Konica Minolta DiMAGE X1 Digital Camera
- Camera Type: Compact
- Weight: 0.3 lb.
- LCD Screen Size: 2.5 in.
- Resolution: 8.3 Megapixel
- Optical Zoom: 3x
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429
Not Quite Up To Snuff
Pros
small, good under the right conditions.
Cons
Slow shutter speed, slow processing, not good with landscapes
Recommended it?
No
The Bottom Line:
This is not a great camera. I'm going to keep looking.
I'm in the market for a digital camera and, having not so long ago been really, really poor, I like to spend my money carefully. So first we research, then we test, then (after that whole Philips MCM530 CD Shelf System debaucle) we go home and we think things over. Since my husband spent 20 years as a professional artist, I really need a camera that takes quality images, but I'm not about to shell out a lot of money. Lots of reading and a trip to Yongsan Market to play torture the slaes people later, I decided this wasn't the camera for us and the why follows.
Specs:
* 8.0-megapixel CCD.
* 2.5-inch color TFT LCD monitor.
* Glass, 3.0x, 7.7-23.1mm lens, equivalent to a 37-111mm lens on a 35mm camera.
* 4.0x digital zoom.
* Automatic exposure control.
* Shutter speeds from 1/1,250 to one second.
* Maximum aperture f/3.5 to f/3.8, depending on lens zoom position.
* Built-in flash.
* SD/MMC memory card storage, 32MB SD memory card included.
* Images saved as JPEG files.
* Power supplied by one NP-1 rechargeable lithium-ion battery or optional AC adapter.
* DiMAGE Master Lite, Kodak EasyShare software and USB drivers included for both Windows and Mac platforms.
Special Features
* Movie mode with optional sound, and ability to use optical zoom during recording.
* Continuous , UHS Continuous, Progressive, UHS Progressive, and Multi-Image Shooting modes.
* 10-second Self-Timer for delayed shutter release.
* Voice Memo mode for recording captions.
* White balance (color) adjustment with five modes.
* Scene mode with nine presets.
* Adjustable ISO.
* Adjustable sharpness and contrast.
* Both multi-segment and spot metering.
* DPOF (Digital Print Order Format) compatibility.
* PictBridge compatibility.
* USB cable for connection to a computer (driver software included, can function as a webcam).
In the research phase I learned that most people who have this camera hated it though they thought it was very cute. In the testing phase I learned that I agreed. It's very stylish, available in three colored finishes: wine red, gunmetal black and silver. However, the very pretty finish attracts fingerprints like lights attract moths. So if you actually want this camera, you better get your polishing cloths ready. It's also quite tiny, measuring just 95 x 68 x 19.5mm. It will fit easily in your pocket. And it's Mac compatible. Ok, I may be the only person in the world who worries about these things, but unless it's spelled out in words of one syllable, I don't believe it'll work with my computer. How could anyone dislike such a charming little thing?
Well, one of the things that seemed to be a problem was the sheer little-ness of the thing. They crammed a lot of stuff into a little body and because of that it runs a little slow. The shutter speed is pretty slow so if you're trying to get a bunch of images quickly you're out of luck. The processing speed is also quite slow. According to my reading you can fix this problem with a better memory card, but I haven't tested that out personally so I can't say with any certainty. The SD card is also very difficult to remove because of its size.
The viewfinder, a whopping 2.5 inches, is supposed to be backlit so that you can see it under bright light, but in practice it wasn't backlit enough. My husband was also unhappy with the screen because it didn't show all of the image you were photographing. He likes to be able to compose his image. This might be something he'll have to get used to, but I haven't researched quite that much yet.
Once you do manage to get pictures out of it, they aren't great. In bright light, they're ok, but once you get into uneven light or low light forget it. The flash is very small and can't do much. What you end up with is a lot of noise in the background ("noise" is the fragmentation of the image in low light.) The zoom is also pretty worthless. The designers didn't want anything to protrude from the sleek little case, so the zoom is internal giving it precious little room to move around. The only really successful way to zoom is to do it manually, i.e. move your whole body closer. You can decent shots from 3 inches away though. Landscapes are a different story. Not so hot at a distance. The pictures can be grainy and washed out.
If you're still interested, it has programmed settings for seven common photo scenes: Portrait, Landscape, Sunset, Super Macro, Night Portrait, Night View, and Text.
