News tagged with "konica-minolta"

Konica has revealed the KD-510Z, for quite a while today I think they probably underestimated the amount of traffic their server would have to deal with (especially after tempting everyone with that teaser last week). After all that the KD-510Z seems to be a fairly unremarkable five megapixel three times optical zoom digital camera virtually identical to the black bodied KD-500Z they announced at Photokina last year. Just like the previous camera the KD-510Z can store images on both SD/MMC and MemoryStick, making Konica the only manufacturer other than Sony to use the format.

Konica has recently put up a flash teaser on their Japanese web site, very much in the vien of Nikon with their Coolpix SQ earlier this year. It shows a number of Konica cameras through the years and ends with a sillouette of the new model with the promise of more information coming on the 6th of June. There are two very good samples linked from the page though, so I think again its a case of wait and see.

Minolta has announced the availability of Minolta DiMAGE Messenger v1.0.1. Current users of DiMAGE Messenger v1.0 who have purchased the program can upgrade their version for free. This new version is now less resource intensive and also fixes a printing bug.

PMA 2003: Minolta has today announced its unique and innovative new communication software application called 'Minolta Messenger'. Messenger allows you to attach interactive hot-spot messages to your standard images (TIFF, JPEG, BMP), these messages are embedded into the image header, the image can then be sent to another user with Messenger who can browse the image and add their own messages. "People say that 'a picture is worth 1,000 words,'" said Jon Sienkiewicz, vice president of marketing for Minolta Corporation's Consumer Products Group. "But we say, 'we give you both'."

PMA 2003: Minolta has today announced the new DiMAGE E223, a new entry level digital camera is the direct successor to the E203, with a two megapixel sensor and three times optical zoom lens. "Perfect for home and small business use, and the ideal tool for sharing images via e-mail, the DiMAGE E223's 2.1-megapixel CCD and versatile zoom lens provide high-resolution, clear and crisp images," said Jon Sienkiewicz, vice president of marketing, Minolta Corporation's Consumer Products Group.

PMA 2003: Minolta has today announced the direct successor the the F100 (and you thought it was the F300!), the new four megapixel DiMAGE F200. Interestingly the F200 has a different layout than the F100 or F300 with rubberized strips and relocated controls, levers and displays. "The compact body borrows the fine soft curves and intersecting planes of its predecessors, and adds distinctive rubberized grips and a new control layout. The rich aluminum exterior reflects the quality of the design. The camera is available in two colors: silver and indigo."

PMA 2003, Live: Today we got a sneak peek of Minolta's next evolution of the DiMAGE X. "The new design eliminates more than 5% from the size and nearly 8% from the weight of the DiMAGE Xi. At 85.5 x 67 x 20mm and 120 g (3.4 x 2.6 x 0.8 in., 4.2 oz), the DiMAGE Xt can be slipped into a pocket or bag as easily as a wallet. The exclusive folded optical zoom system allowed Minolta to recreate the world's thinnest compact, planar digital camera with a 3X optical zoom. This revolutionary non-extending lens is responsible for maintaining the camera's 20mm (0.8 in) thin profile either while recording or when stored." UPDATE: Specifications added.

Minolta have today announced the new DiMAGE S414 featuring a 4.1 megapixel CCD (4.0 million effective), a Minolta GT 4x optical zoom lens. "The new DiMAGE S414 combines high quality images and automatic features, allowing users to obtain the best photographic results with easy camera operation," said Jon Sienkiewicz, vice president of Marketing, Minolta Corporation's Consumer Products Group. "It's the ideal digital camera for a variety of applications and users -- personal or business, from novice to enthusiasts."

Thanks to DPReview regular Kevin for noticing that Minolta Europe have posted firmware upgrades for their Dimage 7 cameras. The 7 gets updated to v1.23e, 7i to v1.11e and the 7Hi to v1.01e. As always please ensure that the correct update is applied.

CES 2003: 2100 EST: Minolta has today announced the new five megapixel DiMAGE F300 digital camera. Based on the slim DiMAGE F100 the F300 has a 5.3 megapixel 1/1.8" CCD sensor, the same 3x optical zoom lens, subject AF tracking and improved noise reduction systems. The DiMAGE F300 comes with supplied with four NiMH rechargeable batteries (it only requires two for operation) and a 32 MB Secure Digital card. UPDATE: Sample images online.

