Digital Cameras - Picky Details of the Minolta Dimage X1 Digital Camera

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"Picky Details" for the Konica Minolta DiMAGE X1 digital camera
(Timing, Power, and Storage Info)

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 X1:

Konica Minolta DiMAGE X1 Timings
Operation	Time (secs)	Notes
Power On -> First shot	1.8	Camera boots and LCD turns on.
Shutdown	5.8 - 17	First time is simple shutdown, second time is worst-case buffer-clearing time.
Play to Record, first shot	1.1	Time until first shot is captured.
Record to play	2.8 / 0.9	First time is that required to display a large/fine file immediately after capture, second time is that needed to display a large/fine file that has already been processed and stored on the memory card.
Shutter lag, full autofocus	1.9 / 2.0	First time is at full wide-angle, second is full telephoto.
Shutter lag, prefocus	0.22	Time to capture, after half-pressing shutter button.
Cycle Time, max/min resolution	4.95 / 4.0	First number is for large/fine files, second number is time for "TV" mode (640x480) images. Times are averages. In both modes, shoots this fast continuously, clearing the buffer afetr each shot.
Cycle Time, Flash exposures	6	Flash at maximum power output.
Cycle Time, continuous mode, max/min resolution	1.86 / 1.41 (0.54 / 0.71 fps)	First number is for large/fine files, second number is time for "TV" size images. Times are averages. At either resolution, shoots over 100 frames this fast, then clears the buffer in about 3 seconds.
Cycle Time, Ultra High Speed mode, max/min resolution	0.10 (9.9 fps)	Times are averages. Shoots 15 640x480 frames, then clears the buffer in 11 seconds.
Cycle Time, Multi frame mode	0.30 (3.3 fps)	Camera captures nine images, stores them in 3x3 arrays inside normal 2048x1536 files. buffer clears in 3 seconds.

Power

The Konica Minolta DiMAGE X1 uses a custom rechargeable 3.7V, 820 mAh LiIon battery for power. Because it uses a custom power connector, we couldn't perform our usual direct measurements of power consumption, so instead have to rely upon Konica Minolta's published specs, based on the CIPA battery-life standard. (Which involves a combination of intermittent use, some zooming of the lens mechanism and firing the flash on 50% of the shots.) Using the CIPA protocol, Konica Minolta claims 150 shots for a fully-charged battery, and further report an approximate continuous run time in playback mode of 140 minutes. These aren't bad numbers for a subcompact digital model, but if you plan on any extended outings with the X1, you should definitely plan on purchasing a second battery along with the camera.

Storage Capacity

The Konica Minolta DiMAGE X1 stores its photos on SD / MMC memory cards, and a 32 MB card is included with the camera. (I strongly recommend buying at least a 128 MB card, preferably a 256 MB one, to give yourself extra space for extended outings.) The chart below shows how many images can be stored on the included 32 MB card at each size/quality setting.

Image Capacity vs Resolution/Quality 16 MB Memory Card		Fine	Normal	Basic
3264 x 2448	Images (Avg size)	10 3.0 MB	15 2.1 MB	30 1.1 MB
3264 x 2448	Approx. Compression	8:1	12:1	23:1
2560 x 1920	Images (Avg size)	17 1.8 MB	24 1.3 MB	47 675 KB
2560 x 1920	Approx. Compression	8:1	11:1	22:1
2048 x 1536	Images (Avg size)	26 1.2 MB	37 849 KB	70 452 KB
2048 x 1536	Approx. Compression	8:1	11:1	21:1
1600 x 1200	Images (Avg size)	42 753 KB	59 540 KB	107 297 KB
1600 x 1200	Approx. Compression	8:1	11:1	20:1
640 x 480	Images (Avg size)	191 167 KB	241 133 KB	343 93 KB
640 x 480	Approx. Compression	6:1	7:1	10:1

Download Speed

The Konica Minolta DiMAGE X1 connects to a host computer via a USB interface. Downloading files to my Sony desktop running Windows XP (Pentium IV, 2.4 GHz), I clocked it at 533 KBytes/second. (Cameras with slow USB interfaces run as low as 300 KB/s, cameras with fast v1.1 interfaces run as high as 600 KB/s. Cameras with USB v2.0 interfaces run as fast as several megabytes/second.)

X1 Review
X1 Test Images
X1 Specifications
X1 "Picky Details"
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