Reviews for Konica Minolta DiMAGE S414 4 Megapixel Compact Camera

Konica Minolta DiMAGE S414 4 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: All that has to be said, it is a REAL all around camera.Right out of the box type, start taking pictures.

Weakness: Haven't found any. People that say it "Eats" battries, must not be using NiMH batteries.( use the 1800 Mah or 2200 are real good) NO camera in today's market can use regular batteries, and last long.

I have taken pictures out of doors, in side, and in low light. All were very good. Now all were taken in the "Auto" mode. I have taken pictures in 4X zoom of objects, very clear. It is a real all around nice camera for the price.

100% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?

Konica Minolta DiMAGE S414 4 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: 4X optical zoom, ease of use, amazing results even with standard image quality, auto and manual settings, compact flash, light and small - but not too small.

Weakness: Chews up batteries. Best results with Energizer NIMH 1800mah rechargables. Bring several with you......

This little camera produces amazing photographs. Took over 500 photo's in Colorado recently and cannot believe the results when printed at 8.5 X 11 size (on Canon i850 w/ Canon paper) paper. No graininess, excellent detail, crisp and clear colors, some people viewing them thought I purchased the photo's from a professional. Actually, results are better than blown up photo's from a 35mm negative. Camera is relatively easy to use - no problem if you've ever used a standard 35mm camera. Uses compact flash memory - inexpensive and can store large amount of photo's. Easy to use software. Great buy for the money.

100% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?

Konica Minolta DiMAGE S414 4 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: Very solid, sturdy metal body, excellent 4X (35-140mm) glass optical zoom lens, wide variety of useful features, very sharp images, and an incredible price!

Weakness: Autofocus may be a little slow in low light, unusual tripod mount location, no external flash capability...but, hey, if these bother you then spend a few hundred dollars more!

I just took the plunge to digital for a second time and after researching and studying many different cameras I had narrowed my choices to a Nikon Coolpix 3100, Canon Powershot A70, Olympus C4000, and this camera. But after going to a local camera store and getting a hands-on feel of each my decision was easy. The S414 has a solid, sturdy, metal body and feel, an excellent 4X glass optical zoom lens, a wide variety of useful creative features, very sharp images...all at an incredible price! While it may have a few weaknesses (as I said, spend more...a lot more...if you don't like them), you won't get a better camera for the money!

100% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?

Konica Minolta DiMAGE S414 4 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: Best all around camera, great pictures, price, better than Olympus 470

Weakness: Battery Life, System functions

The cameria met all my expectatios and more. Make sure you get the good rechargable batteries. The System functions take a little practice getting use to, but got it figured out quickly! Plenty of Zoom. Excellent quality pictures Lot's of features ! Auto or manual operation - simple or complex - it's your choice. Buy the camerica and save $100 bucks ! 4 million pixiels !

100% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?

Konica Minolta DiMAGE S414 4 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: Versatile. Especially like the manual mode. Price is right. Pictures look great.

Weakness: As mentioned earlier, the battery compartment cover is a little tough to close and seems flimsy.

As a serious prosumer-amature photographer, I have been very skeptical of digital photos. Well, had a new kid and decided I'd better get one to email photos to family. I was very pleasantly surprised with the quality this camera give for the price. Definitely buy Nimh batteries for it, preferably with a one-hour charger.

The previous poster wondered about the yellow cast of the photos. That is the color temperature of your scene. Light bulbs do that to regular photos, while flourescent makes them green. The s414 does a pretty good job of automatically handling that, but if you're still unsatisfied, go under manual, white balance, and select Tungsten, and it should correct the color for you.

87% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?

Konica Minolta DiMAGE S414 4 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: CRYSTAL CLEAR Pics, Nice size LCD, FAST shutter speed, Autofocus deals AMAZINGLY WELL with light conditions.

Weakness: Need rechargeable batts, size may be somewhat bulky, but that's a matter of personal preference.

I've had this Minolta S414 for almost 2 months now and must say it may well be THE MOST VALUE 4 MP Digicam FOR YOUR HARD-EARNED $$$. Like the other reader who said he was considering the Olympus C-4000, I was also THIS CLOSE to getting the Olympus. But the price and higher optical zoom on this Minolta model won me over.

