Rating: 
Summary: Great digital camera under $500!!!!
Review: All I can say is I had the best experience with this baby. Images are crisp and crystal clear, USB connection is fast, it comes with bunch of software and video/audio connection cords. I love it! You can record video and audio, zoom is incredible, bunch of many professional settings.I recommend this one very much. Buy this camera, and you will not lose!!!! One warning: Use QUEST Nickel Metal Hydride Batteries on this camera. Charge batteries at least 16 hours before initial use - I MEAN IT!! Otherwise you will take only 10 - 15 pictures and your camera will shut off displaying the battery dead sign.
Rating: 
Summary: DONT BUY THIS
Review: Camera looks cool, and is well priced versus other 3MB competitors but watch out -- I am returning mine
1. MAJOR BATTERY PROBLEMS: takes 4 AA, and I was going thru 12 a day over christmas holiday and I'm not by any means a power user
2. MAJOR USB PROBLEMS: have Win98 and having lots of usb driver issues. Finally got it to work on a win2k machine, but after downloading pics the camera would freeze and require me to take out battery to restart
Rating:
Summary: Users previous problems
Review: Don't these people who complain about battery consumption that all (well unless you spend around £1000) digital cameras eat standard batteries. It is a must to buy rechargable ones. I bought a set of 1600 ni-mh complete with charger for £12.00. I can take at least 100 shots before needing to recharge. As for the USB support mine worked fine with WIN98 SE - no problem. For the money (i paid £318) you just can't complain, the images, even at the standard level of quality, are superb.
Rating: 
Summary: Good camera, some problems
Review: First- the positives: The camera is super easy to use. I had it out of the box and within one minute was taking pictures. I installed the software for downloading pictures without reading any manuals, and got the pictures off it super easily. The pictures look great! So I have been very happy with very little effort. Now- the negatives: The camera [eats] through batteries like you can not believe. I have not bought the hydride batteries which will hopefully work better- but on regular batteries you can take about 20 pictures with the LCD on before it runs out of juice. No kidding- no joke. If you turn the LCD off, it lasts longer (but also you can't really compose your image in the same way, so it is preferable to have the LCD on). Some of the straightforward shots had poor focus. Not many- only about 1 out of 12.. but some of those photos were my favorites. Oh well... I guess I'll have to figure out how to control the focus manually.
Rating:
Summary: Good Camera (if/when it works!)
Review: Had this camera for a little over a year and it's a piece of junk. From day one it has never worked right. At least 90% of the time it locks up when I turn it on; the red LED light stays on and I have to open the battery door for thirty seconds to reset the camera. Sometimes when I change modes it locks up. I have no confidence that it will work when I turn it on. When it does "boot up" correctly I jump for joy (is this how it's suppose to be?). This thing also uses a lot of power, my 1800ma NiMh batteries (4 AA) only lasts about 25 pics at medium resolution and small image size. It's a shame because this camera is constructed well (metal case), takes terrific pictures (when it works), zoom is great, LCD screen is very clear for it's size, uses easy to get CompactFlash cards and batteries. It's out of warranty right now and I don't think it's worth trying to repair so it'll get tossed into the rubbish can; what a waste! Maybe I just got a lemon when I bought it but I will never buy another Minolta digital camera again, this S304 really tarnished Minolta's reputation in my books. I won't tell everyone "don't buy it"......it's up to you, maybe you won't get a lemon like I did.
Rating:
Summary: DiMAGE S304 a real honey....
Review: Hefty metal body, great optics, loads of features, and reasonably intuitive programs. I've been only using full auto mode with great results, no camera shutter, amazing detail and color. Nearly took it back when I kept getting weak battery signal but by cleaning batteries with Scotchbrite pad as needed, this problem disappeared and now I'm really satisfied. And recent price drop makes this 3.3 mpx beauty a real bargain.Way to go, Minolta !!
