The DiMAGE F100 was announced last month at CeBIT, this four megapixel, three times optical zoom ultra-compact is aimed squarely at the Canon PowerShot S40, Sony DSC-P9 and Pentax Optio 430. It takes its place in this new class of high-end, high resolution ultra-compacts. The F100 has a good set of credentials, a wide set of manual controls and other features. We have had a pre-production F100 for a week or so now and while we won't be reviewing the F100 until we can get a full production model I have prepared a fairly lengthy First Look along with a gallery of sample images.

Minolta DiMAGE F100 First Look

This first look is based on a pre-production DiMAGE F100. Due to the early nature of the camera we won't be reviewing it at this stage, we will be waiting for a full production unit. However Minolta has agreed to allow us to post sample images. Please bear in mind that the image quality from the final production camera may be better than samples available here.

Minolta's four megapixel DiMAGE F100 (~$700) enters a relatively new area of the digital camera market, the high-end ultra-compact four megapixel. Here's how the competition stands up: Canon PowerShot S40 (~$650), Pentax Optio 430 (~$700) and Sony DSC-P9 (~$600). The F100 comes to the party with a good range of features:

• Fully selectable ISO sensitivity (Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800)
• AF-Tracking (Auto focus can "follow" a moving subject)
• Automatic scene selection in Auto exposure mode
• Program, Aperture Priority (7 steps), Shutter Priority (25 steps) and Manual Exposure
• Multiple drive modes (Single, Timer/RC, Continuous, Bracket)
• Good white balance selection (Auto, 4 presets, manual preset)
• Magnified Manual Focus
• Metering modes (Multi, Spot)
• Movie and Voice recording mode
• Takes two standard AA batteries (NiMH recommended)

Click here for full specifications

Compared

Below you will find a table summarizing some of the feature / specifications of similar and competitive cameras compared to the DiMAGE F100.

	Minolta DiMAGE F100	Canon PowerShot S40	Pentax Optio 430	Sony DSC-P9
Review	Upcoming	Click here	Click here	Upcoming
Street	$700	$650	$700	$600
Sensor	4.1 mp	4.1 mp	4.1 mp	4.1 mp
Effective	3.9 mp	3.9 mp	3.8 mp	3.9 mp
Output	2272 x 1704	2272 x 1704	2240 x 1680	2272 x 1704
Others	1600 x 1200 1280 x 960 640 x 480	1600 x 1200 1024 x 768 640 x 480	1120 x 850 640 x 480	1600 x 1200 1280 x 960 640 x 480
ISO sens.	Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800	Auto, 50, 100, 200, 400	100, 200	Auto, 100, 200, 400
Lens equiv.	3x (38 - 114 mm)	3x (35 - 105 mm)	3x (37 - 111 mm)	3x (39 - 117 mm)
Lens aperture	F2.8 - F4.7	F2.8 - F4.9	F2.6 - F4.8	F2.8 - F5.6
Min. shutter	4 sec + Bulb (15 sec)	15 sec	2 sec	2 sec
Max. shutter	1/1000 sec	1/1500 sec	1/2000 sec	1/1000 sec
Metering	Multi-segment, Spot	Evaluative, CW, Spot	Multi-area, CW, Spot	Multi-segment, Spot
Auto focus	5-point, Single AF, Tracking AF	3-point, Selectable	Wide AF, Spot AF	3-point auto, Center point
AF assist lamp	No	Yes	No	Yes
Min. focus	Normal: 50 cm Macro: 20 cm	Normal: 80 cm Macro: 10 cm	Normal: 40 cm Macro: 14 cm	Normal: 50 cm Macro: 10 cm
Manual focus	Yes, magnified and distance readout	Yes, magnified loupe and distance readout	Yes, ruler (no units)	Yes, 5 steps
White balance	5 position & manual	6 position & manual	5 position & manual	5 position
Aperture priority	Yes	Yes	No	No
Shutter priority	Yes	Yes	No	No
Manual exp.	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Movie clips	Yes, 35 sec	Yes, 30 / 120 sec	Yes, 30 sec	Yes, unlimited
Movie audio	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Remote control	Yes (option)	No	Yes	No
Storage	SD/MMC card	CF Type I	CF Type I	Memory Stick
Image format	TIFF, JPEG	RAW, JPEG	JPEG	JPEG
LCD monitor	1.5"	1.8"	1.6"	1.5"
Power	2 x AA batteries	Canon Lithium-Ion	Pentax Lithium-Ion	Sony Lithium-Ion
Charging	No	Out of camera	Out of camera	In camera
Weight (inc.)	241 g (8.5 oz)	323 g (11.4 oz)	240 g (8.5 oz)	203 g (7.2 oz)
Dimensions	111 x 52 x 32 mm (4.4 x 2 x 1.3 in)	112 x 58 x 42 mm (4.4 x 2.3 x 1.7 in)	92 x 59 x 31 mm (3.6 x 2.3 x 1.2 in)	113 x 53 x 36 mm (4.5 x 2.1 x 1.4 in)

Minolta DiMAGE F100 in pictures

Side by side

Display

Normal 'record' live view	Aperture priority live view, shutter release half-pressed (note red AF point indicated)
This animation provides an example of what the F100's AF tracking can do. In my tests it worked quite well but wasn't particularly fast, it would be ok for a slow moving subject which stayed mostly in frame.	Playback mode features a full histogram and exposure information 'info' display. Unlike the D5/D7/S304/S404 you CAN now browse through images while in this mode.

Menus

With the advent of the F100 we also get a peak into a new menu layout and slightly different user interface which I would expect to be used in future Minolta digital cameras. The main differences are that settings such as white balance, contrast, saturation and sharpening are all set by first entering that settings 'modify' page which provides a full live view of the exact difference changing that setting is having on the image.

Record menu	Play menu
Setup menu

Samples gallery

As part of this first look we're also providing a small samples gallery. As mentioned above all these images were taken with a pre-production DiMAGE F100, image quality for the final production models may well improve.

Click here to order the Minolta DiMAGE F100
(orders help support the site)