I regretted before getting the Minolta thinking maybe I made a mistake. Well, folks....once you see the quality of the pictures this Minolta can produce, I guarantee all your doubts will fly out the window---KAPUT!! I have seen many pictures taken by my friends and relatives on their digital cameras, and I have to say this Minolta blows all those out of the water....I'm talking about the Nikon 4300, the Sony DSCS-9, and Fuji 3800. It doesn't come CLOSE to the Minolta S414.

The images are CRYSTAL CLEAR on both printouts and displays on your PC/TV Monitor. I recommend spending maybe at least an hour or more getting familiarized with the features and the controls. There may be conditions where using Autofocus may not be enough to deal with shooting pics in difficult conditions (i.e. night shots, fast moving objects, etc.)

I sincerely advise those folks who have bad-mouthed this Minolta to go back and RE-READ the manual! This camera is for SERIOUS DIGICAM LOVERS! Using it as a "point and shoot" doesn't utilize this camera to its fullest potential. Your hard-earned $$$ will be put to great use on this baby. You will LOVE IT!! The secret will get out soon.

80% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?

Konica Minolta DiMAGE S414 4 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: very intuitive controls, almost AI like light sensing

Weakness: little heavy for size, bad tripod mount position

fabulous macro results thus far, nice easy controls compact , nice hearty handgrip (i have man hands) but not quite as killer as the grip on the D-600L I had which fit like a glove. I'll cope and get used to it.

Makes GREAT inside shots so far in dark conditions my other camera never would have even let me take before, just througly impressed. Uses regular AA nimh's so i didn't have to buy a whoel new battery system since I alread had several sets from before. Plug an play in MAC OSX, no install needed, just stick inthe cable and go, but I bought a card reader on my own to take it easy on the camera in the long run.

i shopped and shopped and shopped and thier was the price range I wanted and the features I needed/wanted (CLOSE macro and AA nimhs) macro length is 6" or less.

As I said he tripod mount is in a bad spot (far left, and weight is onth e right) but I'm goign to get a offset bracket for the tripod to fix that, $20 is cheap work around.

Just thrilled to bits with it.

75% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?

Konica Minolta DiMAGE S414 4 Megapixel Compact Camera

I had been searching for a digital camera for the past 6 weeks. I reviewed several internet sites that offer digital cameras, at various prices shapes and size.

I was about to give up my internet search when I found, buy digital direct web site. I did a price comparison check and found that I could not beat this price.

I purchase a brand new Minolta dimage S414 digital camera. I called the phone # given and spoke directly to operator #104. The person I spoke with was knowledgable about the product. I purchased this product with the comfort of knowning that I made the right choice shopping at buy digital direct/price grabber.

67% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?

Konica Minolta DiMAGE S414 4 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: Best value in its class. Compares favorably to Canon G2 in Picture quality for half the price!

Weakness: No hot shoe. Unusual tripod mount position.

I've read all the negative reviews and found a resolution to almost all of the problems mentioned. Yellow cast can be resolved easily with a filter set. 16MB cf is not unusual, just buy alarger capacity. Buy a couple sets of nimh batteries and charger and your good to go. Even with these updates you still have one of the best deals in digital photography! I have produced great photos in all light conditions. Take the time to learn the camera, not point and shoot. Very well built metal body, thus a little heavier. You should be very happy with this camera.

67% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?

Konica Minolta DiMAGE S414 4 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: Excellent resolution and color quality. Fast and responsive. Great zoom range. Comfortable to hold and well made.

Weakness: Mediocre low-light sensitivity. Uses AA batteries instead of a lithium pack.

My 5-star rating does take into account the value factor. This camera does about as good a job as a relative's Canon G2 for about 30% less money. The optical zoom range and shutter responsiveness are somewhat better while the lo-light performance is perhaps slightly worse.

60% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?

Konica Minolta DiMAGE S414 4 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: Ease of use was highly important for my first digital camera. I've used it in various lights with no problems. Great price for a 4MP camera with a great zoom!

Weakness: The only problem I've experienced is some difficulty in closing the battery case. It would be easy to force and then break. I'd be nice if it were slightly smaller maybe.

I have taken lots of pictures of our new home being built. Low lights, bright lights, bad weather. All the shots came out great and I'm thrilled with the results. I wanted to use it immediately upon getting it and was able to with no difficulty. The directions were clear on what I couldn't immediately figure out. Given that I'm usually technologically challenged, this is amazing! I looked a lot and had a hard time finding a camera with more than 3.2MP for this price, particularly one with a nice digital zoom. I want crisp pictures without having to be practically standing next to my subject and this camera delivers. Although I wish it were slightly smaller, I'm not complaining. It feels like a nice camera and produces like a great one. Excellent value for the money and I'm very satisfied!

50% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?

Konica Minolta DiMAGE S414 4 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: Picture quality, lense, camera feel and camera is built to last and very durable.

Weakness: None that I would consider a weakness.

This camera takes great pics, portrait or long range.
You are not in danger of it falling out of your pocket, as you almost always should use the neck strap or just hold on to it. (If you want a tiny camera then get the elph). If you want a true camera feel get this one.
Its glass lense is excellent, fast to focus and all pictures have been clear.
As the price comes down it makes it even a better buy. I believe the best buy for a 4 meg. camera. You will not be dissappointed.
As with any camera you must have two sets of nimh batteries, just in case.

50% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?

Konica Minolta DiMAGE S414 4 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: PICTURE , BATTERY USAGE, LCD SCREEN SIZE , 4X OPTICAL LENS

Weakness: NO HOTSHOE, OR NO NIGHT SHOT MODE....LIKE SONY HAS

I JUST GOT THIS CAMERA FOUR DAYS AGO AND LOVE IT. THE PICTURES ARE GREAT,EVEN WITHOUT VIEWING IT IN THE MINOLTA SOFTWARE PROGRAM AS SOME PEOPLE SAID YOU HAVE TO DO, USING WINDOWS XP DOES IT ALL FOR YOU.I LIKE THE 4X OPTICAL LENS ,ALOT OF CAMERAS ONLY USE 3X ,MORE CAMERAS ARE COMING OUT WITH HIGHER OPTICAL LENS NOW THOU , THE LCD IS LARGE NOT SMALL LIKE ALOT OF CAMERAS ALSO.THE BATTERIES
GIVE YOU ALOT OF PICTURE USE...THE CAMERA IS JUST A BIT LARGE ,BUT OK. .....I TOOK SOME SHOTS AT NIAGARA FALLS THAT CAME OUT GREAT .. THE ONLY THING IS WITH NO FALSH IN LOW LIGHT YOU GET ALOT OF GHOST PICTURES,AND GHOST OUTLINE PICTURES, WHERE SONY HAS NIGHT SHOT CAMERAS,I WISH MINOLTA WOULD HAVE DID THAT ON THE S414.. AND ALSO WISH YOU COULD PUT A ADAPTOR FLASH FOR THE CAMERA , BUT IT HAS NO HOTSHOE, LIKE CANNON G3 HAS ,AND LIKE SOME OLYMPUS CAMERAS DO...
BUT YOU PAY ABOUT $250.00 MORE ALSO. SO FOR THE MONEY THIS CAMERA IS WELL WORTH THE MONEY $359.00
AT J&R MUSICWORLD,,(PRICE MATCH)..
DAVE

100% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?

Konica Minolta DiMAGE S414 4 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: 4X OPTICAL ZOOM, 4 MEGAPIXELS, VERY GOOD PHOTO QUALITY, MANUAL CONTROLS, A REAL CAMERA FOR LESS THAN $250.00

Weakness: SLOW PERFORMANCE, REGULAR QUALITY BUILT, BULKY.

VALUE, VALUE, VALUE, THIS CAMERA HAVE EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO TAKE BEAUTYFUL PICTURES, THE 4X OPTICAL ZOOM IS FOUND ONLY IN MUCH MORE EXPENSIVE CAMERAS.

100% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?

Konica Minolta DiMAGE S414 4 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: Lots of features other cameras dont have. More pixels and zoom then other cameras.

Weakness: a little bigger and heavier then the latest cameras. The on button location is not great.

This camera has all the cool features you would need. Found out that the awful battery life I was getting out of the camera was do to awkward location of on switch. It's very easy to accidently turn this camera on when you place it in the bag. I suggest getting a larger bag then you would normally get. Was getting like 35 pictures and needing to change 1800mh batteries out. Found out wive accidently was turning the camera on when she placed it in the camera bag. Need to come up with a way to stop that from happening. I ran the camera through about 250 pictures 1/2 with the lcd and flash going. I still had a fully charged battery. I would recommend using the manual setting instead of the autofocus. You can have better results that way. But the camera is making some great pics now.

95% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?

Konica Minolta DiMAGE S414 4 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: Good picture quality. Priced competitively.

Weakness: Several other people have already commented on the battery cover. It truly is hard to close after you insert the batteries. You have to push down and then back at the same time to close.

The batteries that come with it are alkaline and will not last through your first set of pictures after you have pushed every button and looked at all the menu options. This camera is packed with a tremendous amount of options for the price. I purchased a set of rechargable batteries with a charger and they lasted 4 times as long. If you get a second set of batteries you will always have a back up set. Great buy and good quality.

67% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?

Konica Minolta DiMAGE S414 4 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: Great Pictures! Ease of use. Price is wonderful for the functions you get. "Feel" of the camera in your hand.

Weakness: On/Off "switch" is not great, battery door is a pill to close. But once it is closed it is CLOSED. It will eat 1800nim batts like a kid eats candy

The batts suggested in the tec specs are 1850 NiMh. Purchasing 2000's is your best bet. I suggest 2 sets and a charger. Also if you have the cash, get larger memory card. I purchased a 512mg card and this is a great way to keep shooting. I take a lot of night shots and this is by far the best i have seen with night shots! The tripod adapter is in bad spot but can be fixed with an offset. The movie quality is great. Lots of fun with guests! And to send quick shots and for web pages. I would and have recommended this camera to friends...And there is another satisfied customer!

50% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?

Konica Minolta DiMAGE S414 4 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: incredible clarity; nice flash pics; great feel; nice video with sound

Weakness: mediocre low-light/non-flash photography; bad white balance in outdoor shots; eats batteries

Got this to replace a trusty Olympus c2040 that died. It seemed like the best bang for the buck out there, and that may still be the case, but it fails utterly in one respect: the inability to take good low-light pictures without a flash. Every picture is dark when in auto mode with the flash off. I switched to all manual and tried various combinations of f-stops and exposure times and nothing matched the Olympus. We prefer to take natural light pictures, and after 7 months, this camera obviously doesn't fulfill that need. For those of you who are happy with using a flash, this camera will take great pictures. The clarity is nothing short of incredible.

83% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?

Konica Minolta DiMAGE S414 4 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: -Great images -Cost -4 MP -Sturdy construction and weight and none too dinky -Very plug and play friendly with XP -Decent software and documentation -Huge resolutions -Video and audio capture

Weakness: -No rechargable batteries -Puny 16 mb media card -No shutter adjustments -Manual focus is a joke -Over powering flash

A decent camera for a first time digital camera buyer at an affordable cost. You will need to buy rechargable batteries for this camera. At the large resolutions and TIFF images I have never seen battery power sucked dry so fast.

50% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?

Konica Minolta DiMAGE S414 4 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: Good quality. Great price when compared to megapixels. High speed cpu made switching betweeen images snappy. Lots of options.

Weakness: Indoor images were indeed too yellow. Drained batteries. Not so user friendly. Camera weighs a freakin TON.

I ordered this camera because i thought I would be better off getting a 4mp camera instead of the canon A70, which about half a dozen of my friends have. When I got it, I was shocked by the size of it, but I decided to give it a try. After a few days of messing around with all the settings, i was dissatisfied with the yellowness of indoor photos, and the fact that I couldnt really carry this camera around with me because of the enormous size and weight of it. On top of that the camera was giving me technical problems.
SOmetimes, I would turn it off, and the camera would turn on. The lens would extend, which was sort of dangerous if I put it in its case. When it would act up like this it would take like 3 minutes of tinkering with the on button to turn makethe lens go back in. Keep in mind this was only after 1 week of owning the camera. I didnt even want to think about what would happen after 1 year of wear and tear. I already owned a Kodak dx3600 that was giving me hell after 1 year. I decided to return this camera and get a Canon A70 instead. I trust the brand more when it comes to digital cameras because i know tons of people with A60,70 and 80 cameras.

Summing it up: This camera weighs a ton, drains batteries, takes yellow photos and gave me some technical problems.
Dont comprimise overall camera quality for .8 mexapixel!

Luckily my online seller had a decent return policy, and the canon is on its way right now.

Good luck.

75% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?

By member: fraczekp - Jun 16, 2003

Konica Minolta DiMAGE S414 4 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: Feature loaded package for much le$$ than competitors.

