Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z6 Review

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Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z6 Review

By: Steve's Digicams

Review posted 11/1/2005

Click on the DiMAGE Z6 to take a QuickTime VR tour

The Konica Minolta 6.0-megapixel DiMAGE Z6 digital camera features a 12x optical Mega Zoom lens, Konica Minolta's proprietary Anti-Shake system, Rapid AF with Predictive Focus Control for fast overall responsiveness, large 2.0-inch LCD monitor, built-in flash and excellent battery performance.

Konica Minolta's proprietary CCD-shift Anti-Shake system -- the same as that used in the top-of-the-line Maxxum 7D digital SLR, allows photographers to shoot with shutter speeds four to eight times longer (2-3 stops) than when shooting without an Anti-Shake system. The system also provides steady, shake-free images in twilight or other dimly lit situations, which are susceptible to blurring because of the slow shutter speeds used. This means significantly sharper images even without the use of a flash or tripod.

Thanks to its energy-efficient design, the DiMAGE Z6 lets users enjoy picture-taking longer with four widely available AA Alkaline batteries that power the camera for up to approximately 240 shots, as well as compatibility with high-capacity rechargeable Ni-MH batteries for up to approximately 420 shots.

To ensure that photographers don't miss a shot, the DiMAGE Z6 offers ultra-fast, accurate Rapid AF with Predictive Focus Control. Focusing in a mere 0.2 second at the wide-angle zoom position and only 0.3 second at the telephoto position, the DiMAGE Z6 is ideal for accurately capturing any subject, moving or still.

In addition to high-precision Rapid AF, the DiMAGE Z6 features a fast startup time and short shutter-release lag time. In addition, the camera's Progressive Capture drive mode records images continuously at approximately 1.8 frames per second regardless of image size or quality, and saves the last 10 frames simply by releasing the shutter button.

DiMAGE Z6 Features:

6 megapixel imager and 12x optical zoom (35 - 420mm equivalent 35mm)
High-speed autofocus and Anti-Shake for sharp images at long focal lengths
Large 2-inch color LCD with 114,000 pixels and auto-brightness
Electronic viewfinder (EVF), 0.3 inch 118,000 pixels with dioptric adjustment
Program AE, Aperture priority, Shutter priority and Manual exposure modes
Capture up to 20 full size frames at 1.8fps
Digital Program modes: Portrait, Sports action, Landscape, Sunset, Night portrait
Multi-segment, center-weighted and spot exposure metering modes
320x240 motion video at 15fps or 30fps with audio, length limited only by SD card capacity. Night Movie compensates for low light conditions.
Automatic noise-reduction for one second or longer exposures
Auto White Balance with 5 presets and Custom
Sharpness and Contrast control, adjustable in 3 levels
Color modes: Vivid, Natural, Black and White, Sepia
Hot shoe for optional Maxxum Digital Flash units
ISO Sensitivity: Auto, 50, 100, 200, and 320 equivalents
Playback/QuickView with histogram feature
Data imprinting that records date, time and descriptive information on an image.
Powered by four standard AA type batteries
USB connectivity for Windows and Mac OS X
PictBridge, Exif Print, and Epson PRINT Image Matching II compatible
Optional 26mm wide-angle conversion lens

Physical Views

The DiMAGE Z6 compared in size to a standard CD.

The DiMAGE Z6 and the 5-megapixel DiMAGE Z5.

Continue on to
Features & Controls

DiMAGE Z6 Specifications

Number of effective pixels

6.0 million

CCD

1/2.5-type interline primary-color CCD
Total pixels: 6.36 million

Camera sensitivity

Auto and ISO 50,100, 200, and 320 equivalents

Focal length

5.83 - 69.9mm (35mm equivalent: 35 - 420mm)

Lens construction

13 elements in 10 groups

Maximum aperture

f/2.8 - f/4.5

Minimum focus distance

Wide-angle: 2.0ft (0.6m) from front of lens
Telephoto: 5.2ft (1.6m) from front of lens

Macro mode

Super Macro

Auto macro

Focal length

10.45mm*

Wide-angle

Telephoto

From front of lens

0.4 in.

1cm

3.9 in.

10cm

47.2 in.

120cm

*Fixed, equivalent to 63mm in 35mm format

Maximum magnification

0.20x (equivalent to 1.2x in 35mm format)
Area covered at maximum magnification: Approximately
1.2 x 0.9 in. (31 x 23mm)

Viewfinder type

Electronic viewfinder 0.33-inch with a total of 114,000 pixels

LCD monitor

2.0 inch digital-interface TFT color
Total number of pixels: Approximately 114,000
Automatic monitor brightness amplification

Field of view

Viewfinder: Approximately 100%
LCD monitor: Approximately 100%

Diopter control

- 3 ~ +1m^-1

Eye-relief

16.9mm

Shutter

CCD electronic shutter and mechanical shutter

Shutter speed range

4 - 1/1000 second

Autofocus system

Video AF system

Autofocus areas

5-Point Wide Focus Area; Spot focus areas selectable

Focus modes

Single-shot AF, Continuous AF with predictive focus control, Full-time AF, Manual focus.

Focus lock

By pressing shutter-release button partway down

Metering modes

Multi-segment (256 segments), Center weighted, Spot

Exposure modes

Program, Aperture priority, Shutter priority, Manual

Digital Subject Programs

Automatic (Portrait, Sports action, Landscape, Sunset, Program) Manual (Portrait, Sports action, Landscape, Sunset, Night portrait

Exposure compensation

±2 EV in 1/3 increments

AE lock

By pressing shutter-release button partway down

Flash range

Wide-angle: Approximately 0.7 - 11.8 ft. (0.2 - 3.6 m) from front of lens
Telephoto: Approximately 3.9 - 7.2 ft. (1.2 - 2.2 m) from front of lens (Camera sensitivity auto)

Flash modes

Autoflash, Autoflash with red-eye reduction, Fill flash, Slow-shutter sync.
Autoflash not available with aperture priority, shutter priority, and manual exposure modes.
Flash cancel by pushing the built-in flash down.

