Minolta Dimage G400 4.0 MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical
By: Minolta Average Rating: 4.0 Total Reviews: 23
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 On: 2008-01-13
The camera was great when it worked. However, the lens part stopped working twice. The first time the lens just stopped coming out like everyone else has mentioned. It cost about over $100 to get it fixed. According to the camera shop, it was some lens part they had to order from Minoleta. And then about few months later, the camera was dropped on carpet flooring, and the lens stopped coming out again. That was when we stopped paying to get it fixed.
Other than that, the camera was wonderful. It took great photos, videos, and audios. It lasted about 2 years total. I got it when it first came out, so it was somewhere around $350-$400 dollars.
 On: 2006-10-28
Even though this is a basic Point n Shoot Camera, the pictures are great. On top it uses a SD Memory Card and the size / shape / form-factor makes it very easy to carry around all the time. I used to be able to slip it into my jeans pocket.
Unfotunately after about using it for about 14 months or so, the lense got stuck and I have not been able to get it fixed :o(
On the other hand, using this for over a year I got hooked on Digital Photography and got myself a Nikon D50 as a replacement ;o)
- manzoor
by: mperry8 On: 2006-03-19
Ive had this camera for about a year... well actually Ive only had it for 2 months if you subtract the time they have had it for all the repairs. They have to be the worst customer support Ive ever dealt with. You have to work around their schedule and deal with a general attitude problem with all their support center workers. They apparently havent cought on to this whole idea of customer service being pretty important. Especially if you are going to make a camera that is so fragile. The insides of this camera must be paper thin or something because you have to handle it with extreme care or something breaks. (even though they claim its durable with the metal case and all) I was happy with the camera when it worked... its very fast and easy to use, not to mention it takes good pictures. That said, there are plenty of companies making cameras that do all that and are much more durable and worst case if it does break, they have great 24/7 (konica does not!) customer support to resolve your problem fast. Konica had my camera for 3 months on the first repair, and they ended up just sending my broken camera back with a new one in the box... which then broke 3 days later. UNREAL! and it cost be $140 for this repair? I think anyone can see this company is not one you want to deal with. Go find another brand that meets your needs. This company doesnt deserve your business!!!
On: 2006-03-18
Ive had this camera for about a year... well actually Ive only had it for 2 months if you subtract the time they have had it for all the repairs. They have to be the worst customer support Ive ever dealt with. You have to work around their schedule and deal with a general attitude problem with all their support center workers. They apparently havent cought on to this whole idea of customer service being pretty important. Especially if you are going to make a camera that is so fragile. The insides of this camera must be paper thin or something because you have to handle it with extreme care or something breaks. (even though they claim its durable with the metal case and all) I was happy with the camera when it worked... its very fast and easy to use, not to mention it takes good pictures. That said, there are plenty of companies making cameras that do all that and are much more durable and worst case if it does break, they have great 24/7 (konica does not!) customer support to resolve your problem fast. Konica had my camera for 3 months on the first repair, and they ended up just sending my broken camera back with a new one in the box... which then broke 3 days later. UNREAL! and it cost be $140 for this repair? I think anyone can see this company is not one you want to deal with. Go find another brand that meets your needs. This company doesnt deserve your business!!!
 On: 2005-10-11
In agreement with other reviews. This camera has great features -- too many to even list. It has aperture priority and speed priority, color, b&w, sepia etc. Takes crisp, clear true-color pictures. Quality is great.
However, the lens mechanism has frozen in the open position after about owning it for one year. You can get it to close if you pull the battery out and turn it back on - but you have to close the cover very quickly to keep in in - it then registers an error and shuts off.
Too bad -- $325 is more than I wanted to pay for one year - didnt think Id need to upgrade so soon and dont want to spend another $100 - $140 to repair it. Havent contacted Minolta yet, but dont want to throw good money after bad....
 On: 2005-04-25
Pros:
Tiny, Tiny, Tiny
Fast, Fast, Fast
Great manual features
Nice lens
Solid build
Great quality photos
Long battery life
Cons:
Only 3x optical zoom (thats standard, but more is always better there)
no RAW format (for those true pro photographers)
I have loved this camera, everyone who sees it is impressed with the quality and speed with which it performs. Minolta has a great history and they did not let me down with this model. It has the features and quality of even the most advanced, much more expensive cameras. I dont know how they did it.
