Mega Zoom Surprising quality from a 3.2mp Awesome battery life!

Low light scenarios take some getting used to. Veiwfinder switch is poorly designed.

This camera has made me love photography! I have been using this camera for 10 months now. At first I was somewhat displeased with it's performance in low light conditions, when not using a flash. This perception was due to my own lack of knowledge of photography and I have since learned the right way to take indoor photos and when it is appropriate to use a tripod and/or flash. I had no experience in photography before using this camera and I have received compliment after compliment on the photos I have taken with it. Being an avid naturalist, I have begun routinely taking this camera with me on hikes and I have to say the amazing zoom power has allowed me to take some photos I never thought possible. Everything from venomous snakes to birds of prey are now within reach thanks to this camera. Battery life is very very impressive thanks to the fact that it takes 4 AA batteries. I recently took some photos of a friend's wedding that I had enlarged to 8x10. When I went to pick them up the clerk was amazed that they had been taken with a 3.2mp camera! The only complaint that do I have, and you'll see this in a lot of reviews on this model, is the switch used to go between display and veiwfinder mode seems to be poorly designed. I have had mine lock up "in between modes" on more than one occasion but it is a minor annoyance. My wife has been so impressed with the photos that she paid for me to take photography lessons. And although I am now using a $1000 DSLR, I still takes this camera with me because it is that good.

Customer Service

N/A

Similar Products Used:

None

10x optical zoom Excellent picture quality Continuous mode saves 5 most recent shots Easy-to-navigate menu system LCD screen works well in low light (provided, of course, the camera doesn't get stuck in viewfinder mode) Zoom, autofocus, and picture taking are reasonably fast

The viewfinder / LCD switch became stuck in viewfinider mode

For about 3 years, I've been using an Olympus D-360L (digital, 1.3 megapixel) which recently did not survive a 3-foot drop, so I looked for a 3-megapixel digital with 10x optical zoom and came up with the Minolta DiMage Z1. From the reviews and my limmited experience of two days, I believe the DiMage Z1 is an excellent camera except for the LCD/viewfinder switch. Several reviews questioned the reliability of the mechanical switch and on my second day with the camera, I found the suspicions warranted. After a successful first day of playing with the camera, the switch became "stuck" in viewfinder mode. Several attempts at turning the camera on and off, changing the batteries, etc. did not correct the problem. After I bought the camera, I surfed the net and discovered that others have had the same problem with the LCD/viewfinder switch, although to varying degrees: sometimes the problem was infrequent; others, it caused the camera to be returned for replacement or refund. Were it not for the LCD/viewfinder switch, I think the camera would be an excellent buy. The 10x optical zoom combined with the various picture-taking modes (e.g. macro, red-eye, etc.) seem to deliver excellent picture quality. Also, the time spent from zoom to autofocus to actually taking the picture is more than respectable. The menu system is easy to navigate and the camera is feature rich. For example, the movie mode offers three resolutions and is limited only by the size of your memory card. In continuous mode, the camera saves only the most recent five pictures taken. Between this and the 10x optical zoom, the camera should be very useful for sports photography. If the viewfinder/LCD switch problem is as common as it appears, then Minolta should do something to fix the problem (e.g. do a recall, extend the warranty for the cameras with switches which actually seem to work, etc.). Unless there is an indication that Minolta is aware of the problem and is taking steps to rectify it, I would not recommend this camera - which is too bad; otherwise, the camera seems like a gem.

Customer Service

The 800 number told me to call back during "normal business hours" and the web site did not provide any information about the "switch" problem.

Similar Products Used:

Olympus Camedia D-360L

Would not switch between view finder and lcd screen. It would stay of lcd screen. Took first one back after taking less than 10 pictures and got a new one. Two weeks later and less than 10 pictures on it it quit too. Took it back and got my money back. On the second one I e-mailed minolta and they said take it back to the dealer.

Not worth having