One of the best electronic items I've ever owned (Minolta Dimage G400)

Member Name: martyfarty69

Product:	Minolta Dimage G400
Date:	01/04/09 (52 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Takes great pictures even now, stacks up to supposed "high spec" cameras

Disadvantages: I guess its a little dated, can be a little heavy for its size

I bought this camera back in 2004 for about £160 and has been worth every penny and more, I have never had a camera that takes this good pictures and has lasted this long in my entire life. I often get comments on the high quality of the pictures this takes and quite frankly have seen pictures on other peoples cameras with supposedly "Higher" specs that don't look nearly as good as the ones taken on this camera.

The Camera has a 4.0 Megapixel specification with a very impressive 0.7 second startup time enabling you to take pictures almost instantaneously rather than having to wait for the camera to power up, even though it is a small compact camera it has features such as super continuous mode which allows you to take three images at a rate of 2.5 images per second, making sure you capture every important movement and moment.

It has a convenient dual card slot system enabling you to use memory sticks and SD memory cards, with both systems being used at the same time this enables you to have up to 640MB of memory to be used to store pictures, videos etc and on the subject of movies this camera will allow you to capture 340 x 200 film clips with audio and the only restriction on length is the remaining memory .
For the tech guys here are the actual specs of the camera

* 4 Megapixel CCD for images up to 2272 x 1702 pixels.
* 3x (34-101mm) optical zoom lens, 2x digital zoom
* 1.5-inch TFT color LCD, approx. 120,000 pixels
* Very fast 0.7-second startup time
* Rapid 0.2 sec. autofocus, passive AF with CCD video AF
* Motion video w/audio 320x240, limited only by memory
* Attach 15-sec audio memos to still images
* White balance options: Auto, daylight, cloudy, tungsten, fluorescent
* Program AE, Aperture priority, Slow Shutter, Manual exposure modes
* Automatic noise reduction for shutter speeds longer than 1/2 sec.
* Scene modes: Portrait, Scenery, Night, Angel, Snap, Sports
* AE Bracketing and +/-2.0EV Exposure Compensation
* 2.5fps Continuous shooting up to 3 frames
* TTL Evaluative and Spot Metering
* Flash with Auto, Red-eye reduction, Fill, Forced off and Night Portrait
* 12x enlarged playback function with scrolling
* Secure Digital and/or Memory Stick flash media
* USB 1.1 connectivity
* Rechargeable Li-ion battery with external charger
* Small, lightweight and durable stainless steel case

The thing that impresses me the most about this camera is that it works as well now as the first day I bought it, it has gone through some abuse but still feels solid, it has an attractive silver metal casing and the sliding shutter is well constructed and doesn't feel like its going to come off in your hand.

5 years after buying this I know there are more feature packed, higher spec camera's on the market, but I won't be purchasing them because this does everything I need it to do, and is an ultra reliable piece of kit, if you're looking for a cheap camera you may be able to pick one of these up used very cheaply and thats something I would strongly recommend.

Summary: High quality camera that will last forever

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