X - going to be my first digicam - talk me out of it!

Im about to puchase my first digicam. Im not new to cameras but new to digital ones. Over the years, I had my share of SLRs. Now Im looking at getting a digicam.

I wont be printing most of my shots even thought I have a nice Epson Photo 870 all underused at the moment. The main reason why Im looking at the X is mainly that I can and will probably carry it around with me on a daily basis.

I was looking at the new Nikon 2500 when I stumbled upon the X. I like the lens that swivel concept. I was gonna get the Sony F505 series cam but they were too big even though I really like the concept.

Oh and I have a pocket pc that uses MMC/SD memory cards, thats another reason why I want the X. I would love to just pop the card into my PPC and start viewing.

Ive read all the reviews. I dont expect it to be perfect as long as it takes some decent pictures and I can carry it about. Now the big question - should I go for it??? or you can talk me out of it.

Thanks all, Peter

I couldn't talk myself out of it (AND i'M GLAD), so how or why would I talk you out of it? Go for it. You'll love it. The mini movie mode is a bonus too.

Pchai said:

Im about to puchase my first digicam. Im not new to cameras but new
to digital ones. Over the years, I had my share of SLRs. Now Im
looking at getting a digicam.

I wont be printing most of my shots even thought I have a nice
Epson Photo 870 all underused at the moment. The main reason why Im
looking at the X is mainly that I can and will probably carry it
around with me on a daily basis.

I was looking at the new Nikon 2500 when I stumbled upon the X. I
like the lens that swivel concept. I was gonna get the Sony F505
series cam but they were too big even though I really like the
concept.

Oh and I have a pocket pc that uses MMC/SD memory cards, thats
another reason why I want the X. I would love to just pop the card
into my PPC and start viewing.

Ive read all the reviews. I dont expect it to be perfect as long as
it takes some decent pictures and I can carry it about. Now the big
question - should I go for it??? or you can talk me out of it.

Thanks all, Peter

Click to expand...

Well, my X (actually my wife's) is "my" 7th digicam, bought it 2 weeks ago. It also has the poorest color balance of any digicam I own or have owned in the past 3 years.

If you are new to digicams, then the idea of color correcting most or all the pics (certainly all of the flash pics, which have an obvious red tint) may not appeal to you. I crop every print, and do other adjustments anyway, so correcting the tint isn't a big deal to me. Some people however just want to shoot and print.

I bought the camera because my wife's priorities are: Simple, fast boot, very small, simple, some zoom... did I say simple??

Anyway, I knew the camera had some off color problems from reading this forum and reading Phils review, but since I do all the post camera work, and have lots of experience correcting tint problems, this hasn't bothered me much. I may be a big problem for a newbie to digicams however. The fix is simple once you know how to do it (I use QImage pro, which lets you save a group of corrections to apply to future photos, so I am not having to individually color correct each shot). The included software also does a decent job, though not quite as easily as QImage.

I actually think Minolta rushed this camera to market w/o testing the firmware as much as they should. I'm hoping they will release a firmware upgrade that will fix this.

Anyway: the camera is absolutely incredible for its size, and as long as you realize it doesn't get the resolution of larger lensed camera's, and can live with either the photos being off color, or don't mind color correcting the prints, it is a great camera. Did I say small.... Nope, not small, dinky....

Holland

Pchai said:

Im about to puchase my first digicam. Im not new to cameras but new
to digital ones. Over the years, I had my share of SLRs. Now Im
looking at getting a digicam.

I wont be printing most of my shots even thought I have a nice
Epson Photo 870 all underused at the moment. The main reason why Im
looking at the X is mainly that I can and will probably carry it
around with me on a daily basis.

I was looking at the new Nikon 2500 when I stumbled upon the X. I
like the lens that swivel concept. I was gonna get the Sony F505
series cam but they were too big even though I really like the
concept.

Oh and I have a pocket pc that uses MMC/SD memory cards, thats
another reason why I want the X. I would love to just pop the card
into my PPC and start viewing.

Ive read all the reviews. I dont expect it to be perfect as long as
it takes some decent pictures and I can carry it about. Now the big
question - should I go for it??? or you can talk me out of it.

Thanks all, Peter

Click to expand...

I love the X for size and convenience. However the viewfinder is so inaccurate that it causes many problems. I am interested in others experience.

Does anyone have any tricks to make the screen more viewable in daylight?

The manual says don't use the viewfinder unless the distance is over 3 feet at wide angle and 10 feet at 3x zoom. My wife uses the LCD always, squints and shades it with her hand in sunlight. Not great, but works ok. I did turn up the LCD display brightness in the menus.

Holland

Jackson said:

I love the X for size and convenience. However the viewfinder is so
inaccurate that it causes many problems. I am interested in others
experience.

Does anyone have any tricks to make the screen more viewable in
daylight?

Click to expand...

Holland said:

Holland

Jackson said:

I love the X for size and convenience. However the viewfinder is so
inaccurate that it causes many problems. I am interested in others
experience.

Does anyone have any tricks to make the screen more viewable in
daylight?

