Any news on a Minolta Digital SLR?

doczoc

9

18 Apr 2003 - 8:32 AM

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Hi has anyone come accross any news on when Minolta are releasing a digital SLR? Any articles passed on would be greatly appreciated

cameraboy56

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28 Nov 2003 - 12:05 AM

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I have emailed Minolta several times on their

www.minoltaphotoworld.com

Website and am yet to get a sensible reply I think I have Pee'ed them off a bit with my coments.

Have a go at them as well it might get some thing moving, I have about 4,500 worth of their lenses so it's about time I had the digital SLR to go with them.

Marty

Colin_A

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29 Nov 2003 - 11:20 AM

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I have given up waiting and bought a Nikon D100. I had a collection of lenses (20mm f2.8/28mm f2/35mm f2/50mm f2.8macro/80-200mm f2.8) but sold these. Selling my Dynax 9 body now, what a shame it was a great system but Minolta has missed the boat.

Colin

tva

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29 Nov 2003 - 8:22 PM

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I doubt very much if Minolta will enter the market for digital SLR's. They seem to have found their niche in prosumers like the A1, and Z1. I dont think they can afford to go down the SLR path. I have recently sold my minolta gear and bought a Canon 300D.(tired of waiting). So far so good.
Sooner or later Minolta owners are going to have to bite the bullet and change IMHO.
Terry

lightweaver

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29 Nov 2003 - 10:31 PM

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I have a feeling that 'Konolta' aint going to bother with a digital SLR. I think Terry hit the nail on the head about the company finding their niche in the Prosumer market. I think you'll also see the gradual demise & fading out of the Dynax/Maxxum range of film SLR's too, in favour of the consumer/prosumer market like Ricoh did. Minolta were losing a lot of money making very good SLR's and Konica were the major partner when the two merged, making their money from the consumer point & shoot arena.

Could be wrong though. I have been known to be wrong in the past. (Just don't tell anyone!)

CaptivePhotons (e2 Member)

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30 Nov 2003 - 6:55 PM

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I received this reply from Minolta when I emailed them about a Digital SLR about 2 weeks ago:

Thank you for your email, enquiring about the possibility of a digital SLR
camera, to accept existing Minolta AF lenses and accessories.

Such a camera would certainly be an attractive proposition, and would have
a ready-made market among existing Dynax users. However, until very
recently the technology level and costs involved have been prohibitive to
our core SLR user if a product were released. Essentially the rapid
development, and thus constant turnover of products as well as the retail
value of these models would not appeal to the mainstream Minolta user.

Minolta has to date produced two interchangeable lens SLR camera bodies.
The first was the RD-175, (launched 1997) this camera featured a
revolutionary 3 CCD arrangement and used Dynax lenses. The second, the
RD-3000 (launched 2000) was also unique in using a pair of 1.5 Million
Pixel CCD's to capture the scene in two halves then stitch the image
together within the post capture processing of the camera. This camera used
V series lenses, designed for superior image quality when capturing the
scene on a smaller chip, or film area, as with the Advanced System Format.

To create a 35mm based digital system that mirrors the image quality with
perfect lens compatibility, including reducing or eliminating the
magnification factor of the lens focal length is at this time,
exceptionally difficult. The Minolta solution to this problem has been to
produce the DiMAGE 7 and A series SLR type cameras. These feature a fixed
lens covering the most commonly used focal range of 28-200mm.

In more recent years companies such as Canon, Contax, Fujifilm, Kodak,
Nikon, Pentax and Sigma have all launched interchangeable 35mm based lenses
that attract a particular user whether it be through functionality, quality
or price. Indeed the most recent announcements from Canon and Pentax show
that the market is ready to broaden its appeal to the non professional
user. Therefore the market is now expanding, this in turn means that the
technology and costs are stabilising, enabling brands such as Minolta to
offer what our customers, in the main, hope to receive.

Minolta is in the process of merging with another longstanding Japanese
photographic company, Konica. This will strengthen the brand and company
infrastructure. It will be better able to fund the R&D in all areas of
digital technology as well as remaining strong in the analogue environment.
Please visit konicaminolta.net for more details on the unified
companies' vision from this point forth.

We are sorry that at this time we are unable to give you a more specific
details and facts. If any further information does become available, we
will of course publicise it widely through the conventional photo press and
through our websites.

Regards,
Paul Genge

At least they had the decency to reply

Carabosse (e2 Member)

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30 Nov 2003 - 11:00 PM

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For the above read:

"Such a camera would not produce sufficient profit for Minolta/Konica (because you'll all be using your old Minolta lenses)... and we are doing OK with our current line up thanks all the same."


:o)

photogear

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22 Dec 2003 - 11:36 PM

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Minolta may be about to make the plunge into the DSLR world with a 90% operational sample of a Digital Maxxum by PMA 2004, to be on the market by Photokina (September / October 2004). This camera will apparently have "a big surprise" feature.

www.imaging-resource.com/NEWS/1071245961.html