Konica Minolta Announces New DSLR plus Four Lenses

July 16, 2005: Konica Minolta has released details of its new Dynax 5D digital SLR camera plus three new DSLR lenses and a new 35mm lens.
Weighing less than 600 grams, the Dynax 5D’s glass fibre plastic body is smaller and lighter than the 7D. Rubberised grips make it easy to handle and hold and a large 2.5-inch colour LCD monitor makes camera control easy through easy-to-use on-screen menus and set-up options. Users can also display detailed camera settings as well as captured images. The Dynax D50 includes the same proprietary CCD-Shift Anti-Shake technology as the Dynax 7D model and also sports a 6.1-megapixel CCD plus Konica Minolta’s CxProcess III image processing technology. Integral in the camera body, the Anti-Shake system is compatible with all Dynax system lenses and can be switched on or off via a dedicated switch on the camera’s back panel. An Anti-shake indicator is displayed on the viewfinder to indicate when it’s active. An advanced LSI image processing engine supports continuous shooting at 3 fps for up to 10 frames.
The Dynax 5D’s high-performance AF system has a central, cross-hair type, 9-point and 8 line AF sensor array that enables high-precision Predictive Focus Control as well as high-speed Subject Tracking for accurately focusing on moving subjects. The camera also boasts a simple, user-friendly configuration of dials and controls that beginner SLR camera users will welcome. Inexperienced photographers can take advantage of a new Digital Subject Program Selector, covering Portrait, Sports Action, Landscape, Sunset, and Night Portrait photo scenes, which automatically determines an optimum exposure and image-processing program for each scene. Digital Effect Control lets users choose from 10 scene types, edit the parameters and store the settings. Exposure can be manually adjusted and five steps (+ and -) of contrast, sharpness and saturation are provided so users can create the exact look they want. The new camera also supports P, A, S and M shooting modes and offers exposure compensation of ±2 EV in 1/3 EV increments. The sRGB colour space is used for eight modes – Natural, Natural Plus, Portrait, Landscape, Sunset, Night View, Night Portrait and Black & White – while Adobe RGB and Embedded Adobe RGB are also available.
Images can be recorded in RAW and/or JPEG format, with the largest file size being 3008 x 2000 pixels. Three levels of JPEG compression can be selected. In addition to auto, preset and custom white balance settings the Dynax 5D alos provides colour temperature settings plus added creative freedom with Color Compensation filter effects and Color Temperature fine-tuning in 100K increments. The camera’s G9 (Green) to M9 (Magenta) range enables precise white balance adjustments for difficult lighting situations and white balance bracketing is also provided. The 7D’s Zone Matching function, which supports high-key and low-key tone capture, enables users to extend the recorded dynamic range and adjust tone curves.
Konica Minolta has also added three new lenses to its digital lens line-up: the AF DT Zoom 18 -70 mm F3.5 to 5.6 (D), the AF DT Zoom 11-18 mm F4.5 to 5.6 (D) and the
AF DT Zoom 18-200 mm F3.5 to 6.3 (D). All are optimised to the provide the best results with the 23.5 x 15.7 mm CCD used in Konica Minolta’s DSLR cameras and all feature a special lens coating that reduces flare plus a distance encoder that supports precise ADI flash metering. They also boast circular apertures that produce attractively defocused results in out-of-focus parts of photographs. Dynax DT series lenses are not compatible with conventional 35mm SLR cameras.
The new Konica Minolta AF 35mm F1.4G (D) lens has been developed for 35mm SLR cameras as a successor to the popular Minolta AF 35mm F1.4G NEW lens. It features a fast f1.4 maximum aperture and delivers high performance across its zoom range with Dynax SLR cameras. Details of all products can be found at www.konicaminolta.com.