On: 2005-04-01
Ive gone through about 20 digital cameras in my day and this is my latest, and favoritest!
My only complaint is that it uses a proprietary battery so you couldnt just slap a few AAs in it and go. The proprietary battery is much smaller than a set of AAs which translates to a tinier camera all around, and the package comes with a charger, so I dont mind.
The greatest thing about this camera is the startup time. Once you click it open, its ready to shoot! Youll never miss a shot again because you were fooling around with a menu. And it goes without saying that the pictures look great too.
So, all in all, an incredible camera. Go get one!
 On: 2005-03-18
I agree with all the reviews praising the quality of this camera. It is small, fast, and takes wonderful photos and even videos. However, in the 10 months I have had this camera the mechanical lens mechanism has broken twice. Customer service is so poor at Minolta that I am now buying another camera. The first time I sent the camera back to Minolta the repair was not covered secondary to a cosmetic scratch on the camera body. Minolta kept my camera for 6 weeks, voided the warranty, and the repair was $140 plus shipping. Now the warranty is voided becasue of the first repair and I am left with a non functioning camera. (I use my camera to photogtaph radiographic images for teaching purposes. The camera does not see outdoor or extreme use.) Total cost: $280 for camera, $100 for service agreement which was voided when Minolta voided my warranty, $140 for repairs = $520, and I still do not have a functioning camera. The fragility of this device combined with the egregiously sub-par customer department strongly suggests not purchasing a Minolta device. This is a shame becasue the photos are excellent.
On: 2005-02-11
Since making a foray into digital photography a few years ago, Ive been waiting until technology and price converged with a camera that offered enough over the 1.3 MP camera I had been using to make it worth the jump. My requirements were good macro to short range (a few feet) performance, high image quality and color rendition, fast startup and pocketable.
I chose the Minolta after considering similar models from other manufacturers. The protective, sliding style lens cover was the type of design I preferred, with a sturdy, stainless steel body. Its a newer model with faster startup than the G500. This, for me, plus the smaller size outweighed the increased sensor resolution (and price) of the latter.
The camera startup time (well under 1 second, essentially instantaneous) is one of its strongest features. Opening the lens cover is tricky, however. Its easy to smudge the lens if your fingers slip. Ive found that using my index and middle fingers to slide the cover using the "ears" on the "chevron" part of the cover, while holding the camera with my other hand, avoids lens smudges.
For most candids and point-n-shoot situations it was best to use full auto (usually with flash disabled). Switching between auto and manual takes just a few pushes of the mode and navigation buttons, and comes quickly after some practice. Thankfully, there are dedicated buttons to enable macro mode and setting the flash modes, which are retained across power-ups.
The manual camera mode with auto flash exposure and 100 ISO setting gave the best quality, provided that there was enough time to compose the shot. However, the auto-focus often fails for closeups (3 feet or less). Reviewing the images after shooting was mandatory for closeup shots. If only there were an easy way to manually focus.
The camera delivered what I expected regarding image quality. The color rendition was superb. However, examining images, one looks more critically for shortcomings rather than strong points. Highlights and colors tend to get blown out easily in contrasty, sunlit scenes, and I used -0.7 EV or greater underexposure compensation to avoid this. Consequently, shadow areas can be noisy.These limitations are true of all consumer digicams, however. There are many sample photos to be found on pbase; navigate to the camera-specific gallery for the Minolta G400. Some photos are posted at full resolution so you can have a good look.
The camera uses the same battery as the new G600 model. Thats good, because it will insure a supply of replacements on the market when the time comes to replace the battery. Buy an extra battery, keep one in charger and one in camera. Swap them when your memory card fills up.
Two unfortunate notes regarding my experiences with the camera:
- If kept in a snug pocket, its easy to snag the lens cover "ears" when quickly withdrawing the camera, causing the camera to switch on while still inside the pocket. This apparently happened one time too many, and the lens became frozen in the closed position. Fortunately, Minoltas warranty service was very responsive and I received the camera two weeks (the standard estimate is 4 weeks) after returning it for no-cost repair.
- I splashed it with (black) coffee. After drying for several hours, it returned to life, but remained flaky. I sent it back, and the repair wasnt covered ($160).
Pros: super fast start-up time, good color fidelity, low levels of compression artifacts in midtones, one-button selection of flash and macro modes, sturdy, compact stainless steel body, relatively easy to navigate menus.
