|
|
| |
Click to see today's
Photo of the Day
First
Canon PIXMA Pro9000 Printer
ACDSee Pro2
Second
Canon PIXMA MP970 Printer
ACDSee Pro2
Third
Canon PIXMA MP610 Printer
ACDSee Pro2
Support our adopted charity House of Hope.
Click for more info.
|
The Imaging Resource Quick Review Minolta DiMAGE X50 Digital Camera
Introduction
This year, the latest model in the popular "X" line, the Konica Minolta X50. While still closely related to its other X-series siblings, the X50 takes things in a slightly different direction, improving the camera's feature set and usability, at the expense of a slight increase in weight and thickness. With that said, even though there have been a lot of hardware changes made, the Konica Minolta X50 will feel very familiar to owners of earlier X-series models. With each generation, Minolta's "X" series has continued to improve, and the images from the Konica Minolta DiMAGE X50 are clearly the highest-resolution of any to date, with good color as well. Read on for all the details, but if you're looking for a super-portable, stylishly different camera, the DiMAGE X50 deserves a close look.
With its unusual prism-folded lens design, Konica Minolta's DiMAGE X50, like the DiMAGE Xg, Xt, Xi and X before it, has a tiny, extraordinarily thin all-metal body. Unlike its predecessors in which the lens was vertically mounted, though, the X50's lens is horizontally mounted inside the camera's body - providing better separation between the front of the lens opening and your fingertips when in use. The new model is slightly smaller overall than the Xg was, and impressively (given the new sliding lens barrier) is only 0.1 inches thicker - measuring a mere 3.3 x 0.9 x 2.4 inches (83.5 x 23.5 x 62 millimeters). The Konica Minolta X50 is about a half ounce heavier than the Xg, though, weighing a light 5.0 ounces (143 grams) without the battery and SD memory card. This still makes the DiMAGE X50 one of the smallest and lightest high-resolution digicams on the market. With the extremely compact design, there's no excuse for leaving it behind, as the camera can tag along in even the smallest shirt pocket, or be quickly tucked into an evening bag or pants pocket. The unique "folded" optical design means that there's no wait for a lens to telescope out of the body when the camera is powered up, resulting in very fast startup and shutdown times. (It also keeps moving parts to a minimum, and protects the lens inside the camera's body - reducing both power consumption, and the risk of accidental damage). The sleek design includes a built-in sliding lens barrier which doubles as a power switch, eliminating any concern over misplacing a lens cap. The all-metal case is rugged and solid-feeling, and should withstand the wear and tear of daily use better than most cameras. The 2.8x zoom lens, combined with the full automatic exposure control makes the camera suitable for most common shooting conditions. The 5.0-megapixel CCD produces high resolution images for printing, as well as lower resolution images better suited for email. The DiMAGE X50 has a 2.8x, 6.1-17.1mm lens, the equivalent of a 37-105mm lens on a 35mm camera. The autofocus covers a range from 4 inches (10 cm) to infinity. A Super Macro scene mode reduces this to a minimum of just 2.4 inches (6 cm). Depending on the lens zoom position, the maximum aperture ranges from f/2.8 to f/5.0. In addition to the optical zoom, the Konica Minolta X50 offers a 1.1 - 4.3x digital zoom, in increments of 0.1x. (Although I always remind readers that digital zoom decreases the overall image quality because it simply enlarges the central pixels of the CCD's image.) You can choose between the real-image optical viewfinder or the 2.0-inch, color TFT LCD monitor to compose images, although as usual, the LCD monitor provides the most accurate framing. (The optical viewfinder is rather "tight", showing only 78-79% of the final frame area.) In playback mode, images can be enlarged up to 6x, as an aid to checking critical focus and framing. Exposure is automatically controlled at all times, with only a few exposure options available. The sliding lens barrier on the front of the camera powers the camera on, and a Mode switch lets you select between fully automatic, scene, and movie / sound modes. The Scene Mode function, which customizes exposures for common photographic situations, offers a choice of Automatic Selection, Portrait, Sports Action, Landscape, Sunset, Night Portrait, Text, Super Macro, and Auto settings. Thanks to the all-internal lens design, there's no need to wait for the lens to extend before you can shoot, so startup times are very short. (Startup time was claimed to be the fastest in the X50's class as of April 2004, at approximately 0.5 seconds, although in my own tests, the camera consistently took about 1.4 seconds to capture the first picture after power-up. That's still pretty fast, though.) Most exposure options are controlled through the LCD's on-screen menu system, which offers very straightforward navigation. That said, you can control flash mode, lens zoom, wide / spot autofocus, drive mode, and your choice of either exposure compensation, white balance, ISO sensitivity or color mode externally, via buttons and controls on the camera's rear panel. Shutter speeds range from 