Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z10 Digital Camera
- Digital Zoom: 4x
- Camera Type: Standard Point and Shoot
- Weight: 0.66 lb.
- LCD Screen Size: 1.5 in.
- Resolution: 3.3 Megapixel
- Optical Zoom: 8x
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Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z10 Digital Camera: plenty of features, great for casual snapshots
Pros
Ergonomic design, lens cap for the lens, several zoom settings plus macro.
Cons
That lens cap will disappear if not attached. Sensitive to dust, dirt, water or sand.
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
While I am still experimenting with this one, it looks to be good for casual, quick use. I'm still not giving up my Nikon SLR, though.
Photography has always been a hobby of mine, and as an artist, it's a terrific tool for capturing a moment when you cannot haul along drawing or painting supplies. So I was rather surprised when I recieved one of these from a 'secret Santa.' I had used digital cameras before, purchasing a Hewlett Packard C30 camera about five years ago, but had been lamenting some of the new and interesting technology that has been occuring lately.
But I'm not a techie sort -- I don't care about how it gets to the camera, I just want to be able to take pictures, look at them, and get hard copies as I need to. A camera to me is a tool, and nothing more. For me, it's a question of 'how easy is it to use? Will it last and not fall apart after three months of use? Can I get the damn images out of the camera without having to be an electronics or systems engineer?' Happily, after some intial hassles of getting the software installed, I can say that it is a very easy camera to use.
The item arrived securely packaged and ready to use. Besides the camera, there also arrived instruction manuals and guides in English and Spanish; a neck strap, installation program on a CD-ROM so that photos could be downloaded to a PC; a memory chip with 16MB of space; carrying strap, camera lens, and all the necessary cables for hookup and an AC power adapter. Oh yes, and batteries installed, nice touch that.
The instructions do warn that the camera will overheat and be hot to touch, as well as the memory card, when the camera is used for an extended period. It also seems to be sensitive to dust, water, and sand, so I would suggest that the camera be kept for indoor use, and carefully stored when not in use. As for the pesky lens cap, you can purchase a 'keeper' string at any good photo shop -- I learnt to use one of these with my Nikon, and it has one end with a sticky to put on the lens cap, the other loops over one of the attachments for the carrying strap, and voila -- lens cap is always handy and accessable.
While installing the programs needed to transfer the photos took a while, and the cable was being less than cooperative in hooking up (I finally broke down and had the technician in the house do it all), once you have the camera hooked into the PC, transferring photos is a snap. And the clarity even in the medium range is remarkable -- I took some trial snapshots of my two cats, and you could literally count whiskers and hairs. I would advise setting up a holding file on your computer so you won't have to worry about filling up the memory card in the camera. The memory card is also removeable, and presumably you can take it to any instant photo place that allows you to have the images processed directly off the card without having to download them.
The image resolution ranges from fine, standard and economy, with image sizes ranging 2048x1536, 1600x1200, 1280x960 and 640x480 pixels, and depending on the image quality and the size, you can store between 5 to 94 photos. Another nice touch is that you can look either through the viewfinder at the top, or at the LCD monitor. The monitor is very large, and bright, and it is here that most of the information and warnings will appear. The zoom feature, up to 8x, is really best apprieciated through the monitor as it will zoom either on a pre-existing photo, or while you're taking one.
Some of the special features I had never encountered before, or only in adjusting the photo in an image software program. What I really like is the 'red-eye reduction' -- no more Demon-Kitty shots! -- the fill-flash item, which handles lighting snares in back-lit or low light situations, a switch that will turn the flash off -- very nice in museum settings where flash is prohibited -- and a camera shake warning. There are also auto-focus software, which is also very nice, with various adjustable features that I haven't quite tried yet.
Summing up, I can say that I am happy with it. I can't really comment on the price as it was sent as a gift. But for someone like me who plans to use it to take family photos, casual shots and artistic references, it can't be beat. While the number of features is overwhelming at first, with some time and using the instruction manual, this is a camera that is very easy to use.
I'm happy, and as I find out new things about the camera, I'll update this review as needed.
But I'm not a techie sort -- I don't care about how it gets to the camera, I just want to be able to take pictures, look at them, and get hard copies as I need to. A camera to me is a tool, and nothing more. For me, it's a question of 'how easy is it to use? Will it last and not fall apart after three months of use? Can I get the damn images out of the camera without having to be an electronics or systems engineer?' Happily, after some intial hassles of getting the software installed, I can say that it is a very easy camera to use.
The item arrived securely packaged and ready to use. Besides the camera, there also arrived instruction manuals and guides in English and Spanish; a neck strap, installation program on a CD-ROM so that photos could be downloaded to a PC; a memory chip with 16MB of space; carrying strap, camera lens, and all the necessary cables for hookup and an AC power adapter. Oh yes, and batteries installed, nice touch that.
The instructions do warn that the camera will overheat and be hot to touch, as well as the memory card, when the camera is used for an extended period. It also seems to be sensitive to dust, water, and sand, so I would suggest that the camera be kept for indoor use, and carefully stored when not in use. As for the pesky lens cap, you can purchase a 'keeper' string at any good photo shop -- I learnt to use one of these with my Nikon, and it has one end with a sticky to put on the lens cap, the other loops over one of the attachments for the carrying strap, and voila -- lens cap is always handy and accessable.
While installing the programs needed to transfer the photos took a while, and the cable was being less than cooperative in hooking up (I finally broke down and had the technician in the house do it all), once you have the camera hooked into the PC, transferring photos is a snap. And the clarity even in the medium range is remarkable -- I took some trial snapshots of my two cats, and you could literally count whiskers and hairs. I would advise setting up a holding file on your computer so you won't have to worry about filling up the memory card in the camera. The memory card is also removeable, and presumably you can take it to any instant photo place that allows you to have the images processed directly off the card without having to download them.
The image resolution ranges from fine, standard and economy, with image sizes ranging 2048x1536, 1600x1200, 1280x960 and 640x480 pixels, and depending on the image quality and the size, you can store between 5 to 94 photos. Another nice touch is that you can look either through the viewfinder at the top, or at the LCD monitor. The monitor is very large, and bright, and it is here that most of the information and warnings will appear. The zoom feature, up to 8x, is really best apprieciated through the monitor as it will zoom either on a pre-existing photo, or while you're taking one.
Some of the special features I had never encountered before, or only in adjusting the photo in an image software program. What I really like is the 'red-eye reduction' -- no more Demon-Kitty shots! -- the fill-flash item, which handles lighting snares in back-lit or low light situations, a switch that will turn the flash off -- very nice in museum settings where flash is prohibited -- and a camera shake warning. There are also auto-focus software, which is also very nice, with various adjustable features that I haven't quite tried yet.
Summing up, I can say that I am happy with it. I can't really comment on the price as it was sent as a gift. But for someone like me who plans to use it to take family photos, casual shots and artistic references, it can't be beat. While the number of features is overwhelming at first, with some time and using the instruction manual, this is a camera that is very easy to use.
I'm happy, and as I find out new things about the camera, I'll update this review as needed.
