Minolta DiMAGE Xi Review

Minolta's legendary expertise in optical lens design has led to the creation of a unique compact folded 3x optical zoom lens with a depth of only 0.8 inches. By using a high quality prism that folds the optical path, the optical zoom lens is positioned vertically within the body.

In addition, this efficient optical design requires only a small zooming motor, allowing for quiet zooming.

The built in flash offers Auto, Fill-flash, Red-eye reduction and Night Portrait modes, it recycles in approximately 5 seconds. The flash range is approximately 0.8 - 9.5 feet (0.25-2.9m) in Wide angle and from approximately 0.8 - 7.5 feet (0.25-2.3m) in Telephoto (Camera sensitivity: ISO 200)

The eyelevel optical real-image zoom viewfinder has a field of view of approx. 85% of the captured image. The "Slow No Wake" photo on the Sample Photos page is shot using the optical viewfinder and framing the sign in the upper left corner of the viewfinder. It shows the additional image the lens actually captured that was never seen through the viewfinder. It has no diopter adjustment and the LED to the right is used to indicate focus and flash status, it also indicates Movie recording is active or the camera is writing to the memory card.

All of the controls (except the power switch and shutter button) are located on the back of the camera. At the top right is the Zoom lens control which is also part of the 4-way navigation controls for the menu system and image playback. The slide switch is used to go from Playback to Record mode. Below the color LCD (left to right) is the Monitor control button to turn the color LCD on/off, it also controls the amount of information displayed during playback or calls up the index mode. Next is the Flash control button to cycle between the various flash modes - in Playback mode this button now lets you quickly delete the current picture. The MENU button enables the onscreen menu system. The last button is the ENTER button to accept menu selections. On the right is the speaker for listening to the voice annotations of your pictures or the audio track of a movie clip during playback.

On top of the Dimage Xi is the ON / OFF switch and the Shutter Release. On the left is the microphone for the movie sound track or adding voice annotations to your pictures.

On the side is a single I/O port for connecting either the Audio/Video cable (selectable NTSC or PAL video format) or the USB 1.1 data cable.

The DiMAGE Xi is equipped with a SD/MMC card slot and is compatible with any size Secure Digital or MultiMedia Card. The camera ships with a 16MB SD card.

The camera is powered by a proprietary NP-200 3.7V 750mAh lithium rechargeable battery pack. Minolta claims it has the capacity to record 120 pictures (half with flash) with the LCD on and it has a 110 minute playback capability.

The battery pack is charged outside of the camera in the supplied BC-200 charger from any 100-240V AC power source.

There's a DC IN jack for connecting the camera to an optional AC power supply or an external battery pack.

The optional CS-DG100 camera case. Holds the DiMAGE Xi (or DiMAGE X) and a spare battery pack and memory card. It has a belt clip on the back.

Marine Case MC-DG100

The optional Marine Case MC-DG100 is a compact underwater housing molded to the slim profile of the DiMAGE Xi (or DiMAGE X.)   From 30 meters (approx. 100 feet) under the surface of the ocean to the summit of a rugged peak, the Marine Case will protect the camera from the elements.

The Marine Case is designed for extreme sports, whether on water, snow, or rock. Although specifically designed for underwater diving, it's also the perfect armor against the elements for outdoor adventures: mountain climbing, camping, snow boarding, skiing, kayaking and white-water rafting; anywhere your want to go.