"Picky Details" for the Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z3 digital camera

Timing

When you press the shutter release on a camera, there's usually a lag time or delay before the shutter actually fires. This corresponds to the time required for the autofocus and autoexposure mechanisms time to do their work, and can amount to a fairly long delay in some situations. Since this number is rarely reported on (and even more rarely reported accurately), and can significantly affect the picture taking experience, I routinely measure both shutter delay and shot to shot cycle times for all cameras I test, using a test system I designed and built for the purpose. (Crystal-controlled, with a resolution of 0.001 second.) Here are the numbers I collected for the Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z3:

Power

The Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z3 uses four AA batteries for power. Following are projected run times with "standard" 1600 mAh cells. (Note that modern NiMH cells have true capacities as high as 2100-2200 mAh, so your run times could easily be 30% longer than shown in the table below.)

Excellent battery life. Powered from four AA batteries, the DiMAGE Z3's battery life is excellent. Worst case run time with "standard" 1600 mAh batteries was just shy of three hours, extending to 3.7 hours in playback mode. With modern high-capacity NiMH cells, your run times could easily be 30% longer. As always though, I highly recommend purchasing two sets of high-capacity NiMH batteries and a good charger. (See my Battery Shootout page for test results from a variety of batteries, and read my review of the Maha C-204W to see why it's my new favorite AA-cell charger.)

Storage Capacity

The Konica Minolta DiMAGE stores its photos on SD/MMC memory cards, and a 16 MB card is included with the camera. (I strongly recommend buying at least a 64 MB card, preferably a 128 MB one, to give yourself extra space for extended outings.) The chart below shows how many images can be stored on the included 16 MB card at each size/quality setting.