Konica Minolta DiMAGE X50 review

I was looking for an ultracompact after my last Minolta UC (G530) died. My research was narrowed to about 10 different ones. I liked the image quality of my last Minolta that I bought this one, which was the last one remaining at the last store I visited.

A lot of people have problems with the noise with this camera. I also have the same problems, but I rarely use this camera for situations where there would be a lot of noise in the images. This is outside with action shots. This is a camera that has fast start up time and fast shot to shot time. You can get it out of your pocket and started and get shots off that you would ordinarily miss.

The non-retractable lens is a real plus for me. This seems to increase the speed of the camera. There are a couple of problems though, which are the stupid question on the start screen that asks if you wand to set the date and time. This really bugs me and why I only gave this feature a 4.0. Another reason fot this rating is battery life. It is about half the life as a lot of other cameras. This is probably because they had to use a smaller propietary battery to compensate for size, but nonethless you have to get a spare or two if you are going to be out shooting for a couple of hours continuosly. The battery meter is better than most, though.

The image quality, for the conditions I use it in is excellent, however, I won't give it a 5.0 because it does have problems in low light. Also, 5.0 resolution isn't really needed. IQ would be better at 4.0. But some of the action shots I have with this camera are my best. It is so easy to get this little camera up and going that I never miss a situation that I would have left me frustrated with another camera.

The features are all good. It is as close to a fully manual camera as you can get with an UC. It's best feature is being able to set a fx you like so that it can be easily controled with the touchpad. If you need to use exposure comp. then you can set that as the key fx. or ISO, white balance, etc. I give this a 4.5 because my G530 had fully manual control. Perhaps the camera is too small to acomplish this, but I would rather go back to the G530.

The constuction, so far, has been excellent. A lot of people that have this camera write in reviews how fragile it is, but I haven't had any problems in the few months I've had it. It feels solid and it is easy to hold, even with my big hands, and easy to work the controls. The keypad is well laid out. The only complaint I have is the review lever. It is hard to use. It is too close to the menu buttons and the keypad and it is easy to press to many things at once, especially if you have large fingers.

This camera is an excellent camera for the money, with one caveat. Don't buy it for general use. This is a cheetah and it will wear out if you use it like it is a sloth. Use it outdoors to get action and other pictures you otherwise couldn't get with a less inconspicuos model.

Problems:

Bad in low light. Clumsy control buttons and review lever. Date and time reminder on review screen on initial startup. Battery life (get two or three)