Lovely, small camera with a easy to see LCD and easy to use controls.

Pictures were not as sharp as other P&S cameras I have owned. Also has a tendency to overexpose. I tested it with 100 and 200 Kodak print and 100 Fuji slide film. I use my cameras for travel and always shoot 100 Fuji slide film.

I liked the size, the 28-70 zoom, the easy controls: too bad it didn't take sharper pictures.

Customer Service

B&H took the camera back with no question asked - I ordered another one from them: a Leica Z2X.

Similar Products Used:

Rollei 35S
Konica Big Mini
Nikon Lite Touch 28
Nikon Lite Touch zoom

-Fast Lens for a P&S zoom.
-Small - very small.
-Fine viewfinder, with diopter control.
-Retains Mode setting after powered off.
-Good close focusing in Macro mode (14").
-Fine metering.
-Excellent lens.
-Price (mine must have been mis-priced)

-Requires user to close and open clam shell cover to power up after auto power off. Just a nuisance when street shooting.
- Wish it had Bulb/timer mode or longer shutter speed in Auto.
- Unable to turn off flash in night mode (gaffer tape works, though)

One of the best P&S zooms available.

The LEXIO is incredibly small - about the size of a computer mouse (slightly smaller than Yashica T4/T5 and slightly thicker than the Stylus EPIC.) Very fast lens for a zoom P&S. One mode button controls almost all mode functions, including flash. There are a total of 23 shooting modes when various combinations are used. Some other dual settings need pressing of the date button, which is tiny. You can also use the zoom control to jump forward or backward through the mode selections. Very handy. LCD lights up when camera is turned on or mode button is pushed.

The viewfinder is bright and clear, one of the best I've seen on a P&S, and there's no need to center your eye over the finder. In fact, I can hold the camera slightly away from my eye and scan the scene for possible subjects moving into view. This is great for street shooting. In vertical/portrait mode the finder is not as easy to use but still good. Diopter adjustment of -2 to +2. is available. Well lit, bright icons help you tell focusing distance and also serve as warning lamps for close focusing distance limits. 

The camera retains the last shooting mode when turned off or camera automatically shutdowns - after three minutes. Pressing the mode button after powering up returns the camera to the last mode used. It would be nice to touch the shutter button to power up when auto shutdown occurs.

Film wind, rewind and zoom noise is buzzy but average for this type of P&S. Zoom is stepped, not continuous. The manual is comprehensive and pretty clear - much better than previous Konica manuals. The camera "pouch" included with the camera is pitiful - no belt loop and pretty flimsy. The neck strap is okay and should be used; dropping this small camera is certain to occur at some point unless you're very careful at all times.

Minimum focusing distance in macro mode is a very good .35m (14 inches); without macro it is 70 cm. (27.5 inches). Camera warning tells you if you're too close. Fill flash is always used in macro mode. Flash is close to lens; red eye may be a problem. Red eye reduction is by means of a steady light. Shutter lag is noticeable, but not very long.  

Optical Quality: My first roll of Fuji Superia 400 turned out excellent 4x6" prints at all focal lengths. The lens may be a bit soft at 70mm, but this could be due to hand holding shots in low light with flash off, producing slow shutter speeds and less than crisp images. Using Auto mode worked best in low light as the Lexio shutter floor won't drop below 1/45 second in Auto. Fill flash always fires in Macro mode and seems to engage reduced flash intensity, which worked fine for close-up shots. In other modes, fill flash appears to fire the flash at full intensity; with 400 ISO film the flash tends to wash out subjects within 4-5 feet. A bit of light fall off in the corners is visible at 28mm but it's quite acceptable.

Customer Service

Not required.

Similar Products Used:

Stylus Epic, GR1, Minilux, Canonet, Canon Classic 120, etc.

VERY SHARP LENS,CAPABLE OF PRODUCING BEAUTIFUL COLR SATURATION WITH NICE CONTRAST. VERY SMALL,APPEARS QUITE RUGGED WITH NICE BACKLIGHT LCD. BIG BRIGHT VIEWFINDER WITH DIOPTER ADJUSTMENT.

