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| Date Reviewed: Oct 27, 2005 |
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Strengths: Internal Zoom, 5-MP, Optical View Finder.
Weaknesses: No case, Focus hunts in low light.
Summary: Having owned the original Dimage X, it was a very easy decision to upgrade to the X50 and get twice the resolution. I chose this model over the newer X60, which has a bigger LCD, because of the optical viewfinder. The viewfinder although a little too small for my taste has proven to be effective when shooting in light levels too low for the LCD screen to display. Another issue I encountered is that the focus has difficulty locking in when in low light. This can be a very annoying if your subject is moving, but should be ok if you're just taking stills. Although I would have liked for the camera to come with a carrying case, I haven’t had any problems with it.
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| Date Reviewed: Oct 1, 2004 |
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Strengths: 1. Small size 2. No protuding zoom lens 3. Fast start up 4. 2 inch LCD screen very clear 5. continues movie recording 6. Voice recording 7. AV cord so you can view pics on TV
Weaknesses: 1. If taking quick pictures some pictures may be out of focus. 2. Software a bit slow and difficult to use
Summary: Overall a great point and shoot camera. Its small enough so I can take it with me everywhere. Move recording is great especialy in good lighting. Slide show works well as it play everything on my 512 sd card on TV, it goes through pics and movies. The movie recording on TV is full size and good quality when recorded in good lighting without using the zoom. The other good feature is I can take a picture of a letter and read it easaly on the camera's good LCD screen. The camera has a paste featre where you can keep adding smaller pictres to the one picture. I use this to take pictures of buisness cards and then they are stored as on pic (about 12 pics can be added).
Before I bought this I bought the Casio EX-Z40 and Olympus AZ-1 which I tested for a few weeks. In comparison the X50 had more features.
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| Date Reviewed: Nov 21, 2004 |
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Strengths: Ultra compact with lots of features for the size, Durable body.
Weaknesses: Viewfinder does not give full picture to be shot
Summary: This camera is great. For the size it cannot be beat. Sony has one of the same size but without a viewfinder.
I have the Sony 707 and it is wonderful but it is huge. Both have 5 mp and of course the Sony has more features, but on my last trip I chose to take the Konica because of its size. It uses a Sony chip so the picture is comparable to the 707. It has fast recharge and the sd card is superior to the memory stick for ease of use.
May buy this one as gift for a friend.
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| Date Reviewed: Nov 11, 2004 |
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Strengths: Size is small, can fit in shirt pocket. 2 Inch viewing screen. User friendly. 5 Megapixels. Fast startup time. Minimal delay between pictures. Timer. Flat base on camera. Tripod mount. Viewfinder.
Weaknesses: One data transfer problem. Seemed to self correct itself. Could have been an just an anomoly or user error.
Summary: This is our 1st digital camera.
We briefly used a Pentax Optio pro and wanted a comparably sized camera.
Other cameras considered: Pentax Optio Pro, Sony Cybershot DSC-T1.
We use the timer regularly and may use the tripod mount in the future. The Dimage X50 is slightly less than an inch thick and has a flat base. This makes for good stability when setting the camera down. Sony’s comparable camera seemed to be so slim it wouldn’t be stable enough when set down, and it has no tripod mount.
Additional contributing factors: Non protruding zoom, easy to zoom on subjects without being a distraction and negatively affecting picture.
Still has a viewfinder for use in very bright situations.
Although this camera uses a proprietary battery, the memory is an industry standard and readily available SD Memory Card.
Encountered one small data transfer problem. Using the Date folder option, difficulty was encountered transferring 3 pictures for one particular day to the computer. They would display on the camera but when attached through the USB to the computer appeared to vanish. Then one week and two attempts later, they appeared on the computer, which we then quickly transferred. No other transfer problems.
Only difficulty taking pictures was during the challenging outdoors under low lighting situation. Probably with some more experience and additional manual reference this can be overcome.
The camera is very user friendly, and takes great pictures. My wife was able to take pictures, review, delete, and display them on the TV without having read the manual.
When purchasing this camera the 256 k SD Memory card is recommended. We purchased the 128K Memory card which will hold a total of only 49 pictures at the highest resolution.
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| Date Reviewed: Mar 1, 2005 |
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Strengths: Very compact, high quality, lots of features, convenient controls, good quality photos, relatively inexpensive
Weaknesses: low light focusing is a bit weak
Summary: I'm a dyed-in-the-wool 35mm SLR user because the big cameras nearly always get the shot and the big flashes are good out to 50 feet or more. HOWEVER, you can't tuck one away in your pocket, purse or glovebox so that you have it when you need it. Even a $5000 SLR is worthless sitting at home in a drawer.