Cons: unreliable autofocus if closer than 3 feet; lens cover can snag on pocket, leading to unwanted camera activation and possible damage.
Since purchasing the camera, the price has dropped considerably, making it a terrific value.
On: 2005-01-13
This camera has been great and takes accurate, true to life colors. Its very small and durable. Very easy to figure out for the most part. Some of the stuff on the menu I do not use but have loved having the long exposure setting for taking pictures at night with a tripod. Upgraded memory to 256 and been able to store about 170 pics on fine setting. Well worth the money.
p.s. I live with my Grandma
On: 2004-12-28
Ive had my G400 for approximately 3 months and Im fairly pleased with it. I am very pleased with its quick start up, low shutter lag time, and quick flash charge, which is something that can be an issue with a lot of other digital cameras. Im also very impressed with the battery life (approximately 185 still pictures according to the specs). The only thing I do not really like is the fact that you cannot use special effects after youve taken the picture, you have to set it before you take the picture. There arent very many editing options on the camera itself. Although having a good photo editing software would probably do the trick. I actually was given the new Olympus Stylus Verve as an early Christmas present and was not satisfied with the picture quality at all compared to my G400 (so I returned it). Althought the G400 does have difficulty focusing in low (to almost no) light, I find that most of my pictures still come out clear anyway. In some situations, I found that using the viewfinder (turning off the screen) works a little better when in low light. I use a 256mb SD card for the camera and it can hold approximately 120-130 pictures at the highest resolution (4mp fine).
On: 2004-08-26
Im a college Freshman who wanted a decent beginners camera to experiment with photography.
I poked around review websites for cameras in this pricerange, and came up with the Minolta G400. I ordered it over the other cameras primarily because of the awesome startup time (1/3 that of other cameras in its price/feature range). Im extremely satisfied with my purchase.
The camera is small, light, and feels very durable. The sliding lens cover makes me feel comfortable toting the thing around and handing it over to other people. The batteries charge fast and last a while, and theyre very small, so carrying an extra one around with you is hardly any hassle at all.
The pictures look awesome, and the available manual control lets you take pictures in a variety of lighting situations, assuming you have a steady hand. I was primarily interested in using the camera for purely digital work--editing in Photoshop, using in other digital projects--and the camera is amazing for that purpose; the full 4 megapixels arent entirely necessary for that purpose.
I enjoy taking close photos, capturing small details, and the camera handles this great. The flash works really well, from what I can see, and I took a couple hundred photos without seeing any reduction in battery charge (about one-third were taken with flash).
I recommend this camera to anyone interested in getting their feet wet in the digital photography racket; its small, cheap, and relatively feature-rich.
On: 2004-08-23
The G400 makes for great daytime pictures, its compact, speedy power up and the menus are pretty easy to figure out (i thought the canon s400 was a lot more difficult to navigate). It also has a continous shutter mode where you can take shots in quick succession for sport events.
The main complaint I have is that night pictures of the outdoors are extremely blurred (you need a tripod to stabilize the camera otherwise the pictures are useless) and often dont have sufficient brightness in the images. I was also disappointed that the software has no support for stiching images together to create a panoramic photograph.
On: 2004-08-22
The G400 makes for great daytime pictures, its compact, speedy power up and the menus are pretty easy to figure out (i thought the canon s400 was a lot more difficult to navigate). It also has a continous shutter mode where you can take shots in quick succession for sport events.
The main complaint I have is that night pictures of the outdoors are extremely blurred (you need a tripod to stabilize the camera otherwise the pictures are useless) and often dont have sufficient brightness in the images. I was also disappointed that the software has no support for stiching images together to create a panoramic photograph.
On: 2004-07-16
Ive had this camera (Konica Minolta Dimage G400) now for over two months and Im very happy with it. The camera was actually developed mainly by Koncia before Konica and Minolta merged. Its basically a rebranded Konica Revio KD-410Z.Ive compared with three coworkers who bought the Sony DSC-T1: The Sony is about as fast, smaller and sleeker, but performs much worse in low light conditions. Ive seen quite a few pictures that were shot indoors and the flash didnt manage to properly light the scene. I dont think that should be happening with a camera that sells for $150 more than my camera. To nail this problem we took photos with both cameras under identical conditions. The G400 picture is slightly underexposed, but not bad considering it was almost dark in the room when I pressed the shutter. The T1 on auto setting on the other hand was underexposed by about two f-stops. Setting the T1 to ISO400 helped somewhat, but made the picture very noisy :( What tipped the scale for me is the overall quality of pictures and the absolutely amazing speed of the camera. In general I found that people talk too much about megapixels.What matters much more than actual megapixels (once youve moved past two megapixels) are the optical properties of the camera like lens, autofocus system, etc. The pictures Ive taken so far were almost all very crisp with radiant colors. The colors were usually a bit too warm and could sometimes benefit from a bit of adjustment in Photoshop, but were excellent otherwise. Overall Id say the camera has some flaws but is a very nice little point and shoot camera that offers lots of manual adjustments when youre ready for them. And given the current market prices for this camera this is one of the best buys out there. Thats why Im giving it five stars despite having some flaws. Oh, and I forgot to mention: Dont fall for this cameras big brothers the G500 and the G600! As I understand it, they dont have the fast passive autofocus system the G400 has and the G600 even has a crippled movie mode. And while were speaking about the movie mode: 320x240 at 15 frames per second is not quite state of the art anymore and shouldnt be a factor in your buying decision of any digital still camera. If you insist on a decent movie mode, go and buy a digital camcorder. Youll have a lot more fun that way with ample storage space and a working optical and digital zoom.
On: 2004-06-30
This is a nice camera but mine broke after 2 weeks of ownership. The lens failed to deploy and the lcd saie error moooc ???????? Target gladly refunded my money.
When the camera was working it took good pictures but did have a bit of a focus problem. I foundthat it took the best pictures on night mode with the flash on all the time. The color was good and the camera is verry conveinent to use and cary. It aquires the image fast and recovers quickly.
I will get another from target as soon as one arrives.
Vince
On: 2004-06-14
I am very, very pleased with my purchase of the Minolta G400; it slides into a pocket effortlessly, offers fairly powerful manual exposure control, good battery life and the fastest startup time Ive seen in any digital camera. Ive used a Minolta S404 for all my previous digital photography, so I was looking for a small camera I could keep in my pocket. I confirmed its usability as a quick snap-shot camera at a wedding I attended yesterday; you really can turn it on, take a photo, and turn it off in under 2 seconds. The incredibly fast startup time makes the G400 an outstanding camera for capturing precious, unbelievable, fleeting moments. Auto-focus in low light takes more time than in bright light, but the longest Ive waited has been a little over a second. Overall, the G400 focuses much faster than my Minolta S404, which took one second in the best case. Battery life is good; the included battery lasts as long as my S404 with 4 AA 1900 mAh rechargeable batteries. Id encourage having a backup, though, just in case. I agree with previous reviewers: Canons panoramic assist mode is nice, but I can live without it. The on-screen menus are different than any camera Ive seen, but I understood it pretty quickly. Being different is not always horrible. Amount of manual control elevated the G400 above the Pentax Optio S4/S4i and Canon S400/410/500. The S4is incredibly small size (hides behind a credit card!) certainly intrigued me, but its startup time was slightly longer (two seconds, from what I read) and it did not have manual shutter speed control. The S4i does have some manual control, but the G400 has pretty much the maximum manual shutter and exposure control available in a consumer camera. It does not have custom white balance, but Ive never used it, so it wasnt an issue for me. I also wanted a tripod mount, a feature missing from some super-slim cameras, but available here, though its unfortunately made of plastic. Picture quality is wonderful. Skin tones look good and flora detail is really nice. I took a photo of a tree outside my house and literally did a double take when viewing it on the computer; the leaves looked amazingly crisp. The Minolta G400 disappears in your pocket and frees your mind from thinking about your camera. Highly recommended for all photographers, beginner to advanced. The only worthwhile camera is the one you have with you, and the G400s size makes it ridiculously easy to carry.
by: Anonymous On: 2004-04-20
I was trying to decide between this camera and the Canon S400. I chose the Minolta G400 and dont regret it at all. The main reason to choose this camera is its speed, weight, AND price. This camera is MUCH faster than the canon. The startup time is practically zero, there is virtually no shutter lag, and the shot to shot time is fast as well. I found the canon S400 to be much slower.
The autofocus routine is good.
It is also much lighter (in weight) than the canon which is nice.
The Minolta also has much more in the way of manual control.
The one thing that I wish this camera had is the panoramic option where you can stitch several pictures together using the LCD viewfinder (the canon has this feature). But I can do this with my computer later so this is not a bid deal.
Some people have said that the menu system is not organized well - I agree, but it is really not that bad.
I like that the battery charger (which comes with the camera) is external to the camera so I can charge a battery while still using the camera (I have 2 batteries). So with the exception of the panoramic feature of the canon S400, I could not find a reason to spend the extra $ to buy it over this Minolta G400. And now that I have it, I am glad I got the Minolta. My feeling is that the reason the canon S400 is so popular on Amazon is that people see that other people have bought it, so they buy it.
P.S. the Minolta G500 is actually an OLDER model than the G400 even though it is a 5M pixel.
On: 2004-04-08
My girlfriend bought a Canon S400, which let me compare the two shot-by-shot. The S400 has a MUCH better (easier to use) menu system, and in full auto-mode, had slightly better color accuracy (although easy software adjustments eliminated any advantage whatsoever for the Canon).
That said, the Minolta was a noticeably faster shooter inside, outside, and in any other condition. While the Minolta slowed down somewhat under lowlight, the sharpness of images was a little better than the Canon in most settings, and the Minolta was a little more pocketable due to its thinner, less boxy design, though both were easily pocketable.
I didnt care at all about the dual memory stick/SD card system on the G400--until the first time I wanted to copy photos for someone else without using a computer. Its like having dual-disk drives in the old days--tremendously handy.
The batteries on the Minolta outlasted the Canon by about 20-30 shots (all with flash). Thats not a big enough difference to mean much, though, since Id still carry an extra battery (and the Canon batteries are much more readily available since they are the same as for so many other Digital Elphs).
EDITED: the device BROKE after six months. The engine that extended the lens simply petered out - stopped extending the lens. This being the fourth digital camera Ive become familiar with, and since none of the others broke so easily, I must conclude that Konica Minolta cut corners and produced a really unreliable camera. A pity, but a good excuse to move on to a new digicam. WORSE - I failed to send it in during the warranty period, and Minolta offered to fix it for "at least $180." Thats enough to buy a newer, better camera. RECOMMEND AVOIDING MINOLTA FOR LOUSY CUSTOMER SERVICE.
On: 2004-04-03
I had a Olympus D-360L prior, an excellent camera, but no zoom. I looked at the Canon S400, Pentax 555, Sony T1, Kyocera 300L. The Pentax had speed issues, the Sony was expensive, the Kyocera had no optical viewfinder and I did not like the split LCD, lens system which I thought would be difficult to control / coordinate. The Canon was almost my choice, but it was a little slower, more expensive, and the Minolta supported SD and memory stick formats. I have a Sony Clie SJ-22 that I wanted to display pictures with, using memory sticks.
The Minolta is tiny, I can fit it into a case intended only for memory cards (Lowepro). It is also lightnening fast, I cannot see how much faster a camera could be. You slide the door, bring the camera to your eye, align the image, and shoot, there is no delay, another picture can be taken with only a 1-2 second (roughly) delay at normal settings.
The directional and telephoto buttons allow you to magnify and move the image on the LCD, the image moves on the screen without any blurring. The display of images is very fast.
The issue of autofocus in low light is somewhat apparent, but actually not that much different than my Olympus. The camera does seem to struggle a little in low light,-some autofocus delays, some exposure issues, but to me these are almost imperceptible, and I suspect they would be to most people. I suspect most compact digital cameras struggle in low light situations.
Overall, outdoor picture quality is excellent, indoor is very good. Relative my olympus, there is not a huge difference, until you start to magnify images, and the greater resolution is evident.
There are small issues with opening the camera cover, initially I found it a little difficult to get a good grip but I now have no problems.
The menu system is not the best in terms of organization, but it is redundant (the same settings are available on many screens), and I have not had problems quickly changing settings.
This is an excellent, compact, fast camera that unlike my old Olympus D360L, I can carry everywhere, in my shirt pocket if I want. It may not be a good choice for someone not used to digital gadgets, but anyone with experience with computers or PDAs should enjoy this camera.
Update 12/05:
I feel even better about this camera now. Ive traveled all over the world with it, and it has performed well. The selection button on the back has started to loosen, but otherwise no mechanical problems at all.
