Beseler 45A Color Head Instruction Manual High quality copy of the later comprehensive instruction manual for Beseler #8289 and #8290 45A Color Heads. Includes both Owner's Manual and Technical Reference Manual.
The Charles Beseler Company was founded in 1869 as a manufacturer of a variety of products including inhalers, magic lanterns with oil lamps and stereopticons. By 1943 the company had become an innovative audio-visual company serving the military and education markets. In 1953, Beseler entered the amateur and professional photography fields with the development of the 45 Series Enlarger and other darkroom products. Today, the Charles Beseler Company continues to be the leading supplier of photographic darkroom equipment for the educational market. Proudly made in the USA, at a modern manufacturing facility in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, Beseler’s line of high-quality photographic equipment continues to withstand the test of time and remains the industry standard for professionals and amateurs alike.
Was a pretty exciting show for new cameras. It saw the release of the, the, camera/MP3 player (a camera so bad that I couldn't complete my review) and the impressive. Along with those was probably the biggest vaporware product of all-time: the. A prototype of a was also shown, but whether that's also vaporware is up for debate.
One of the real highlights was the, a prosumer camera with an unconventional design, a long lens and tons of direct controls. Its 2/3' 5 Megapixel CCD had the highest resolution of any non-pro camera at the time. All of that came at a price: $1500, to be exact. The Minolta GT apochromatic lens had a manual zoom ring (please, someone do this again on a long-zoom camera!) and a fly-by-wire focus ring. The maximum aperture range was F2.8-3.5 with an equivalent focal range of 28-200mm. Notably, the lens had a pair of anomalous dispersion elements, which Minolta claimed improved color accuracy.
The D7's lens was not stabilized. The D7's body was made from a single piece of magnesium alloy, though despite that, DPReview's Phil Askey was unimpressed with its. The camera had a ton of physical controls, including the quick settings dial you can see above. Images were stored on a CompactFlash slot that supported Type II cards, such as the IBM Microdrive. The DiMAGE 7 had a status LCD on its top plate, along with a standard-issue 1.8' LCD (with 112k dots). The D7 also had a tilting EVF, a feature that has become increasingly popular in recent years. The EVF used 'ferroelectric' technology and was one of the best out there at the time.
The camera was generally snappy (though AF could be sluggish at times), image quality was good, and the APO lens kept chromatic aberration to a minimum. One unusual thing about the DiMAGE 7 was that it used its own color space, so users would have to convert it to sRGB manually. Once that was done, colors were much more vivid.
One niggle Phil brought up in his review was regarding the D7's poor battery life: you needed to bring a spare set of batteries as a backup for your other spare set of batteries. A year after the DiMAGE 7 arrived, its successor ) was announced. It had a faster burst rate, more movie options (though it remained at 320 x 240, 15 fps), wireless flash control and a slightly updated design. It was also $500 less. A later followed, with a snazzy black body, more manual controls and performance enhancements. Did you have any of the DiMAGE 7-series cameras? Share your memories in the comments below! My first 'PRO' camera!
Pro because people saw the images I shot with it and started hiring me to shoot with it. I was looking for something else and saw the familiar form factor from 2001 and 2002 when I was a new public affairs officer in the Navy and they let me buy a camera.I picked he damage. I had been shooting with the Sony Mavica, which might have been two megapixels at the time and recorded to floppy disc.CRAZY!! The Dimage came out and changed the game. I remember a colleague hiring me to shoot his wedding.and his friend had a Nikon and a 70-200 and I felt a little embarrassed. Fast forward when the pictures came back, the friend with the 'professional' camera asked me if he could have a few of my photos!! I've long since moved on and shot Canon, but having this firmed my belief that if you KNOW your equipment you can do awesome things.
Thanks for the flashback.I'm smiling:-). I own a Dimage A1. I think I also owned the 7 which I then changed for the A1. I have my A1 adorning my living room because that little camera gave me so many happy moments. At that time, I shoot in Automatic.
