Minolta Dimage Xt 3.2 MP Digital Camera w/ 3x Optical Zoom

Rating:
Summary: best first digital camera
Review: I was very comfortable with my reflex 35mm film camera (Minolta 7000) and did not feel the urge to get a digital camera until now: entry level had poor quality image and the better were too expensive. The Minolta Dimage Xt changed my mind. It is easy to carry and takes good pictures. Only one con: The time between you press the shutter and the moment that the camera actually takes the photograph is not "instant", so many times I found that the picture I got was not exactly what I supposed to be taking. Now, after getting the idea, I am thinking for an upgrade.

Rating:
Summary: Size matters!
Review: I have had this camera for a year. Unlike other digital or SLR cameras, the small size enables you to take it to places you usually wouldn't bother. It fits in your pocket, even with the camera case (separate purchase).

Accesories I found useful: Marine Case, camera case, extra battery, bigger memory card. A 512Mb card will hold about 6000 photos at medium resolution. When purchasing the Marine case, be careful, as there are SPECIFIC cases for each dimage model.

It does not do well at low-light situations without a tripod. It takes beautiful low-light photos if you have a tripod though. We took it with us to Santorini to take photos of the sunset, and worked beautifully with our tripod. No tripod? Don't bother trying! It will turn out blurry, because of the long exposure time.

The sepia and b&w settings are a plus. Easy to use, but read the manual if you want to get the most out of it. I just got mine stolen and am looking forward to buying the same one again. The four stars is because of the low-light situation, but I understand this can be a problem with other cameras as well.

It's a great deal through and through!

Rating:
Summary: Perfect pictures...
Review: Recently used this camera as my primary camera on a trip abroad. I was a little hesitant to the quality of pictures, but was plesantly surprised. When I initally downloaded them to my computer I was very impressed with how the images looked. The colors were so vibrant. I had many compliments on the quality of my pics on the computer.

When I returned home and actually printed some pictures out, I was very impressed with how well the pics looked. My husband even commented that you couldn't tell if they were from my digital or his (more expensive) film camera.

Rating:
Summary: Love this camera - retired my Sony 5MP for this 3.2MP
Review: I recently got this camera (...) and I love it. I have a Sony DSC-P91 5MP camera and haven't been using it since I got this Minolta Dimage XT 3.2MP one. The picture quality is VERY GOOD. Any reviews that said it doesn't take good pictures probably don't know how to use in certain settings. It can take very good night shots, but you need to have an incredibly still arm holding it while the lens is open or put it on a still surface or tripod. No different than all other digital camera's I've used.

This camera has a very smooth 3X optical zoom that works great. I love the incredibly fast startup time (about 1 second). Reviewing pictures is very quick as the read/write time is fast.

Another plus to this camera is the fact Secure Digital memory cards are relatively cheap. (...) Also, you can get backup lithium ion batteries for it through Amazon (...) shipped like I did.

Rating:
Summary: Convenient, but disappointing pictures
Review: This is a great camera in that you can catty it everywhere. However, I have been VERY disappointed in the image quality. The review at www.megapixel.net really bears this out.

Rating:
Summary: SLOOOOOWWWWW
Review: I had high hopes for this little wonder. After taking hundreds of pictures I finally sold it. Reason? Extremely slow shutter response and blurry photos. Typically 3 seconds to infinity to take the picture. I say infinity because about 10% of the time I would push the shutter release and nothing would happen. Not the photographer's fault, I've been an amateur photographer for over 25 years now. I know how to hold a camera steady, hold my breath and gently push the shutter release button. Of the pictures it would take, most of them were blurry. When it would take a good picture, it was VERY good. But I want most of my pictures to be decent. This was a backup solution for when lugging my Canon EOS 10D was impractical. I didn't expect it to take Canon quality pictures but I did want them in focus and less than 3 seconds "thinking time" after pushing the shutter release. It failed in those areas. It had a major failure recently with a 512 MB SD card. I don't know if the camera failed or the card, so I won't point fingers. All I know is that 300 MB into the card I received a "system error" message and couldn't take any more pictures. Again, unacceptable. Buyer beware.

Rating:
Summary: Best of the Best for 3MP
Review: Lately I have been buying Digital Cameras, Using them for a while then selling them. I have used the HP Photosmart 435 - It was worth the 129.00 but lacked alot, Sony DSC-P32 - Took awesome pictures and had a few extra features, Concord Eye-Q 3040 - Good camera in general but horriable software included camera was really confusing but then again it was only 100.00 new. This camera was the best of all them. It took better pictures then my Concord 3040 Did and it was 4MP. It had tons of features but lacked a few manual features. The size was awesome I could take it anywhere. I just sold it and am expecting a HP Photosmart 935. Review should be up soon on that. But I loved this camera, it had tons of features and was really small. The software was really crappy though being it didn't do a thing. But the camera was awesome!

Rating:
Summary: Manhattenite review has Wrong Info
Review: First of all, I love my XT. I wear it in my shirt pocket everyday at work. I can whip it out and take a picture in literally seconds. It has been said by a reviewer that it has "no self-timing mode. Nor is there a tripod mount."
Well, that isn't right because I use both features. The tripod mount is on the bottom. The self timer is a menu function.

The XT can been recharged by using the little stand that comes with it. The newer XG model has no such feature. Sad that they would take away such a nice ability to recharge by simply placing it back on the stand. That's why it was $100 cheaper, I guess.

The only fault I can find is common sense... it has a little battery and a little flash. Don't try to illuminate an entire room full of people with it. Best used for close "fill in" flash. Still 5 stars in every respect.



Rating:
Summary: Not Bad, But Not Perfect
Review: The compact format is great and the optics are above average. However, unlike virtually every other digital camera I've used, there is no self-timing mode. Nor is there a tripod mount. Worst of all, the shutter lag is very long.