I had to make the decision to scrap my extensive lens and other accessories from my Minota 5000 and 400si and start over, or try the uncertain future of the 5d with the Sony buy out. Well I made the right choice. The 5d is extrodinary. I encourage any 5d owner to learn all of the features of the camera as it will expand your creative range.

I have owned this camera around a year. I love it, and find the built-in stabilization a huge plus.

I love this camera so much I can't put it down (much to my wife's dismay). The 5D has renewed my interest in photography. I have been a Minolta enthusiast since the 70's. I have owned two Minolta film cameras and two Minolta digital cameras in the past - this is my third KM digital and my first digital SLR. I just returned from Italy and took over 500 pictures with my 5d while there. The image quality was truly amazing.

I have now used this camera for 10 months and have gotten GREAT results. I had Pentax cameras for 30 years but was concerned about their longevity in the digital world and didn't like the layout of the controls on their DSLRs. This camera had better controls and some great features.

I have taken many soccer pictures, travel pictures, scenic and family shots. The color representation is fantastic. I have my screen saver scroll through my pictures and I can tell by just looking at the color accuracy when the shot is from my 5D. The point and shoots jazz up the colors resulting in over saturation and color shifts. This camera is right on! And with good lenses compared to the point and shoots, the sharpness and lack of distortion is also improved.

The things that have really impressed me are:
- color accuracy
- large display with all the setting information EASY to read - VERY important
- anti-shake
- ability to select spot meter when using AEL (I have used spot metering for years and the ability to quickly switch between spot and normal metering was important to me)
- Shutter "release priority mode" - for sports and candids this is essential and most of the other brands don't offer this until you get into much more expensive cameras.
- Kit lens is actually very good and light. I bought prime 28mm and 50mm lenses and when I did detailed comparison tests I found almost unnoticeable differences in sharpness (at least at those two focal lengths), however the speed on the primes is much greater and subtle improvement on contrast. I use the kit lens for everything except special scenics.

Bottom line - I get great quality pictures and many shots I could not get with other cameras in this price range. And this is in a completely different league than any point and shoot I have tried.

Some complaints
- I always use +.7 exposure compensation
- The flash TTL metering is badly fooled with a subject wearing white (or any very bright color) - however, if you use ADI flash mode it solves this problem
- When you change batteries some key settings get forgotten namely exposure compensation and shutter "release priority" mode. Need to remember to reset these every battery change. (I believe these are bugs in their software.) Would be useful to know if anyone else has this problem.

first digital camera. love that i can use all my old lenses on it. the only prob i have with it is custom color balance where i ended up with green where i should have white. for all those who say its slow if you buy fast memory it solves all your problems

I have owned this camera for less than a year but love this camera. I am new to digital slr cameras and this is the first camera I have had that you could change all the settings. The picture quality is great and it is fairly easy to learn to use. So far I have taken this camera to San Antonio and to Europe with great photos to show. The anti-shake feature is what sold me on the 5D. I highly reccommend it to anyone.

This is best amateur camera to come out since the Minolta XD-11. Minolta's engineers have always been smarter then their management and marketing departments. The 5d is the camera they should have come out with back when Canon came out with the digital Rebel. The 5d is priced right. The anti-shake built into the camera made developing a system affordable. The pictures are first rate. The controls fall into a normal sized hand like a smooth leather glove. The autofocus is quick and the meter can't be beat.Have yet to miss a shot because of the camera. For someone looking to learn the art of photography this camera is worth finding. It won't get in the way of learning and will in fact help make one a better photographer.

an excellent DSLR and has all the capabilities to comete with all other DSLR cameras.

34 years ago I was printing my own black and white photos. I have always been a Minolta fan and had a Maxxum film autofocus for years but children and work replaced any film work for a good 10 years. Then Minolta brought out the 5D that uses my 20 year old 75-300 lens with anti-shake built into the body and it was a no brain-er for me. I'm just an amateur, but I have shot 3000 pictures since Nov. 7, 2005! I take my camera almost everywhere. I get out of the house at midnight to photograph fog filled streets, I pull over to shoot waterfalls in dead winter, horses at sunset. I have shot friends weddings, parties, customers, sunsets, foliage. The intuitive ease of use makes photography fun again. It has changed the way I look at everything. I have shot soccer games with the 3 fps. But I have also shot portraits at the same speed, it seems to bring a more natural smile to people's faces when they realize that I am still shooting beyond their "say cheese" expressions

I too would prefer a higher res screen, but it's okay. The buttons fall naturally under my fingers. I have average size hands for a man.

The colors are great, the white balance is white, the camera is fast as you could need. I worried about the shutter sound, but having taken pictures during school musicals and then asking if the sound bothered anyone immediately around me. Their answer was "I didn't know you were taking pictures" It just seems louder to me than others.

I shoot with a 1GB Ultra card and have never run out of space. I did buy a second battery and keep it charged and with me so that I have never run out of juice although I have had to switch.

While I did purchase a 5600HS flash, the on camera flash is excellent for portraits. Virtually no red eye (unless subject is at an angle). But dead straight on...great natural color and lighting. I use the on camera flash a lot, even for fill in.