SHOULD SHIP WITH A NICER CASE

AS STATED I HAVE TRIED SEVERAL P&S AND WITH ONLY ONE EXCEPTION, THE OLY, I HAVE BEEN DISAPPOINTED WITH THE RESULTS. THIS CAMERA IS FABULOUS!!, IT RIVALS MY EXPENSIVE SLR GEAR. IT IS SO GOOD, THAT I AM ACTUALLY CONSIDERING SELLING MOST OF THAT HEAVY SLR GEAR. I DID SOME COMPARISONS, SAME FILM, SAME TIME OF DAY. THE LEXIO IS AS SHARP, IF NOT BETTER, THAN THE 450.00 SLR LEN'S!!!THIS IS ONE VERY IMPRESSIVE LITTLE CAMERA, BUT AS WITH ALL P&S, USE 400 OR FASTER,FUJI 800 IS EXCELLENT, FILMS FOR BEST RESULTS!!!

Customer Service

HAVE NOT NEEDED, BUT HAD A PROBLEM WITH A PREVIOUS KONICA 140. FIXED UNDER WARRANTY PRROMPTLY BY A LOCAL SHOP.

Similar Products Used:

KONICA 140,PENTAX, VIVATAR AND OLYMPUS P&S.

A very small body, it fits each pocket. The lens is very sharp, a very good aperture range (3.4 - 7.9) compared to other P&S cameras. All modes can be combined with selftimer. The last used mode is saved and can be simply recalled by the first pressing of the mode-switch - very usefull. Very good macro capabilities (0.35 m). An illuminated LCD-display! All mode-informations can be seen in viewer.

Strong distortion at 28 mm, high tendency to flare. The lights near to view field and architecture photography at 28 mm with buildings near to wide picture edge should be avoided.

Konica Lexio 70 is a very pretty and very good P&S camera. Its streghts are the size, the pretty look, the sharp lens with very good macro capabilities and the versatile mode-controlling. It is very good as a second camera. It cannot replace a SLR-camera (no P&S camera can do it!), but it is a very good and discreet companion for an occasional photography. The distortion at the wideangle end is a problem of many other P&S cameras, too, but the flare-level is very high at this lens, it is the most serious weakness of this camera.

Customer Service

Not used.

Similar Products Used:

Pentax Espio 135M, Konica Z-up 120 VP

Small, light, nice zoom range, good optics, close focussing under 2', +1.5 exposure compensation.

clam shell is hard to close, can't cancel flash in close-up mode. Plastic camera back sometimes makes a squeeking noise when opening or closing the clam shell. Lens distortion at 28mm

The most valuable and usefull camera you can own is the one that goes with you everywhere. And this little camera fills the bill. It has a great metering system and accurate auto-focus. It's lens is pretty fast for a P+S zoom. Also, it is sharp, contrasty, and produces accurate colors. there is some distortion in the lens at the 28mm end, but I only noticed it in 1 out of 24 prints. 2 of the prints where the flash was used were over-exposed but these were images of my black cat on my navy blue couch. Any camera, even an SLR in Program mode, would have been fooled by this situation. I should have used the +1.5 exposure compensation with ISO 800 film and no flash to get good results on that one. I personally am happy that I own this camera. But I think most people will go with the new Canon Z90 with a 28-90mm zoom or the Pentax IQ Zoom 120 SW with a 28-120mm lens. Just for the greater range in the zoom. But remember, the smaller the zoom range the better the lens.

Customer Service

I haven't had to use Konica customer service. But National Camera Exchange has an excellent, knowledgable staff.

Similar Products Used:

Olympus Infinity Stylus Epic, Nikon litetouch 120, most Nikon SLR's and lenses, Leica M6 w/50mm f2 summicron, Pentax K1000 w/35-80mm 4-5.6 FA. Canon ELPH.

Birght viewfinder, nice controls, generally a real pleasure to use. Easy to recall previous mode settings. Extremely pocketable, with a reasonable price.

Soft at 28mm. Severe distortion at 28mm. The AF systemed to be fooled rather easily. No spot exposure control or spot AF. Focus and exposure areas are too large.

