Rating: 
Summary: happy customer
Review: I purchased this camera locally and used these factors in this order to make my decision:1) value
2) reviews ...
3) optical zoom The 4X optical zoom is a great improvement over the 2X I had in my previous camera. If you're wondering how close that is, I can get a full frame shot of my kids from about 30 feet away. I would like to have even more zoom but this is about the best I found without spending a small fortune. One of the best things about this camera over my previous one is that I can take about 10 pictures before I have to wait on the camera. The pictures can be taken about 1.5 seconds apart as long as you aren't using flash. I do have some problems getting pictures in focus which has been mentioned in various reviews around the net. I think if you really need a shot it would be best to take several shots and also look in to the exposure bracketing feature on the camera. Also the flash is really strong. If you are close to the subject, I recommend backing off a little and using the zoom. I have taken some of these digital prints and gotten them printed at the photo developer. I have just gotten 4X6 prints so far but they come out indistinguishable from film as far as I'm concerned. I recommend this method over trying to print them yourself as it is cheaper and much less hassle. I do think my prints come out a touch blue so I need to figure out how to properly color correct them. I have a 64Mb compact flash card and can take about 50 pictures at the full 2272x1704 resolution with Standard compression. As with many high res cameras buying high capacity NiMH batteries is a must for this camera. The first day I had it I went through 3 sets of Energizer AAs. But I can usually shoot an entire outing (100 pictures or so) with 1 set of the rechargables. I am considering purchasing a large flash card that has a low power mode to extend the battery life. This camera seems to be mostly compatible with Mac OS X. It mounts on the desktop and launches iPhoto to import the photos. I do have one problem with a 48MB flash card I have. If I format the card in the camera, I can not read it with the computer. If I format the card with another camera (a Kodak) I can still use it in the camera and read it with the computer.
Rating: 
Summary: Minolta S404 Review
Review: I reviewed several similar cameras Sony, Canon, Olympus,and Minolta S404.I bought the Minolta S404 camera and was using it about 1/2 hour out of the box. I think I am going to really like the camera. It sure appeared to me that this was a great value for what you got...4x optical zoom, 32Mb internal buffer,12 bit instead of 10 bit processor in the camera.
And here is a very very good performance feature.....this camera turns on almost instantantly and has awesome speed in loading the pics onto the CF card when taking two or more pictures in rapid succession......(give some credit to the write speed of my Viking CF Card.) The pictures are very sharp and clear and require very little exposure and contrast correction when running them through my pic handling software. Probably you won't need help from Minolta tech support, but if you do forget it. I called them once with a simple question not a technical one and I couldn't believe how little this guy knew about his own product. I don't understand why this isn't a "hot seller" .
Rating:
Summary: Great All Around Camera!
Review: I'd previously purchased a lower-end digital camera/MP3 player, and although I was happy with it, I wanted something that was going to take good pictures that I could make prints with. After a little research I ran across this camera and liked all of the features I was seeing. I bought it and have been using it for almost two years now. The 4 MPs and optical zoom were both very important in my decision. The quality is absolutely great. You can use it right out of the box as a point and shoot with the automatic setting and most of the picture come out excellent. The best thing though is that the camera also allows the a wide range of manual settings. As I learned more and more about photography the camera grew with me and allowed me to tweak my pictures more and more. For me, that's where the camera is the strongest: It can take quick and easy automatic shots when you want them, but it is very flexible and customizable when you are trying to take more professional or tricky shots. The battery life is decent. I use two sets of rechargable batteries, and if I bring both sets, I've never needed more. And I take a lot of pictures on an outting. If you use the highest quality setting, the save time can get a bit long, as it creates large 5 or more megabyte .tiff files, but if you're worried about that, you can step down a quality setting to jpegs, which are still excellent quality. All in all, this camera has grown up with me, and has served for everything I need, from quick shots at group functionings to closeup shots for professional nature websites I've worked on. I would highly recommend it to anyone.
Rating:
Summary: The best value in a 4MP camera!
