Perfect for its Purpose
Written: Oct 30 '04
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Pros: Compact; zoom with no protruding zoom lens; value
Cons: Lower quality video
The Bottom Line: If you can find it under $150 and you'd like a good quality digital camera for near-instant point-and-shoot, give it a try.
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| denverbrian's Full Review: Konica Minolta DiMAGE X20 Digital Camera |
Small, cheap, feature-laden... pick two. Although we all would like to have all three in a digital camera, I prefer to approach my purchases with an eye towards what I plan to use the camera for. In that respect, the Dimage X20 is perfect for me.
I already have a Fuji FinePix S602 bruiser for "professional" photos and VGA video, but I was looking for a small camera I could simply throw in the car and have available for all those moments when you just wnat to snap a quick picture. The Dimage X20 fits the concept very well.
This 2 megapixel camera is not for 11 x 14 blowups, but for 4x6 prints and viewing on a computer, the image quality is quite good. The camera includes a 3x optical zoom inside the camera body, so there is nothing to protrude out or get in the way. The camera is literally the size of a deck of cards.
Startup is very fast - about a second - and it is an extremely easy to use point-and-shoot camera. There is no optical viewfinder, but I've found the bright LCD screen to be more than adequate for framing shots. Two lithium AA batteries last for about 150 shots, and this is with the LCD screen on all the time. Rechargeable AAs will likely last even longer.
The camera has a small convex mirror on its front, which allows you to take your own self-portrait. Just hold the camera at arm's length, frame your grinning head in the mirror, and snap. It has worked for me when no one was around to take my picture at Diamondhead in Hawaii, and the resulting shot was framed well.
Auto focus works well, even in severely dark areas. I've used the camera to document my new house being built, and in the basement I've taken pics of my heater and breaker panel in near-total darkness with no real issues. The flash illuminates the scene and focus is always sharp.
While there are a variety of manual settings available, I bought this camera specifically so I wouldn't have to worry about settings. I just fire it up and take pics whenever I need to. When I'm done, I press the on/off button, or simply toss the camera on my car seat - auto shutoff occurs in 3 minutes.
The X20 uses SD cards, and downloading to a PC is quite simple; either use the included USB cable or push the spring-loaded SD slot, pull the card, stick it in a card reader and go.
The camera will also take QVGA video, although the quality is only 15 frames per second. No limit on the video length (except the amount of SD card memory you have inserted in the camera). This is a good example of fitness for purpose - when I want full VGA video at 30 fps, I'll use my big honker FinePix S602; but when I want to shoot a quick video for documentation purposes, it's much easier to grab the little X20, slide the switch to video, and shoot.
The item that "sealed the deal" on the X20 for me was its price - I got it for $119.95 on sale at Micro Center. I still haven't seen it at a lower price, even though this model is probably going away. Other similar Minolta X series cameras are 3 megapixel and up, and some include an optical viewfinder, if you are so inclined.
I highly recommend this camera, especially if you just want a point-and-shoot that is always available and ready.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 120
This Camera is a Good Choice if You Want Something... Easy Enough for Anyone to Use
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Epinions.com ID:
denverbrian
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Reviews written: 12
Trusted by: 0 members
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