I am not nearly as experienced as Mauricio who has written an excellent review on the A-2. Please read Mauricio's excellent review.

I can say this camera has a long learning curve even if you are an experienced SLR user.

I returned mine to Konica-Minolta after they decided that the soft images that appear out of focus (a common issue that plagues this camera) needed a factory repair. They were explicit that I not take it to a local repair center. They gave specific packaging instructions that the camera MUST be packed with 6 inches of dry packing material such as foam peanuts covering all sides of the camera. This made the shipping carton roughly 18 inches square. It cost me $12 for peanuts since I have not stored any. They asked for sample photos. I included 6 8X10 prints in a stiff hard card reinforced manila photo envelope and a CF memory card with those and some more saved photos on it.

They returned the camera in a box that had barely one inch of crumpled paper packing material. My photos were returned folded twice in a careless sloppy quarter fold. I am angry to say the least.

They gave no information on the repairs they made other than to mention that a flash adjustment had been made and they reset all other adjustments to factory specifications. A firmware update had been available prior to this and they returned the camera to me without the firmware update which also addressed some issues I was having. I installed the firmware update and the autofocus is now working fine. I am still having trouble with the manual focus. I get no visable differences on any camera displays. The only indication I get that the focus is correct is a white dot that appears only when the shutter release is triggered, and then only if the setting agrees with the camera. I expect to see manual focus corrections on the display but this camera apparently can not do that.

I really do like this camera and believe the problems I am having are quality control problems at Konica Minolta.

The built-in flash is pitiful. I ordered a 5600 HS(D) flash from B&H this morning. I already have the BP 400 battery pack that I can't say enough about. It is terrific. If you own an A-2, get the battery pack. It has a built-in portrait shutter release and a very comfortable hand grip.

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by shercando edited by tmpchaos
last modified: 2004-07-02 11:23:06