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Like the DiMAGE A2, the A200 offers an 8 megapixel resolution, a 7X manually
adjusted optical zoom, and Konica Minolta's well-known Anti-Shake stabilization
system.
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Like other A-series Konica Minolta cameras, the A200 is equipped with an
electronic viewfinder (EVF), this one with 235,000 pixels, and a diopter
correction.
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In addition the A200 offers a
vari-angle 1.8 inch LCD monitor with 134,000 pixels that can
rotate 180° horizontally, and 270° vertically.
This allows for the screen to be set at a comfortable viewing angle when
the camera is held overhead, or close to the ground for a macro shot, and
makes it possible to have it face front for self or group portraits, or
fold it back with the screen facing the camera and its back facing out
to prevent damage. |
Five controls are on top of the
upper right side of the camera. At the front of the grip, and
slightly angled, sits the shutter release. The shutter
release is a standard 2-stage system, with AF/AE lock at mid-course.
An AEL (Auto Exposure Lock) button is available on the
upper back ridge as well.
The Control Dial is positioned immediately behind the shutter release,
and rotating it one way or the other serves to control a variety of settings
ranging from the selection of shutter speeds and apertures, to some the
A200's menu settings. |
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The Mode Switch and Power
Button are set behind the Control Dial. While the Power
button is a push On, push Off type, the Mode Switch has three
positions: Still Image mode  , Playback mode  ,
and Movie mode  (see
the Characteristics section of the review for more information
about the Movie mode).
The Drive mode button,  ,
is next, and is used to select the Self-timer, Burst mode or Remote Control
operation (the remote control unit is included with the A200 in all countries
except Japan). Pressing the button superimposes a short, 5-option menu
on the monitor or on the EVF (Electronic Viewfinder): |
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- Single mode is the default, capturing a single image
when the shutter release is pressed.
- Self-Timer provides two possible delays: 2 seconds
or 10 seconds.
- Remote transfers the shutter control to the remote
control, and can be used in Playback to control the camera.
- Bracketing offers preset bracketing steps over 3
photos for ± 1/3 EV, ± 1/2 EV. White balance
bracketing is also available at two strength levels (1 and
2).
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- Continuous provides three options:
- Continuous mode leaves the EVF/LCD monitor
active and shoots at approximately 2 frames per second
for 5 frames at the highest JPEG image quality and
the largest image size.
- HS Continuous turns off the EVF or monitor
but shoots up to 5 frames at 2.3 frames per second
for up to 5 frames at the highest JPEG quality and
largest image size.
- UHS Continuous captures up to 40 photos at
10 frames per second, but at a resolution of 640 x
480.
Nearby, the Mode Dial selects the shooting modes available
when the camera is set to capture still images. A total of 10
modes are available, including 4 Digital Subject Programs (commonly
called Scene modes): |
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Auto Mode is the simplest
shooting mode. Set to Auto mode, the camera is fully automatic,
selecting aperture and shutter speed. Moreover, if enabled
in the menu, the camera will even try to determine if one
of the Digital Subject Programs is applicable to the scene
and use it to capture the shot. Unlike the Auto mode of
most other cameras, this one leaves complete freedom to
the user to select any of the parameters available in the
menus. However, once the camera is turned off, the Auto
mode will return to its defaults. |
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Program lets the A200
automatically select the aperture and shutter speed, but
alternative combinations that would still result in a correct
exposure can be selected with the Control Dial. Unlike
the Auto mode, any settings made in the Program mode are
recalled when the Mode Dial is returned to that position. |
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Aperture Priority allows
selecting aperture from a range that covers from f2.8 to
f11 when the lens is at the widest angle, and from f3.5
to f11 at the telephoto end. |
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Shutter Priority allows
setting shutter speeds from 1/1600 second to 30 seconds. |
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Manual provides complete
control over the camera to set the aperture and shutter
speed over the ranges indicated above, but adds a Bulb
mode which, while it is limited to a maximum exposure time
of 30 seconds, can be interrupted at any point. Moreover,
the remote control can be used to start and stop the exposure,
which avoids having to touch the camera and possibly cause
a blurred image. |
The remaining modes are collectively called Digital Subject Programs:
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Portrait tweaks skin tones
while softening the sharpness. A wide aperture is used to
blur the background and the effect is enhanced if the zoom
is used. |
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Sports favours a high
shutter speed to freeze action. |
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Sunset boosts the colour
saturation to warm the image. |
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Night Portrait uses a
low shutter speed to capture the background and red-eye reduction
flash to capture the subject in the foreground. |
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Memory Recall allows recalling
any one of five distinct sets of shooting preferences. |
More controls are arranged on the back of the A200, starting with two buttons
at a 45° angle, astride the top and back.
The one labeled with  is
to choose the level of information shown on the monitor, or on the EVF.
By default the display indicates the shooting mode, the resolution and
image quality setting, the AF brackets or the focus point, and shows any
setting that deviates from the defaults for ISO, sharpness, and colour.
