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Minolta Dimage RD3000

Unusual 2-CCD design produces a professional-level SLR digicam at an affordable price.

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Page 11:Video, Power, Software

Review First Posted: 5/23/2000

Video Out

US models of the RD 3000 are compliant with the NTSC video format (we assume European models are set up for PAL). By connecting to a television set, you can review captured images or record them to video tape. The camera's LCD panel automatically turns off once connected to the television.
Power

The RD 3000 utilizes four standard AA Ni-MH or Ni-Cd batteries for power. Although the LCD monitor is barely used in Record mode, the RD 3000 goes through batteries pretty quickly under continuous shooting conditions. (On the other hand, the camera's power consumption when turned on but not being actively used for picture-taking is virtually nil: You can leave it powered-up for hours with no fear of draining your batteries. Overall though, we definitely suggest keeping a couple freshly charged sets of spares around for those times when the AC adapter is inconvenient. A small battery power indicator is displayed in the status display panel briefly when the camera is powered up, letting you know approximately how much power is left. Additionally, the internal clock uses a CR2025 3V lithium battery. The AC adapter is supplied with the camera, but the battery charger and rechargeable batteries are sold as accessories (and are included in some "bundles" with the camera).
Included Software

The software they didn't include...
(But that you should)
Few people realize just how *much* you can improve your digicam images through clever processing in Photoshop. Greatly (!) increased sharpness, reduced noise, and even ultra-wide dynamic range (light-to-dark range) by combining multiple exposures. Fred Miranda and uber-Photoshop expert Fred Miranda has packaged some of his Photoshop magic in a collection of powerful and affordably priced "actions." Check out his site, the results are pretty amazing!

As noted above, the RD 3000 features a SCSI interface for connecting to a computer. An accompanying software CD holds the Digita Desktop software package, provided in English, French and German and compatible with Windows 95, 98 and NT 4.0 and Macintosh OS 7.6.1 to 8.6. The Digita Desktop allows you to download images from the camera and organize them into folders and groups which can be played back in a slideshow format. There's also a nice sprinkling of correction tools that allow you to crop, lighten, rotate, etc. A variety of filters are available separately, to give you more creative options for manipulating your images.

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