Konica Minolta DiMAGE X1
Review Date: October 17th 2005
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Image Quality
All of the sample images in this Review were taken using the 3264x2448 Fine mode, which gives an average image size of around 3Mb - 3.5Mb.
Noise
There are only 3 ISO settings available on the Konica Minolta DiMAGE X1 which you can select at any time if the camera is in the Auto mode. Here are some 100% crops which show the noise levels for each ISO setting:
ISO 50 (100% crop) |
ISO 100 (100% crop) |
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ISO 200 (100% crop) |
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You can see why Konica Minolta have restricted the sensor in the DiMAGE X1 to a rather limited ISO range of 50-200. The noise levels look fine at ISO 50, but there's already quite a lot of noise starting to appear at ISO 100 and the image quality has deterioated a lot at ISO 200. Thankfully the Konica Minolta DiMAGE X1 offers an anti-shake system that should allow you to use ISO 50 for more photographs than you would normally use that speed (see results below).
Sharpening
Here are two 100% crops which have been Saved as Web - Quality 50 in Photoshop. The right-hand image has had some sharpening applied in Photoshop. The out-of-the camera images taken at the default sharpen setting of Normal are very soft and benefit from further sharpening in a program like Adobe Photoshop. Alternatively you can change the in-camera sharpen setting to either Soft or Hard.
Original 100% Crop |
Sharpened 100% Crop |
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File Quality
The Konica Minolta DiMAGE X1 has 3 different file quality settings available, with Fine being the highest quality option. Here are some 100% crops which show the quality of the various options, with the file size shown in brackets.
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Fine (2,082Kb) |
Standard (1,727Kb) |
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Economy (805Kb) |
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Chromatic Aberrations
The Konica Minolta DiMAGE X1 handled chromatic aberrations fairly well during the review. Only very high-contrast situations like those shown below caused any problems, with purple fringing present around the edges of over-exposed parts of the image, particularly towards the edges/corners of the frame.
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Example 1 |
Example 2 |
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Macro
The Konica Minolta DiMAGE X1 offers a Super Macro scene setting that allows you to focus on a subject that is 5 cms away from the camera. The first image shows how close you can get to the subject in Super Macro mode (in this case a compact flash card). The second image is a 100% crop.
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Macro Shot (click to view full-sized image) |
100% Crop |
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Flash
The flash settings on the Konica Minolta DiMAGE X1 are Autoflash, Autoflash with red-eye reduction, Fill-flash, Flash cancel and Slow sync. These shots of a magnolia coloured wall were taken at a distance of 1.5m.
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Flash Off - Wide Angle (37mm) |
Auto Flash - Wide Angle (37mm) |
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Flash Off - Telephoto (111mm) |
Auto Flash - Telephoto (111mm) |
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And here are some shots of yours truly. As you can see, neither the Flash On setting or the Red-Eye option caused any red-eye. Both modes underexposed the overall scene, especially the Flash On setting.
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Flash On |
Flash On (100% Crop) |
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Flash - Red-Eye Reduction |
Flash - Red-Eye Reduction (100% Crop) |
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Night Shot
The Konica Minolta DiMAGE X1 maximum shutter speed is 1 second, which is not that great if you're seriously interested in night photography. The shot below was taken with using the Night Shot scene mode, which used a shutter speed of 1 second, aperture of f/3.6 at ISO 160. I've included a 100% crop of the image to show what the quality is like - as you can see, it's pretty poor.
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Night Shot (click to view full-sized image) |
100% Crop |
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Anti Shake
The Konica Minolta DiMAGE X1 has a unique lens-shift anti-shake mechanism, which allows you to take sharp photos at slower shutter speeds than other digital cameras. To test this, I took 2 handheld shots of the same subject with the lens set to a focal length of 111mm and the ISO speed set to 50. The first shot was taken with anti shake turned off, the second with it turned on. Here is a 100% crop of the image to show the results.
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Anti Shake Off |
Anti Shake On |
| 1/15th |
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| 1/25th |  |
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As you can see, with anti shake turned on, the images are much sharper with anti shake turned off. This feature really does seem to make a difference and could mean capturing a successful, sharp shot or missing the opportunity altogether.
Overall Image Quality
The Konica Minolta DiMAGE X1 produced images of average quality during the review period. The 8 megapixel images were quite soft straight out of the camera at the default sharpen setting of Normal and either require some further sharpening in an application like Adobe Photoshop, or you should set the in-camera sharpening to Hard. The Konica Minolta DiMAGE X1's dealt fairly well with chromatic aberrations, with purple fringing effects appearing in very high contrast situations. Macro performance is very good with the Super Macro mode allowing you to focus as close as 5 cms away from the subject. The built-in flash worked OK indoors, with no red-eye but overall under-exposure. The night photograph was poor, with the maximum shutter speed of 1 second severely limiting your creativity when darkness falls. Anti shake is a feature that sets this camera apart from its competitors and one that works very well when hand-holding the camera in low-light conditions or when using the telephoto end of the zoom range. The Konica Minolta DiMAGE X1's main drawback in terms of image quality, however, is noise. The 8 megapixel sensor used in the Konica Minolta DiMAGE X1 may result in larger images, but it comes at the cost of noisy images even at the slower ISO settings. ISO 50 looks fine, but there's already quite a lot of noise starting to appear at ISO 100, whilst ISO 200, which isn't exactly a quick speed, is something of a last resort option.
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PhotographyBLOG is a member of the DIWA organisation. Our test results for the Konica Minolta DiMAGE X1 have been submitted to DIWA for comparison with test results for different samples of the same camera model supplied by other DIWA member sites.