Minolta A1 and 1gb Microdrive

Hi all,

I have decided that I would like to upgrade from my Olympus 2100 to the
new Minolta A1 and have a few questions:

1 - has anybody found any reviews on "production models" of the A1 as I
can only find ones on pre-production models and without pictures
(Minolta asking for them not to be published)? Should I be concerned
about this?

2 - I like the look of the IBM Microdrive at £120 but are they slower to
capture images as some suggest? Are they also slower to upload to your
PC? They are certainly cheaper per mg than buying individual cards.

 

I found the following.


http://www.digitalcamera-hq.com/minolta-dimage-a1-reviews.html

http://tomshardware.bizrate.com/marketplace/product_info/details__cat_id--402,prod_id--11065434.html

http://www.ephotozine.com/news/fullnews.cfm?NewsID=1303

http://www.mycamera.com/ProductSpecs/65845.htm


I read that the camera uses CF (Compact Flash) cards. If the price for a 1
gig CF card is about the same as for a 1 gig microdrive, I would definitely
get the CF card. They are more durable, since there are no moiving parts,
and they function in a wider range of tempuratures. Also faster data
transfer when recording or transderring to your computer.

Hope it helps.
Bill

 

Hello Bill,

Thanks for those but like the ones I found, they seem to be cut & paste
straight from the Minolta Press Release and/or only looked at
pre-production models. Even my favourite link to
http://www.dpreview.com/ offers no conclusions as yet.

The CF card route is much more expensive, but if generally accepted as
more durable, then I would prefer to play safe rather than sorry

Thanks,

 

Hello AntiTrust,

Web sites seem a bit coy about publishing these (transfer?) figures,
will have to phone a few up first.

Do you have to send it away for a firmware upgrade? I have never
experienced this with a camera before.

I was rather taken by the nothing to pay for 9 months, then cough up
£762 at Empire Direct. By which time the price will have no doubt
dropped considerably, but at least I will have had 9 months interest
free use out of it.

Regards,

 

Hello AntiTrust,

Not sure if you are interested, but I have just found PQI F1 40x Ultra
High-Speed 256MB @ £47.00 at ebuyer.com and their 512 version @ £88,
both in stock.

 

Peter

I would not say that it is "generally accepted" that MicroDrives are somehow
not durable. A quick scan at previous posts on the matter will show that
they have lots of supporters and, despite all the bad press, few failures.
If you keep your MicroDrive in the camera, how much MORE careful would you
have to be with it??

Check out scan.co.uk - 1GB MDs for £119 (sometimes cheaper if in the
"TodayOnly" selection)

 

Hello druidh,

Thanks for pointing out Scan, have just taken the plunge and ordered one
plus a USB2 reader.

Regards,