Pressing the once
adds a real-time histogram below the AF brackets. Pressing the button a
second time clears the screen of all information with the exception of
the AF brackets. |
A third press of the button removes
the AF brackets, leaving the image coming from the lens free
of any superimposed information.
As noted above, the AEL button serves to lock the exposure parameters,
making it possible to re-compose the image while retaining the same aperture
and shutter speed. By default the AEL button needs to be held to
lock the exposure, however it can be set in the menu to act as a toggle
switch, where pressing it once locks the exposure and pressing it a second
time releases it. |
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Directly below these two buttons
is a two-sided rocker switch labeled with  and  that
is used to zoom in (up to 10X) and out of an image displayed
on the screen in playback. In addition, the side
can be and used to display 9 thumbnails per screen of the captured
photos.
FUNC is the next button, and it calls up a 7-function superimposed
menu for the most commonly needed camera settings, effectively
offering similar functions as those available through the Function
Dial on the DiMAGE A2. (See the Characteristics section
of the review for more detail on the FUNC menu.)
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placed close to the rubber eyepiece of the EVF, has only a single
function, to switch back and forth between the LCD monitor — as
long as it is facing out and visible — and the EVF.
On the left side of the EVF, counter-balancing the EVF/Monitor button
is the button that controls the A200's Anti-Shake system, which compensates
for vertical or horizontal camera shake: |
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The button acts as an On/Off
switch for the Anti-Shake system. But, as with other Konica
Minolta cameras equipped with this system, the Anti-Shake
offers 2 settings, selected in the Setup menu, one to compensate
for camera shake continuously while framing the image and
during its capture, or only when the image is about to
be captured, which saves power. |
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AF/M, serves to
select Auto Focus or Manual focus, the latter being adjusted
with a large ring at the base of the lens barrel while the central
portion of the image is magnified on the EVF or the monitor.
While set to Auto Focus, the A200 provides three focusing systems:
- Wide Area AF which lets the camera automatically select
the focus point from 11 areas,
- 11-point user selectable focus points,
- or Flex Focus, a system that allows the user to select
a precise focus point from anywhere in the frame and which
can be tied to spot metering.
Selecting the focus system is simply done by pressing the centre
button of the 4 direction controller to make the AF mark turn
blue, and then rotating the Control dial to slip from one system
to the other. |
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| The SHIFT button is directly
below and serves to provide access to supplementary functions.
For instance, when the button is held in and the is
pressed, a grid line can be overlaid on the monitor, or scaled
cross hairs. Likewise, when the A200 is set to Manual mode, the
Shift button allows changing the aperture with the Control Dial
when it is held pressed, while when released the Control Dial
changes the shutter speed. |
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The remaining external controls
of the A200 are positioned to the lower right of the LCD monitor.
The largest is the 4-direction control which serves to navigate the menus,
and confirm selections with the unlabeled button at its centre. Beyond
this, both the control's up and down arrows access other functions: |
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The up arrow accesses Exposure or Flash Compensation,
both of which appear as an overlay on the monitor or EVF.
The exposure compensation is displayed at the top while
the flash compensation is shown below, and both offer a
range of ±2 EV in 1/3 EV increments. Compensation
can be set using the four arrows of the controller, or
using the Control dial in combination with the SHIFT button. |
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While the down arrow accesses the White Balance settings:
- Auto white balance (default),
- Preset white balance: Daylight, Shade, Cloudy,
Tungsten, Fluorescent 1, Fluorescent 2, Flash.
- Custom Set, Custom Recall 1, Custom Recall 2.
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And in either case, pressing the centre button clears the menu off the
screen. |
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In Playback, the up and down arrows'
functions change. While the toggles
back and forth between a display that shows some overlaid information
and one without, the up arrow completely changes the display
so that the image is shown as a large thumbnail with potentially
overexposed zones flashing, places a histogram below, and shows
all the shooting data in a column on the right of the screen.
Pressing the returns
to the standard display.
The down arrow on the other hand, serves to rotate  the
image in 90° increments. |
| The last two buttons are below the
4-direction controller: |
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Starts the Quick View mode,
which allows seeing captured photos while the camera remains
in the Capture mode. Photos can be magnified and all the
captured photos can be accessed using the right left arrows
or the thumbnail view. However, the Playback menu is not
accessible.
The button also serves to delete unwanted images. |
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Calls up the menu appropriate
to the mode selected with the Mode switch. For more information
about the A200's menus, see the Characteristics section
of the review. |
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The DiMAGE A200 has a very good
ergonomic design, and an excellent in-hand feel. Rubberized sections
are used judiciously in the most critical places, around the
lens barrel to control the zoom, on the grip and the thumb rest,
and very importantly around the exit pupil of the viewfinder
which prevents damage to eyeglasses.
One important detail has been overlooked however, there is no external
indication such as a small glowing LED to show when the camera is turned
on. |
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Introduction