I knew NOTHING about photography or digital photography. I only know that my little A1 made me so happy. It was very reliable little thing. One day it stopped working all together.
Just like that! The Sony technician said I had to change the little motherboard of the camera. It would have cost me so much money that I changed it for a Lumix 50, at that time, the super star of prosumer digital cameras.
I still have that one too. All this happened during the transfer from Minolta to Sony, so I guess they did not have experienced technicians yet. HI, I HAVE THIS CAMERA IN GREAT WORKING CONDITION. I DONT USE IT AT ALL.ITS FOR SALE. IT LOOKS ALMOST NEW.
IF YOU USE IT WITH STRONG BATTERY LIKE SANYO ENELOP-BLACK YOU CAN TAKE A LOT OF PIC WITH ONE BATTERY SET. I REALLY ENJOYED THE FELLING OF USING A DIGITAL CAMERA BUT LIKE IN A FILM CAMERA WAY, AND THATS OLD SCHOOL.THE COLORS AND HOW IT WORKS REALLY REMINDS THE FILM CAMERAS AND THAT THE REAL MAGIC OF THIS MODEL IN MY OPINION. WHEN I DID USE IT, A FEW BRIEF TIMES TO TEST IT WHEN I BOUGHT IT IT WAS REALLY FUN. YOU CAN TAKE Ultraviolet-PIC WITH A SPECIAL FILTER AND THE QUALITY OF THE LENS IS REALLY GOOD EVEN BETTER FROM IN NEW CAMERAS TODAY. I REALLY LIKE THIS CAMERA TILL THIS TIME. Battery life was horrible.
![Beseler Beseler](/uploads/1/2/5/4/125445271/349065786.jpg)
I had the camera for some weeks, best thing was the lens. Manual mechanical zoom lens with universal range. I liked the EVF, but the camera often shut down when the day's temperature raised. The batterie door had to be opened and closed again to continue shooting.
When it came from repair, the improved successor was announced (with sensor-based image stabilisation, I think the first model on the market with this feature) AND the canon 300D (Digital Rebel). I sold the dimage and got the canon.
I purchased one when my Phase One scan back,used on my Hasselblad failed once again to use on smaller jobs in the studio. I very quickly started to take it on location and use it shooting RAW alongside my Hasselblad or 5x4 and before long providing my clients with images from it. I had a lot very favourable comments about both the colour and the sharpness of the images provided. I purchased the H version as soon as it came out, then purchase the Hi which I used till I got a Kodak14N and a grandchild destroyed the Hi:-( Last year I acquired a dimage 7 in mint condition with very little use and it is now my walkabout camera for personal use and I no longer take my Nikon D 800 with me when I go hillwalking. If I could get the Hi version in mint condition I would do so but for now the little Minolta will suffice,it is a very capable camera that gives excellent results especially using Minolta's own software. This 69 year old professional photographer is very happy with his choice.
My first digital camera! Took it on a trip to Thailand and loved it right away. Then in 2004 I got a 'dream job' of being the Stills Photographer for a movie, End of the Spear. digitalmission.us/SpearStory1.html I also used a film camera for this, but the SILENCE of the DiMage 7i was necessary and worked great. Only 5mp but shot raw and looked pretty good back in the day.
Funny thing is. I now live in Thailand and do projects for NGO's and Mission groups with a somewhat similar camera: Lumix FZ1000: 25-400, f2.8-4 that I also love. AMAZING 5-axis video camera, which is what I use it for mostly.
7i version was my first ever camera in 2003. Originally looked at Canon Powershot G, but mechanical zoom and better wide angle attracted me to Minolta. After that it was no turning back with that high guality mechanically zoomed lens starting from at the time very good wide angle. Also camera had good grip and controls didn't need going to menus and could be done with eye on viewfinder. Also unlike in others macro worked in tele end of lens for decent working distance. Sure it was real 'battery tester' with toward 1A peak disharge current. Then DiMAGE A2 was the real watershed.
