Finally got my new camera...

[Biggus]

Got my Konica Minolta Dynax 7D from Jessops yesterday, along with..
VC7D vertical/battery grip
2x extra batteries
2x 1Gb Sandisk Extreme 3 CF cards
Lowepro Orion Trekker backpack

Actually I haven't got my grip or Sandisk cards yet as they couldn't get them in stock in time, but I have paid for them, and Jessops have lent me 2 of their own brand 1Gb CF cards (damn they're slow).
I certainly can't fault the store so far (Ashford, Kent), as they've matched the lowest prices I could find, and I really didn't want to buy it online in case anything went wrong.

I'm also waiting on my Vosonic card reader/HD storage as it too is out of stock :(

I wnated to go out somewhere to try it out properly today, but 2 things put a stop to that, first was a family visit (to us), and 2nd was a flat battery in the car :(
I've got that on charge ATM, but I suspect it's flat because of a knackered alternator, esp seeing as we were driving it a fair bit yesterday. Hopefully tomorrow will let me get some pics worth taking & showing ;)

[matty]

well done Biggus, im looking forward to seeing some shots!

you can do a little review for us too if you want, that will be very welcome!

[Steep]

Yup, a 'getting started with my new camera' post would help others too.

[Steve]

Congratulations Biggus on your new kit, I think you have done great and can fully understand you choosing to use somewhere like Jessops. A lot of my equipment came from Jessops and I managed to get good price matches which although were slightly higher than I could have got from Ebay sellers, the security and easy return in the event of a fault are a small price to pay.

I look forward to seeing some of your pictures. [smilie=t:

[Biggus]

Cheers for the comments, also got my 40Gb Vosonic VP6210 today from The Digital Camera Company (http://www.digital-cameras.com). I placed the order on Monday (7th) and they had to order it in, and I received it today, so good service from them - total cost was £224.95 inc delivery :D

I was rather impressed by the speed of data transfer between card & drive, as well as between drive & PC. Also surprised that it came with a decent protective case, headphones, mini screwdriver (flat & cross head). It can connect to a TV for displaying the images or movies, is an MP3 player too. Getting a replacement battery will be no problem as it uses a Fuji NP120 giving up to 6hrs battery life.

Links to images of the VP6210
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/gsphoto/photos/KM7D/PICT0332.jpg
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/gsphoto/photos/KM7D/PICT0333.jpg
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/gsphoto/photos/KM7D/PICT0334.jpg

I also managed to get out and take a few pics late this afternoon when the sun actually shone for the first time this week :)
Will post those later.

[SDK^]

Nice camera, I had a play with one at Focus on Imaging and apart from the masses of buttons it seemed pretty good. I could just about handhold the cam fitted with 300mm 2.8 though.

http://www.sdk2003.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/Dynax-7D-300mm.jpg

[Biggus]

I've had some very reasonable handheld shots as low as 1/8th (although not of anything good), but it is a very welcome tool which applies to ALL lenses I choose to use :)

I tried the other main competitor cameras (D70 & 20D), but they just didn't feel as nice in the hand as the KM7D. The buttons are easy to get used to, and I've already got 2 of the 3 custom setup options for the High & Low Key zone matching as they would need accessing through a few menus otherwise. I've already learnt about 80-90% of the camera features etc., I just need to put them to good use :lol: