#1 Janet Tokerud

Thanks for the great detailed review. I just ordered one. I'm figuring that chances are that this camera works as well as the others of this size and convenience. And it seems to win out in the convenience department.

Are there any other really small hi-pixel cameras that you've checked out? One thing missing from your review is a comparison with other cameras of this size - with the small lenses. That's not a criticism because reviews aren't supposed to do extensive comparisons necessarily. But it's not clear whether you think this particular brand of small camera has particularly poor picture quality or whether you just aren't happy with the quality of small cameras like this in general.

I checked around and saw a mix of comments on picture quality. I realize that you can't get the kind of quality you get with larger lensed cameras on these small cameras. I just wrote a little post about pocket-sized cameras on my Tech Ronin blog that you or your readers might find of some interest.

10:48 am - Wednesday, December 1, 2004

#2 Mark Goldstein

The other comparable camera that I have reviewed is the Fuji FinePix F20 Zoom:

http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews_fuji_finepix_f420.php

This is a 3 megapixel model so doesn't suffer from the same image problems that the X50 had.

7:09 pm - Wednesday, December 1, 2004

#3 Monica

I have been testing this camera and I agree with you completely. The X50 is easy to use but the image quality is poor.

9:31 pm - Wednesday, December 1, 2004

#4 Pat

Great review Mark. Now I'm not buying this camera but need an ultra compact. Any suggestions. Wish you had one for the SD200 by Canon. I'm still checking out your site so perhaps I'll find one - thanks Pat

9:54 pm - Friday, December 10, 2004

#5 camera seeker

perfect review. all my questions are answered. i wish you had reviews about more cameras. thanks...

5:53 am - Saturday, December 11, 2004

#6 Mark Goldstein

Well, there are a lot of digital cameras out there, and I only have so much time! :coolsmile:

11:02 am - Saturday, December 11, 2004

#7 John De Souza

Excellent work ,please keep it up,as i for one learnt many new things to consider when buying a new camera

7:37 pm - Thursday, January 13, 2005

#8 Daniel

Great review. Got the camera because I'm a Minolta fan, were looking for something that is easy to use and very small, with fast operating times and good battery life (everything that my old Dimage EX1500 Zoom is not :-), and I got it for < $300.

So far, I have been dissapointed with the image quality - your images looks ok to me, while the ones I have taken are not so good. I'm refering to pixel quality of course, not photograpic ability :lol:. I will reserve final judgement until I've taken some pics in sunny conditions.

7:12 pm - Wednesday, February 9, 2005

#9 ian ward

Thank you for a straightforward and honest report.
I was considering purchasing an X50 for an upcoming trip to Australia but will think twice about it now!

11:20 pm - Wednesday, February 9, 2005

#10 Mark

I'm currently reviewing the Casio EX-Z55 which is in the same class of camera as the X50 - full review will be published on Monday.

10:06 am - Thursday, February 10, 2005

#11 Robert Steven

Your review nailed it. I am one of the unfortunate owners of this camera. The low light picture quality is horrible. Even the bright light picture quality of people is only fair. Instead of even tone coloration, its processor ends up with blotchy coloration. To make matters worse, the programming curves are not well thought out. For example, if you select portrait, the camera should keep the aperature full open for minimum depth of field, and adjust shutter speed accordingly, while always thriving for an ISO of 50 as long as the shutter speed is hand holdable. For people with background mode, it should first determine slowest hand holdable shutter speed, then have a curve between ISO and f-stop in order to have enough depth of field and minimum noise. It does no such thing, and mostly chooses ISO of 160 (very noisy) with widest aperature (smallest depth of field) and a high shutter speed (unnecessary). It doesn't even let you see the settings until you view it on a computer. From Minolta, I would have expected better. AVOID THIS CAMERA IF PHOTO QUALITY IS IMPORTANT.

5:33 pm - Monday, February 14, 2005

#12 Johan

(someone want a recommendation for a good camera)

The Canon S 400 is great. It's default mode is pretty good, and seems to do a very decent job of choosing good settings.

Not that much true manual control. ISO and expose compensation is pretty much it. You can also set very long shutters, for tripod pix at night.

I've been very happy with it.

10:27 pm - Monday, February 14, 2005

#13 Wm Mitchell

Your review and summary nailed it exactly. I used and X50 for a month before finally getting rid of it in frustration. I have returned to a Minolta Xt, which is the opposite of the X50 in that it is somewhat less easy to use, but produces stunning images (unfortunately only 3 MB).

4:31 pm - Wednesday, February 16, 2005

#14 vincent

I was really excited about buying the X50. I currently own the Xt and love that camera so much. I looked at other cameras and decided I wouldn?t upgrade till the Xt came out in a 5 megapixel version and I thought I had found it in the X50. I am currently looking for a Black version, which you didn?t mention. I didn?t know they had a blue one. Its not on the Konica Minolta website. I called Konica Minolta and they said the red and black are only available outside the US. Your right, at the end of the day, it?s the photo quality that matters. So now I think I might take a step back and continue using the Xt which has given me flawless operation since day one, almost 2 years ago. Thanks for your review. Do you know anything about the availability of colors? I live in NYC and should be able to buy anything and I can?t find any of the colored cameras. Only silver.

3:06 am - Tuesday, February 22, 2005

#15 Mark

There were 2 coloured version released in the UK (and Europe I think). Not sure if they made it to the US though.

11:49 am - Tuesday, March 8, 2005

#16 vincent

My brother was on a trip to the UK a few weeks ago. He found the the Black version. So I had him buy it. Its really cool. However, I am not getting rid of the Xt just yet=)

3:37 pm - Tuesday, March 8, 2005

#17 Flogger

I need a replacement to this camera. Mine is finally on its last legs.

Are there any other cameras of the recent days that have the similar throttle-down Macro & Flash combination in a folding lens mechanism like this one?

Thanks

8:23 am - Wednesday, January 16, 2008