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Minolta DiMAGE S414 DiMAGE technology and optics in a compact, stylish four megapixel design. Select a topic Reference: Datasheet S414 Photo Gallery! S414 Sample Images --------------------------------- 1. Intro and Highlights 2. Executive Overview 3. Design 4. Viewfinder 5. Optics 6. Exposure & Flash 7. Shutter Lag & Cycle Time Tests 8. Operation & User Interface 9. Camera Modes & Menus 10. Image Storage & Interface 11. Video, Power, Software 12. Test Results & Conclusion --------------------------------- Print-Friendly Review Version Additional Resources and Other Links Reader Comments on S414 Review --------------------------------- Digital Camera Comparometer (TM) --------------------------------- <-- Digital Cameras (Home) <-- Digital Camera Reviews Index <<Camera Modes & Menus :(Previous) | (Next): Video, Power, Software>> Page 10:Image Storage & Interface Review First Posted: 07/31/2003

Image Storage and Interface
The S414 stores its images on CompactFlash Type I memory cards, and a 16-megabyte card ships with the unit. Accessory CompactFlash cards are available from a variety of third parties with capacities of a gigabyte or more, and will doubtless continue their upward climb to even larger sizes as time goes on. While CompactFlash cards cannot themselves be write-protected, the S414 offers a "Lock" function through the Playback menu. Locked images cannot be erased or manipulated, but formatting a CompactFlash card erases all files, even locked ones.

Four image sizes are available on the S414, including 2,272 x 1,704, 1,600 x 1,200, 1,280 x 960, or 640 x 480-pixel sizes. (Movies are captured at the 320 x 240-pixel resolution.) Images can be saved as uncompressed TIFF files, or as compressed JPEG files (Fine, Normal, or Economy compression levels).

The table below shows the approximate number of images that can be stored on a 16-megabyte CompactFlash card at various size and quality levels, as well as their approximate compression levels.

Image Capacity vs Resolution/Quality 16MB Memory Card		Hi	Fine	Normal	Basic
Full Resolution 2,272 x 1,704	Images (Avg size)	1 11.6MB	7 2.15MB	12 1.26MB	20 780KB
	Approx. Compression	1:1	5:1	9:1	13:1
High Resolution 1,600 x 1,200	Images (Avg size)	2 5.9MB	13 1.1MB	20 780KB	28 554KB
	Approx. Compression	1:1	5:1	7:1	10:1
Standard Resolution 1,280 x 960	Images (Avg size)	4 3.8MB	18 845KB	27 587KB	34 458KB
	Approx. Compression	1:1	4:1	6:1	8:1
Low Resolution 640 x 480	Images (Avg size)	13 1.15MB	36 442KB	44 362KB	50 317KB
	Approx. Compression	1:1	2:1	3:1	3:1

 

The S414 comes with a USB cable and interface software for downloading images to a computer. The camera is a storage-class USB device, automatically appearing on the computer's desktop under Mac OS 8.6 and later, and Windows Me, 2000, and XP. It's a little slow when it comes to image downloading, as I clocked it at 306.8 KBytes/second on my 2.4 GHz Sony VAIO PC, running Windows XP. (Most cameras I test fall into a range from 300-600 KBytes/second, so the S414 is at the bottom end of that range.)