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Digital Camera Home > Digital Camera Reviews > Minolta Digital Cameras > Minolta Dimage Xg

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

Timing
I measure both cycle times and shutter delay times, 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 DiMAGE Xg:

DiMAGE Xg Timings
Operation	Time (secs)	Notes
Power On -> First shot	2.1	Internal lens allows fast startup, but I don't agree with Minolta's spec of 0.8 seconds.
Shutdown	1.5 - 22	Normal shutdown / delay while memory buffer clears. First time is that required for lens shield to slide into place, second is worst-case buffer clearing time before you can remove the card. (Small/basic continuous shooting mode.) Fairly fast for normal shutdown, buffer-clearing time is long though.
Play to Record, first shot	2.1	Time until first shot is captured. Average.
Record to play	0.8/2.3	Time to display a large/fine file. First time is with camera sitting idle, second time is for immediate switch after capture. First time is fast, second is about average.
Shutter lag, full autofocus	0.83/0.85	First time is at full wide-angle, second is full telephoto. On the fast side of average. (Which is still too slow IMHO, but the general range for digicams is 0.8-1.0 seconds.)
Shutter lag, prefocus	0.13	Time to capture, after half-pressing shutter button. Very fast.
Cycle Time, max/min resolution	2.71 / 2.52	First number is for large/fine files, second number is time for "TV" mode (640x480) images. Times are averages. In both modes, the buffer holds 20+ frames, and takes up to 6 seconds to clear. On the slow side of average these days.
Cycle Time, continuous mode, max/min resolution	0.72 / 0.67 (1.4 / 1.5 fps)	First number is for large/fine files, second number is time for small/basic images. Times are averages. Shoots this fast for 10 images in large/fine mode, or 40+ images with smallest file size. Buffer clears in 6 seconds for large/fine shots, in 22 seconds for 40 "TV" sized images. Fairly good performance, particularly for a compact digicam, and buffer capacity is excellent.

Overall, the word that best describes the Xg's performance is "average." It's fast starting up, on the fast side of average for full-autofocus shutter lag, very fast for prefocus shutter lag, but on the slow side in terms of shot to shot cycle time. Continuous-mode performance is average, but the camera's deep, 10-shot buffer is nice.

Power

The DiMAGE Xg uses a custom rechargeable LiIon battery for power. It lacks an external power terminal, so I couldn't conduct my usual precise power measurements on it. I did time its battery life in record mode with the LCD active (generally, the worst-case power drain mode), and found it to be a very good 112 minutes, a significant improvement over the previous DiMAGE Xt. While I didn't measure it, Minolta claims 240 minutes in playback mode, and I have no reason to dispute that number. (The Xt's power consumption dropped to nearly zero with the LCD off, so I suspect the Xg would behave the same.) As always, despite the Xg's generally good battery life performance, I still strongly advise purchasing a second battery when you buy the camera.

Storage Capacity
The DiMAGE Xg stores its photos on Secure Digital 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.

Image Capacity vs Resolution/Quality 16 MB Memory Card		Fine	Normal	Basic
2,048 x 1,536	Images (Avg size)	9 1.64 MB	18 583 KB	34 459 KB
2,048 x 1,536	Approx. Compression	6:1	11:1	21:1
1,600 x 1,200	Images (Avg size)	15 1.0 MB	29 540 KB	51 311 KB
1,600 x 1,200	Approx. Compression	6:1	11:1	19:1
1,280 x 960	Images (Avg size)	23 607 KB	42 344 KB	75 197 KB
1,280 x 960	Approx. Compression	6:1	10:1	17:1
640 x 480	Images (Avg size)	75 213 KB	108 147 KB	163 98 KB
640 x 480	Approx. Compression	4:1	6:1	9:1

Download Speed

The DiMAGE Xg connects to a host computer via a USB interface. Downloading files to a Sony desktop running Windows XP. I clocked it at 837 KBytes/second. This suggests that the Xg has a USB v2.0 interface, as it's faster than cameras with USB v1.1 interfaces can manage. (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.)

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