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Holland,

The distance was well over that. I was taking outdoor photos and the image was approx 1.5 times the size of that in the viewfinder. Take a pic and look at it in the LCD and go back to the viewfinder for alook.....BIG DIFFERENCE.

There is a market for stick on hood or similar on LCD screens.

Other than these issues it is great. Took 90 Beach scenes yesterday...then battery went. No batteries available in Australia yet.

The pictures I've seen so far are very disappointing. I'm still hoping for a tiny P&S to complement my D7, but this isn't it. Maybe the new Kodak...

Jackson said:

There is a market for stick on hood or similar on LCD screens.

Click to expand...

Jackson,

Look here:

http://www.photosolve.com/xtendaview.asp

I have one of these that I bought for my Oly C2020Z about 2 years ago. I just tried it on the X and it works fine, though it really increases the bulk of the camera, defeating one of the major advantages.... its small size.

Holland

So far I haven't seen any serious claims that this camera takes super sharp photos, but there is no camera its size and weight that is nearly as good. Canon, Nikon, Oly, and Pentax all have compact cameras, and from reviews probably take sharper and/or better color balanced photos... however they are all at least 50% heavier and 50% larger than the X also.

Holland

Lee Beasley said:

The pictures I've seen so far are very disappointing. I'm still
hoping for a tiny P&S to complement my D7, but this isn't it. Maybe
the new Kodak...

Click to expand...

Holland,

any idea where i can find a camera pouch for this baby? hopefully a minolta made for the X.

on the US Minolta website, they say that its better not to take it overseas as the charger (which is 100-240volts anyway) is not recommended to have adaptors use. is it just hogwash?

thanks

I bought the X two weeks ago...so that I would have a camera with me always. The size is wonderful...you hardly know that you have it with you. Even though the pictures are not super sharp, I've had no complaint with the color. I've printed my pictures at 4x6 with no post-editing for color. With both my D7 and X, I've never used the Minolta Image Software for color conversion. One thing I've found with both cameras is the accuracy of color. If you're looking for a little pouch for the X, try the one made for the Pentax 330/430. It's softer than the Minolta case and the X fits in perfectly with room for additional cards and battery. I did take the X with me to London and charged the battery with and without an electrical adaptor...no problems at all! You can check my pbase site where I've posted a few pictures taken in London. I love this little camera. If it's going to be your only digital, I'd say look for something that delivers sharper pictures. But, for an "X"tra camera...it can't be beat.

http://www.pbase.com/cathytoo/minolta_x

Peter,

Nope, if you find a good pouch let me know. I'm currently using a plastic zip lock baggy. Works ok, but not real durable or classy.

I have no idea about the charger. Can't imagine why its rated at 120-240 but Minolta says don't do it.... doesn't make any sense.

Holland

PeterC said:

Holland,

any idea where i can find a camera pouch for this baby? hopefully a
minolta made for the X.

on the US Minolta website, they say that its better not to take it
overseas as the charger (which is 100-240volts anyway) is not
recommended to have adaptors use. is it just hogwash?

thanks

Click to expand...

Thanks to all who replied.

Im going to get one this weekend - cant wait. The thing that drew me first was the size and to find out that it can do 3x zoom and 2megapixel was enough to convince me. Im not buying it for the color accuracy or sharpness - as long as its not way way off, Im happy. The important thing is that I get to have it with me all the time.

As for pouch, over here they are giving away free plastic see-thru (rather cheap looking) pouches. I wonder why Minolta never include or even sell as an accessory a nice looking leather pouch to go with this baby? The craftmanship of this cam is great and it deserves a nice expensive case dont you think? Anyway, I read from several other threads to go look for a pouch that holds mini-CDs or MP3 players, thats a great idea. I wonder too about the leather pouch they sell at Ritz Camera - very nice and cheap as well but not much description as whether its a belt worn or what.

Thanks again all - come Thursday Im getting my wallet ready

: )))

PeterC said:

Thanks to all who replied.

Im going to get one this weekend - cant wait. The thing that drew
me first was the size and to find out that it can do 3x zoom and
2megapixel was enough to convince me. Im not buying it for the
color accuracy or sharpness - as long as its not way way off, Im
happy. The important thing is that I get to have it with me all the
time.

As for pouch, over here they are giving away free plastic see-thru
(rather cheap looking) pouches. I wonder why Minolta never include
or even sell as an accessory a nice looking leather pouch to go
with this baby? The craftmanship of this cam is great and it
deserves a nice expensive case dont you think? Anyway, I read from
several other threads to go look for a pouch that holds mini-CDs or
MP3 players, thats a great idea. I wonder too about the leather
pouch they sell at Ritz Camera - very nice and cheap as well but
not much description as whether its a belt worn or what.

Thanks again all - come Thursday Im getting my wallet ready

: )))

Click to expand...

The case @ Ritz is a Minolta case with a belt hook. It also has sections for media (6 or so) and 2 extra batteries. It's the perfect case to carry all the time. Mine is with me always. As for the quality of the pics...check it out. http://www.pbase.com/rickthestick