It's definitely not a camera that you're going to be slipping into a pocket. The Dimage 7i is professional class in terms of both performance and size, weighing in at over a pound without batteries. That said, it's comfortable to use and can actually be handled one handed.

The colour electronic viewfinder knows when you put your eye up to it, turning itself on and turning off the bright 1.8-inch LCD, which saves on battery life and makes for a nifty party trick. It even has a diopter lens so glasses-wearing users can adjust it to their eyesight.

Captured images are impressive with bright, lifelike colours and very sharp details. The Dimage 7i sports a long list of advanced features, including a variety of movie capture modes (including low-light), a real-time histogram that lets you adjust your aperture and other settings before snapping a photo, and continuous autofocus on moving subjects.

You might think that a camera of this level would be a bit imposing to use, but Minolta has laid out the buttons and wheels effectively for ease of use, and including an LCD panel on top of the camera that keeps you informed of the settings.

It's not the kind of camera you'd necessarily want to buy a teenager for a birthday, but if you're looking for a digital camera that can hold its own against top film cameras, the Minolta Dimage 7i definitely deserves a look. --J Curtis