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Minolta Dimage RD3000 Unusual 2-CCD design produces a professional-level SLR digicam at an affordable price. Select a topic Reference: Datasheet Dimage RD3000 Sample Images --------------------------------- 1. Intro and Highlights 2. Executive Overview 3. Design 4. Viewfinder 5. Optics 6. Exposure & Flash 7. Shutter Lag & Cycle Time Tests 8. Operation & User Interface 9. Camera Modes & Menus 10. Image Storage & Interface 11. Video, Power, Software 12. Test Results & Conclusion --------------------------------- Print-Friendly Review Version Additional Resources and Other Links Reader Comments --------------------------------- Digital Camera Comparometer (TM) --------------------------------- <-- Digital Cameras (Home) <-- Digital Camera Reviews Index <<Viewfinder :(Previous) | (Next): Exposure & Flash>> Page 5:Optics Review First Posted: 5/23/2000

Optics
The RD 3000 is equipped with Minolta's V lens mount, which should fit most of Minolta's Vectis lenses. Since the camera body doesn't come with a lens, an entire range of lenses are available as accessories. Our test model was accompanied by a Minolta V 22 to 80mm lens and sunshade. Like many film based SLRs, mounting and releasing the lens was a snap, thanks to the small lens release button on the side of the mount. The focus on our test lens was controlled either automatically or manually, designated by a small button on the side of the lens. We assume that the other Vectis lenses work similarly. You can also operate the manual focus without taking the camera out of autofocus mode by halfway pressing the shutter button and then manually adjusting the focus ring while keeping the shutter button halfway pressed.
While the CCD sensors in the camera are considerably smaller than a 35mm film frame, the mirrors and prisms of the "reflex optics" used in the RD 3000's optical path serve to reduce the effective difference, producing a final focal-length multiplier of only 1.5x. (That is, lenses attached to the RD 3000 will produce an angle of coverage equivalent to that of a lens having 1.5x the focal length, attached to a 35mm camera.) Thus, the 22-80mm lens our evaluation unit was equipped with corresponds to a 33-120mm lens on a conventional 35mm SLR. Available Vectis lenses range from a 17mm wide angle (equivalent to a 25.5 mm wide angle on a 35mm camera) to an 80-240mm zoom (equivalent to a 120-360mm telephoto zoom on a 35mm camera). This is a wonderful range of focal lengths compared to the miserly 3x zooms most of us in the "prosumer" digicam world have to content with, although we would have liked to see a larger maximum lens aperture than the f/5.6 that the 22-80mm lens on our evaluation unit had.
As of this writing, Minolta sells the RD 3000 in three different configurations. The most basic configuration is just the camera body by itself. This assumes that you either already have compatible lenses, or that you want to purchase specific lenses independently. The second configuration is the one we received for testing, which consists of the camera body together with a V22-80mm lens, a 64 MB CompactFlash memory card, and a set of NiMH batteries and charger. The maximum configuration includes all this plus a 17mm wide-angle lens, an 80-240mm telephoto lens, a 50mm macro lens, and a Minolta SF-1 flash. The total price of the complete system with four lenses, batteries, charger, memory card and flash unit is still less than any other professional SLR body alone, as of this writing (May, 2000). (We can imagine this setup being an excellent digital "kit" for a corporate setting, where enough versatility to accommodate a wide range of possible requirements might be needed.)