1/1,000 to four seconds, though the chosen value is not reported to the user. The right and left arrow keys on the camera's back panel control either the Exposure Compensation, white balance, ISO sensitivity, or color mode, or are disabled in Record mode (depending on a menu setting). Exposure Compensation ranges from -2 to +2 exposure equivalents (EV) in one-third step increments. Sensitivity is adjustable to values of 50, 100, 200, or 400, with an Auto setting as well, that varies the ISO between 50 and 160, depending on the current light level. White Balance is adjustable through the settings menu, with options for Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Incandescent, and Fluorescent light sources. The Konica Minolta DiMAGE X50's built-in flash operates in Auto, Red-Eye Reduction, Forced, Suppressed, or Slow Sync modes (the latter being available only when using the Night Portrait scene mode). In addition to the basic exposure options, the Konica Minolta DiMAGE X50 also offers a few extra shooting modes, controlled through the settings menu. In Movie exposure mode, the camera captures 320 x 240-pixel resolution moving images with sound, with duration limited only by the size of the memory card. Movie frame rate can be selected from a choice of either 15 or 30 frames per second. (The included 16MB SD card should hold approximately 21 seconds worth of movies at the highest frame rate, or 40 seconds at the lower frame rate, larger cards will store proportionately more.) A Self-Timer mode provides a 10-second delay between the time the Shutter button is pressed and when the camera actually takes the picture, allowing you to get into your own shots. For shooting fast action subjects, the DiMAGE X50's Continuous Shooting mode captures a rapid series of images when you hold down the Shutter button, much like a motor drive on a traditional 35mm camera. Provided that there's enough space remaining on the memory card, the camera can capture up to 6 large/fine images, or over a hundred small/economy mode ones before having to pause to write the image data to the memory card. Details like image size and shutter speed can affect the shooting interval, but it averages approximately 1.8 frames per second. An Ultra-High Speed mode captures eleven 1280 x 960 pixel images in just under a second, and a Multi-Frame mode captures nine low-res images at a rate of 1.25 frames per second, which are then combined as a single image in a three by three grid. Finally, Audio Recording mode lets you record sound clips as long as 180 minutes (without an image), although the maximum recording time may also be limited by the amount of available memory card space. (A 16 MB memory card can hold about 30 minutes of audio.) The Konica Minolta DiMAGE X50 also features a Voice Memo option, for recording short sound clips (up to 15 seconds in length) to accompany recorded images. The Konica Minolta DiMAGE X50 stores its images on an SD memory card, and a 16MB card accompanies the camera. (The camera also works with the slightly less expensive MMC cards.) Connection to a host computer for image download is via USB. The DiMAGE X50 is a "storage-class" device, which means that it doesn't require any separate driver software for Windows 2000 and XP, or for Mac OS 8.6 and later. (Download speed is also very good, I clocked it at 808 KBytes/second on my Sony VAIO computer, running Windows XP. - That's faster than USB v1.1 can support, so the X50 must in fact have a USB v2.0 interface.) The camera utilizes an NP-700 rechargeable lithium-ion battery for power, one of which is included with the camera, along with the necessary battery charger. While the Konica Minolta X50's battery life is very good with the LCD display turned off, with the display on, a fully-charged battery is only good for about 58 minutes of continuous operation. - My standard recommendation of picking up an additional battery pack and keeping it freshly charged applies doubly for the X50. The optional AC adapter may also be useful for preserving battery power when using the camera as a webcam, for reviewing and downloading images, or when viewing images and movies on a television, via the supplied A/V cable. Basic Features
Special Features
Recommendation
The front of the camera holds the lens window (normally covered by the sliding lens barrier when the camera is turned off), as well as the flash, optical viewfinder window, and self-timer lamp. The sliding lens barrier also functions as a power switch, bringing the camera quickly to life as it is opened (the Playback button, described later, can also power the camera on and off). A slight ridge at the edge of the lens barrier provides welcome purchase for your fingers when framing a photo. You can also see the horizontal row of four tiny holes, marking the location of the X50's microphone. The design of the Konica Minolta DiMAGE X50 is well suites for either a one- or two-handed grip. The fact that the lens is horizontally mounted in the center of the camera reduces the chance of covering the lens opening with your finger accidentally, something that could catch out a user unfamiliar with past X-series cameras. The new location of the flash means that it can be accidentally covered in much the same fashion with your other hand, however.
