Konica to announce 4mpix, 3x zoom digicam By
Michael R. Tomkins, The Imaging Resource (Wednesday, September 24, 2003 - 13:10 EDT)Konica will show a new digital camera model next Wednesday at the upcoming Sonimagfoto 2003 show in Barcelona, Spain, we hear from the folks at Quesabesde.com (if our Spanish is up to scratch, "que sabes de" translates roughly as "that you know of).
Quesabesde's article will be of interest to anybody who reads Spanish, but for those of you who don't, we've culled the following brief specifications highlights from their article and a Sonimagfoto press document which describes upcoming announcements at the show.
Since we don't have full specifications at this time, it is a bit difficult to say what has been changed since the Digital Revio KD-410Z - the most similar camera in Konica's current lineup. Obviously the camera has been totally restyled, but other changes we've noticed are that the image sensor is slightly higher resolution (although image size is actually slightly smaller), the lens is slightly wider, the camera focuses 1cm closer in macro mode, and both Aperture-priority and manual modes have been added.
Konica Digital Revio KD-420Z
Sensor Resolution
4.23 megapixels
Effective Resolution
3.8 megapixels
File Types
JPEG (still), AVI (movie with sound)
Image Size
2272 x 1704 pixels max.
Lens
3x optical zoom
5.6 - 16.8mm
35mm equivalent: 34 - 102mm
Maximum aperture: f/2.8 - 4.9
Focusing
Automatic by CCD
Focus Range
50cm to infinity (5cm in macro mode)
Optical Viewfinder
Yes
LCD Display
1.5" TFT
Flash
Yes, auto and manual, red-eye reduction available
Exposure Modes
Automatic, Aperture-Priority, Manual
Recording Modes
Single and Continuous
Shutter Speeds
1 to 1/2000 second
White Balance
Auto, Manual
Connectivity
USB
Storage Media
Two slots - Secure Digital / MultiMediaCard, and MemoryStick
Battery
Rechargeable Lithium-Ion
.
Whilst the camera hasn't yet been officially announced, and hence pricing information is not available, we did notice numerous European price comparison sites are already listing this camera. Pricing seems to be around €525 in Europe, and around £360 in the United Kingdom. This roughly translates to US$600, CAD$815 and ¥67,000 ignoring exchange rate fluctuations, taxes and duties. We'd expect the camera to be available soon, given that it is already being listed for sale (albeit out of stock) on several European websites.