Rating: 
Summary: Sounds so cool, but...
Review: I've been using a very low quality digi-cam for years and really wanted to upgrade to something more serious. A camera pro shop recommended this one because of the incredible 10x zoom and the fast response time. However, within hours of having it home, I saw some problems: 1. It seems REALLY fragile and I just don't imagine the body or the lens holding up too long.
2. Once you stuff the batteries in (quite literally), the battery cover looks like it's going to pop off or break at any minute.
3. My husband and I both tried repeatedly to get clear shots, but with any zooming at all (even minimal), the picture was blurry. We tried multiple settings and various lighting conditions and the results were the same. What good is a 10x zoom if it takes you 8 shots just to get something remotely clear??? Turns out that the ultra fast response time (and it IS really fast) just isn't worth the trouble we had trying to get a stable picture, so we took the camera back. Instead, we opted for the Fuji Finepix (sp?) S5000, which also has a 10x zoom, was cheaper, had fantastic reviews here, and takes dependably clear shots (even using the zoom). In my opinion, if you have your heart set on this cam, I'd hold out until they come up with a better model or test drive the Fuji.
Rating: 
Summary: Ideal Choice for everyone
Review: I've been using three major brand SLR cameras for the past few years.To satisfy & explore further stages of my increasing interest in photography I decided to move on to digital level. I started to look for a good digital camera. I wanted to have at least 3MP with zoom & other basic functions. Since my knowledge about digital cameras were limited, I researched a lot, starting with Steve's Digicams (www.steves-digicams.com), reading almost all the reviews posted on various sites on the net and trying out almost every possible camera on display. After reading all the reviews and observing the market prices I went for this model. Dimage Z1 looks and feels like a real SLR camera. Perhaps this may be the main reason that made me buy this model. However it turned out to be a ideal choice for me. I can't explain how easy it was to zoom in on distant objects to take a sharp, bright & clear picture without a tripod. This is one fine user friendly camera with too many features to mention, yet simple to use. Excellent battery life ! I love this camera !!! Check out some of the pics that I've captured with this camera at http://community.webshots.com/user/pindiyath100
Rating:
Summary: GREAT LITTLE CAMERA!!
Review: I'VE OWNED THE DIMAGE Z1 FOR A YEAR NOW AND I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT! IT TAKES GREAT ACTION SHOTS AND I REALLY LIKE THE "VIVID" COLOR OPTION AND SOFT FOCUS FEATURE. IT FOCUSES QUICKLY AND BATTERY LIFE IS GREAT...A GIANT STEP UP FROM MY FIRST DIGITAL, THE DIMAGE 5. I DO FIND FOCUSING IN THE MACRO MODE A BIT DIFFICULT AT TIMES, AND THE FLASH CAPABILITY IS LIMITED, BUT STILL A GREAT LITTLE CAMERA FOR THE PRICE. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT.
Rating: 
Summary: Not A Camera for PROFESSIONALS
Review: I've read many reviews(dpreviews.com, pcphotoreview.com, dcresource.com,..etc) about the Z1 and 90% of it has been positive. The 10% that was negative have been from more of the advance to professional photographers. Many of the problems has been aesthetics and the purple fringing with night time shooting. Anyone who is starting out or who is at the intermediate level will find the Z1 the best value for the money. THE Z1 IS NOT A CAMERA FOR ADVANCE or PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHERS, AND SHOULD NOT BE RATED/REVIEWED IN THAT CATEGORY. I'm reviewing this camera from the beginner - intermediate view. The Z1 has auto functions for the beginner and manual controls(Shutter control, Aperture priority, Manual Focus, and Manual White balance) for the intermediate photographer, But ( There is always a BUT) there are some things that due concern me. 1. The shaky lens. Minolta says they designed that way purposely for when carrying.
2. The battery cover. Not very robust
3. The mirror system used to reflect the LCD to the viewfinder. Could see this jamming or breaking down from continuous use With all that aside, the DIMAGE is still a very solid camera. So what if it's not black, So what if its got unconventional styling Bottom line is; it takes excellent pictures and is priced very competitively. Nuff Said!
Rating:
Summary: feels like a child's toy; mirror breaks
Review: If you have ever held a real SLR (Canon, Fuji, Olympus, etc.) SLR film camera in your hands, don't WASTE YOUR MONEY on this thing. It feels like it is made of the same plastic used at to make the toy cameras at the dollar store. The battery cover will break after a few battery changes; the lens rattles like it is going to fall out. It is smaller and less professional looking that you might imagine. After flipping from LCD to viewfinder about 10 times, the mirror on the one I ordered began to stick. Do youself a favor...if you are considering this camera, go to W..mart and pick one up and see how it feels. Then if you still like it, come back to amazon and order it. (It is about $80 cheaper at Amazon!).
