Konica Minolta DiMAGE X60 Review

By Movable Type Admin



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Review posted 7/29/2005

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Click on the X60 for 360° QuickTime VR tour


The DiMAGE X60 is a slim, stylish and fast 5 megapixel digital camera featuring a large 2.5-inch LCD monitor, fastest-in-class startup time, 3x optical zoom with automatic Macro and Super Macro capability, Automatic Digital Subject Program Selection, and 15MB of internal memory.

With its non-protruding zoom lens, the compact DiMAGE X60 is ready in an instant -- thanks to the approximately 0.5-second startup time -- to take those spur-of-the-moment shots and ensure that you never miss a desired photo. The camera's sliding cover protects the lens, so there's no need to worry about putting the camera inside a pocket or purse. The Automatic Digital Subject Program Selection automatically selects the optimum-shooting mode for the subject at hand, allowing photographers to take beautiful photos that match the needs of the particular photographic scene.

The DiMAGE X60's 5-megapixel CCD and proprietary Konica Minolta CxProcess™ III image processing technology combine to provide photographers with high quality images-- pictures that reproduce the natural colors as faithfully as they see them with their own eyes. The camera's zoom lens range covers everything from wide-angle shots to close-ups that are clearly focused as near as 4 inches from the subject, without the need to switch to macro mode. If a photographer needs to get even closer, the DiMAGE X60 also features a Super Macro mode to take extreme close-ups as near as 2 inches.

The DiMAGE X60 boasts a larger high-resolution 2.5-inch LCD monitor than its predecessor, the DiMAGE X50, allowing for excellent viewing of picture compositions during shooting, utilizing the camera's menu options, or playing back already recorded images. Plus, with just one touch of the independent playback button, users can see recorded images instantly and more clearly than ever. The large anti-reflective LCD provides excellent clarity for on-the-spot playback, or for sharing images with others, even under bright lights or the sunny outdoors.

As the first-of-its-kind in the DiMAGE X series, the DiMAGE X60 is equipped with 15MB of internal memory, so users can shoot photos without an SD Memory Card or MultiMediaCard, or continue shooting even after your memory card is full. This internal memory system also lets users keep and carry their favorite images with them anytime, anywhere.

Konica Minolta's wide and precise 5-Point autofocus (AF) enables flexible framing, which catches the action and composes the shot. Also, manual selection of Spot focus mode gives users more accuracy with the ability to focus on a specific point within the frame. The Multi-segment (256) metering system automatically measures light over the entire image area and selects the best exposure for the subject. And Spot Metering measures light in the center of the frame, allowing users to measure the brightness of a particular spot on their subject.

The camera is powered by a rechargeable Li-ion battery that allows you to capture up to 150 frames per charge. Connect the DiMAGE X60 directly to any PictBridge compatible printer using a USB cable for easy, on-the-spot digital printing without using a PC. Users simply check which images they want on the DiMAGE X60's LCD monitor and they've got fast and fun printouts instantly.



DiMAGE X60 Features:

  • 3x zoom (38-114mm coverage) internal zoom lens
  • 5-megapixel imager for images up to 2560 x 1920 pixels
  • Super-slim, lightweight and durable metal alloy body
  • Wide and precise 5-Point autofocus with auto Macro
  • Large 2.5-inch color LCD with 115,000 pixels
  • Program AE and Auto Digital Subject Program modes for easy operation
  • Voice-only recorder mode
  • Multi-segment and spot metering modes
  • 320x240 motion video at 15fps/30fps with audio, length limited only by SD card capacity
  • Automatic noise-reduction for one second or longer exposures
  • 5 white-balance settings including custom settings
  • Digital Effects Control for contrast and sharpness
  • Color modes: Natural, Vivid, B&W, Sepia
  • ISO Sensitivity: Auto, 50, 100, 200, and 400 equivalents
  • Data imprinting that records date, time and descriptive information on an image.
  • Rechargeable Li-ion battery and charger included
  • Approx. 15MB of internal memory + SD card slot
  • USB connectivity for Windows and Mac OS X
  • PictBridge, Exif Print, and Epson PRINT Image Matching II compatible
  • Optional Marine Case that is waterproof up to a depth of approx. 131 feet






Physical Views



Minolta DiMAGE X60

Minolta DiMAGE X60

Minolta DiMAGE X60

Minolta DiMAGE X60 Minolta DiMAGE X60

Minolta DiMAGE X60

Minolta DiMAGE X60





Minolta DiMAGE X60

The DiMAGE X60 compared in size to a standard CD.





Minolta DiMAGE X60

The 5-megapixel DiMAGE Z20 and the DiMAGE X60.





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Features & Controls




DiMAGE X60 Specifications

Number of effective pixels

Approximately 5.0 million

CCD

1/2.5-type interline primary-color CCD 
Total pixels: 5.4 million 

Camera sensitivity

Automatic (between ISO 50 - 160 equivalent),
ISO 50, 100, 200, 400

Focal length

6.3 - 18.9 mm (35mm format equivalent: 38 - 114 mm),

Lens construction

11 elements in 9 groups

Maximum aperture

f/3.3 - 4.0

Minimum focus distance

Wide-angle: 4 inches (0.1m) to infinity,
Telephoto: 20 inches (0.5m) to infinity (from front of camera)
Super Macro: 2 inches (0.05m) (Focal length fixed at: 12mm) 

Maximum magnification

0.21x (equivalent to 1.3x in 35mm format)

Area covered at maximum magnification

1.1 x 0.9 inches (27.3mm x 20.3mm) 

Monitor LCD

2.5-inch (6.4cm) digital-interface micro-reflection TFT color monitor 
Total pixels: Approximately 115,000 

Shutter                           

CCD electronic shutter and mechanical shutter

Shutter speed range

4 - 1/1000 seconds

Autofocus system

Video AF

Autofocus areas

Wide (five-point AF) or Spot selectable

Metering

Multi-segment (256 segments) / Spot selectable

Exposure control

Programmed AE

Automatic Digital Subject Program Selection

Portrait, Sports action, Landscape, or Sunset is automatically selected (Manual selection is also possible) 
Night portrait/Night view, Super Macro, Text is set manually only.