Rating:
Summary: camera does a decent job
Review: I bought this camera about a month ago and found that it has the capability of producing some very good pictures. While I'm not a photography expert, I also own a entry-level Pentax SLR camera and, at times, the pictures between the two camera are comparable. However, I have noticed that many times my digital pictures come out out of focus. In some cases this problem could be attributable to user error, but not all cases. It seems like the camera has problems finding the correct focus in darker light, where the flash is needed. The 4x zoom is very nice, but I wouldn't waste my time with the 2x digital zoom unless the camera sitting on a tripod or totally still. I use Windows XP and found transferring the pictures to my PC a snap. Although you have to use the Image Viewer software to convert the color to the standard color pallete, it's not a big deal to me. After reading a lot about this camera I was warned that it ate batteries so I bought some rechargeables and they work fine. The only complaint I have regarding the batteries is that the camera doesn't really monitor the battery charge levels - it basically only tells you if the batteries are really low, just before it shuts 'er down. This is my first digital camera and so far I like the camera and will learn to work with the auto focus issues. I would only recommend this camera only if you could get it for a decent price (under $400).
Rating:
Summary: Exelent picture quality (with minor problems).
Review: I consider myself something like a "moderately advanced" amateur photographer. I ever used SLR cameras and professional films with good results. That is my first contact with a digital camera; so I belive some of my opinions may be shared with beginners in digital photography.
These are my impressions of Minolta S304 (1 month after purchase): Pros:
- Very beautiful, small, solid and well constructed, giving impression of a durable machine;
- Ease of use in almost all situations;
- Very good control of important parameters like white balance, ISO sensitivity ("usable" ISO 800), sharpness and color;
- Good optical zoom (140mm);
- Good macro performance even with flash;
- Good pre-programmed scenes;
- Very good flash;
- Very responsive;
- Manual control;
- Good movie capability;
- Good connection with computer;
- Excelent picture quality (nothing is more important in a camera, isn't it true?). Cons:
- Only two options of aperture;
- Moderate low light capability (larger aperture=3);
- Some autofocus problems in low light;
- No autofocus assist lamp;
- Poor optical viewfinder;
- LCD problems in low light and sunlight, sometimes you can't see what you are shooting (I think it is a common disappointing problem with digicams...);
- Dust can enter between LCD plastic cover and LCD itself, what is very difficult to clean up (I don't know if it is a problem with the camera I purchased or a commom problem with that model. If you have one, please let me know.). My conclusion is that Minolta S304 is an exelent camera with some problems I can live with. For that price, I think there is no competition nowadays. As I mentioned above my final point is picture quality and this camera deliver very good samples.
If you want to see some of my samples, please go to (...)
Pictures were taken at 2048X1536 size, with fine or standard image quality, converted to sRGB and resized down to 800X600. No other "software manipulation" were made on original pictures.
I would apreciate any opinion. Please remember I am a beginner and if the pictures are not so good, don't blame the camera...
Thank you all and good luck!
Rating:
Summary: Dimage S304 3.2M
Review: I had the EXACT same experience as the Feb. 16 2004 reviewer! The only difference is that my Dimage had to be sent back to the factory straight from the box because it was filled with fine lint like particles. It NEVER has worked properly.....I will never purchase a Minolta anything! ever! and I'll tell all my friends....
Rating:
Summary: Nice package.
Review: I like the Minolta's in general, especially because they tend to have excellent optics that render sharp photos with very true color reproduction, and this one is no exception. Physically, it reminds me of the Kodak 4800, though it is built better and has a heftier feel. The 3.34 megapixel resolution is about as much as anyone will ever need (makes very clean 11" x 14" enlargements), and the optical 4x zoom is a honey. The 16 meg memory card is okay to get started, but of course a bigger card and a card reader are nice additions down the road. The camera has good battery mgt, good USB connectivity and decent software (not really a Minolta strongpoint). All in all, this is a camera that will disappoint no one, though for the money I'd go with Diamge 5.
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