spot or Flex Focus point
Direct MF - On or Off









When using the data imprint option you enter the desired text using this virtual keyboard and the 4-way selector switch.










The DiMAGE A1 also captures motion video with audio. There are multiple movie formats to choose from:

Standard QVGA (320x240) color movies and monochrome night movies up to 15 minutes with audio can be made.

The night-movie mode can make recordings under extreme low-light conditions.

The interval function can produce a series of still images taken at regular intervals or it can combine the images into 640 x 480 time-lapse movie.

The time-lapse movie plays the images back at 4 frames per second so that normally imperceptible motion springs to life: the blossoming of a flower or changing cloud formations.