Minolta Dimage Xt

I purchased a Minolta Dimage Xt more by luck than by design but I'm glad that I did. It's great for keeping in my pocket and is of course unobtrusive.

I like the way the lense is protected when it's switched off but do agree that you have to be careful not to obstruct the lense with your fingers when taking a photo. The images that I have collected so far are definitely superior to photos taken on point-and-shoot film cameras or my old HP Photosmart.

The movie mode is very useful and the microphone is incredibly sensitive so watch what you mutter under your breath as you film!

This is an excellent introduction to good quality digital photography and I would highly recommend this camera to anyone, even my wife, the technophobe, can use it.

Minolta Dimage Xt - This camera is great! It's very compact but really stylish. It doesn't have the lens whirring out of the front like most compact digitals with zoom, but that just adds to the pose value for me, as people always tend to say "Oh, it hasn't got optical zoom" when you take photo's. The zoom is built into the camera body and is quiet and accurate, at the expense of speed. I personally don't use the Minolta software as I connect it to my PC and it sees it as a hard drive with JPEG images on, so you can use other software or just the windows picture viewer. My Panasonic Camcorder which I bought just before my son was born (10 months ago) has gone wrong twice in the first year so I have used this camera to take video and as long as the light levels are good and the subject doesn't move too quick its "OK". Also, the battery seems to last well and although the low battery symbol appears, sometimes it has never actually ran out in use. It uses a re-chargeable Li-Ion battery and has its own charging station which you just rest it on and it charges. The camera is very easy to use, but the menus can be a little confusing and fiddly if you have bananas for fingers. I would definitely buy another Minolta camera.

Minolta Dimage Xt - Bought it after I bought and very much liked an Xi for my wife. They've improved the only flaw in the Xi (the card/battery door). Mine lives on my belt through my active work day and has survived three drops to date. Be careful not to allow your fingers to obscure the lens (in the top left corner). An excellent buy. Now I'm looking at the X50 (5 MP version).

This camera is the 3rd incarnation of the Minolta Dimage X series. The reason you would want to buy this camera is because it's small, convenient to carry and easy to use. It is ideal for parties and things like snapshots.

I do not use this camera for 'serious' photography, as I have a film camera, although it's taken very nice photos (comparable to more expensively priced DSLRs at A4 size). Remember that compared to 35mm film quality there are only 2 (v expensive) DSLRs that can boast comparable resolutions. Dynamic range is something digital cameras still can't match traditional film for. For serious photography get a film camera - manual 35mm are also much cheaper than half decent digital cameras.

Improvements over the older models include the introduction of noise reduction, CxProcess for better colour rendition, and the ability to capture film clips for as long as the memory card will allow. It's also smaller and better looking.

I have found this camera a delight to use, as it is v intuitive and easy to understand. I only looked at the manual briefly, and I've been able to use everything easily. Being pocketable is a huge boon you do not fully appreciate until you get it.

Image quality is superb, in terms of definition and colour rendition. Any lens shortcomings are negligible, because barrelling only really becomes apparent when photographing straight lines (eg architecture). The lens also contains aspherical elements, which is nice.

The camera exposes well and images can be quickly reviewed at the touch of a button. Also important to me was a decent ISO range (Auto, 50 - 400), which some camera don't have (the Fuji F410 starts at ISO200). Also 2 'nav/hotkeys' can be customised to alter either ISO, exposure compensation etc.

2 features that I find useful are the e-mail copy function, which allows me to create smaller copies of a set of pictures easily. The other feature is the slide show, which is useful for reviewing pictures without having to push forward all the time.

I also like the fact that for windows 2000 and XP, drivers are automatically included that allows me to use the camera as a mini hard drive.

For what it is, and what I want it for, I am extremely happy with this camera. Also consider the brand new Optio S4, or for more resolution the Konica KD510/Minolta G500 (same camera).

Well protected (fully enclosed lens structure) has survived many a dropping on drunken student nights and stil works fine. will not focus without a good light source. Slow to focus and take photos even in good light - slow software.