OK, so maybe we lower our standards a little in order to at least have a chance of capturing the grandson’s unexpected ABC song in a video clip with sound. Some 2 1/2 years ago I bought the original Dimage X and have taken more photos with it than the last 10 years using my 5-lb Canon EOS 10S.
I loved the X so much that I bought the next-generation X50. It’s even more convenient to use and has 3 more megapixels. Start-up time is even faster, the new battery lasts longer, and the viewing screen is bigger. At least 15 other people have bought an X, an Xt, an Xg or an X50 after taking a close look at mine.
Common complaints:
Battery doesn’t last long enough. If you go out for the day with only one battery, it’s gonna die on you for sure. Always have at least one spare, preferably two. But don’t pay $49! Look for the NP-700 on eBay where you can get 4 for that price. Personally, I think these batteries have a very good service record. Replaying all your photos on the viewing screen is the fastest way to waste the battery.
Slow focus. The focusing time on the X50 is comparable to other cameras in its class. The trick is to PREFOCUS! Once your subject is nearly ready, press the shutter release half-way down. This will freeze the focus and the exposure. When your little soccer player is about to kick, press all the way down. Then the shutter delay will be virtually zero.
Out-of-focus, especially in dim light. To focus properly in dim light, many big SLR’s project an infra red beam which takes battery power that the compact cameras cannot afford. It’s really annoying to have a great shot ruined by bad focus, but I’d say that the X50 does as well as any other camera in its class.
Frequent red-eye. When the flash tube is only 2 inches from the lens, you’re going to get red-eye with any compact camera. You can try the red-eye reduction flash on the X50, but it uses up the battery faster. I simply bring the picture into my photo editor where red-eye is removed in seconds. Suggestion: turn on as many lights in the room as possible to close down the pupils.
16 MB memory card is too small. I’d say that a 256 MB card is too small! None of these cameras come with a generous card. If you want to shoot at max resolution, get at least a 1 GB card. And consider the high-speed cards, like the Sandisk Ultra II (hint: www.buy.com). They’re worth a few extra bucks.
All in all, I love my X50 and people always want to examine it. For $250 bucks, you can't beat it!
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| Date Reviewed: Sep 20, 2004 |
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Strengths: 1) None protruding zoom lens
2) Small size 2.4 X 3.3 X 0.9
3) Image quality is very good indoors
4) Built in flash works well indoors
5) LCD quality is awsome
6) Fast startup time
Weaknesses: 1) It comes with only 16 MB of SD memory
2) Battery charge only lasted for 11 highest quality images taken indoors. (Flash probably used lots of it)
3) Cannot take date & time off from images.
Summary: Overall this is a great point and shoot camera. It's very easy to use and output quality is comparable to the 8 MB digital cameras. However, the battery life is not as long as Minolta claims to be. The startup time is excellent if you want to catch the quick moving object and do not have too much time to boot up. I would recommend getting a bigger SD card (I've gotten the 512 MB version).
Be very careful when you put this camera in your pocket. The lens-cover-main switch sliding window might slide open and drain battery life. Otherwise, great camera, but need to test it more outdoors.
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| Date Reviewed: Jan 3, 2005 |
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Strengths: Very small & lightweight; easy to use, even for a beginner; high quality photos, even at lowest quality setting.
Weaknesses: Poor quality photos in low light, especilly with zoom.
Summary: I am a newcomer to photography. In the past, I never remembered to carry and/or use my cameras because they were so larger & bulky. This one is a dream. So lightweight & easy to use. I tucked it into my fanny back in Disneyworld & was good to go. It's top-notch. I recommend this camera even to folks like me, who are novices to digital photograhy. A great deal for the price.
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| Date Reviewed: Mar 25, 2005 |
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Strengths: Compactness, Metal casing, tripod socket.
Weaknesses: none
Summary: I’ve owned the DiMage Xt for over two years now, which is predecessor to the DiMage X50. When I heard that Minolta was coming out with an upgrade (DiMage 50) to it, I couldn’t wait buy it.
In order to judge the X50, I have to review about the Xt and then I explain the upgrades on the X50.