Review: I've been using this camera for 3 months and in that time I've taken almost 1300 exposures under many different conditions. I've used and owned many cameras in the past 30 years and this is easily one of the best values in a 4MP camera today. Picture quality is excellent, the reason why I wanted a 4MP camera. The lens exhibits measurable distortion but in the type of use that this camera is most likely to see, it's negligible. Under bright daylight, colors are well saturated and contrast is very good. In moderate room light, color saturation is still good but contrast starts to fall if the built in flash isn't used. The most difficult lighting situation I encountered was in a large underground cavern with low level artificial lighting. With some post-processing I was able to extract usable images, very impressive! The S404 produces pictures equal to, or better than any other 4MP camera and better than any camera in its price range. The camera is shaped a little differently from other cameras, being short and squat instead of tall and thin. I find this makes it very easy to hold as I can use most of my hand to comfortably grip the camera rather than just my fingertips. The controls are well placed and can be used without looking. Auto mode works well for most situations but there is manual mode too. Manual mode isn't truely manual though. In this mode you can set various operating parameters, such as metering mode, focus mode, exposure mode (including limited manual control), etc., that are preset and unadjustable in auto mode. It's really a custom mode that can be easily accessed through the main control, a useful feature in some cases. This camera feels solid. Most of the body is satin finished aluminum, the various doors and covers are plastic or silicone. Although it isn't a heavy camera, its small size (in relation to its weight) makes it feel substantial. Everything is nicely finished although there are very slight color differences between the different materials. This is a good looking camera. Yes, it eats alkaline batteries like candy. I bought two sets of 1700 mAh NiMH rechargeables and a 256MB CF card at the same time as the camera and with conservative use of the LCD, I can take 127 photos at 2272 x 1704 pixels on a single set of batteries. It's best if images are processed with the Minolta DiMage Image Viewer Utility. I view my images on a 21" monitor and remapping the colorspace makes a huge difference to saturation and shadow detail. There's also another advantage if you archive your photos. The Minoltaspace photos have exposure information (white balance, shutter speed, aperture, date, etc.) embedded in the file. Resaving the file with a photo editing program loses this valuable information. The original 36-bit image can be archived on CD, preserving significantly more information than the 24-bit image produced by most editing programs. Great pictures, good ergonomics, a decent feature set, and excellent construction. If you don't earn a living as a photographer this is probably all the camera you need for everyday use.
Rating:
Summary: Good camera but quirky
Review: I've had this camera for about three months now. I've taken some great shots with it, and I'm impressed with how sharp the photos can be, especially if I use a tripod to hold it steady. But it is much more complicated to use than the old Kodal DC215 Zoom that I had before. I agree with all its good points mentioned by previous reviewers.
Now for some complaints. It eats alkaline batteries like there's no tomorrow. The cheap, factory-provided alkalines that came with the camera checked good on my multimeter, but the camera repeatedly shut down and gave a low-power indication on the LCD screen as soon as I powered it up. At first I thought the camera was defective, but then I then tried the most powerful NiMH AA batteries I could find (Power 2400 mAH). The camera liked them and has behaved itself ever since. And the extra power allows me to shoot two to three dozen photos (using the High Quality setting) before the batteries are exhausted.
But you can't just punch the shutter button and expect to take a sharp photo. You have to press the shutter button halfway, let the camera do its autofocusing first, and then press the shutter button the rest of the way. Otherwise the picture turns out noticably blurry - so much for those quick Kodak moment-type shots. And you can't use the zoom feature if you're in movie mode, so whatever focal length you started your 30-second movie clip in is what you stay with until the timer runs out.
And the most irritating of all, you have to make sure that the camera has finished saving the previous photo to memory before you try taking another photo or the whole operating system basically freezes and ignores whatever setting you put the mode switch in. At times I have had to physically open the battery compartment in order to get the camera to cycle power because it ignored the fact that I had set the power/mode knob to off. And speaking of the power/mode knob, yes, it is EXTREMELY easy to bump it from Power Off to Auto without ever knowing it. It's situated right on the edge of the camera, and you can't casually slip the camera into a pocket without accidentally rotating the knob. I've actually had it power iself on while I was walking with the camera hanging by its shoulder strap. Fortunately the camera can be set to automatically power down after a preset period of non-use. I chose to have the Power-On sound play whenever it powers up so that I know when it happens. But a better design, such as having to hold the knob down before you can rotate it would help tremendously. Very poor design.
And finally, macro shots are a joke. You have to use the LCD screen for macro shots, but it's too small to be useful for determining when your subject is in focus or not. The best that the user manual says is a minimum limit of 16 cm from your subject for macro, but that's hard to judge without a ruler, and often that's not close enough for really close-up shots.
Rating: 
Summary: Good camera but quirky
Review: I've had this camera for about three months now. I've taken some great shots with it, and I'm impressed with how sharp the photos can be, especially if I use a tripod to hold it steady. But it is much more complicated to use than the old Kodal DC215 Zoom that I had before. I agree with all its good points mentioned by previous reviewers. Now for some complaints. It eats alkaline batteries like there's no tomorrow. The cheap, factory-provided alkalines that came with the camera checked good on my multimeter, but the camera repeatedly shut down and gave a low-power indication on the LCD screen as soon as I powered it up. At first I thought the camera was defective, but then I then tried the most powerful NiMH AA batteries I could find (Power 2400 mAH). The camera liked them and has behaved itself ever since. And the extra power allows me to shoot two to three dozen photos (using the High Quality setting) before the batteries are exhausted. But you can't just punch the shutter button and expect to take a sharp photo. You have to press the shutter button halfway, let the camera do its autofocusing first, and then press the shutter button the rest of the way. Otherwise the picture turns out noticably blurry - so much for those quick Kodak moment-type shots. And the most irritating of all, you have to make sure that the camera has finished saving the previous photo to memory before you try taking another photo or the whole operating system basically freezes and ignores whatever setting you put the mode switch in. At times I have had to physically open the battery compartment in order to get the camera to cycle power because it ignored the fact that I had set the power/mode knob to off. And speaking of the power/mode knob, yes, it is EXTREMELY easy to bump it from Power Off to Auto without ever knowing it. It's situated right on the edge of the camera, and you can't casually slip the camera into a pocket without accidentally rotating the knob. I've actually had it power iself on while I was walking with the camera hanging by its shoulder strap. Fortunately the camera can be set to automatically power down after a preset period of non-use. I chose to have the Power-On sound play whenever it powers up so that I know when it happens. But a better design, such as having to hold the knob down before you can rotate it would help tremendously. Very poor design. And finally, macro shots are a joke. You have to use the LCD screen for macro shots, but it's too small to be useful for determining when your subject is razor-sharp or out of focus. The best that the user manual says is a minimum limit of 16 cm from your subject for macro, but that's hard to judge without a ruler, and often that's not close enough for really close-up shots.
Rating:
Summary: Good for the price, but...
Review: I've just been playing with the camera for a few days and, with reservations, I am really impressed. This is a very easy camera to learn how to use. Even in full auto mode there are still options available, such as flash mode, drive mode and exposure compensation. Auto mode also give the macro, portrait, night portrain, and landscape programs. The picture quality is quite good too in auto. The only option at the auto setting is the standard (default) setting. That still gives very good 5x7's and this is the next to lowest quality setting. With a 127M card at 2272 x 1704 pic setting the camera will hold about 100 shots. What I don't care for is that there are only 2 aperature settings each at telephoto and normal/wide angle. This limits the control over the depth of field in manuel setting. Speaking of manuel settings, don't get the idea that once you bypass the auto setting that you are going to grab focus or zoom rings to manually adjust the settings. Everything is still operated through the control button on the back. This makes adjusting the zoom and the focus a little hit and miss. You'll just have to get the hang of how to play with the button. The autofocus is a little slow if the camera is set to focus only when the shutter button is pushed down. If you are needing to keep up with a lot of action, set the autofocus on full time or turn it off and prefocus manually. I know that the above paragraph sounds a little negative, but all I'm trying to say that if you are expecting a near professional quality camera, it's not going to come at this price. In all this is a good quality point-and-shoot camera with a lot of options that you can get creative with, and even with the restricted aperature settings, I think that I'm going to get a lot of good use out of it.
Rating:
Summary: Good camera in most situations
Review: I've owned this camera for about a year now. Overall, I am pleased with it's performance, but in retrospect I think I would have been happier with the Canon Powershot G2 or G3. In ideal lighting situations, the camera performs very well and produces very good images. Battery life has been good, and Compact Flash is by far the best storage format. However, in less-than-ideal conditions, I believe there are better cameras on the market. There two areas in which this camera has disappointed me are: 1. Flash photography- The stated range of the flash unit on this camera is a bit shorter than others (~10 ft.), and in real-world conditions subjects appear very dimly lit in the upper end of that range. Other cameras in the same price/resolution category have flash ranges closer to 15 ft. 2. Time between shots- The camera is rated at 5-seconds between shots in normal shooting mode. The Canon Powershot, for example, can take back-to-back shots in 2 seconds. This has been a problem for me when trying to capture movement and action shots. That being said, this camera is significantly less expensive than the Canon Powershot G2/G3. Hope this helps.
Rating:
Summary: This is the camera for me.
Review: I've used this camera for two months now and I'm really pleased. I researched digital cameras for about a month (reading reviews on the internet, visiting local camera shops and talking to people who own digital cameras) before I made my final decision. I wanted a camera that was easy to use, took nice enough pictures to print for framing and/or photo albums, and wanted to stay within a budget of $500.00 The S404 was the only camera in my price range that was 4 megapixels and a 4X optical zoom. I did compare it with the Sony DC75 and the Olympus 3020 and I think you can see a difference between the 3 megapixel and 4 megapixel when you have pictures side by side. The Sony and the Olympus did have more in manual controls, but only a 3X optical zoom and the Olympus didn't have sound with it's video. Another nice feature on the S404 is the voice memo you can attach to the picture. This, plus the fact that subject program buttons (Macro, Portrait, Landscape and Night), the flash/red eye and zoom are exactly like my 35mm point & shoot camera, a Minolta Freedom Zoom 140EX. This was an added bonus for me, I felt like I already knew the S404. ... Now the fun began. I wanted to try every feature on the camera. Outdoor pictures were great, however in bright sunlight I do adjust the white balance to "daylight". The Macro is fantastic, you can see every detail (very close to my SRL shots), the Portrait mode is a really nice feature and gives your pictures a professional look. I used this for my daughter's high school graduation pictures. After reading some people were having problems with indoor pictures, I tried the different ways and found the best pictures were when I was using "auto", they look great to me. I haven't had the opportunity to use the Night Portrait yet, but I know it works beautifully on my point and shoot and I'm hoping for the same with the S404. I did view some photos other people took of fireworks on the 4th and they look great! I take all my photos in the 2274 x 1704 imagine size and the fine quality mode. I started using superfine, however I really didn't see much of a difference, and fine uses a lot less space. I do download my pictures using the Dimage Image Viewer Utility, save them, and then I can open them in any other program. I just started using the print index feature and having 4 X 6 prints made at the local camera shop. (I found this is where the flash card that came with the camera comes in handy, I can drop this one off and I still have one in my camera). WOW!!! YOU CAN'T TELL THE DIFFERENCE FROM PRINT FILM!!! Although I have been getting beautiful print outs with my HP 930C, I have been using a lot of ink and photographic paper. From now on, pictures I want for the photo album I will have printed at the camera shop. The paper is a little heavier, it's probably cheaper and saves time. This camera is easy to use, fits your hand nicely, and takes beautiful pictures. I met all my objectives with this camera. If you can find one, I highly recommend it! Problems
As mentioned in other reviews, the auto focus sometimes misses. However the more I'm using the camera, the less this is happening. I really dislike the lens cap, I wish Minolta could have figured an internal lense cover which would close when the camera is turned off.
Rating: 
Summary: What a dog.
Review: Pretty good price on this camera. You know why? It's so you can spend the money you saved on BATTERIES. I should know, we sell these at the store where I work. Probably 50% of the S404's we sell are returned because people can't use them for a normal period of time without the batteries going dead. I suggest you look at the Nikon 4300 or Canon S40/S45. You'll thank me later.
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