DPInterface Konica Minolta DiMAGE X50 Review
Brad Soo - August 1st, 2005 (Updated March 14th, 2006)

The Konica Minolta DiMAGE X50 is a 5 megapixel digital camera which is not that thin compared to other cameras today but it still packs some great features like a 2.8x non-protruding optical zoom lens, an optical viewfinder and a stylish design.

Size and Weight

Let's compare the X50's size and weight to other cameras of its class:

83.5 x 62.0 x 23.5 mm (125 g) - Konica Minolta DiMAGE X50
86.0 x 53.0 x 20.7 mm (130 g) - Canon Digital Ixus SD400
109.0 x 52.0 x 36.0 mm (149 g) - HP Photosmart M517
95.0 x 68.0 x 19.5 mm (135 g) - Konica Minolta DiMAGE X1
89.9 x 57.5 x 19.7 mm (118 g) - Nikon Coolpix S1
95.0 x 55.5 x 27.5 mm (115 g) - Olympus Stylus Verve S
94.1 x 50.5 x 24.2 mm (127 g) - Panasonic Lumix FX8
91.6 x 60.0 x 14.8 mm (115 g) - Sony Cyber-shot T7

All the cameras in the above list are 5 megapixels except the Konica Minolta DiMAGE X1, that has a whooping 8 megapixels which I put in just as somewhat of a comparison. The Konica Minolta DiMAGE X50 fits somewhere in the middle of those cameras - Not too large and not too small either.

Open up the Box

Open up that box, you'll find along with the DiMAGE X50:

  • 16 MB Secure Digital card
  • Rechargeable NP-700 lithium-ion battery with charger
  • Wrist strap
  • USB cable
  • CD-ROM
  • User's manual

Storage and Power

Getting a 512 MB SD card might not be a bad idea as 16 MB of memory is way too little, especially for a 5 megapixel camera. The battery life of the Konica Minolta DiMAGE X50 is about 150 shots (CIPA standard). If possible, get a spare battery - You'll never know when you'll need it.

Extras

The X50's accessories include a marine pack. You are unable to attach conversion lenses or "real" external flashes.

Camera Tour

Let's start the camera tour beginning from the front. The Konica Minolta DiMAGE X50 has a sliding cover on the front which acts as a power switch since the X50 doesn't have a power button.

The DiMAGE X50 has 5 effective megapixels on a 1/2.5 inch CCD paired with a 2.8x non-protruding optical zoom lens. The DiMAGE X50 has a focal length of 37 - 105 mm (35 mm equivalent) and aperture value of F2.8 - F5.0.

The built-in flash has a range of 0.2 - 3.2 m at wide-angle and 0.1 - 1.8 m at telephoto which is average. The optical viewfinder is placed next to the flash. There is no AF-assist beam, just a self-timer light. The microphone is next to that self-timer light.

The 2.0 inch LCD has 115,000 pixels and performs quite well outdoors but is not very visible in low-light. There is an optical viewfinder though, which is located above the LCD. The zoom controller on the top right zooms in/out in shooting mode and zooms in/out + shows thumbnails in playback.

The playback button gets the X50 straight into playback, whether from a shooting mode or when the camera is off. Next come the display and menu buttons. And finally the 5 way controller. The 2 of the 4 directional buttons have preset functions:

  • Up - Flash/Delete photo
  • Down - Drive/Review

The left/right buttons can be customized by users. And before I forget, here are the scene modes (Or Digital Subject Program DSP Selection as Konica Minolta calls it) found on the X50:

  • Portrait - Emphasize on your subject and blur out the background
  • Sports/Action - Faster shutter speed to capture fast moving subjects
  • Landscape - Uses smaller aperture for greater depth of field
  • Sunset - Hmm. What can I say? For sunset photos.
  • Night portrait/night view - Use longer exposures for sharper photos at night
  • Super macro - Get up as close as 6 cm from your subject
  • Text - Capture documents, notes, etc.

There is no power button on the Konica Minolta DiMAGE X50. Instead, you turn on the camera by sliding the front cover (Shooting) or pressing the playback button (Playback). The mode switch moves around shooting, scene and movie modes. The battery and SD slots have covers of average build.

Recording

The X50 can take QVGA movies at 30 FPS (With sound) up to the capacity of the memory card. All movies are recorded in MOV format. Neither optical or digital zoom can be used by the Konica Minolta DiMAGE X50 while recording.

Performance

The DiMAGE X50 focuses in 1.8 seconds and a little more in low-light. Low-light shooting did give the X50 a hard time because of the lack of an AF-assist beam. The DiMAGE X50 turns on in 2.4 seconds and moves its lens from wide-angle to telephoto in 3 seconds.

Image Quality

The Konica Minolta DiMAGE X50 produces vibrant photos with only some chromatic aberration (Color fringing) but above average noise. There's so much red-eye in photos that you should and must remove them using a photo editing software. Movies are okay in sharpness compared to still photos.

Playback

In playback, the DiMAGE X50 can playback stills and movies (With sound). You can also zoom up to 6x into still photos taken and take a look around using the 4 arrow buttons as well as choose the amount of info shown about your photos.

Conclusion

The Konica Minolta DiMAGE X50 is a great "bring along everywhere" camera though it lacks manual controls and a good VGA 30 FPS movie mode. While the X50 is not a speedy camera, it is fast enough for the average user. The LCD was sharp in only normal conditions. The strategic placements of the buttons on the back make one hand shooting easy.

What's hot:

  • Compact and stylish design
  • Sharp 2.0 inch LCD
  • Vibrant photos
  • Optical viewfinder
  • Easy one-hand shooting

What's not:

  • No manual controls
  • Below average LCD performance
  • Battery life only average
  • Excessive red-eye
  • Above average noise levels

Recommended accessories:

~Extra NP-700 battery
~512 MB SD card
~Camera case

Content ©2005 - 2006 Digital Photography Interface. All rights reserved.
All trademarks and images are property of their respective owners.
No part of this website may be copied, posted or used anywhere
without the written permission of the website owner.

.