It may only be a digital camera, but there is something James Bondish
about the Minolta Dimage X: its shape and size.
Everything about the camera is different from other small digital cameras
to date. It weighs only 135 grams, and it is flat: 2 cm [0.8"], while
its other measurements ( 8.45 cm [3.3"] width and 7.2 cm [2.8"]in
height) make it possible to carry it in the plan of the hand for hours,
or simply slip it in a pocket without any discomfort.
The
really amazing thing is that the camera has a 2-megapixel resolution and
a 3X optical zoom that is fully internal. (See the Characteristics section
of the review for an explanation of how the zoom works.)
The top of the Dimage X supports only the power switch, the shutter
release and a small microphone. The shutter release is two-stage,
providing autofocus lock when pressed and held halfway down. The zoom
control is placed directly below the shutter release, on the upper
back of the body.
The
zoom control is bracketed by a right and left arrow used,
along with the up/down zoom control, to navigate the Dimage X menus.
A simple, but very useable optical viewfinder is included; however it
has no focus or parallax marking. An LED on its right indicates focus
(green) and camera activities such as recording in progress (red).
Above the 1.5 inch LCD screen, a simple 2-position mode switch
is used to select either the Playback function or the Still/Movie
Recording function.
Four
additional buttons are arranged below the screen, and the camera's speaker
is on the far right.
Display
Button: used to turn the LCD screen or its overlay of information On or
Off.
Flash
Mode Button: Auto, Auto with Red-eye Reduction, Fill-in, Forced off, Night
Portrait with Red-eye Reduction.
Menu
Button: calls up the menu appropriate to the camera mode.
Enter
Button used to confirm selections.
There can be little doubt that the Minolta Dimage X is a special camera,
one made possible only because of digital technology.
In a sense,
the Dimage X takes advantage of the small CCD size used in most current
compact digital cameras and abandons most of the standard design concepts
carried over from film, while retaining those aspects of film camera designs
that have proved their worth over time.
