X20 - real value for money camera !
Written: Feb 27 '04
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Pros: Robust plastic build. Good pictures. Plenty of fun options including movie mode with audio.
Cons: No optical viewfinder (no big deal). Came only with 8mb card. Low light images unimpressive.
The Bottom Line: X20 produces good images in all but low light conditions. Cheap and has some features of the upmarket DiMage X range. The non-protruding 3 x optical lens is miracle.
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| hartnell's Full Review: Konica Minolta DiMAGE X20 Digital Camera |
I am very impressed with this cheerful little camera. Clearly Minolta had put plenty of thought into the design of their 'low end' DiMage X range digicam. Currently at about £100 (UK) and being such a compact device and only 2 megapixels - you could expect plenty of compromizes in style and operation for the X20. But wait..... it has a useful 1.6 lcd screen,a non-protruding 3 x optical zoom, a decent flash, clear and comprehensive menus, powered by the common AA battery ( rechargeable are best !) a quick focus and a mighty fine movie function with audio. Now surely Minolta have made a mistake here ? Isn't this a teeny weeny bit generous ? A well made camera by a renowned company churning out a decent handy/highly portable digicam for under £100 ! maybe they are not selling enough ? No - according to the High Street merchants this is a very popular little camera. You can see why .....
Optical Zoom
Very few compact digicams under a £100 have any optical zoom at all. Many have the near useless digital zoom which just blows up part of the picture and things get a little blurry. This optical zoom works inside the small camera - and is highly effective.
Image Quality
Very pleasing results all round with some barrel distortion which is not that noticeable. Outdoor images appear clean and vibrant and no obvious sign of vignetting.
Indoors the camera performs less impressively in average to low artificial light. Flash works well at about 6 feet from subject - but in some cases just gives the picture a blueish tint. Perhaps manual exposure needs to be adjusted if you decide not to use the flash.
Macro Mode
No macro button on this camera - but takes very nice pics at about 6- 7 inches from subject.
Focus
Start up is fairly rapid and by pressing the shutter button halfway gets you a quick focus in reasonable lighting conditions - a bit longer in poorer light. There is no optical viewfinder just the lcd - but frankly I do not miss this feature as many optical viewfinders do not give you the full picture anyway. The lcd may take up a bit more battery power,though.
Memory
No internal memory and comes with only 8mb SD card. 128 mb SD or MM card would be much more useful !
Settings and choices
You can have fine, standard and economy mode. Go upto 1600 x 1200 in image size. White balance, exposure and flash can be adjusted. You can take black and white pics and there is even a function to superimpose one picture onto another. You can create a favourites folder and copy and compress files ready for emailing on the cam itself. There is a 10 second self timer and a little mirror on the front to take self portraits. There are relatively few buttons on the X20 but the left and right menu buttons can be programmed to be used in record mode to adjust the flash or exposure or white balance etc. Menus are easy enough to use - but you may need an hour or so to read the basic quick start guide and detailed PDF instructions (CD).
Movie Mode
Haven't got the playback on the PC yet but it seems Ok on the camera's lcd. They record movies with sound as well and a speaker is built into the camera itself. I understand you can plug the X20 into your tv for playback !
Audio
You can attach 15 seconds of audio to each photo taken. Interesting addition at this price range !
Looks and Build
Tough plastic gives an almost metallic feel to the camera. The flashing lights at startup (and self timer mode) are great fun, but will probably drive you nuts in 6 months time ! The lens has an automatic cover which opens at startup and closes when you....(yes thats right) switch off the camera. The camera offloads pics via the usb port onto windows explorer view screen in XP.
Optional extras
Love the handy and snug fit Minolta leather case - cool ! and only a tenner !
Software
There is a Dimage viewer but haven't used it yet. The PDF instructions on the CD seem well presented and clear for idiots like me.
How does it compare with other cams ?
The X20 is an excellent good value camera. Ideal for novices and as a take anywhere second digicam. Its compact and takes very decent photos. Compared to my olympus C40 zoom (a popular smallish 4 mp cam) it doesn't quite compete - but then I am using this X20 as a take anywhere 'second' camera. It certainly competes with the slightly older Fuji MX1700 (although the Fuji performed better in low light conditions).
X20 or XT ?
The Minolta DiMage Xt is the X20's more fully featured and expensive brother. The Xt has an optical viewfinder (albeit limited) extended audio function, slender design and metallic build with a 3 mp lens. Despite being nearly twice the price - I do not believe the Xt produced any discernible increase in image quality. Infact the Xt (although stylish) went back to the shop.
X21 and Xg ?
Replacements for the X20 and Xt. Hopefully will address the low light problems found particularly in the more expensive Xt. Will be difficult for Minolta to make vast improvements to the X20 as it is such a great value camera already. The lack of optical viewfinder in the X20 is not a minus - but the poor coverage of the optical viewfinder in the Xt maybe !
Overall
At under £100 and probably reducing in price as I write this opinion, the X20 is worth every penny. Looks great and produces nice images - although my Olympus C40zoom does a lot better in low light conditions. Recommended ? Consider it done !
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 150
This Camera is a Good Choice if You Want Something... Easy Enough for Anyone to Use
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Epinions.com ID:
hartnell
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Reviews written: 5
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