Good Li-Ion battery, stabilization, both front and rear dials for even better controls and that EVF with 4x number of pixels than in others. With A200, along with other prosumers seriously dumbed down to make room for stripped controls entry level DSLRs it took something like 5 years for as good EVFs to reappear! Bought my A2 half years after its discontinuation/release of A200. I concur on A2; a stunning achievement. It is a pity that it was a black hole for Minolta R&D $ which probably broke the company.
But mine was charming. Still, it's irreducible limitation was the small 2/3' sensor which, with 8mp, and the tech of the time, left one blowing highlights or locking shadows in anything approaching sunlight. ISO 800+ took heavy processing too, with all that means for detail. I found the color quite nice if a little saturated. For all of that i found it capable of 35mm quality images: nice 11x14s if you were careful; maybe a bit larger. Even today some of my A2 prints are seen by others as stunning. Today's one inch superzooms blow it away on DR and ISO i am sure.
But it was ahead of the market for sure. Nonetheless i had to go to and APSC dSLR for better images and haven't looked back. The DiMAGE 7 was my first digital camera. As much as I loved the lens built in (a real tele and at least a little bit of wide) as much I disliked the EVF. It may have been better then the rest then, but it was easy to se no real substitute for a good optical finder.
And the battery hunger!! With the Dimage I had to start with noise removal software unfortunately.
As one can see with current cameras, quite a few things have improved considerably. I therefore don't have this oldtimer any more, I gave it to a literally poor friend some years ago. It used its own color space. No wonder they ended up being sold to Sony. What do these people think?!? The comment about the Kodak camera proves my point.
How could Kodak executives release a piece of garbage like that into the market, to be reviewed? Did they actually think the camera would get a good review? If so, how could they think that? It makes you wonder if they actually didn't try ANY other cameras on the market. As if they were sitting in their high towers and ignoring all the competition. It amazes me what company executives let happen to the companies they work for. Sometimes I wonder if they are planted there by other companies, to destroy the competition from the inside out, in a type of corporate espionage.
I just noticed this item is on Throw Back review. I still own two D7's and used them exclusively for IR imaging. These cameras similar to early Nikon and Olympus cameras such as the Coolpix 900-995 and the Oly C2000-2020z were very sensitive to IR wave lengths. With a simple R72 filter over the lens one could capture outstanding IR images that required simple post processing to bring excellent BW tones. I loved the articulating viewer (still love the Oly VF series of today).
Yes, the camera is a battery hog and I used rechargeable batteries for that reason (i.e. I still shoot IR with Oly, but would still recommend the Dimage 7's for anyone wanting to get into IR with a used Dimage 7 at a very attractive used price. All you need is a couple basic filters. And, yes, that lens is excellent.
I bought one just before the A1 came out, and quickly switched to the latter, despite taking a bath on the 7. The A1 had all the 7's virtues plus stabilization and a tilting LCD (I don't recall whether the 7 had that. It also eliminated the 7's major nuisance, a bulging back that made it roll from side to side when it was hanging on my chest; that bulge held AA batteries, which could be handy in the field, but t he A1's rechargeable lasted longer. Being rechargeable, it also had a DC input with available power supply-handy if you were using the built-in intervalometer. That truncated left side meant that you'd automatically hold it with your hand cradling the lens. On both models, the tilting EVF had too loose a pivot-put your eye to it and it would move. No problem with the eyepiece facing back, and sometimes usable when facing straight up, but useless at intermediate angles.
Drat, I found a neat photo I could post, but no way to put it here. I had a 7i, my FIRST digital camera. Was SO excited to also get a deal on a Pro CF card at 256mb. That's all I had, only ONE card, ha! Did a lot of deleting up on a jungle trek in Thailand.
