Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z20
Review Date: April 21st 2005
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Features
The Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z20 has a 5.2 megapixel, 1/2.5 inch CCD that delivers 5 megapixels. There are four image sizes available (2560x1920, 2048x1536, 1600x1200, 640x480) which are recorded as JPEGs. There are no RAW or TIFF formats. The camera features a 8x optical zoom lens that is equivalent to a 36–290mm lens on a 35mm format camera. There is also a 4x digital zoom should you feel the need to use it. The camera uses Secure Digital (SD) or Multi Media memory cards and also has 14.5MB internal storage.
There are a range of manual exposure modes on the Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z20, including Program, Aperture-priority and Shutter-speed priority, and a fully Manual option which allows you to set both aperture and shutter speed. In addition there are five different scene modes (Portrait, Sports action, Landscape, Sunset, Standard) and a fully auto mode. The Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z20 has three exposure metering modes (Multi-segment (256 segments), Spot, Center-weighted) and there are two types of focusing available (3-Point Wide Focus Area and Spot). In Standard mode the camera can focus as close as 50cms from the subject. In Super Macro mode the camera can focus as close as 1cm from the subject. The Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z20 has three shooting modes (Single-shot AF, Continuous AF (with predictive focus control), Full-time AF). There is a 10 second and 2 second self-timer mode. The built-in flash offers a range of different modes; Autoflash with red-eye reduction, Fill flash, Slow-shutter sync, Flash cancel, and it is rated at 12/39GN.
The aperture range starts at f3.2 in wide-angle and f/3.4 in telephoto, and the shutter speed range is 4 secs. – 1/2000 sec. There are four ISO speeds ranging from 50 to 320. There are five different White Balance presets to choose from (Daylight, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Cloudy, Flash), plus an Auto setting and a Custom setting. There are four different colour modes available (Vivid Color, Natural Color, Monochrome, Sepia) and sharpness and contrast are both adjustable in 3 levels. Noise reduction is automatic. The camera offers exposure compensation in ±2Ev in 1/3 EV stops and there is exposure autobracketing available in 0.5 or 0.3 Ev increments over 3 frames. The Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z20 has a 1.5 inch colour TFT LCD monitor, which has 113,000 pixels and an anti-reflective coating and offers 100% scene coverage. There is also an Electronic viewfinder with dioptre control.
There are two movie settings available (640x480, 320x240) and two frame rates, 15fps or 30fps, although 30fps is only available when using the 320x240. You can use both the optical and digital zooms whilst recording a movie (something which a lot of cameras don't offer), but you can't record audio in any of the movie modes. The Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z20 employs the motion JPEG (MOV) format, compatible with both Windows and Macintosh. The Exif Print, PRINT Image Matching III and PictBridge printing standards are all supported to allow printing without a computer. There is a USB 2 port for 12Mbps data transfer with a USB2.0 compatible computer and both NTSC / PAL video outputs.
The camera's dimensions are 109 x 82 x 94 mm, and it weighs 300g without batteries and storage cards fitted. The camera is powered by 4 AA batteries or the optional AC adapter via the 6V DC connector.
Finally, the standard box kit is fairly generous, containing four AA alkaline batteries, Neck Strap, Lens Cap, USB Cable, AV Cable and the DiMAGE Viewer CD-ROM. You will have to buy a couple of sets of rechargeable NiMH batteries, as the supplied AA alkaline batteries don't last very long at all. You will also need to budget for a 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 Z20 have been submitted to DIWA for comparison with test results for different samples of the same camera model supplied by other DIWA member sites.