Rating:
Summary: A "real" review of this Camera!
Review: If you were unable to get sharp pics with this camera, then you've done something wrong. Pics are VERY sharp. I'm formerly a professional photographer who has used some of the best cameras ever built.
The Z1 is a CONSUMER camera packed with a lot of features for the money. Construction is fair and this is not a TOUGH unit like a Canon G3 or G5. The lens is of very good quality at this price point and can deliver crisp images fully zoomed in. I've zoomed in to 40X with the digital kicked in and gotten sharp images HANDHELD. But the truth is that even with image stabilization extreme zooming is hard to keep steady. The fellow who said you need 4 mp or more clearly knows little about cameras. You can crop fine at with a 3.2, unless you have a printer that does posters! Focus works great on manual settings as well, but the camera lacks a focus light which can give it some trouble. The Z1 can also shoot good quality video, above and beyond what most others can do. It has a great display, among the best I've seen and is easily balanced. B&H sells them every day for 329.00 and it has utterly replaced my G5 for day to day shooting. It's an amazing value.
I'm sure Minolta will come out with a better version soon...and I'll probably buy it!
Rating:
Summary: Sold it After 2 months
Review: In my previous review, I said that this wasn't a camera for professionals. After using the unit for about 2 months, I found that the Dimage is not even a camera for beginners. 1. The Auto focusing on the Z1 is horrendous; half of all your photos will be out of focus especially in low light situations. What is the point of taking pictures if they all come out blurred?
2. The shaking lens and the flipping LCD mechanism are poor quality and cheaply designed. This will definitely be an issue later on. The problems I've highlighted might not be an issue to most of you, but I'm sure we all have one common goal, and that is we all want excellent picture quality. When the auto focusing works the photos are half decent (don't get me start on the purple fringing problem). This is the kind of camera that you would but for son or daughter in high school. I've already returned my Dimage Z1 and upgraded to the Sony F717. (Now that's a camera!) One thing I've learned from all of this is; you pay for what you get. Nuff Said!
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointed and frustrated!
Review: My husband bought this for me for Christmas. He was well intentioned and excited about my surprise, however I am the resident techie in the house and as soon as I picked it up, I thought "Uh oh". It rattles and feels like cheap plastic.. You paid how much? I have a cheaper 1.3 mega pixel Olympus that has more stability and is a lot easier to use. I wanted the zoom features. My daughter is in the chorus and getting a clear shot of her with my other camera was impossible. I am hoping that it will be better with this camera.. hoping. The video clips are grainy and dark. The audio has a lot of clicking. The software is complicated and insufficient. What ever happened to instant fix? Do I want to know about white balance, and hystowhatever? No.. just give me a damn camera that I don't have to spend hours editing the pictures through the computer. I tried to get images from the camera through the software and it can not read the camera. I am using my photo printer software and windows to upload the pics. I have had the camera for 4 days, and have changed batteries 3 time already. The door to the compartment was originally easy to operate now has me scared to death that I will break it. I have been reading the book and it sounds pretty easy, but when I try to implement the instructions for a clear picture or video, I am left with foggy out of focus video. Tell me.. please.. those of you with glowing reviews.. how are you getting those nice "TV QUALITY" videos and Sharp crisp pictures? Sincerely.. advice would be greatly appreciated. If you are looking for a simple point and click camera that will get you great pictures with ease, don't get this one. I am going to stick with it because I just read the return policy for the store hubby purchased this at. It has to be Mint in box in order to be accepted back. Hello.. how am I supposed to know if this camera is functional unless I take it out and use it? If you are going to buy this camera, please make sure the store has a flexible return policy.
Rating:
Summary: Great with a tripod
Review: My pictures turn out pretty well with a tripod but I don't always have the time and space to use one. I wanted a camera that I could take pictures of my son with and a well meaning relative got this for me and one for my sister in law. I keep trying to get it to work but everything turns out blury. My sister in law gave hers back because she cannot get it to take clear pictures and I have been holding on to mine simply for the zoom. All in all, the Z1 is great for landscapes (if you're using a tripod) but bad for taking pictures of almost everything else.
Rating:
Summary: Extremely poor auto focus ---
Review: Over 50% of the photos I have taken are blurry. According to the instruction manual, when the dot in the view finder turns white, the picture is in focus. This is only true if blur is your focus of choice. I have taken still shots, motion shots, shots with flash and without with the same poor focus results.
My current digital camera is an Olympus also with a 10x optical zoom which is my desired zoom minimum. My only complaint with the Olympus is the delay time between shots. I had such high hopes for the Minolta as the write time and refresh time is so good. And that did fulfill the promise, but again with out of focus pictures.
I am returning the camera and will continue my search for a camera that will deliver the features promised.
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