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KONICA MINOLTA DiMAGE Z2 REVIEW
KONICA MINOLTA DiMAGE Z2 REVIEW
The Dimage Z2 is the new 4 megapixel camera from Konica Minolta featuring a 10x zoom and many upgrades from it's predecessor the 3 megapixel Dimage Z1.
The DiMAGE Z2 is an impressive little camera featuring a new GT lens that uses AD (anomalous dispersion) glass (APO lens). It corrects a large portion of the color aberration on the telephoto end and delivers sharp images of high contrast across the entire display from the center to the edges. Moreover, it employs two aspherical lenses (one of which is aspherical on both sides), which effectively corrects spherical aberration and distortion aberration. The new GT 10x optical lens system (focal distance when converted to 35mm: 38 to 380 mm, F2.8~3.7) consists of 11 elements in 7 groups. Also available is the optional Wide Converter Kit ZCW-100, which includes a 0.75x wide-angle converter lens, allows you to fit more of the scene into each shot. (28mm wide angle equivalent to 35mm) DiMAGE Z2 is also faster, a quicker startup ( .2 seconds), rapid autofocus, short release time lag, super-fast continuous advance and quick playback are some of the impressive features of this camera.
The manual zoom is easy to use, and even offers a 6x optical zoom to help you fine tune the focus. When you engage the manual zoom the center of the viewfinder zooms in 6x to offer you even more detail for tough focusing situations. This is a really nice feature.
The Real Motion Monitor is a high-speed display that delivers a strikingly natural view of the scene. At 60 fps, it's twice the speed of conventional models, which reduces the blurred motion you usually see with moving subjects. The DiMAGE Z2 has an electronic viewfinder very helpful on sunny days when the lcd screen is harder to see. There is no tiny, grainy lcd screen in the viewfinder, instead the camera mechanically tilts the lcd screen back and uses mirrors to project the image to the eyepiece. This does give you much greater resolution in the eyepiece than other cameras, however more mechanical parts in a camera offer more chances for jamming or breaking. This also means that you either have the monitor display or the viewfinder display on, you cannot have both on at once. I would imagine that using the EVF on this camera doesn't save on batteries like it does on other cameras.
The viewfinder does offer a diopter adjustment that is extremely small and hard to turn, with no markings on it to see how much an adjustment you made. In playback mode a still image can be enlarged using the W-T zoom leverup to 6X in .2 increments for closer examination. Two macro modes are available: Super Macro and Standard Macro. In Super Macro, you can focus as close as 1.7 inches with the zoom lens fixed. In standard Macro, the zoom lens can be used and the minimum focus positions are from 2.6 inches to 46.8 inches depending on the zoom setting. A self-timer mode is available at 10 seconds. After taking a shot in self-timer mode, the camera resets to normal shooting. If you are shooting a series of pictures and need self-timer mode to stay on - you are out of luck. I'd also like to see a 2 second self-timer mode. If you do use the self-timer alot, this would be a good candidate for the custom function key. Instead of having to go into the menus each time to find the self-timer mode, you can assign the flash mode button to select the drive mode to self-timer. This reduces the number of key presses from 5 (if you know where to find it!) to only one! The custom key can also be set to flash mode, drive mode, white balance, focus mode and color mode. Included with the DiMAGE Z2 is ArcSoft VideoImpression 2 CD-ROM (for windows only). This software lets you assemble your video clips, add transitions and output them to CD-rom and other devices.
