Konica Minolta DiMAGE X50
Review Date: November 25th 2004
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Features
The Konica Minolta DiMAGE X50 has a 5.4 megapixel, 1/2.5 inch CCD that delivers 5 megapixels. There are five image sizes available (2560 x 1920, 2048 x 1536, 1600 x 1200, 1280 x 980, 640 x 480) which are recorded as JPEGs. There are no RAW or TIFF formats. The camera features a 2.8x optical zoom lens that is equivalent to a 37–105mm lens on a 35mm format camera. There is also a 4.3x digital zoom should you feel the need to use it. The camera uses Secure Digital (SD) or Multi Media memory cards.
There are no selectable exposure modes, such as auto, aperture-priority and shutter-speed priority, on this camera. Instead there are seven scene modes and a fully auto mode. The Konica Minolta DiMAGE X50 has one exposure controls (Programmed AE), with AE lock available, two exposure metering modes (Multi-segment (256 segments) and Spot) and there are two types of focusing available (5-point Area and Spot). In Standard mode the camera can focus as close as 10cms from the subject. In Super Macro mode the camera can focus as close as 6cms from the subject. The Konica Minolta DiMAGE X50 has a normal shooting mode (single-shot), and two continuous modes (continuous and ultra high speed). There is a 10 second self-timer mode. The built-in flash offers a range of different modes; Autoflash, Autoflash with red-eye reduction and Fill-flash.
The aperture range starts at f2.8 in wide-angle and f/5.0 in telephoto, and the shutter speed range is 4 sec. – 1/1000 sec. There are four ISO speeds ranging from 50 to 400. There are four different White Balance settings to choose from (Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent), plus an Auto setting. There are three different colour mode available (Color, Black and White, Sepia). The camera offers exposure compensation in ±2Ev in 1/3 EV stops, but there is no autobracketing of either exposure or white balance available. The Konica Minolta DiMAGE X50 has a 2 inch colour TFT LCD monitor which has an anti-reflective coating. There is also a traditional optical viewfinder (with no dioptre control).
There is one movie setting available (320 x 240) and two frame rates, 15fps or 30fps, with simultaneous audio. You can use the digital zoom whilst recording a movie. The Konica Minolta DiMAGE X50 employs the motion JPEG format, compatible with both Windows and Macintosh. As well as recording movies, the Konica Minolta DiMAGE X50 also doubles up as a voice recorder, allowing you to attach an audio clip to an image that you have taken or just record a voice clip.
The camera's dimensions are 83.5 x 62 x 23.5 mm, and it weighs 125g without batteries and storage cards fitted. The camera is powered by a proprietary Lithium-ion battery, which allows you to record approximately 150 frames.
Finally, the standard box kit is quite generous, containing a Lithium-ion Battery, Battery Charger, Hand Strap, USB Cable, AC Cord, AV Cable, SD Memory Card (16 MB) and the DiMAGE Viewer CD-ROM. You may want to buy an additional battery or two though, as the lithium-ion battery is only good for 150 frames. You will also need to budget for a larger memory card to store your 5 megapixel images on (at least 256Mb in size).
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PhotographyBLOG is a member of the DIWA organisation. Our test results for the Konica Minolta DiMAGE X50 have been submitted to DIWA for comparison with test results for different samples of the same camera model supplied by other DIWA member sites.