Konica Minolta Minolta DiMAGE Xt Digital Camera

Minolta Dimage Xt

Minolta DiMAGE Xt Digital Camera Review, by Alan Stafford September 30, 2003

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• Reviewed by: retiredspook

  Strengths: Small size, tough case, great pictures, good movies. I carry in pocket most of the time just in case a good shot materializes.

  Weaknesses: LCD screen is smaller than most, needs cover or will scratch in pocket. shutter sometimes slow to react. Saves movies as mov file which is not compatable with any application except Apple QuickTime.

  Overall: Shopped around quite a bit and was intrigued by the lack of protruding lens and small size, weight. 3.2 MP was all I need as 8 X 10" prints are max for my photo printer. It is just a very tiny bit larger than a Canon SD300 or SD400 but they cost more.My wife made me a nice little felt sack so keys and change in my pocket wont scratch the LCD. It has a good strong battery/card door, not like Canon flimsy door. Power and USB cable are tiny and my setup at work computer won't work. Movies are Apple QuickTime, which player comes with camera but is not compatable with any of my Windows editing applications which is a downer, biggest gripe.

• Reviewed by: lorddef

  Strengths: Small, simple, battery life, movie mode, robust

  Weaknesses: No case included in package, seems heavier than my previous camera but this one is metal my old one was plastic, delay after pressing button to take photo

  Overall: I bought this camera from dabs.com in the UK for £163, I had a choice of either the Xt or the Xg and I went for the Xt because it cost more. I then found out the Xg was newer and got a little worried, although it all turned out good in the end. The Xt and Xg really just seem to offer different features and the Xt is more geared towards what I wanted to do. With the Xt you get a smaller screen but it has the advantage of being higher quality than the one on the Xg. The Xg does away with TIFF support, the AV access, desktop charger etc and replaces them with limited image editing built in, that I would certainly never use. The only advantage the Xg would give is 30fps movies rather than 15fps movies, but hey this is a *stills* camera, the video thing is just a very nice and very useable gimmick. I've taken my camera out on the piss twice so far and its performed good, the only problems I have with it are: 1) Sometimes the camera takes the photo 1-2 secs after pressing the shutter button in low light, which means your drunken subjects have moved by this time. But I think this is just me noticing the delay more as my old digital camera was really simple. 2) My paranoia about smashing the LCD or breaking the lens cover shutter, or dropping it and breaking the zoom mechanics. It's quite a complex camera (although I think they all are nowadays) unlike my old camera which was so simple if I dropped it it was very unlikely to break. Just that feeling of "this camera really is going to break as soon as the warranty wares out isn't it?" I've yet to try recording a long video (on a bigger card), although I have found that on the included 16mb card that movie mode cuts off (i.e. reaches the max file size) at around 10 - 12 MB depending on resolution and at exactly 40 seconds of video in 320x240 and exactly 2.30 secs of video in 160x120. I don?t know why this is, but I trust that with a bigger card the max file sizes will increase, as the manual states it will and other reviewers say so too. From what I can see, although I've never touched an Xg: Xt = Better overall pro features except for the movie mode only being 15fps. Xg = Not quite as good features, features replaced with editing ones that you'd never use if you owned a copy of photoshop/premiere. But better movie mode at 30fps. The end lorddef; a biased Xt owner.

• Reviewed by: gman757

  Strengths: Shirt pocket size. Awesome pictures from such a small camera. Fast.

  Weaknesses: Awkward recharging stand. Battery life. Easy for your hand to get in the way of the lens.

  Overall: This camera is sweet! It's a 3.2 megapixel, but it's taken pictures that are sharper and crisper than pictures from other people's 5 megapixel. Unless you are doing some serious blow-ups (bigger than 8x10), this camera is more than enough. Normally, I get 4 inch prints made at my local developer, and they come out vivid and sharp, exceeding your average 35mm film camera. Other features: it starts up quick and will take continuous pictures about one every 1-2 seconds. White balance for daylight, cloudy, tungsten, and fluorescent lighting. It'll do black and white and Sepia. It will do a double exposure-one without the flash (to get the background), and with the flash (to get the foreground). You need a stand to take advantage of this. I got a great picture in Hawaii of the sunset and my wife an I that people can't believe I took with this camera. It also does movies with sound (320x240), you can save audio comments with the pictures, heck, you can use it as a voice recorder. There are a couple drawbacks because of its size. Short battery life is the biggest. Figure 3-4 days of average picture taking on vacation. I got a second generic battery from a website for less than $20. Or you can bring the charger with you, but it's a pain if you're going to Europe. Also, due to the location of the lens, it's easy to get your fingers in the way of the shot. It takes a bit of "retraining" yourself to hold it properly. The recharging stand is an awkward design. They should have just made a cable that plugs into the camera. Overall, it's a great little camera. Doesn't have all the professional features, but a good replacement for your average 35mm.

• Reviewed by: haldw

  Strengths: Compact size, up and running fast, continuous shot mode, versatility

  Weaknesses: Flash coverage, but what can you reasonably expect from something this small

  Overall: Is it really a point and shoot camera? Yes, in the AE mode. Will some shots be underexposed, perhaps. Are there adjustments available on the camera to overcome an underexposure, yes! So, what we have is a point and shoot camera that is really a bit more. The package is advertised at PC/Mac compatible, the latter requiring as a minimum OS 9.0. Bad news -what is not said, but can be found in the Dimage Viewer manual, is that you need 128K of RAM. Two days later, after the crash and reconstructing my 64K RAM Mac G3, my wife counseled me to read the manual. Good news - you don't need Dimage Viewer to move the images to your computer desktop. Picture quality is more than adequate for my needs, family photography, adventure pictures and things that simply cry out to be recorded. I am simply amazed at the plethora of options available on the various menus all of which are easily manipulated and understandable. I've already ordered the AC Adapter, the case, an extra battery and a 256MB SD Card. So, what was a $250 camera has become a $420 dollar device. Love the rechargeable battery and the little stand. It sits right next to my old Mac as I search the internet for things to do that might warrant 224 pictures.

• Reviewed by: ctan0381

  Strengths: It's small, compact and cheaper to other compact cameras. Photo quality is good.

  Weaknesses: Weak flash

  Overall: Great camera! I bought this camera after comparing it to the Canon S230 and SD100. Basically came down to the fact that it has 3x optical zoom vs 2x on the digital elph, it is thinner than digital elph so it doesn't feel bulky in your pocket and it is also cheaper. Plus it can record quicktime videos till your SD card is filled. Not to mention the picture quality is good for a camera it's size.