Konica Minolta Dynax 5D review

In the fiercely competitive and increasingly saturated budget digital SLR market, new cameras need something special to stand out from the crowd.

Konica Minolta's new Dynax 5D may employ the same 6 megapixel sensor as many of its rivals and cost roughly the same, but it has one unique advantage: a built-in anti-shake system.

The 5D's anti-shake system is identical to the one first introduced with the Dynax 7D, reviewed earlier this year. Unlike rival systems that adjust the optics in dedicated lenses, Konica Minolta's approach is to mount the CCD sensor on an adjustable platform and actually shift it by up to 5mm in any direction to compensate for motion. While you can't see the effect through the viewfinder, the advantage of building it into the body means every lens you attach enjoys the benefit. There are also indicators in the viewfinder to show how hard the system is working.

The 5D's sensor also shares the same CCD sensor as the 7D, and many of its rivals. It delivers 6.1 megapixel images with 3000 x 2008 pixels and enough detail to be reproduced up to 10 x 7in at 300ppi. Like other digital SLRs at this price, the sensor is physically smaller than a frame of 35mm film, resulting in all lenses having their focal length effectively multiplied by 1.5 times.

Konica Minolta has launched three new DT-Series lenses: an 11-18mm f4.5~5.6 at £449, an 18-200mm f3.5~6.3 at £379 and an 18-70mm f3.5~5.6 at £110, or just £50 if bought with the 5D. This is a bargain, especially considering its budget rivals are bundled with shorter 18-55mm ranges, although the 18-70mm's front element rotates when focusing, which is inconvenient for polarising filters. We tested the 5D with the 18-70mm lens, which has a range equivalent to 27-105mm on a 35mm camera.

Images can be recorded with the choice of three levels of Jpeg compression or as Raw files with or without an accompanying Jpeg. Best-quality Jpegs measure around 4MB each and are stored on Compact Flash memory cards, although like other DSLRs you'll need to supply your own.

The 5D is more angular in design than many of its rivals, but comfortable to hold and use. Measuring 130 x 92 x 66mm, it's roughly the same size as Canon's 350D and considerably smaller than its predecessor, the Dynax 7D. It's much lighter than the 7D too, although at 910g with 18-70mm lens and rechargeable battery, heavier than the budget competition; it does, however, feel very solid.

The whopping 30 external controls of the 7D have also been reduced to 21 on the 5D, making it more approachable to beginners, while still offering direct dial access to items including white balance. Like the 7D, shooting information is shown only on the main screen, with sensors detecting the orientation of the camera and cleverly flipping the information by 90- clockwise or anti-clockwise so it remains upright. Sensors detect when you're looking through the viewfinder and shut down the screen backlight to save power.

While we're pleased Konica Minolta's stuck with a large 2.5in screen, we're disappointed that cost-saving has seen the resolution fall from the 7D's 207,000 pixels to just 115,000. While this may match the resolution of many smaller screens, it looks quite coarse at 2.5in. It's also shown-up by the 210,000 pixels of the Pentax *istDL's 2.5in screen.

Modes include the usual Auto, Program, Manual, Shutter and Aperture Priority modes, along with five scene presets. Exposures run between 1/4000 to 30 seconds and bulb, while a wide range of sensitivities are available from 100 to 3200 ISO. Burst mode shoots at 3fps with a buffer of 10 frames.