Minolta Dimage Xg Review
The Minolta Dimage Xg is a 3.2 megapixels digital camera with a 3x optical zoom lens. That is backed up by an ultra slim design. It is a stylish camera too. The Minolta Dimage Xg will appeal to anyone who is looking for a digital camera that is easy to use, has standard capacity in terms of megapixels and length of optical zoom and would like a camera that is relatively small, lightweight and has more than a touch of style.
Image Quality
Image quality is acceptable, but it doesn't come out at the top of the class. Some of the blues has a slight purple tinge and at times the colours lack a bit of depth. A lot of this is down to interpretation and it also depends on what you plan to use the pictures for. It would be a major problem if you are planning to blow up the prints and frame them on the wall, but if you are planning to view them on the television or on a computer screen then this is less of a problem. Some indoor shots can also be a bit grainy.
My other complaint here is that if you are looking to take close up pictures then this is not the camera for you. You can only get as close as 15cms away. Other cameras in this range can get as close as 5cms.
Features
With the emphasis on style the feature set of the Minolta Dimage Xg is unlikely to appeal to the serious photography. For the casual photographer who is looking for a camera to take a few photos at various social gatherings then this camera has just about all you need.
As already mentioned there is the 3x optical zoom and a close focus of 15cm. That is something that could be improved upon.
One area that cannot be improved is the fact that the length of the movie that can be shot is only limited by the size of the memory card and the power of the battery.
Another area where the camera scores well is that it offers a selection of scene modes. These help the camera to take the optimum photograph in a number of different and challenging lighting conditions. The scenes available are Portrait, Sports, Landscape, Sunset and Night portrait / Night view
The camera supports four different flash settings. These are automatic, where the camera decides whether flash is required or not, fill-flash, this causes the flash to always fire, red eye reduction and flash off, so that it will not fire even in dark conditions.
When you would like to appear in the picture there is a self timer with a ten second delay. You can also make small copies of pictures that are ideal for sending by email.
For anyone without a computer or who would like to speed up the printing process the camera is PictBridge compatible. This means that if you have a PictBridge compatible printer as well you can connect the camera directly to the printer without the computer in between.
For the more advanced owner you can also adjust white balance, exposure compensation and the ISO settings. There is a burst mode that allows you to shoot at 1.5 frames per second.
Ease of Use
In terms of use I like Minolta digital cameras. On the whole they are very easy to use and the Minolta Dimage Xg is no exception. The buttons on the back of the camera are well laid out and it is easy to gain an understanding of their functions Getting to grips with the menus is also a straightforward task and it doesn't take long to become an expert user.
Cost
You can pick up the Minolta Dimage Xg for around £165.
Style
The main selling point of the Minolta Dimage Xg is its style. It is shiny and sleek like a number of other cameras, but it is also very slim and much easier to fit into a pocket or bag. Its slim design also means that some of the weight is trimmed off the camera and it weighs in at just 120g. Its dimensions are 85.5 x 67 x 20 mm (3-3/8 x 2-5/8 x 13/16 inches).
Batteries / Memory Cards
The Minolta Dimage Xg is powered by one NP-200 lithium-ion battery. The battery is rechargeable and a charger comes with the package. There are advantages of this type of battery. For a start it takes more pictures than standard AA batteries before it needs recharging and the fact that you can recharge it is a bonus too. The downside is that you need to manage the battery carefully to ensure that it doesn't run down at just the wrong moment. Always make sure the battery is fully charged before any important events. You could also consider buying a spare battery, but that will again add to the cost of what is a fairly inexpensive digital camera.
Images are stored on a Secure Digital (SD) card 16mb. Supplying a 16mb card is a little mean to be quite frank. It will soon fill up and you have little option, but to buy a second card with a much larger capacity along with your camera.
Conclusion
The biggest question is always why would I buy this digital camera above other models. In this instance I can think of two primary reasons why I would buy the Minolta Dimage Xg. The first is all down to style. I like the slim design a lot. It also weighs in at a fair amount less than a number of other stylish digital cameras.
The second reason is value for money. Style plus 3.2 megapixels and a 3x optical zoom lens is all in all a good package for £165.