Ive used the video function more than I though I would initially. Since I can carry the camera easily, I can catch unexpected events-the Air Force Thunderbirds flew over my car in Maine and I caught the event very well on the camera.
The voice recorder allows you to annotate your photos. You can document entire trips with just this camera alone.
On: 2004-03-10
Bought this camera after reading many reviews and doing a lot of research. My camera had a pixel problem, after viewing pictures on computer and printing, there was a bright white/purplish speckle in the same spot in every photo.Could not return to Newegg (they would not accept an exchange even though it says right here they would exchange for exact item only!), had to contact manufacturer. Surprisingly they were helpful and I have to ship the camera away for repairs. I will update on how long it takes as this could make or break my opinion of Konica Minolta. The camera, aside from that problem, is really nice and worked well. I was shocked at how small it was and how fast it worked. I wish there was no "speckle" in my photos... I would have praised this camera everywhere.
by: Anonymous On: 2004-01-10
Photography has been a lifelong hobby of mine. I love to take candids both indoors & out and I have always wanted a camera that was small enough to take anywhere, fast enough for candids, with high image quality and manual features beyond a point & shoot. I have finally found it in this camera. I have already taken hundreds of pictures and the quality has been great. But I was perplexed why many reviews complained about the poor ability of the camera to focus indoors while others have said they get perfect results.
In fact the autofocus light does continue to blink annoyingly on most indoor shots, even in good lighting, indicating that the autofocus is not locked . But the camera allows you to take the shot anyway and the results always appear to be in focus.. I tried shots even in total darkness (using flash, of course) and the results are fine, despite the fact that the autofocus indicator says that focus in not locked. How could this be? To see if the autofocus was really working in the dark I tried a simple test. I took a picture in a poorly lit room with the focus light indicating focus was not locked and another of the same subject with the lights turned up, allowing me to lock focus. Much to my surprise I found negligible difference in sharpness- This cameras autofocus in low light actually exceeded my expectation. But you need to get past the fact that the camera is indicating the focus cannot lock and simply look at the results. Pros
Very small & light weight
Super fast response: opening, closing, and shot to shot
Well priced
Packed with manual features
High image quality: very good sharpness and excellent color accuracy
Easy to use - Menu is a bit complex but fine once you are used to it Cons (All minor issues)
Poor Minolta customer service
No printed manual
Camera front is easily scratched
by: Anonymous On: 2003-12-31
Several camera forums and users speak of difficulty focusing in low light. Mine focuses perfectly in near total blackness and in all shades of darkness to bright light-- It focuses in all modes equally well. It focuses perfectly every time. I cant get it to not focus perfectly. Are we talking about the same camera? Is there a quality control issue with this camera?
This camera has nearly every manual feature you can ask for. The blue light that someone complained about can be turned off (but yes--it does nothing). Someone else complained about not being able to date stamp the pictures. This is wrong. Page 98 of the manual explains how that is done. Another complaint was with Red Eye which is a given with tiny cameras where the flash is right by the lens. Just turn on the red eye reduction setting and that fixes that. You can even adjust flash brightness and LCD brightness. The manual is quite large because there are so many features that most people arent aware of because they havent taken time to read it 3 times. It takes 3 times because there are so many custom settings available.
Pictures inside and outside are crisp and vivid. (Angel mode with correct white balance make very beautiful skin tones. . . .)Do I have any complaints? Yes:
1. Lousy tech support (called them before buying the camera. They were worthless. Have not needed to call them since)
2. Manual is PDF on CD. Have to print it off. Bummer.
3. Navigation through menus is funky. I agree with previous reviewer that your hands are moving all over the place in order to navigate. But after awhile you get it down. Part of the reason you have to read the manual 3 times is to understand the navigation and setting selections. No camera is perfect. Everyone has complaints on one thing or another. The best camera is one you have with you when you want to take a picture. That usually means small enough to put in a pocket so it is wherever you are and fast enought to turn on and take a picture in a flash before the moment is gone. This camera does it in 1.5 seconds. And of course it must have great photos or why even own it? This is the camera--very fun and fast. Just wish that menu system was a bit easier. . . .
