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I own many Minolta Dimage series cameras as well as other brands such as Olympus, Pentax, and Fujipix. Ive got everything from basic to DSLR. The Dimage 5, to be honest, isn't my favorite. The pictures aren't as easy to just point and shoot. Now, mind you, as an individual who also has DSLR with many lenses... I fully understand the fun of creative photography and manual settings. So if your considering this camera for vacations and such I'd say my review is irrelevant. I'm using my Dimage 5 for online sales. And It isn't as fast at point and shoot perfection as my Z1 by any means. However, I get the feeling after a couple weeks of use, that it COULD be an awesome vacation camera once you learn it's controls. And I'll add that it's controls seem very unique to it. It's certainly NOT a camera for a beginner unless the beginner reads the book thoroughly and maybe takes some classes. The other Dimage Z models are much more beginner minded in my opinion. When I'm shooting pics for online sales I find that far too many do not turn out. I never had this issue with my Z series cameras. 95% of those turned out perfectly. I like the Dimage 5 quite a bit, and I love a challenge, so I continue to use it as well, experimenting as I go. I'm convinced that it's errors are operator errors. I just need more practice with it, and maybe read through the book a bit more to better learn it. Even still... for the price it's bringing it's a heck of a deal. I paid less than $40 for mine with extra lenses, filters, lowpro bag, extra cords, AC adapter, disc, and more. The AC adapter alone was nearly $20 so I felt I paid a great price since the camera is an older model, and uses what I consider to be an outdated memory card. I'd recommend it to a camera fan who is tired of inflated megapixel pocket cameras but who doesn't have the large funds for DSLR. Its a great bridge camera. IT'S CHEAP!!! (Price) It has LOTS of room for experimentation, with more external controls than my DSLR, and it's a well built camera. It feels great in the hand. But if your use is quick P&S, I'd steer clear and maybe shoot more for the Dimage Z10.Read full review
It is pointless to criticize this camera's faults, since it was made over 10 years ago and the company that made it is no longer in the business of making cameras. The two biggest deficiencies are 1) it consumes batteries at an alarming rate (use an auxiliary battery pack) 2) the storage media (compactflash card) is severely limited (I have only been able to use 64MB cards or smaller, you will want to keep several memory cards on hand at all times). Having said that, this is a pretty nifty camera. It's 35mm - 230mm real zoom lens, combined with a 3X digital zoom, gives you the ability to capture action from any distance. It records images in almost any light situation, and the built in flash is adequate for anything within 6 to 8 feet. This camera can record images in JPEG or TIFF format, as well as digital video. Features include auto focus or manual focus, auto exposure or manual exposure or "bracketed" exposure, and single frame or continuous frames. 3.3 megapixel is just about right for submission to web pages or even to print applications. I have two of these cameras, I keep one at my house and one in my car. I would definitely buy another as a backup or as a gift. Two thumbs up!Read full review
I'm selling one right now, but it's just because I want a smaller camera. This one is a little bulky. But it really packs a lot of features in. I love the flash. If you push it up, it will flash, if its down, it will not. There's no no unessesary buttons to mess with for that. Focus is manual or automatic with flexible focal points for autofocus so you can frame your shot first, and place a cursor on the spot to focus on. The manual focus is done just like on an SLR with the focus ring. Zoom is done just like an SLR zoom lens, and the zooming is 7x (equivalent of 28-250mm or so). It takes compact flash cards which have huge capacity and are relatively cheap. It takes AA batteries so you can buy some from a corner store in a pinch. Even the viewfinder has a focus adjustment so if you have bad eyes you can correct that (within reason) so you can use the camera without glasses. The viewfinder also pops up so you can get comfortable while you shoot, plus it will detect when your eye is there and shut off the LCD to save on batteries (which it tends to eat). It uses standard 49mm lens filters, it allows for very tight control over both shutter speed (bulb to 1/2000s) and f-stop (2.8 - 8.0). The camera includes a lens shade also, which is a very nice feature. There are other advanced features like contrast, light, and color compensation, manual white balancing (or with presets for specific lighting types). My favorite thing about the camera is the controls. Almost everything can be done without going through digital menus on the LCD. There are dials and knobs and buttons everywhere that allow you to do just about everything. There's also room for a hotshoe flash and a remote shutter control. Great camera, great value. I don't think minolta still rules the prosumer digital camera world, but they certainly did for a short time.Read full review
I purchased one of these for my son (23 years old) who greatly admired the Minolta DiMAGE 7Hi I received for Christmas. This camera possese about 85% (?) of the features of the 7Hi model but at a reduced price! The great 7x manually zoomed lens is very sharp and possese the equivalent 35mm focal lengths of 35mm through 250mm (wide to telephoto range). One little appreciated "benefit" of lower resolution cameras (3mp vs 5mp or more) is that you can get more images onto any given storage card, sometimes speed rate of multiple shots is faster, and most lower resolution cameras are going at vastly reduced prices compred to their higher resolution "descendants"! If you're someone looking for a great "exploratory" digital camera then this is a very cost effective unit to start with. Also, unlike it's higher resolution bretheren - the DiMAGE 7i, 7Hi, A1 and A2 this camera didn't suffer from the CCD sensor malfunctions that plagued some of these 5mp models. One thing my son liked so much about the DiMAGE 5 vs. his Nikon Coolpix 5000 was the use of external dials to change various settings rather than the confusing menu systems. Be advised, if you want to use the video features of a digital camera this model has a slow frame rate and no audio capabililty. Otherwise it does well. Battery life can be an issue - they'll deplete quickly - but you're using readily available AA batteries - use NIMH rechargables (cheap with a charger at big-box stores!) so get some extras and shoot away! These cameras also use the CF type cards - a little pricier than equivalent SD cards. Good luck!Read full review
I bought my DiMage 5 two Christmases ago, after looking around the internet and finding simply rave reviews for it. My 2MP ViviCam had been destroyed falling off a trailer I had attached to the motorcycle I had bought on ebay, in a trip to NJ to pick up an engine I had bought on ebay. I was ready to move up. I found the DiMage 5, saw the MSRP of around $800, settled on it, and have considered it a real bargain for the $285+s&h I paid for it. It's simply great that you can now get one in good used condition for less than half of what I paid! Why pay for more than 3MP when you can blow a 3MP photo up to 8 1/2 X 11 with no degradation from a film camera? How many of us, after all, ever do anything bigger than 4X6 or so? Though it's so sophisticated an advanced photographer can squeeze lots out of this baby, it's so simple that my 12-year-old 6th-grade daughter simply loves to use it in point-and-shoot mode, after framing her subject using the superb 7X optical zoom. I'm in no particular rush, but I'm picking one up for her, too! I've been watching them for some time now, and neat thing is, compared to a lot of other models, you almost never see these cameras broken or refurbed either. I don't sell cameras, so I have no commercial interest in writing this. Just a love for this camera! Good luck getting one at the right price! toon2605Read full review
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