Weakness: Color transcription (colors don't seem to be lively enough). NEEDS A REAL TRIPOD MOUNT! Not ergonomic MF controls.

***1 year / 4000 pics update ****
The camera died... more or less... despite great care the image reproduction is garbage -- white balance is completly off and the images are turning out very graniny. To repair it costs more than to buy it again. Seems like very unreliable cam.
**************************

So the below was just a initial reaction (2 months of ownership):

I compared and compared. This is the compromise. The features are great! The AA batteries are a great idea - cheap power source (but you MUST USE rechargeable otherwise you will suffer). I recommend using MF instead of AF unless you don't have the time to play with it. The pictures come out much better when you use MF (if you learn how to deal with the awkward controls). Great features although I could sacrifice the 4x zoom for little more lively colors. The yellow mentioned in one of the posts comes from fluorescent light - not a camera defect, however color transcription needs improvement. Compared it side by side with Olympus only to be slightly disappointed with Minolta's color saturation. However, overall it is a good budget camera.

67% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?

Konica Minolta DiMAGE S414 4 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: ???

Weakness: Extremely unplesant yellow cast in in-door shots.

Very disappointed at the extremely unpleasant yellow cast in in-door shots. Besides, most of the outdoor shots also need post-edit to make the color right. Flash is not powerful enough... Gee, I'm so negative on this model... But that's my experience with about 100 shots at various light condition: indoor, outdoor, morning, evening. I would recommend the F100 over this model if anyone have to have a Minolta model...

If Minolta folks are watching this page, could you explane a little bit about the yellow cast...

33% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?

Dimage S414

Strengths: Large screen, 4 megapixels, 4x optical, heavy duty aluminum body(not plastic), beautiful outdoor and good light pics, many features and options, uses compact flash wich is cheaper

Weakness: Large camera, uses batteries quicker than some other cameras, flimsy lens cover(mine broke after a while)

I researched quite a bit before buying and was very pleased when I received it. I recommended it to a friend and he also purchased, however after having it for 1 year and 8 months,(warranty is 1 year) when I try to take pics w/flash, it does not take it and then the camera shuts off. My friends camera did the same thing although I think he may have dropped his before that happened. I took very good care of my camera. I am getting ready to send it to Minolta to get it checked out. Hopefully it won't cost too much to fix. Other than that and the weaknesses mentioned above, I have been very pleased with this camera.

Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?

Minotla Dimage S414 Review

Strengths: Good photo quality.

Weakness: Slow to startup and slow to take the picture.

This camera's not bad if you plan on taking pictures of objects that don't move. You have to hold down the button for two seconds to let it focus before it actually takes the shot. I've missed too many good shots of my 1-year old daughter with this camera. You CAN hold the button half-way down to get the focus set and then wait for a good shot but what are the chances of getting a great shot when you're ready for it? I'm upgrading to the Canon Digital Rebel XT so I can turn it on & shoot instantly.

It does drain the batteries when you have the LCD on so either turn it off or have backups.

Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?

Konica Minolta DiMAGE S414 4 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: Excellent photo quality. Clear and sensible arrangement of buttons.

Weakness: Poor quality construction. Eats batteries. Poor support

Because of its location and design, the on/off dial will turn when inserting camera into case or pocket - resulting in camera remaining powered with lens extended.
Poor design of memory-card door allows it to spring open during use if you touch the release button.
First camera I got became hot to the touch when used. I called Minolta and was told that I need to send it to them (and pay shipping) and they will check and decide what to do (even though the technician seemed familiar with the problem). Called Dell instead and they immediately sent me a replacement (great support). Unfortuanately, the new camera had all the same problems, except for the heat. I am sending both back

38% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?

Minolta DiMAGE S414

Minolta's S414 follows last year's very successful S404 as one of the best bargains in the full-featured 4-megapixel market. Great color, a tack-sharp lens, ease of use for novices, and plenty of controls for camera buffs make it a great all-around choice for a wide range of users.

Read Full Review

Konica Minolta Dimage S414

Konica Minolta Dimage S414 receives an overall TopTenREVIEWS score of 1.43 out of 4.00. It is ranked the #421 standard digital camera of all time. The overall rating represents an intelligent balance of features, value as a function of price to features, and a summary of reviews from a variety of sources. The TopTen REVIEWS' formula gives a picture of important consumer features, market value,...

Read Full Review