Japan's Konica Corp. and Minolta Co., two film photography giants struggling for a foothold in the digital era, said today they had agreed on a merger that could propel them into the big league. Konica, the world's third-largest photo film maker, and Minolta, a leading maker of SLR cameras struggling after poor financial results, already have a mutual supply deal in photocopier machines and a toner joint venture.

Minolta US has today announced an underwater ("Marine") case for the DiMAGE X or DiMAGE Xi digital camera. We actually covered this new accessory when it was announced by Minolta Japan back in May and also in our Photokina 2002 show report, today Minolta made it official and announced a list price of $249. "This new durable housing allows users involved in virtually any outdoor activity to bring their DiMAGE X or DiMAGE Xi camera with them anywhere they go to document their day-to-day activities or special adventures," said Jon Sienkiewicz, vice president of marketing.

Just posted! Our full in-depth review of Minolta's compact four megapixel, three times optical zoom, DiMAGE F100. This slim digital camera offers a wide and flexible feature set, small dimensions, SD/MMC storage and just double AA battery requirements (which also keeps weight down). The DiMAGE F100 enters the higher end of the compact market where image quality and features can sometimes win over price. See how the F100 did in our tests.

Photokina 2002: Konica has introduced the five megapixel Revio KD-500Z and the ultra thin Revio C2. The KD-500Z is based on the dual-slot four megapixel KD-400Z but now features a new five megapixel 1/1.8" CCD sensor and a restyled black case. The Revio C2 is based on a 1.2 megapixel 1/3.4" CMOS sensor and a fixed focal length lens, it has 14 MB of internal storage is powered by two AAA batteries and can also record short video clips.

Pre-Photokina 2002, 2200 GMT: Minolta has today announced the DiMAGE Xi, a three megapixel update to the ultra-compact DiMAGE X. "The new Minolta DiMAGE Xi is approximately ¾ of an inch thick and shares the same revolutionary folded 3x optical zoom lens as the DiMAGE X. Making a camera this thin would be impossible with conventional zoom lens technology. ". Phil: Personally I'm a little concerned that a lens system which couldn't deliver particularly sharp 2 megapixel images will be even weaker with a 3 megapixel sensor, it will be an interesting camera to review.

0700 EST: It's been a rush (just three hours with the camera so far) but I've managed to put together a first look at the DiMAGE 7Hi. Also included in this article is comparison of features and specifications with the DiMAGE 7i. While it's very welcome to see a manufacturer developing their model line it's a little surprising to see the 7Hi just six months after the 7i and especially considering that the improvements could probably have been included in the original model. A surprising number of the improvements made were mentioned as cons in my 7i review. UPDATED: Added small samples gallery.

0700 EST: Seybold SF 2002: Minolta has today announced the DiMAGE 7Hi. This camera is base on the DiMAGE 7i with a black body design and has new features and improvements including a built-in PC Sync terminal, selectable color space (with embedded profile), extra-fine JPEG mode, more white balance modes and a full rubber hand grip.

Minolta Corp. has today announced a limited recall for the DiMAGE 7i digital camera. This recall affects a limited number of cameras with serial numbers in the range 95217273 - 95219999 and 96201000 - 96226022. The problem is not thought to be serious and is related to a potentially faulty main switch. Send in your camera and Minolta will replace the faulty part and return your camera free of charge. Note that this does not apply to DiMAGE 7 cameras.

Minolta USA has now made the Minolta DiMAGE 7 upgrade kit available for purchase directly from their online shop. The upgrade kit brings a large number of the new features available on the new DiMAGE 7i to the older DiMAGE 7. The most interesting improvements are those made to AF speed, drive speed, live view histogram and the addition of Direct Manual Focus. You can choose between the $49.95 upgrade which simply includes the firmware or $79.95 upgrade which includes the firmware and new DiMAGE Viewer software.

Just posted! Our in-depth look at Minolta's new and update DiMAGE 7i. The 7i follows on from the success of last years DiMAGE 7, it adds several new features and fixes as well as some subtle design changes and build finish improvments. Since the introduction of the DiMAGE 7 the high end 5 megapixel market has seen several new cameras, Minolta's toughest test will be Nikon's new Coolpix 5700, a match which we will add to this review at a later date.