|
Number of effective pixels |
Approx. 4 million |
| CCD |
1/2.5-type interline primary-color CCD with a total of approx. 4.2 million pixels |
| Camera sensitivity |
Auto and 50 / 100 / 200 / 400 ISO equivalent |
| Lens |
6.3 -
63.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 38 - 380 mm), |
| Recording media |
SD (Secure Digital) Memory Card / MultiMediaCard |
| File format |
JPEG, Motion JPEG (MOV) with Audio, DCF2.0 compliant, DPOF (Ver.1.1), Exif 2.21 |
| No. of recorded pixels |
2272 x 1704, 1600 x 1200, 1280 x 960, 640 x 480 |
| Image
file size |
Economy:
520KB, |
| Storage capacity (approx. number of frames* using 16 MB SD card)(2272 x 1704) |
Economy: 27, Standard: 14, Fine:
7 |
| Autofocus system |
A combination of a passive AF sensor and a video AF system |
| Autofocus area |
3-point wide focus area: Wide focus area / Local focus area with Focus Area Selection |
| Focus modes |
Autofocus: One-shot AF (with Predictive Focus Control), Continuous AF, Full-time AF, Manual focus. Focus lock available in One-Shot AF |
| Focusing range |
Wide / Tele: 0.5 m (1.6 feet)
/ 2.0 m (6.6 feet) to infinityMacro: |
| White-balance control |
Automatic, Preset (Daylight, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Cloudy, Flash), Custom |
| Metering |
Multi-segment (256 segments), Spot, Center-weighted |
| Shutter speed |
A mode / P mode: 4 - 1/1000
seconds |
| Exposure mode |
Programmed AE, Aperture priority, Shutter priority, Manual. AE lock available |
| Digital Subject Program Selection |
Portrait, Sports action, Landscape, Sunset, Night portrait / Night view, Standard |
| Exposure control |
± 2 Ev with 1/3 Ev step |
| Exposure bracketing |
1.0 / 0.5 / 0.3 Ev increments; No. of bracket: 3 frames |
| Flash mode |
Autoflash & Autoflash with red-eye reduction, Fill-flash, Slow shutter sync. (in Auto/P/DSPS mode), Fill-flash, Fill-flash with red-eye reduction, Slow shutter sync. (in A/S/M mode). Flash cancel possible by pushing the built-in flash unit downward |
| Flash GN |
(ISO 100 equivalent) 12.0 (m) / 39 (feet) |
| External flash units connectable |
Program/Maxxum Flash 5600HS(D) / 3600HS(D) / 2500(D) |
| Diopter |
-3 - +1m-1 |
| LCD monitor |
3.8 cm (1.5 inch) low-temperature, polysilicon TFT color, with total 113,000 (approx.) pixels |
| Self-timer |
Approx. 10 seconds |
| Color mode |
Vivid, Natural, Monochrome, Sepia |
| Movie recording |
No. of recorded pixels: 800
x 600 / 640 x 480 / 320 x 240 / 160 x120 |
| Sharpness / Contrast control |
Adjustable in 3 levels |
| Noise reduction |
User selectable |
| Printing output control |
Exif Print, PRINT Image Matching II, PictBridge |
| PC interface |
Full-Speed USB: 12Mbps data transfer with a USB2.0 compatible computer, Video output NTSC / PAL (selected on the camera) |
| Battery |
Four AA Ni-MH batteries, AA Alkaline batteries, External High Power Battery Pack Kit (EBP-100) |
| Battery performance |
Continuous playback time: 300
minutes with Alkaline battery, |
| External power source |
6V DC (with specified AC adapter) |
| Dimensions (WxHxD) |
Approx. 109.5 x 77.5 x 80.0 mm / 4-5/16 x 3-1/16 x 3-1/8 inches |
| Weight |
Approx. 305 g / 10.8 ounces (without batteries and recording media) |
Specifications and accessories are based on information available, and are subject to change without notice.
Package
Contents:
- DiMAGE Z2 Digital Camera
- Neck Strap NS-DG6000
- Lens Cap LF-242A
- Accessory Shoe Cap SC-1000
- AV Cable AVC-400
- 16MB SD (Secure Digital) Memory Card
- USB Cable USB-500
- DiMAGE Viewer CD-ROM
- ArcSoft VideoImpression 2 CD-ROM (for windows only)
- Four AA Alkaline batteries
Conclusion:This little camera smokes! If you don't need an ultra compact, but rather a 10x zoom that offers an impressive video capability. The 4 megapixel DiMAGE Z2 is a full featured camara offering a hot shoe for external flash, full manual controls, custom white balance, great macro, uses easy to find AA batteries, and nice photo and video editing software included. At a street price of $450. you won't be disappointed.
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