Konica Minolta Dynax Maxxum 7DAt long last, Minolta SLR owners have a *very* worthy body to use with their lens collections!<<Camera Modes & Menus :(Previous) | (Next): Video, Power, Software>> Page 10:Image Storage & InterfaceReview First Posted: 11/27/2004, Updated: 02/01/2005 |
Image Storage and Interface
The 7D uses CompactFlash Type
I or Type II memory cards, or the IBM Microdrive for image storage. The camera
ships without a memory card, so you'll want to purchase one at the same time.
The CompactFlash slot is on the right side of the camera, covered by a hinged
plastic door that opens easily and snaps shut crisply. The card inserts with
the connector edge going in first, and the rear of the card facing the back
of the camera. A small button beside the slot ejects the card by popping it
up slightly, letting you pull the card the rest of the way out.
Although individual CompactFlash cards cannot be write-protected or locked against erasure or manipulation, the 7D lets you lock individual images or groups of images through the Playback menu. Once protected, images cannot be erased or manipulated in any way, except through card formatting. The Playback menu also lets you delete images shown in the LCD display, change the number of images in the Index display, create a custom slide show, and set images up for printing on DPOF compliant printers.
Three image resolution settings are available: 3,008 x 2,000; 2,256 x 1,496;
and 1,504 x 1,000 pixels. Files may be saved in any one of three JPEG compression
levels, as well as a compact RAW format. (By its nature, the RAW format only
saves the full-resolution image size.) The 7D also allows you to simultaneously
save images in both RAW and JPEG formats, allowing you to have the convenience
of JPEG files but the security of a RAW copy of your images should you desire
the maximum quality later.
The table below summarizes the compression ratios and number of images that
can be stored on a 256 MB memory card (a common size that should probably be
considered a minimum for use with the camera), with each Resolution / Quality
(JPEG Compression) combination.
| Resolution/Quality 256 MB Memory Card |
Fine | Normal | |
|
|
| 3008 x 2000 | Images (Avg size) |
41 6.1 MB |
82 3.1 MB |
139 1.8 MB |
27 9.5 MB |
| Approx. Compression |
3:1 | 6:1 | 10:1 | 2:1 | |
| 2256
x 1496 |
Images (Avg size) |
73 3.5 MB |
142 1.8 MB |
237 1.1 MB |
|
| Approx. Compression |
3:1 | 6:1 | 9:1 | ||
| 1504
x 1000 |
Images (Avg size) |
158 1.6 MB |
294 869 KB |
466 549 KB |
|
| Approx. Compression |
3:1 | 5:1 | 8:1 |
||
A USB 2.0 High Speed cable and interface accompanies the Maxxum 7D for quick connection and image downloading to a PC or Macintosh computer. By default, it appears as a "storage class" USB device, meaning that no driver software is needed for Mac OS versions 8.6 or later or for Windows Me, 2000, and XP. The Konica Minolta Maxxum 7D connects to a host computer via a USB interface. Downloading files to my Sony desktop running Windows XP (Pentium IV, 2.4 GHz), I clocked it at 1182 KBytes/second, an excellent rate. (Cameras with slow USB interfaces run as low as 300 KB/s, cameras with fast v1.1 interfaces run as high as 600 KB/s. Cameras with USB v2.0 interfaces run as fast as several megabytes/second.)
When its USB interface is set to PTP mode, the Konica Minolta Maxxum 7D supports
direct printing (no computer required) to PictBridge compatible photo printers.
The extent of PictBridge support varies greatly between cameras, and the 7D's
support is more robust than many. Provided that it's connected to a printer
that offers an equivalent level of support and control, you can select paper
size, bordered or borderless, print quality, and date imprint options directly
from the camera's menu system. (Very slick.) Printing via PictBridge to our
Canon i9900 studio printer though, we found it to be rather slow in formatting
and preparing the data to send to the printer. (It took 3 minutes and 50 seconds
to print a 4x6 photo at best quality.)
Recommended Software: Rescue your Photos!
Since we're talking about connectivity and memory cards, this would be a good
place to mention recovering images from damaged memory cards: Just as important
as an extra memory card is a tool to rescue your images when one of your cards
fails at some point in the future. I get a lot of email from readers who've
lost photos due to a corrupted memory card. Memory card corruption can happen
with any card type and any camera manufacturer, nobody's immune. A surprising
number of "lost" images can be recovered with an inexpensive, easy
to use piece of software though. Given the amount of email I've gotten on the
topic, I now include this paragraph in all my digicam reviews. The program you
need is called PhotoRescue, by DataRescue SA. Read our review
of it if you'd like, but download the program now, so you'll have it.
It doesn't cost a penny until you need it, and even then it's only $29, with
a money back guarantee. So download PhotoRescue
for Windows or PhotoRescue
for Mac while you're thinking of it. (While you're at it, download the
PDF manual
and quickstart
guide as well.) Stash the file in a safe place and it'll be there when you need
it. Trust me, needing this is not a matter of if, but when... PhotoRescue
is about the best and easiest tool for recovering digital photos I've seen.
(Disclosure: IR gets a small commission from sales of the product, but I'd highly
recommend the program even if we didn't.) OK, now back to our regularly
scheduled review...
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