If you have lenses from previous minolta cameras that will work with this body, do yourself a favor and buy a 5D. The price has dropped a lot since last November. A bargain for someone looking to get into DSLR for not a lot of investment. What more can I say..."I love this camera"

Last year I decided to switch to a digital format..a little leary because I loved my film. I bought the Cannon Digital Rebel just to test the waters without a huge investment. I loved that camera! I shot weddings, seniors, etc. with it and never had a problem. I decided to buy a higher end camera last week, and the sales person suggested the Minolta 5D, and though I wanted at least 8mp, I was impressed with the features and antishake, and I had a collection of compatible equipement. Then I got the camera home, and I realized what a mistake I had made. The features are nice, but the camera is very slow and so loud. It's not just that it's loud, but hollow sounding. I took shots with both my cannon rebel, and the minolta, and 10 to 1 the cannon outshot it in almost every circumstance. The color on the minolta in some cases was truer, but the images looked soft..and it was hard to tell which images you wanted to keep because the LCD screen was so grainy. I think this would be a great purchase for somebody wanting a good digital camera for taking pictures of their kids and soccer games...but after about ten seconds of soul searching I decided that the extra $600 for the Cannon 20D is so worth it...I also had inconsistancies with the camera coming up with black frames and maybe it was just that camera but it concerned me.

I love this camera...I've taken pictures just as the sun was coming up very early in the morning, and my family couldn't believe it. I previously owned a Minolta camera, not digital, just film, and I especially loved that I could use my lenses on my Maxxum 5D as well. Holding the camera it feels close to my older Minolta, so that was another plus for me. I only have the best to say about this camera. I looked and researched other camera's, not only Konica Minolta's, and I'll have to say this was the best pick.

I compared this camera with Nikon and Canon SLR's. On greatly magnified images, I have to admit that the 8 megapixel cameras where picking up a very slight advantage. But when you look at normal size images, the Minolta always seems to produce the better image quality and more pleasing colors. When you compare hand held photos, the other cameras just can't match the same quality.

I researched a lot before buying a SLR camera and decided to get the 5D. The anti-shake feature is what sold me. I am really glad I bought this one. The color is very good and the quality is amazing. I would reccomend it to anyone. I did later get the new 18-200mm lens and am very satisfied with it.

This is a terrific DSLR for someone new to DSLRs and who doesn't want to drop a boatload on a body. Picture quality is top-notch — easily as good as anything similar bodies from Canon and Nikon can turn out. The killer difference is the integrated anti-shake. On a Canon Digital Rebel XT or Nikon D50, I'm lucky to get a sharp handheld shot at 1/30th of a second. With the KM 5D, however, 1/15th of a second is fairly easy. And ignore those who complain about "common controls deeply embedded in menus" — that's poppycock. Everything you need to change for most shots is on a button or dial. Most other things are accessible within 2-3 button clicks, certainly not "deep" within the menu system. Of course, if having all the controls assigned to hardware buttons and dials is important to you, check out the KM 7D — that's one of its strong points (and the same high image quality as the 5D).

Fabulous entry level SLR. Gorgeous natural colour representation. Light and far less bulky than the 7D. The package with the AF 18-70 makes for a good all-rounder, though I need to buy a better macro. My single gripe is the lack of a time-lapse setting, I can't understand why they would neglect to add such a standard function...overall though, for the price; it's a must. I love it!

I have researched products for over three months. I had a cannon powershot pro1 and just didn't like it. It was too slow, although the color was great, it just wasn't right. I looked at everything and decided on the Konica 5d. What a pleasure to use. the anti-shake is fantastic and the camera is very fast and easy to use. The choices and options sould suit just about every need. There is just no need to spend any more money as I don't feel you can buy a better camera. I ordered the new 18-200 mm lens which i plan on using for everything. The color is fantastic and pictures are crisp and sharp.

I previously own a fuji digicam and have been salivating over the KM's Dynax 7D but it was too high for my budget. When KM released Dynax 5d, it was a great opportunity for me to upgrade to an entry level DSLR. No regrets at all and none can beat it in terms of value for money and the AS feature!!!

Intuitive easy to use camera. Controls easy to utilize, well thought out. Low noise and ISO up to 3200 makes this a great low light camera. Add to that anti-shake technology which means that even your lowly $150 lens becomes what the other guys (canon and nikon) offer for much more, IS. Minolta does all the image stabilizing in the camera so all AF minolta mounted lens in essence are IS lenses. NICE! Surprisingly solid construction even though plastic. Overall very good value for my $$. (OH YEAH, image quality, very very impressive).

The camera does not come with storage or an AC adapter, and as one review has stated, some of the main features are embedded deep within the menu settings.

Biggest problem was that most of the critical features are buried deep within the program menu. By the time you've sorted it all out, you've lost the shot. KM should place the majority of program functions with knobs where they can be operated on the top of the camera rapidly.

I bought the digital body to replace my 35mm SPx body. Very easy to use, simple menus, great range of shooting options. Software is great for image manipulation. Nice overall feel of quality.

The colors from the Minolta Maxxum 5D is amazing! Teamed up with image stabilization, easy to use interface, small design, and the ultra-low grain low80 and high200 mode is awsome! Me and a friend who had a 20D did a shoot out, and the colors from the minolta were much more natural and overall metered slightly better! And with the minolta having the fastest processor for a DSLR under 3 grand....who wouldn't want it!?