Satisfide Buyer

Greetings,

Here is my honest opinion of the Konica/Minolta Dimage Z5. After months of research I decided to purchase the Z5 because of the camera�s price, ease of use and ergonomic design. The online vender that was chosen claimed that their cameras were new at the price of 280.00 USD. To my surprise the camera arrived within 2 days of payment and upon careful inspection the Dimage Z5 did appear to be new. Not a scratch or discoloration could be discovered; it even had a new car smell along with the 90 warranty. Up to this point I had been shooting film with my Maxxum 70 which took beautiful pictures, I tried digital before with a Gateway (God knows what) when 4 mega pix were the talk of the town only to go galloping back to film because of the fixed focal length and zoom limitations for digital point and shoot cameras of that era. The ergonomics of the camera made me feel as if I was holding the last egg of the Golden Goose. To obviate the fear of dropping the camera I mounted it on a camera grip which gave it a nice rugged feel. After tweaking the camera (which exhausted the original batteries within 30 minutes) I began shooting pictures around the house. The pictures came out clear between ISO 50-100. However, you will get some noise in low light condition and shoot at ISO 200-320 with or with out a flash. If one wants to photograph the man in the moon then I highly recommend that you invest in the Konica/Minolta A2 or 5D-7D.

When using the wide of telephoto lens options in conjunction with the pop up flash, a crude shadow will appear in the base of the photograph because of the low elevation of the flash in relation to the extension adapter. Therefore the 2500D of shoe Minolta flash is highly recommended. Also be aware that many of the auto focus non Minolta off shoe flash units that worked with the 50 and 70 film cameras will give false readings to the Z5 which will produce photos that looked as if you were shootings Iran�s first nuclear test. Over all the Z5 has taken some clear sharp pictures. My rule of thumb is to set the aperture at 4.5 and shoot for the stars. Turning off the anti shake system and the LCD monitor will conserve power. I photograph mainly cabaret and dance hall events which translate to the adage �point, shoot and move consistently� which makes the Minolta Konica DiMage Z5 a good work horse.