Konica Minolta Dimage X50 Review

The Konica Minolta Dimage X50 is a five megapixel ultra compact digital camera. It is very slim and will fit into a pocket. Its ease of use is likely to make the camera appeal to someone who is looking for a digital camera that will handle all the usual social photo opportunities without giving you a headache trying to work out how to operate it.

The area where the Dimage X50 impressed me most was the colours in the photographs I took with it. This was something that was consistent throughout all the tests. The Colour Test itself shows up the reds and yellows particularly well. For some reason I find that many digital cameras produce yellows that appear dull, but this was an area where the Dimage X50 did well.

The outdoor shots also show up the colours well, although in one of the shots the sky could do with being pepped up somewhat. Elsewhere in the outdoor shots the camera handled most of the situations well. There is a slight loss of detail in the darkest areas, but this is a problem that affects many digital cameras.

The outdoor portrait again shows good depth of colours and the lighting works well too.

For the indoor test the Dimage X50 struggles in the darkest conditions to focus properly and in my tests the bottles are not as sharp as I would like them to be. The indoor portrait is acceptable and is again well lit. The problem is though that the camera finds it hard to control red eye.

The macro or close up shot is fairly typical although there is a clear element of a purple tinge in areas.

Shutter lag is the time it takes to take each picture. A constant criticism of digital cameras is the delay in between clicking the shutter button, the picture being taken and also the camera being ready to take the next picture. From a pure shutter lag view the Dimage X50 took a picture and recorded it in 1.19 seconds. This is a relatively new test, so I feel a degree of caution is called for, but I have to say early indications are that this is a slightly slow time.

In terms of recycling times I was able to take five pictures in the space of 10.19 seconds. That works out at a rate of 2.04 seconds per picture. I am not claiming that this is the most scientific tests, but it should give you an indication of the recycling speed of the camera. The time achieved by the Dimage X50 is around the average recycling time to date. My test is carried out indoors under standard conditions and it is possible that you would see better results outside.

The Dimage X50 is a five megapixel digital camera with a 2.8 times optical zoom lens. The lens has an equivalent 35mm focal length of 37 - 105 mm. The optical zoom lens is supported by a 4.3 times digital zoom function. For close up photography the camera can focus from 10cms away from the subject. There is also a super macro mode that allows you to close in to 6cms away.

For lining up shots you can choose between the optical viewfinder or the 2" LCD screen. The LCD screen is also used for accessing the menu system.

Short movies can be shot at a maximum resolution of 320x240. The movies can be recorded at a rate of thirty frames per second. The duration of each movie is only limited by the capacity of the memory card.

There are four different flash settings you can use. These are always on, always off, automatic and automatic with red eye reduction.

When you would like to appear in the photo yourself there is a self timer with a ten second delay. You can also add something different to your images by shooting in black and white or sepia. Copies of any photos you have taken can be made so that they are the ideal size for sending by email.

Among the more advanced features available are multi segment and spot metering, exposure compensation (±2Ev in 1/3 increments), ISO equivalents of 50, 100, 200 and 400 and shutter speeds between 4 and 1/1000 seconds. White balance is catered for with settings for Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten and Fluorescent.

There is also a continuous advance feature that allows you to take photos at a rate of 1.9 frames per second. There is also a Ultra High Speed (UHS) continuous advance feature that can shoot eleven frames per second to produce images 1280 x 960 in size.

Konica Minolta supplies all the necessary software and cables to connect the Dimage X50 to a computer, television set and a PictBridge compatible printer.

You can also buy an underwater case to go with the camera.

To my mind the Dimage X50 is a very well thought out camera. All the major features such as flash, zoom and photo review are all easily accessible from buttons on the back. The number of buttons has been kept to a minimum though, making the camera easy to operate. The menu system is about as easy as it gets as well. All the options are contained on four screens and it is easy enough to find the one you are looking for. The camera is turned on by sliding back the lens cover.

You can pick up a Konica Minolta Dimage X50 for around £170. This compares to around £230 for a Canon IXUS 50, £215 for a Casio EXILIM EX Z55 and £235 for a Sony DSC T33.

The Dimage X50 is a very slim and lightweight digital camera. It weighs just 125g and with dimensions of 83.5 x 62 x 23.5 mm it fits easily into a pocket or small bag. It has a typical rectangular shape and comes in three colours black, red and silver. Its style and the ease with which you can carry it around are among its major selling points.

Power is supplied by a rechargeable Lithium Ion battery. Konica Minolta supplies both the battery and charger with the Dimage X50. This type of battery helps to control running costs as you don't need to keep buying new ones. The only problem is that spare batteries are expensive, so you will need to ensure that the battery is fully charged before you set off to take any important photos.

Images are stored on Secure Digital (SD) cards. A 16mb card is supplied with the camera. This will soon become full when you are taking five megapixel pictures. Therefore I would strongly advise you to buy a high capacity card to go with your camera. Click here to save money on SD Cards

Slim design makes it easy to carry around
Straightforward and easy to use
£35-£50 cheaper than digital cameras with a similar specification

16mb memory card supplied with the camera will soon become full.

I like the Dimage X50. I am not going to try and kid you that the photo quality is the best you are likely to find, but the photos it takes are still pretty good. It you can afford a similar camera that costs more such as the Canon IXUS 50 or the Sony DSC T33 then I would recommend buying one of those, but if you would like to save a few pounds then this is a perfectly acceptable alternative. Another important factor is that it also scores highly for ease of use.

Konica Minolta Dimage X50 Front View

Konica Minolta Dimage X50 Back View

Konica Minolta Dimage X50 Top View

Sample Menus

Although every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information on this site, please make sure you double check the feature set and specification at the point of purchase.

Konica Minolta Dimage X50