On the right side of the camera (as viewed from the rear) are the USB / AV and power terminals, and a wrist strap attachment eyelet. A sliding door protects the USB / AV terminal, with a small plastic ridge on it to make it easier to open. The opposite side of the camera is mostly featureless, with the exception of a small eight-hole speaker, and the door for the battery compartment, which features a grid of nine small bumps that help your finger gain grip. The door slides towards the front of the camera, and a spring loaded action then opens it outwards. The battery itself is not held in place by any kind of catch, so with the door open you'll want to take care not to let the battery drop out onto the floor.
The Konica Minolta X50's top panel is sleek and smooth, with only a minor protrusion for the Mode switch and Shutter button. The Mode switch offers three settings - Still Image, Scene mode or Movie / Audio mode.
The remaining camera controls are on the back panel, along with the optical viewfinder eyepiece and 2.0-inch color LCD monitor. A single LED lamp next to the optical viewfinder reports the camera's status, such as when focus is set, when the flash is charged, etc. To the right of the LCD are three buttons, which access the Playback mode (even if the sliding lens barrier is closed, if the button is held in), enable / disable the LCD's information overlay or turn it off altogether, and call up the Menu in any mode. A rocker button at the top right corner of the camera's rear controls the optical and digital zoom, while a four-button controller with central OK button navigates through the camera's menu system and selects options. In record mode, the upper button of this group controls the Flash mode, while the lower button controls the drive mode (Continuous, Ultra-High Speed Continuous, Multi, or Self-Timer). The left and right buttons can be configured to control your choice of either exposure compensation, white balance, ISO sensitivity or color mode, or can be disabled altogether. The central button switches between wide and spot focusing. In playback mode, the left and right buttons page through captured images, movies and sounds, while the upper button brings up the Delete menu, and the lower button rotates images counter-clockwise in 90-degree steps. The central button starts playback of movies or sound clips.
The bottom panel of the Konica Minolta DiMAGE X50 reveals only the plastic, threaded tripod mount - located off-center near the right hand side of the camera - along with the Secure Digital card slot. The card slot door has two plastic ridges to give your fingers purchase. Unfortunately it is located almost surrounding the tripod mount, which means that if you need to change cards when using a tripod, you'll have to first remove the camera from the tripod. (The X50 is not a camera you're likely to use in a studio, however, so this is realistically only a minor quibble). Upon opening the card door, the Secure Digital card is removed by depressing it slightly, and a spring-loaded mechanism pops it out enough to remove with two fingers.
The Konica Minolta DiMAGE X50's user interface is very straightforward, as the camera employs automatic exposure at all times. While Scene mode, zoom setting, flash mode, drive mode, wide / spot autofocus and your choice of either exposure compensation, white balance, ISO sensitivity, or color mode can be adjusted via the top or rear-panel controls, all the other features and functions are controlled through the LCD menu system. In both capture and playback modes, the camera's menu system is divided into three pages, delineated by subject tabs at the top of the screen - very similar to the earlier DiMAGE Xg. To the right of the subject tabs, a "Setup" button takes you from the record or playback menus to the Setup menu. The Playback button lets you quickly switch to Playback mode, even if the sliding lens barrier is closed. Considering the camera's automatic exposure control and limited user options, most users should be able to become familiar with the camera's operation in 30 minutes to an hour. (And experienced users may not even need to crack the manual.) Record-Mode Display Playback-Mode Display
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Like the other DiMAGE X-series
cameras before it, the Konica Minolta DiMAGE X50 has an amazingly thin, tiny
case. Its sleek rectangular body shape and relative lack of protrusions make
the DiMAGE X50 one of the most portable cameras on the market. Measuring just
3.3 x 0.93 x 2.4 inches (83.5 x 23.5 x 62 millimeters), the DiMAGE X50 fits
just about anywhere, including the smallest of shirt pockets. Matching its diminutive
size, the Konica Minolta X50 is also very light weight at just 5.0 ounces (143
grams) without the battery and SD memory card. The
secret to the DiMAGE X50's compact design is its internally-mounted lens, which
stretches horizontally in the center of the camera rather than protruding from
the camera's front. An internal prism reflects light from the subject sideways
into the lens itself, almost like a periscope. As well as providing protection
for the lens mechanism, the internal lens mounting means that there's no wait
for the lens barrel to extend when you power up the camera - making startup
times very quick. (Only about 1.4 seconds from power on to the first shot captured.)
The design also offers protection for the lens, and reduces the number of moving
parts - saving power and potentially offering better reliability.
In
record mode, the LCD monitor displays the subject with a minor amount of overlaid
information, indicating operating mode, flash, white balance, ISO setting, the
current size/quality setting, metering area, focusing area, and number of images
that can be stored on the remaining memory card space at the current size/quality.
Pressing the Display button beneath the LCD once removes the information overlay,
pressing it again turns the LCD off entirely, and pressing it a third time restores
the default display. When you half-press the shutter button, a small dot appears
in the lower right-hand corner of the LCD indicating whether the camera is focused
(white dot) or not (red dot), and a "shaking hand" symbol appears
above the focus dot if the shutter speed is slow enough that you'll need to
be careful not to jiggle the camera during the exposure.
In
playback mode, the default image display shows the most recently captured image,
video, or sound file, with an information overlay showing (as applicable) the
resolution and quality setting used, the date and time of capture, the file
number, and the sequence number of the image among those currently stored in
the memory card. Pressing the Display button once dismisses the information
overlay, and pressing it a third time shows a set of six thumbnails. With an
image displayed full-screen, pressing the zoom control in the "T"
direction zooms in on the image in steps of 0.2x, up to a maximum magnification
of 6x. At any magnification level, pressing the center button of the multi-controller
reverts to a full view of the image, while the four arrow buttons let you scroll
around the magnified image. The screenshot above right shows all the available
display options in playback mode.
|
||||
|
Free Photo Lessons
 Simple pro lighting and use tips let you snap stunning photos. Check out our free Photo School area! |
|
|
External Controls
In Playback mode, pressing the Display button displays or dismisses the information display. A third press switches to a 2x3 display of thumbnail images for rapidly reviewing photos in the camera.
In Record mode, the left and right buttons control your choice of either exposure compensation, white balance, ISO sensitivity or Color mode. The top button controls the flash mode, and the bottom button controls the drive mode (Continuous, Ultra-High Speed Continuous, Multi or Self-Timer). In any settings menu, these buttons navigate through menu options. In playback mode, the left and right buttons scroll forward or back through previously captured images, videos and sounds. The upper button brings up the Delete menu, while the lower button rotates images counter-clockwise in 90-degree steps. When in zoomed playback, these buttons move your view up, down, left or right in the enlarged playback image. When viewing a movie, the left and right buttons fast-forward or rewind the clip. When viewing a slideshow, the left and right buttons skip through the slideshow. OK Button (see previous): Located in the center of the Four-Button controller, this button also serves multiple functions. In Record mode, briefly holding this button switches the camera between wide and spot AF modes. In playback mode, this button starts playback of sounds and movie clips. When viewing a slideshow, this button pauses or resumes the slideshow.
Camera Modes and Menus Still-Image Record Mode: In normal Record mode, the camera can capture still images. The Record menu is displayed by pressing the Menu button, and the following options are available:
Playback Mode: This mode allows you to review captured images on the memory card, erase them, protect them, set them up for printing, etc. Pressing the Menu button displays the following options:
Movie/Audio Mode: This mode allows you to record either movies (with sound) or audio-only files. Pressing the menu button displays the following options. (Sorry, no screenshots for this mode.)
Setup Menu : This mode lets you adjust various camera options and settings. Clicking on the Setup button in any other menu displays the following options:
In the Box Packaged with the Konica Minolta DiMAGE X50 are the following items:
Recommended Software: Rescue your images!
See the full set of
my sample pictures and detailed analysis
here. The thumbnails below show a subset of my test images. Click
on a thumbnail to see the full-size photo.
See the specifications sheet here.
Information on shooting speed, battery life, etc. can be found here.
Not sure which camera to buy? Let your eyes be the ultimate judge! Visit our Comparometer(tm) to compare images from the X50 with those from other cameras you may be considering. The proof is in the pictures, so let your own eyes decide which you like best! As with all Imaging Resource product tests, I encourage you to let your own eyes be the judge of how well the camera performed. Explore the images on the pictures page, to see how the Konica Minolta X50's images compare to other cameras you may be considering.
Stay up to date with all the latest - Sign up for our free biweekly email newsletter! |
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
Reader Comments! --> Visit our discussion forum for the Konica Minolta Dimage X50! This document copyright © 2005, The Imaging Resource, all rights reserved. Visitors to this site may download this document for local, private, non-commercial use. Individuals who have themselves downloaded this page may print a copy on their personal printers for convenience of reading and reference. Other than this explicit usage, it may not be published, reproduced, or distributed in print or electronic and/or digital media without the express written consent of .Search | About
Us | Advertising | Privacy
Policy | Home |
Menu
1
Menu
2
Menu
3
Menu
1
Menu
2
Menu
3
Menu
1
Menu
2
Menu
3
|