by: Anonymous On: 2003-12-31
Pros:
Recognized as a generic mass storage device under Windows XP - No drivers from device vendor required
Small size. Easy to take with you
Manual controls
34mm equivalent wide angle (most P&S cameras are in the 35-39mm range)
SD and Memory Stick slots
Decent battery life
LCD can still be seen reasonably well in bright sun
Good picture quality
Low shutter lag
Decent flash
Many features for the priceCons:
Big:
Poor AF performance in low light despite Minolta hype to the contrary
Nit picky:
No diopter setting for the viewfinder (Not need by me, yet)
Blue LED on front that does nothing
Unintuitive menuing system takes some getting used to
Zoom not continuous
No date stamp feature
Speaker placement on top left corner is easily blocked by left index finger so the "click" sound cannot be heard
Typos in menus and documentation
Depression on back right of camera angled wrong making the camera more difficult to grip
Non-existent technical support (no reply to my email regarding poor low-light AF performance)
No TV-out option
by: Anonymous On: 2003-12-20
My review is based on actual hands-on usage. This is my fourth digital camera in five years.Picture Quality:
----------------
Pros:
For a 4MP camera, Id say the image quality is excellent. Crisp, clear, excellent exposure, accurate colors, and low noise. Id say it produces images better than my older 4MP Sony S85. You can customize the color balance, saturation, and sharpness settings. Cons:
None really. Im happy with the image quality given its resolution and price. Handling & Feel:
---------------- Pros:
The camera is about the size of a deck of cards. The all metal body feels solid. Slide the cover open to power up the camera. It starts up almost instantly. Youre ready to take picture in less than a second. The lens instantly retracts when you close the cover. The menu is easy to navigate. Cons:
The body is flat, so there is nothing to really grip on to. If your hands are sweaty, you cant get a good grip on the cover to open it, so you end up grabbing it from the end. If you do this, youll end up dragging your fingers across the lens as youre trying to open the cover. Performance:
------------ Pros:
Low light autofocus worked well. No complaints. It defaults to 6 feet in total darkness. Cons:
The G400 is supposed to have a special hybrid autofocus that Minolta claims will perform in less than .25 seconds. My camera was probably defective since the autofocus averaged .75 seconds. I returned it, but I would probably give this camera another chance. Conclusion:
-----------
If I wasnt expecting lightning fast autofocus, Id rate this camera five stars. Its small, easy to use, and takes great pictures. However, I specifically purchased the G400 because I was looking for lightning fast autofocus. In that regard, my camera was not functioning properly.
On: 2003-12-16
The G400 is a small, fast camera that performs quite well outdoors. It does not focus well in indoor lighting, though - struggling to get focus lock in moderate to low lighting conditions.Size wize, the camera is very pocketable. Its not quite as small as the Pentax Optio S series, but its one of the smaller optical zoom enabled cameras out there. Its construction is quite solid and the camera has a good feel to it. The menu system isnt what Id describe as intuitive - its actually close to cumbersome, but its not too bad to navigate through (though you will find your hands moving all over the place to press different buttons, as opposed to having everything on a 4-way OK controller like most digicams). Outdoors, the camera really shines. Startup time is tremendously fast - the camera is ready to shoot before you can get it up to your face. Auto focus time is quite quick, especially in good light. Shutter lag with prefocus is non-existant. Total shutter lag with autofocus is quick - under a second in good light. Shot to shot time is good, too - even flash recycle time is quick - 2-3 seconds. No lost shots waiting for startup or flash recycle. Image quality is very nice - colors look realistic, low noise (for a small camera) and good resolution. Its no SLR, but youre not going to stick an SLR in your shirt pocket, either. There are trade-offs to get this to this size. Indoors the performance is not so good. The camera fails to lock focus in most normal lighting situations. Continuing to take the picture without lock will usually result in a decently focused pic if your target is fairly close, and there is a manual focus mode as well as scene modes that set a specific focus range. However, it is frustrating for the camera not to lock when other cameras in its class can. The flash is quite strong and shots made with flash are quite good when in focus. However, if you are primarilly looking for a camera for indoor snapshots, you should look elsewhere. If Minolta could improve this aspect of the camera, theyd have a superb product. As it stands now, they have a nice product that works great in good light. Pros:
Fast start up, focus lock and cycle time
Solid construction
True pocketable size
Good battery life
Lots of options / manual controls
Strong flash
Very nice image quality Cons:
Poor moderate to low light focusing abilities
Cumbersome menu
No printed manual included - only on PDF (yuck - 200 pages of PDF? Whos going to print that?)
Redeye - but thats a given on small cameras with strong flashes
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