Exposure compensation

±2EV in 1/3 increments

Flash range

Wide-angle: Approximately 0.7 - 7.9 ft. (0.2 - 2.4m) 
Telephoto: Approximately 1.6 - 6.6 ft. (0.5 - 2.0m) 
(from front of camera, camera sensitivity: AUTO)

Flash modes

Autoflash, Autoflash with red-eye reduction, Fill-flash, Flash cancel

Continuous advance

Approximately 1.6 frames per second* up to 4 frames 
* Actual speed may vary depending upon the subject and camera settings.

Self-timer

Approximately 10 seconds

Multi frame

To capture 9 sequential images in a 3x3 grid in a single frame

Image pasting

Embeds an image within another image.

Movie recording

Recording time dependent on memory card capacity.
Frame rate: 15 frames per second, 30 frames per second
Night Movie, Movie frame capture, Movie clip capture

Audio

Audio recording: 180 minutes (maximum)*
*128MB MB memory card is required.
Audio caption: 15 seconds (maximum) 
Voice memo: 15 seconds (maximum)
Monaural audio only

White-balance control

Automatic, Preset (Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent)

Color modes

Color, Black and White, and Sepia

Noise reduction

Automatic 

Digital zoom

Maximum 4x. Digital zoom can be disabled. 

E-mail Copy function

Creates a compressed 640 x 480 JPEG image for data transfer

Crop frame

Trims parts of captured still pictures and save the
image as a separate file.

Date imprinting

Year/month/day (Format can be changed.)
Month/day/hour:minute (Format can be changed.)
Imprinting can be disabled.

Image quality modes

Economy, Standard, Fine

Number of recorded pixels (Still images)

2560 x 1920, 2048 x 1536, 1600 x 1200, 640 x 480

Number of recorded pixels (Movie clips)

320 x 240

Storage capacity

Approximate capacity with 15MB internal memory:

 

2560x
1920

2048x
1536

1600x
1200

640x
480

Fine*

6 frames

9 frames

14 frames

71 frames

Standard*

11 frames

17 frames

28 frames

103 frames

Economy*

22 frames

33 frames

48 frames

155 frames

Movie
(320x240)

15 frames per second: 41 seconds
30 frames per second: 21 seconds

Audio recording

31 minutes 43 seconds  

*Still images recorded without voice memo or audio caption
**Actual number of images may vary depending upon the subject and memory card.

File formats

JPEG, Motion JPEG (MOV), WAVE
DCF 2.0-compliant
DPOF-compliant (Supported by printing functions in version 1.1)  
Exif 2.2

Folder name formats

Standard, Date

Printing output control

Exif Print, PRINT Image Matching II, PictBridge

Menu languages

English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Swedish, Russian, Chinese (Simplified and Complicated), Japanese, and Korean 

Recording media

Secure Digital (SD) Memory Cards, MultiMediaCards, 15MB internal storage 

Computer interface

USB: Full-speed 12 Mbps data transfer with a USB 2.0 compatible computer. 

Remote camera

Live images without audio viewed with a computer

Battery

One NP-700 Lithium-ion Battery

Battery performance (Recording)

Approximate number of recorded images: 150 frames.
Based on CIPA (Camera & Imaging Products Association) measurements, when using standard battery (Lithium-ion battery) and a SD memory card 

External power source

4.7V DC with specified AC adapter (sold separately)

Dimensions (W x H x D)

3.3 x 2.2 x 0.9 inches (83.5 x 56 x 22 mm)

Weight

Approximately 4.1 ounces (115g) (without battery and recording media)

Operating temperature

32-104°F  (0-40ºC) 

Standard accessories

Lithium-ion Battery NP-700, Battery Charger BC-800,
Hand Strap HSDG130, USB, Cable USB-3,
Digital Camera Software CD-ROM, AV Cable AVC-500

Optional accessories

AC Adapter set AC-4 or AC-5, Metal Chain Neck Strap
NS-DG100, Marine Case MC-DG500
*Availability varies with region.


System Requirements
Compatible computers when the camera is used as mass storage device: 

IBM PC/AT compatible computers with Windows XP (Home/Professional), Windows Me, Windows 2000 Professional, Windows 98*, or Windows 98 Second Edition* and with a USB port as standard interface.

Apple Macintosh computers with preinstalled Mac OS 9.0 - 9.2.2, Mac OS X v10.1.3-10.1.5, v10.2.1-10.2.8, v10.3-10.3.8 and with a USB port as standard interface. 

* Users with Windows 98 and Windows 98 Second Edition operating systems must install dedicated driver software included in the DiMAGE X50 package.


Minimum system requirements for the remote camera function: 

Computers

IBM PC/AT compatible computers with a USB port as standard interface

CPU

Pentium II  300MHz or later processor (*1)

Operating systems

Windows XP (Home/Professional), Me, 2000 Professional, or 98 Second Edition

RAM 

128 MB of RAM. 256 MB with Windows XP. (*1)

Hard-disk space

Approx. 200 MB of free hard-disk space

Monitor

800 x 600 monitor capable of displaying 16-bit color quality. 

Tested applications 

Microsoft NetMeeting, Windows Messenger (*2)

Other

CD-ROM drive 

(Specifications as represented by the manufacturer)



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