j_bryant's Full Review: Konica Minolta DiMAGE S414 Digital Camera
I bought my Dimage S414 on sale for $229. For the money, I figured a 4.0mp camera with a 4x optical zoom was a good deal.
Taking Pictures
The camera can be used in automatic mode, and takes pretty good pictures. The flash can be turned to red eye reduction, auto, on and off. Red eye reduction works okay, but you will still need a photo editing program to fix it completely. The camera can also be set in night mode, but a tripod is needed for unblurred shots. The camera also likes to set off the flash for no apparent reason when in auto mode, diminishing battery life. As I state below, battery life is something this camera is short on. It doesn't help that every time the camera goes into "battery save" mode, it forgets your settings and sets the flash off again in auto mode. No matter which light metering setting I use, the camera still sets off the flash in anything but direct sunlight, even outdoors.
In manual mode many settings can be adjusted, the exposure mode, image size, quality, white balance (fluorescent, cloudy, incandescent etc.), focus mode (auto, manual), and sensitivity (iso 64, 100, 200, 400 or auto).
There is also a full time autofocus setting (on/off), light metering mode (spot or multisegment), exposure bracket (1.0Ev, 0.5Ev and 0.3Ev), Digital Zoom (on/off), along with color modes, sharpness, filters and several other options.
The picture quality of the camera is excellent. Resolution settings are 640x480, 1280x960, 1600x1200 and 2272x1704. Quality settings are Economy, Standard, Fine and TIFF. Note that with TIFF selected, I can take 43 pictures on a 256mb flash card, versus 214 with fine (all at 1600x1200)
Ergonomics
The camera is a bit chunky to begin with. Compared with the Sony cameras, it is downright oversized. The shutter button is right where it is expected to be, as is the LCD display. The compact flash card is one of the oldest flash card designs, but in an oversized camera such as this it doesn't matter that much. The zoom controls are not exactly where I would have wanted, but it works as it should. All of the other buttons have to be looked at to use, but are not in horrible positions.
Batteries, and Their (short) Life
The Dimage S414 takes 4 AA batteries. While this adds to the camera's weight, I have found that the camera does not even fully use them. On a recent trip to the San Diego Zoo, I was only able to take about 35 pictures with two sets of batteries. The camera goes through a fully charged set of NimH batteries (2100 mah) in about 15 pictures. I can trick the camera into taking 3 or 4 more pictures by turning it off for a few seconds and back on, but it only works for one picture at a time. Once the camera says the batteries are dead, I can put them into a mini-mag light and leave it on for about 30-35 minutes. Fully charged they last about an hour in the same light. Alkaline batteries are about the same, usually I can get about 20 pictures before the camera shows low battery. Using the "off, then back on" technique, I can get a couple more pictures out of it. After putting the "dead" alkalines in my mini-mag, they last about the same as the rechargeables, 30 minutes.
On a final note, the lens is a strange size, 35.5mm. As another reviewer noted, it is difficult to find a filter in that size. After being in both Japan and Singapore, I was unable to find a filter the correct size. In Australia I was finally able to find a UV filter in 35.5mm. It is made by Hoya (Japan), and the lens cap that comes with the camera fits just fine in the threads.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 229 This Camera is a Good Choice if You Want Something... Flexible Enough for Enthusiasts
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