I did not have the opportunity to test out the "movie mode" but based on the quality of the photographs I don't think I would have been impressed. According to the literature, it can also be used as a web cam. Since most web based images are pretty grainy to begin with, it might be fine for that.
In the end we decided that this was not the camera for us. It doesn't take good photos in general. Sure, if all I wanted was to photograph images in middle ground under good lighting I'd be fine, but for those Filipino sunsets I'd have to have another camera. So it's back to the drawing board.
Specs:
* 8.0-megapixel CCD.
* 2.5-inch color TFT LCD monitor.
* Glass, 3.0x, 7.7-23.1mm lens, equivalent to a 37-111mm lens on a 35mm camera.
* 4.0x digital zoom.
* Automatic exposure control.
* Shutter speeds from 1/1,250 to one second.
* Maximum aperture f/3.5 to f/3.8, depending on lens zoom position.
* Built-in flash.
* SD/MMC memory card storage, 32MB SD memory card included.
* Images saved as JPEG files.
* Power supplied by one NP-1 rechargeable lithium-ion battery or optional AC adapter.
* DiMAGE Master Lite, Kodak EasyShare software and USB drivers included for both Windows and Mac platforms.
Special Features
* Movie mode with optional sound, and ability to use optical zoom during recording.
* Continuous , UHS Continuous, Progressive, UHS Progressive, and Multi-Image Shooting modes.
* 10-second Self-Timer for delayed shutter release.
* Voice Memo mode for recording captions.
* White balance (color) adjustment with five modes.
* Scene mode with nine presets.
* Adjustable ISO.
* Adjustable sharpness and contrast.
* Both multi-segment and spot metering.
* DPOF (Digital Print Order Format) compatibility.
* PictBridge compatibility.
* USB cable for connection to a computer (driver software included, can function as a webcam).
In the research phase I learned that most people who have this camera hated it though they thought it was very cute. In the testing phase I learned that I agreed. It's very stylish, available in three colored finishes: wine red, gunmetal black and silver. However, the very pretty finish attracts fingerprints like lights attract moths. So if you actually want this camera, you better get your polishing cloths ready. It's also quite tiny, measuring just 95 x 68 x 19.5mm. It will fit easily in your pocket. And it's Mac compatible. Ok, I may be the only person in the world who worries about these things, but unless it's spelled out in words of one syllable, I don't believe it'll work with my computer. How could anyone dislike such a charming little thing?
Well, one of the things that seemed to be a problem was the sheer little-ness of the thing. They crammed a lot of stuff into a little body and because of that it runs a little slow. The shutter speed is pretty slow so if you're trying to get a bunch of images quickly you're out of luck. The processing speed is also quite slow. According to my reading you can fix this problem with a better memory card, but I haven't tested that out personally so I can't say with any certainty. The SD card is also very difficult to remove because of its size.
The viewfinder, a whopping 2.5 inches, is supposed to be backlit so that you can see it under bright light, but in practice it wasn't backlit enough. My husband was also unhappy with the screen because it didn't show all of the image you were photographing. He likes to be able to compose his image. This might be something he'll have to get used to, but I haven't researched quite that much yet.
Once you do manage to get pictures out of it, they aren't great. In bright light, they're ok, but once you get into uneven light or low light forget it. The flash is very small and can't do much. What you end up with is a lot of noise in the background ("noise" is the fragmentation of the image in low light.) The zoom is also pretty worthless. The designers didn't want anything to protrude from the sleek little case, so the zoom is internal giving it precious little room to move around. The only really successful way to zoom is to do it manually, i.e. move your whole body closer. You can decent shots from 3 inches away though. Landscapes are a different story. Not so hot at a distance. The pictures can be grainy and washed out.
If you're still interested, it has programmed settings for seven common photo scenes: Portrait, Landscape, Sunset, Super Macro, Night Portrait, Night View, and Text.
I did not have the opportunity to test out the "movie mode" but based on the quality of the photographs I don't think I would have been impressed. According to the literature, it can also be used as a web cam. Since most web based images are pretty grainy to begin with, it might be fine for that.
In the end we decided that this was not the camera for us. It doesn't take good photos in general. Sure, if all I wanted was to photograph images in middle ground under good lighting I'd be fine, but for those Filipino sunsets I'd have to have another camera. So it's back to the drawing board.