This camera also served me well as the Stills Photographer on the motion picture, End of the Spear. It worked great for indoor scenes (the photo I was going to attach) because it was SILENT, wow! (I used a Nikon with film for outdoor zoom shots.) Loved the outside controls knobs. Loved the camera until it got stolen. Here is a webzine article I wrote with all the indoor shots and some outdoor from the 7i, sorry I don't remember which were which. But it's kind of a neat article about being a newby Photog on the set of a feature film!
I owned a DiMage 7. It was the first digital camera I owned and it almost ended digital photography for me. The DiMage7 had a horrible non-linear color shift from yellow to green.
It would not affect all colors uniformly, but yellow definitely shifted to green. Not to mention the chromatic aberration which was also present.
I brought the camera back to Minolta at their US headquarters in Ramsey, NJ and after a few weeks they gave it back to me and told me that there was no problem with the camera. I then bought a color chart and showed them the shift. Didn't matter. The repair manager told me the camera was operating according to specifications and this was the way it was designed.
Luckily, I found some color correction software which did a pretty good job at removing the shift, but what a pain in the butt. After a couple of years of this, I got rid of the camera and bought a Canon S80, a truly superb little point and shoot. The A2 was the last and best version. Two auxilliary lenses were available a tele which gave 300mm at 2,8 and a wide which was about 21mm - both were big, heavy and inconvenient - but they were the best aux lenses I've ever used. If Sony were to re-issue this camera with the latest/greatest sensor, OLED EVF and RAW+jpg I'd be interested. Unfortunately 'the mind of Minolta' didn't seem to be part of the Sony organization's inheritance - groundbreaking designs like the Minolta Spot Meters, Color Temp Meter and Beseler/Minota 45A were abandoned. People forget that before Sony teamed up with Zeiss, Minolta had a fruitful relationship with Leica.
I had a Leica CL also a Minolta CLE that followed it and was better. Both cameras felt flimsy compared with a Leica M4P I bought next but I don't believe the results were better. Minolta 40mm and 90mm lenses were either made by Leica or designed by Leica and made in Japan; no difference in quality. I have still have the 40mm today and it performs better than the modern f2.5 Summarit I bought lately and sold soon after. Incidentally some old Leica lenses are remarkably sharp on an M9 and an M240. I had a DiMAGE 5, bought in 2001.
First digital camera I ever owned. A few things I remember really enjoying about it: - The tilting viewfinder is something I still miss on most every camera I've used since. The use of 4 standard AA batteries, while tedious to replace, is something I valued at the time just because they were so abundant.
I could go to any store and pick some rechargeable NiMH batteries up in a pinch. AC Input straight into the body without the need for batteries came in handy when doing studio work. Oddly enough, seems to be a luxury for cameras these days. LCD on top of the camera for monitoring ISO, shutter and aperture values. I can't think of any modern mirrorless cameras that have this. The locking PASM mode dial was perfectly positioned.
When I look back on the images (DiMAGEs?) it produced straight out of camera, the color reproduction still blows me away. Must have something to do with the CCD. The auto-white balance didn't do too well indoors though. The first full, in-depth review of a production Minolta DiMAGE 7.
The D7 hit the headlines this year at PMA, I got to write a hands-on first look back on 23rd May. Now I've finished a complete review of this interesting, 5 megapixel, 7x optical zoom digital camera. The specifications (RAW mode, decent electronic viewfinder, mechanically linked zoom, external flash support, Microdrive support) are certainly impressive, and we've already had a quick look at an early pre-production camera, but how will it bear up in our detailed tests? Two full samples galleries online! PMA 2001: Minolta Japan has this morning published information about the new Dimage 5 and Dimage 7 digital SLR's and the S304 compact digital camera. The Dimage 5 and 7 are based on exactly the same body design, aimed squarely at Olympus's E-10 they both feature a 7 times zoom lens and either a 3.3 or 5.2 megapixel CCD.
Both have an electronic TTL viewfinder (so not strictly through the lens) and both look like something out of Buck Rogers. The S304 is a 3.3 megapixel compact digital camera with a 4 times optical zoom lens.