First of all, the XT is my favorite because is compact and you can carry it anywhere and feel unencumbered. It also has an optional (pricey) marine case, which can be used for under water shots, at water parks or in bad weather. For me, the metal case is a HUGE plus since I've dropped it so many times that it should not be working by now...it has huge dents but it is still working. XT is a 3.2 mega pixels, which will allow you to get prints as big as 16x20 without making them look pixilated. It's also has a rechargeable battery included and you will never have to worry about buying batteries. The battery can hold charge for a long time. I've taken over 90 pics without running out of juice. On the bad side, the camera, as most other digital cameras, it comes with a memory card of 16 mega pixels SD memory card, which will only hold a few pictures. I had to buy a bigger memory card. The good news is that a one-mega byte card is fairly inexpensive now and a one-megabyte card will hold close to a thousand pictures. It also has the capability of shooting video for as long as you have free memory and it can be used as a PC Camera. I have REALLY researched cameras and this one by far is the best. The best part is that it has a non-protruding zoom lense.
The upgrade is the DiMage 50 has all of the good things from the XT and Minolta has resolved some of the quarks that the Xt had. For example, the moved the shutter from the corner of the camera to the middle of it. X50 was upgraded to a 5.0 mega pixel, which will allow you to print bigger prints. It also got an upgrade on the camera viewer. They made it bigger, but I already found some problems with it. Although the X50 is a little more smaller, it is thicker and makes it bulkier in your pockets. Also, since they added a bigger viewing screen, it means that there is more area for scratches and you can expect the screen to be scratched...don't freak out. In addition, since it is a bigger screen, it eats away more battery power and the battery doesn't last as long. Also, since it is a 5.0 mega pixel, you will most definitely HAVE to buy a bigger memory card but the one-mega byte card is more than plenty. The best thing about this camera is that this has a tripod socket…unlike the Sony counterpart.
The DiMage X50 I got for about $247, s/h included.
I LOVE THIS CAMERA!
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| Date Reviewed: Jan 3, 2005 |
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Strengths: Size, menu.
Weaknesses: Low light situations slow camera speed. Battery.
Summary: Great camera, especially for it's size. Has all the latest features and is easy to use. Comes with great software. It's main weekness is that in low light situations it takes a while to find it's focal point and when you add the red-eye preflash to that you can miss the shot. I recommend taking it off red-eye and setting it to a regular flash. (Use the software to fix redeye after the fact.) The only other flaw is that the battery doesn't hold it's charge as long I'd like.
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| Date Reviewed: Nov 5, 2004 |
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Strengths: Compact size.
Weaknesses: Shutter-lag time not as good as lag-time from off to 1st shot.
Summary: Very nice and compact camera. Good image quality. Battery not chargeable in the camera - must be removed, even when using AC adapter. Fast off to 1st shot, not as fast from shot to shot.
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| Date Reviewed: Oct 14, 2004 |
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Strengths: Very small powerful digital camera.
Weaknesses: NA
Summary: I think the best feature of this camera is it's non-protruding lens. I wanted a small camera that had the features of cameras double it's size and still afforbable. This camera has it all and as I learn more about it the more I am loving it.
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| Date Reviewed: Dec 23, 2004 |
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Strengths: Small size, no protuding lense, easy to learn to use
Weaknesses: Delay between flash shots seems long, only has 16 Meg memory
Summary: I went to the camera store ready to buy another brand as my first digital camera, but was advised that the other brand was the one digital camera most returned for problems. The X50 was recommended and I am very pleased with it.
It is very easy to learn to use, and the images produced seem very good to my non-expert eye. Reasonable size memory card and extra battery are additional costs but this seems the norm for all brands.
Getting compliments on my photos is a new experience for me.
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| Date Reviewed: Mar 8, 2005 |
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Strengths: Fits in one hand and startup is really fast
Weaknesses: I'm still learning to take pics that don't come out blurry... Sport mode should solve that but it doesn't, you still have to hold your finger down halfway before every shot...
Summary: It's still a brand new product but this is my first impression. With my old Canon S50 I could be spinning with the cam in my hand and the pic still come out really nice in sport mode. Not the case with this one. I bought from compuplus direct and the wont let me return it even after one day. Boo... But I failed to read that policy... I will post another review in a month if that is allowed...
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| Date Reviewed: Apr 21, 2005 |
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Strengths: Big size Screen and small
Weaknesses: None
Summary: Small size and contemporary design, very big screen to view the pictures you take. My friend did a lot of research of digital cameras, he recommended this one, which is the best, good price.
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| Date Reviewed: Apr 18, 2005 |
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Strengths: incredible size, simplicity, and design
Weaknesses: less than perfect cropped enlargements, comparatively short battery life.
Summary: this fantastic little shutterbug is capable of features usually only found on its big brothers. the sliding cap, the large viewfinder, fantastic design and image quality will leave you speechless. all of this photographic power comes to you in a beautiful, sleek aluminum alloy case. sure to be a pleaser.
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