Although the DiMAGE A2 is similar
in appearance to the A1, it has a far higher resolution, a superior
electronic viewfinder (EVF), and improved internal image processing;
all elements that impact either directly or indirectly the quality
of the images the camera yields.
The A2's EVF is nothing short of excellent. In Quality mode
it provides a very fine, detailed, image the likes of which are rarely
seen with this type of viewfinder. But, in this mode, rapid movement of
the camera can cause the image to become slightly choppy.
When photographing fast moving
subjects it is preferable to switch to Smooth mode
which, while it halves the resolution, provides a fast refresh
rate of 60 fps — twice that of the Quality mode — that
is better able to keep up with the subject.
The A2's focal range is perfectly
adapted to most people's photographic needs. Distortion at the
28 mm wide angle end is well corrected by the aspherical elements
used in the lens, and likewise there is no notable chromatic
aberration in the images captured, even with high contrast subjects.
At the 200 mm equivalent telephoto end, the A2 is able to capture distant
subjects clearly. However, images occasionally reveal a slight pincushion
distortion.
Aperture: f8.0, Shutter Speed: 1/400 s. 64 ISO
When shooting at the maximum telephoto
setting of the zoom, the A2's stabilizer is very valuable as
it is effective. The stabilizer offers two modes, one
that stabilizes the image continuously, and the other that only
stabilizes the image as the shot is captured.
In use, we found both modes to be useful, but the second decreases battery
life. It is worth noting however, that the stabilizer should only be used
when it is needed, and not left on continuously.
In addition to its 8 megapixel
image size, the A2 offers 5 other possible sizes and three file
formats: JPEG, RAW and TIFF. The compression applied in the Extra
Fine JPEG format is very reasonable, squeezing images at a ratio
that falls in the range of 1:4 to 1:6, which therefore avoids
creating compression artefacts.
As its name implies, the RAW format provides the image as it is captured
by the CCD, without any of the usual image processing that is normally
applied to a digital photo. The RAW file can then be imported on a computer
and processed as desired by the user.
Aperture: f6.3, Shutter Speed: 1/320 s. 64 ISO
Alternatively, the TIFF format
provides an uncompressed format that can be used immediately,
but which has the drawback of creating large files (20 MB),
while offering only a modest advantage in terms of image quality
over the best quality JPEG.
This review was produced in late spring, a time of the year when colours
are usually quite vibrant and even intense, and we found the A2 reproduced
these colours more faithfully when set to the Vivid colour mode.
While we thought colours were
understated with the Natural mode, the Vivid mode's slight
boost in saturation generally yielded photos with colours that
were more in tune with our perception.
Set to 64 ISO noise is undetectable in the images. At 100 ISO, noise is
likewise rare. But from 200 ISO onwards, noise becomes progressively more
visible as the sensitivity of the A2 is increased, and becomes most easily
detected in shadow areas.
Aperture: f6.3, Shutter Speed: 1/320 s. 64 ISO
Aperture: f6.3, Shutter Speed: 1/200 s, 64 ISO.
Still, while daylight shots
captured at 800 ISO contain some noise, the images are normally
entirely useable. Moreover, the increased sensitivity permits
the use of higher shutter speeds that can be used to freeze
very fast action, or simply, to maintain a reasonable shutter
speed under relatively poor light.
The DiMAGE A2's auto focus system has been improved, making it faster
than the A1's.
When set to continuous mode, subject
tracking allows the camera to keep a moving subject in focus
as long as the movement is not too fast, and thereby lessens
the shutter lag that occurs during the auto focus phase.
However, as we had noted with the A1, set to its default sharpness settings,
the A2's photos tend to have a soft focus, particularly at infinity, and
we found that setting the sharpness to Hard produced crisper
images.
At first blush the A2 appears
to be a quick entry for Konica Minolta into the 8 megapixel arena
by recycling the A1 design. Yet this is a misleading impression.
The A2 is a worthy successor to the A1, and successfully builds on it.
Not only does the A2 offer a higher resolution image and a higher image
quality, its numerous features and good ergonomic design make it an enjoyable
and generally satisfying camera to use.
Aperture: f5.6, Shutter Speed: 1/100 s. 64 ISO
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