Flash recycling time

Approximately 7 seconds

Flash compensation

± 2 EV in 1/3 increments

Flash-sync speeds

All shutter speeds

External flashes

Auto-flash metering with Program/Maxxum Flash 2500 (D), Program/Maxxum 3600HS (D), Program/Maxxum Flash 5600HS (D)

Continuous advance

Standard continuous advance: Approximately 1.8 frames per second
*Actual speed may vary depending upon the subject and camera settings
Approximate number of frames that can be captured at one
time with the continuous-advance drive modes:

	2816x2112	2272x1704	1600x1200	640x480
Fine	11	16	28	139
Standard	20	28	49	208
Economy	35	49	79	290

* Actual number of images may vary depending upon the subject and camera settings.

Progressive Capture

Records images continuously at approximately 1.8 frames per second. Releasing the shutter-release button saves the last 10 frames (size and quality selectable)

Exposure bracketing

Three frame bracket in 0.5, 0.3 EV increments

Self-timer

Approximately 10 seconds, 2 seconds

Movie

Recording time dependent on memory card capacity, image size, and frame rate.
Number of recorded pixels: 320x240
Frame rate: 15frames per second, 30 frames per second
Audio monaural
Optical zoom available during recording Movie frame capture, Movie editing, Night movie

White balance control

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

Contrast

Adjustable in three levels (Low, Normal, High)

Sharpness

Adjustable in three levels (Soft, Normal, Hard)

Color modes

Natural Color, Vivid Color, Black and white, Sepia

Noise reduction

Available (Auto)

Digital zoom

Maximum 4x in 0.2x increments

Languages

Japanese, English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Swedish, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Korean

Copy function

Creates a copy of image or movie files to the same or another memory card.

E-mail Copy function

Creates a 640x480 JPEG image for transmission.

Date imprinting

Year/month/day (Format can be changed.) Imprinting can be disabled

Custom Key Function

The function activated by the flash-mode button can be changed.

Image-quality modes

Fine, Standard, Economy

Number of recorded pixels
(Still images)

2816 x 2112, 2272 x 1704, 1600 x 1200, 640 x 480

Number of recorded pixels (Movie clips)

320 x 240 with audio

File formats

JPEG, Motion JPEG (MOV) with audio 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 III, PictBridge

Recording media

SD (Secure Digital) Memory Cards, MultiMediaCards

Computer interface

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

AV output

NTSC, PAL (selectable on the camera)

Anti-shake system

CCD-shift type with three options Display + Exp., Exposure, Off

Batteries

Four AA Alkaline or Ni-MH batteries

Battery performance (Playback)

Approximate continuous playback time: Approximately 300 minutes with alkaline batteries.

Battery performance (Recording)

Approximate number of recorded images: 240 frames with alkaline batteries, 420 frames with 2500mAh Ni-MH batteries, conforming to the CIPA standard with SD Memory Card.

* CIPA Camera & Imaging Products Association

External power source

6V DC with specified AC adapter (sold separately)

Dimensions (W x H x D)

4.3 x 3.1 x 3.3 in. (108.5 x 80.0 x 84.0mm)

Weight

Approximately 12.0oz. (340g) without batteries or recording media

Operating temperature

32-104°F (0-40ºC)

Standard accessories

Neck Strap NS-DG7000 Lens Cap LF-243 set Accessory Shoe Cap SC-1000 AV Cable AVC-700 16MB SD (Secure Digital) Memory Card USB Cable USB-3 Digital Camera Software CD-ROM Four AA Alkaline batteries

Optional accessories

AC Adapter AC-11 Camera Case AC Adapter AC-11 Camera Case CS-DG1000 Leather Neck Strap NS-DG1000 Wide-Angle Converter ZCW-300 Kit Adapter Ring ZCA-300 (for attaching a 52mm filter) Program/Maxxum Flash 3600HS (D), 5600HS (D), 2500(D)

System Requirements

The following operating systems are compatible with the camera:

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

Apple Macintosh computers with pre-installed Mac OS 9.0 - 9.2.2, Mac OS X v10.1.3 - 10.1.5, and v10.2.1 - 10.2.8, v10.3-10.3.9, v10.4 - 10.4.1 with a USB port as standard interface.

The computer and operating system must be guaranteed by their manufacturers to support USB interface.

Problems may be encountered depending on what other USB devices are being used in parallel with this product.

Only a built-in USB port is supported. Problems may be encountered when the camera is connected to a USB hub.

Normal operation may not be possible even when all the system requirements are met.

* Users with Windows 98 and Windows 98 Second Edition must install dedicated driver software included in the DiMAGE Z6 package.

OS Compatible with Kodak EasyShare

Windows

Macintosh

Windows 98, Windows 98 Second Edition

Windows Me, Windows 2000 Professional (Service Pack 1 and later), Windows XP Home Edition, Windows XP Professional

Mac OS X v10.2.3-10.2.8, v10.3-10.3.8

OS compatible with DiMAGE Master Lite

Windows

Macintosh

Windows 98, Windows 98 Second Edition, Windows Me, Windows 2000 Professional, Windows XP Home Edition, Windows XP Professional

Mac OS X v10.1.3-10.1.5, v10.2.1-10.2.8

v10.3-10.3.9, v10.4-10.4.1

(Specifications as represented by the manufacturer)

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Features & Controls

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