Digital Delight! (Minolta Dimage V)

Member Name: KathrynPenguin

Product:	Minolta Dimage V
Date:	15/02/01 (390 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: compact, great zoom, removable lens

Disadvantages: Eats batteries

An excellent little digital camera just bursting with great features. That's my opinion on my Dimage V. Now before you get all excited and want to rush out and buy one I must warn you that this is an old model. I've had it for about 3 years. However, if you were to see one of these being sold second-hand, I'd tell you to buy it quickly.

~~~~ Technical Specs ~~~~
Resolution - 640 x 480 with 24 bit colour (16 million Colours)
Features ~ 1-2x optical zoom, Macro setting, rotating lens, removable lens
Memory ~ 5V SmartMedia (2mb card supplied)
Capacity ~ Standard Jpeg compression 25-40 images per 2mb card
~ Fine Jpeg compression 10-20 images per 2mb card

That's as technical as I'm going to get, you really want to know about how good it is don't you?

~~~~ Quality ~~~~
I have had no complaints about the quality of the pictures taken with this camera. If you want a look, visit my penguins site (listed as my first favourite on my profile), all the pictures on there were taken with this camera. As a flash is built in you can take pictures in most conditions. I rarely have to enhance the quality of a picture I've taken but I have always taken all my pictures in fine mode.

~~~~ Zoom ~~~~
The camera has an optical zoom which is operated by sliding a lever on the top of the lens allowing you to select any position you like. When you click the lever towards the camera this locks it into macro mode (for taking extreme close ups). The excellent zoom makes for great quality pictures of everything from a large group of people to a penny (put the macro on and hold it 3 cm away!).

~~~~ Viewfinder ~~~~
The camera has only an LCD viewfinder which is great as you don't have to hold it to your face whilst taking a picture. You can also view all the pictures you have taken on the LCD screen before downloading, which helps you to delete the ones you don't like.
The downside of this LCD viewfinder is that things can be difficult to frame in dark conditions. Oh and the LCD screen makes the camera EAT batteries, I use rechargeable Nickel Metal Hydride batteries to save money.

~~~~ Rotating Lens ~~~~
Yes the lens rotates when it is attached to the camera. Why, I don't know because although this gives you the chance to take pictures from unusual angles the flash only works when the lens is locked at right angles, pointing to the front of the camera. Consequently I've only ever rotated the lens to the position where the flash works.

~~~~ Removable Lens ~~~~
I've never seen another camera with one of these. The lens is completely detachable from the camera itself and a lead is supplied for linking them together. I've been told that you can use these for taking pictures where a camera wont reach but not if its dark because the flash is attached to the main unit. What this lens is great for is taking pictures in a crowd, you just hold it above everyone's heads with the viewfinder still in front of you and snap away. Great for weddings, stand right behind the official photographer and take your pictures from over his head and your shots will be perfectly lined up.

~~~~ Don't Just Take My Word For It ~~~~
Here is a quote from PC Magazine 10th Feb, 1998.
"On our tests, the images the Dimage V produced were among the best of any VGA-resolution camera. They were sharp, properly exposed, with good contrast and excellent depth of field. Colors were accurate and nicely saturated, with very appealing skin tones. Although there was some clipping in the highlights, the Dimage V had no dificulty capturing good detail in the shadows and midtones."

~~~~ The Bottom Line ~~~~
The Dimage V is a great little camera, its small enough to fit in your pocket and versatile enough to take a variety of pictures. The capacity is a little small but you can
buy more SmartMedia cards. I would definitely buy another camera made by Minolta after my experience with this one.

Summary: