The Minolta Dimage EX's interchangeable lens design, along with its high resolution, image grouping and searching, and scripting capabilities, make it a good choice for both professionals and home users who want advanced-quality images. Its compact, easy-to-hold design is as portable as most traditional point-and-shoot cameras.
The Minolta Dimage EX's most striking feature is its detachable lens module, which allows you to switch between zoom and extra-wide-angle lenses. (The camera comes with the 3x zoom lens and 2x digital zoom.) The Minolta Dimage EX uses standard CompactFlash removable memory cards. (An 8-MB card is included.) The only drawback we found was that the camera's LCD screen image was jerky and a little behind our movements as we panned to frame our photos.
The Minolta Dimage EX lets you record photos in single, burst, or time-lapse modes. Minolta's burst technology is one of the fastest, letting you take up to 7.5 frames per second. You can choose from 1,344 x 1,008 or 640 x 480 resolution and you can set the compression separately. The Minolta Dimage EX gives you a 1:1 compression option for applications where you need the absolutely highest-quality image. You can select color or black-and-white capture modes--black and white is handy if you need to save space on the memory card and if your final application will be monochrome anyway.
The Minolta Dimage EX lets you set white balance and exposure mode and even lets you automatically bracket exposures. You can save images in preset or custom-made groups, which is useful for cataloging your photos for personal or business use. The camera also gives you the handy option of searching through your images by date or group. One of the Minolta Dimage EX's most useful features is its scripting capability; using the Digita development platform, you can download prebuilt scripts or even create your own to customize your picture taking and cataloging.
Pros:
- Interchangeable lens system
- Scripting capabilities
- Fast burst technology
- Image grouping and searching
Cons:
- LCD image is jerky
Product Description:
Minolta�s Dimage EX Zoom 1500 is a high-quality digital camera with a detachable 3x zoom lens and high-speed, 7.5 frame-per-second shooting capability. The 1.5 million pixel CCD and primary color filter provide beautiful image quality with realistic color fidelity. The Dimage EX Zoom 1500 also features Minolta's advanced autofocus and exposure systems, digital subject program selection, and automatic white balance, for ease of use with a wide variety of subjects.With their newly-announced Dimage EX 1500 Zoom/Wide digital camera Minolta appears to be moving into a very aggressive cycle of product development and innovation. The Dimage EX 1500 combines several key innovations with strong picture quality to mount a major challenge at the high end of the "point & shoot" digital camera market.
Minolta Dimage 1500 1.5MP Digital Camera w/ 3x Optical Zoom