Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z20 Review

Note that all onscreen images and overlay data can be displayed on the EVF or the color LCD, just flip the display control switch located on the back.

The AUTO mode is a pure point-n-shoot fully automatic exposure mode with very few options you can set (see menu below). Different from most other digicam's AUTO mode is the Z20's Digital Subject Program (DSP) option - when enabled the camera will automatically select either Program or the best pre-programmed scene (portrait, sports, landscape, night portrait or beach&surf) based on the frame content. The active DSP mode icon will be displayed in the lower-left when selected.

The AUTO mode menu only allows you to change the Drive Mode, Image Size, Image Quality, Enable or Disable DSP or the Digital Zoom.

The Program AE, Shutter, Aperture and Manual modes give you access to the entire range of exposure and camera settings - see the PASM menu below.

In Program AE mode the camera selects the best combination of both shutter speed and aperture automatically. Icons indicate flash mode, image size and quality, ISO speed if other than automatic, metering mode, drive mode, and # of pictures remaining. Also shown here is the realtime image histogram.

In Shutter priority mode you set the shutter speed desired to freeze rapid action or blur motion and the camera automatically selects the proper aperture setting.

In Aperture priority you set the desired aperture for control of depth of field and the camera will automatically match the proper shutter speed.

In Manual mode you have control of both the shutter speed and aperture value.

In Macro mode the Z20 can cover 0.01 m (0.4 in) - 1.0 m (3.3 ft) at wide angle and 0.6 m (2.0 ft) - 2.0 m (6.6 ft) at telephoto

You can also manually focus on you subject, just select the Manual focus option in the record menu. You then use the "Up" and "Down" arrows on the 4-way selector to adjust the focusing range. The center of the frame enlarges to check for critical focus.

Record (PASM) mode menu:

Drive mode - Single, Self-timer, Continuous, Progressive, Bracketing
Image Size - 2560x1920, 2048x1536, 1600x1200, 640x480
Quality - Fine, Standard, Economy
White balance - Custom set/recall, Auto, Preset
Key function - Assign function of 4-way left/right buttons

Focus mode - Single AF, Continuous AF or Manual
Full-time AF - Enable/disable continuous autofocus
Flash mode - Auto, Red-eye, Fill, Fill+Red-eye, Slow sync.
Flash comp. - Adjust flash output level
Metering mode - MultiSegment, Center-weighted or Spot

Sensitivity - Auto, 50, 100, 200, 320
Digital zoom - Enable/disable Digital zoom
Color mode - Natural, Vivid, B&W or Sepia
Sharpness - Hard, Normal, Soft
Contrast - High, Normal, Low

In Movie mode you can record motion video without audio. The image size can be 640x480 at 15fps or 320x240 at either 15fps or 30fps. The length of a video clip is limited only by the amount of available memory on your SD card. Because no audio is recorded, you can use the zoom lens during recording.

Movies can be recorded in one of two modes: Standard produces a normal movie clip, Night Movie uses higher sensitivity to record in low-light so the image quality can be lower.

Movie mode menu:

Image Size - 640x480 or 320x240
Frame rate - 15fps for 640, 30fps or 15fps for 320
White balance - Custom set/recall, Auto, Preset
Movie mode - Standard or Night mode


Focus mode - Cont. AF, Single AF, Manual
Color mode - Natural Color, Vivid Color, B&W (Black&White), Sepia

SETUP menu options:

LCDbrightness - Adjust the LCD brightness
Power save - 1, 3, 5 or 10 minutes to auto power off
Instant playback - 10s, 2s, none
Lens accessory - None or "WideConverter"
Language - Chose the menu language

File #memory - Sequentially number images
Folder name - Choose the method for creating folder names
Date/Time set - Set the camera's clock and calendar
Date imprint - Activates Date imprinting

Reset default - Return all settings to factory default
Audio signals - Change or turn off audio sound effects
Focus signals - Change or turn off focus sound effects
Shutter FX - Change or turn off Shutter sound effects


Video output - NTSC or PAL format
Transfer mode - Specify camera use with a computer or printer
Self-Timer - Select duration of self-timer (2 or 10 sec.)