I thought you may be interested in this reply from Minolta to an email someone sent them:
Thanks for your e-mail concerning the possibility of a digital body for existing system lenses and accessories. Without wanting to pass on too many confidential plans concerning Minolta's new additions. suffice to say that Minolta is not a company to be left behind and will ensure it has products that rival its competitors. In the case of a digital SLR we need to evaluate what sort of photographers use Minolta cameras. Traditionally Nikon and Canon have a stronger foothold in the press and professional market. Minolta is strongest in the photographic enthusiast and amateur market. This means that Nikon and Canon need to satisfy photographers that need their pictures now and on picture editors' desks minutes after the news story breaking. Quality and cost is not as important as speed. Minolta users tend to be more discerning and require good quality. Cost is often a big factor, as they do not always generate income directly from photography as it is more of a hobby. This puts Minolta in a difficult position, as digital technology is constantly changing at quite a pace, this keeps costs of research and development high. This has a knock on effect on the price of a product when it reaches the marketplace. This could be prohibitively expensive for an amateur or part time professional to justify the expense of, especially bearing in mind there will be a cheaper and better quality version in around 6 months or so. When technology becomes less expensive and more stable in terms of its shelf life then Minolta will enter the market with a digital version of a film camera. Enabling users to replace their film camera with something that is not inferior quality at 5 times the price. The other concern is the actual optical resolution versus the pixel resolution. This is why the RD-3000 digital SLR uses the Minolta V mount lenses. These are a minimum of 40 % higher optical resolution than the equivalent 35mm lens. This is because of the smaller size of the APS negative and the need to increase the optical resolution so that there was no discernible drop in quality for the printed image. When the opportunity arose to make a digital SLR using twin CCD's these lenses were the perfect choice. The CCD's were put together and created an exposure area much the same as an APS negative. The optical resolution was higher making up for a lack of pixel resolution. When all conditions are suitable Minolta will introduce a film camera replacement with digital technology, for all. In the meantime we shall continue to make high quality digital compact cameras and the like, at an affordable price. Also continuing the very successful Dim�ge Scanner line up. The natural choice for the discerning photographer getting the best from their existing equipment and superb high quality digital images on their PC from �380. Regards, Paul Genge Sales and Marketing Assistant - Digital Minolta UK Limited - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
