Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z5 Review
Review based on a production Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z5
Announced in January 2005 just before the PMA exhibition in Orlando, the Dimage Z5 is the latest addition to the big-zoom DiMAGE Z range to feature the CCD-shifting Anti-Shake system seen on the A2/A200 and Maxxum 7D Digital SLR. Aside from a 5MP sensor and a couple of minor specification tweaks, the DiMAGE Z5 is almost identical to the Z3 (launched July 2004), and the new model goes head-to-head with the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ5, a very similarly-specified camera launched within a few days of the Konica Minolta.
- 12x optical Mega Zoom and 4x digital zoom
- CCD-shift Anti-Shake System
- Fastest-in-class*1 Rapid AF with Predictive Focus Control
- 5.0-megapixel CCD
- CxProcess III image processing technology
- High-resolution, shake-free VGA movies
- Large 2.0-inch LCD, compact body, and fast response
- Super Macro mode for shooting subjects as close as 1 cm from the lens
Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z5 Key specifications
| Street price | • US: $470 • UK: £290 |
|---|---|
| Body Material | Plastic & metal |
| Sensor | • 1/2.5" CCD, 5.2 million total pixels • 5.0 million effective pixels |
| Image sizes | • 2,560 x 1,920 • 2,048 x 1,536 • 1,600 x 1,200 • 640 x 480 |
| Movie clips | • 640 x 480 Fine (15 / 30 fps) • 640 x 480 Standard (15 / 30 fps) • 320 x 240 Standard (15 / 30 fps) • All with audio • Limited only by storage space • Night capture mode available |
| Lens | • 35 - 420 mm equiv. (12x optical zoom) |
| Focus | • Video AF system • 5-point wide focus area • Wide focus area / Spot focus area with Focus Area Selection • Single-shot AF • Continuous AF (with predictive focus control) • Full-time AF • Manual focus • Focus lock available in Single-shot AF • Macro focus: 0.1m (wide), 1.2m (tele) • Super Macro mode 1cm (0.4 inches) |
| Shooting mode | • Programmed AE |
| Shutter Speeds | • Program AE: 2 - 1/1000 sec • Aperture Priority / Shutter priority / manual: 4 - 1/1000 sec • Scene modes: 2 - 1/1000 sec |
| Apertures | • Wide: F2.8, F3.2, F3.5, F4.0, F4.5, F5.0, F5.6, F6.3, F7.1, F8.0 • Tele: F4.5, F5.0, F5.6, F6.3, F7.1, F8.0 |
| Sensitivity | • Auto • ISO 50,100,200,320 |
| White Balance | • Auto • Daylight • Cloudy • Tungsten • Fluorescent • Flash • Custom (manual) |
| Image parameters | • Contrast (3 levels) • Sharpness (3 levels) • Color mode (2 levels, b&w, sepia) |
| Continuous | • Normal: 2.2 fps (6 frames @ 2560 x 1920; Standard) • Ultra High Speed: 10 fps (20 frames @ 1024 x 768) • Progressive mode: (stores last frames captured instead of first) |
| Flash | • Pop-up (manual) • Modes: Auto, Auto with red-eye reduction, Fill flash, Slow sync • Compensation: +/-2 EV in 1/3 EV steps • Hot Shoe for external flash (Minolta Dynax/Maxxum style fitting) • Flash GN: (ISO 100 equivalent) 8 (m) / 26.2 (ft.) |
| Storage | • SD/MMC • 16 MB SD supplied |
| Viewfinder | • Electronic Viewfinder (EVF) with -3 to +1 dioptre control • 0.3", 114,000 pixels • 16.9 mm eye relief |
| LCD monitor | • 2.0 " TFT LCD • 114,000 pixels |
| Connectivity | • USB 2.0 (Full-speed only; USB 1.1 equiv.) • A/V out • DC-IN |
| Power | • 4 x AA Alkaline or NiMH batteries, NiMH recommended • (Optional AC adapter) |
| In the box | • DiMAGE Z5 digital camera |
| Other features | • Spot, Center-weighted & Multi-pattern (256 segment) metering |
| Weight (excl batt) | 340 g (12 oz) |
| Dimensions | 108.5 x 80 x 84 mm (4.3 x 3.1 x 3.3 in) |
* Supplied accessories may differ in each country or area
If you're new to digital photography you may wish to read the Digital
Photography Glossary before diving into this article (it may help
you understand some of the terms used).
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Conclusion / Recommendation / Ratings are based on the opinion of the reviewer, you should read the ENTIRE review before coming to your own conclusions. Images which can be viewed at a larger size have a small magnifying glass icon in the bottom right corner of the image, clicking on the image will display a larger (typically VGA) image in a new window. To navigate the review simply use the next / previous page buttons, to jump to a particular section either pick the section from the drop down or select it from the navigation bar at the top. DPReview calibrate their monitors using Color Vision OptiCal at the (fairly well accepted) PC normal gamma 2.2, this means that on our monitors we can make out the difference between all of the (computer generated) grayscale blocks below. We recommend to make the most of this review you should be able to see the difference (at least) between X,Y and Z and ideally A,B and C. |
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This article is Copyright 2005 and may NOT in part or in whole be reproduced in any electronic or printed medium without prior permission from the author.