I really wanted to like this camera - the price and size are right, a decent feature set, and excellent ergonomics. I prefer available light usually; at 28mm I got consistently soft results...anything from indoor museum shots, to midday outdoor shots in the California foothills in summer sunlight. The 28mm side was just unsatisfying. I shot side-by-side with my Stylus Epic, using mostly the 28mm setting....the Epic generally produced much sharper, contrasty, lustrous photos. I guess you can only expect so much from a zoom lens. At greater than 28mm sharpness and contrast were very good. I returned this camera to Adorama for a full refund. I like wide angles, otherwise I would have kept this camera; I'm still considering bringing one on my next trip along with my Epic. One important note - my camera did not appear to be "factory fresh" when it arrived from Adorama - the inside of the lens was smeared and the case was scuffed. It could be I had a defective return, though I'm not convinced of that. If you don't mind a weak 28mm length, this camera is a great choice in most other respects.

Similar Products Used:

Minolta Freedom Explorer, Olympus Stylus Epic

- 28-70mm ideal zoom range for most conditions
- backlit display nice at night
- controls very well laid out
- great aperture range (3.4 - 7.9)
- very compact size and lightweight compared to other cameras in its class
- glad flash is not pop-up (which I don’t like)
- clamshell closing cover offers nice protection for lens
- viewfinder offset to left so my nose doesn’t touch camera back
- remembers last mode used
- very close close-ups and super sharp (got cute one of kids hugging each other)
- great price ($129 for date model at Tri-State cameras)
- THIS HAS TO BE THE PERFECT POINT-AND-SHOOT CAMERA!

- none with the camera, but the supplied camera bag is a nylon sack that should be thrown in the trash as it has no padding and offers no protection for the camera. I picked up an ultra-tiny Ambico padded case at Wal-Mart for under $5 that works great with this small camera size.

We had an Olympus point-and-shoot 38-70mm zoom that served us faithfully for 8 years and took great indoor pictures. After it finally was dropped one too many times, we decided to stick with the Olympus name and replaced it with an Olympus 80 Wide DLX camera. We were disappointed with the dark background of the indoor shots on the Olympus, so we exchanged it for another Olympus Wide, thinking the first one to be defective. Sorry, its a feature, not a bug. (Apparently all Olympus 80 wides are this way). This was not like our old Olympus. So we sold the Olympus Wide on ebay (since 4 months is too long to return), and after I researched the 28mm zoom cameras a little better and read more reviews, I went with the Konica Lexio 70. In researching 28mm zooms, here are the basic models I found at their best prices on the web (prices below are for the date/kit model):

Konica Lexio 70 (28-70mm) $130
Minolta Explorer EX (28-75mm) $150
Canon Z90W (28-90mm) $160
Olympus 80 Wide DLX (28-80mm) $250 ($230 when I bought in Dec ‘00)
Rollei Prego 90 (28-90mm) $300

After trying the Olympus 80 Wide and disliking it, I decided between the Canon Z90W and the Konica Lexio 70. Both have gotten good reviews. But since the Lexio seemed smaller and costs less, I decided to go with the Lexio. I don’t like pop-up flashes like the Canon has, and I’m not so sure of the lens cover on the Canon. (70 or 90mm lens range doesn’t matter to me. If it does to you, check out the Canon more closely).

We’ve owned this Lexio for a few weeks now and are very satisfied with it. It is very predictable and takes very good indoor shots, even under low light conditions (unlike the Olympus Wide, which was horrible--see that review). As we had hoped for, our SLR remains mainly on the shelf now as it is too much to carry around in addition to diper bags, strollers, and chasing two toddlers around. The Konica’s ultra compact size makes it great to put in a pocket or put in the diper bag. It is easy to quick take out and snap that cute picture before the moment goes away as the camera gets ready fast.

I’d highly recommend the Konica Lexio 70. It is feature rich and has just the right features -- for instance, no silly panorama mode (just crop a standard picture if that is the effect you want). The backlit LCD display is nice for nighttime shots. The viewfinder is perfectly placed and offers a large, sharp image. Pictures are very sharp and have good contrast, even indoors. And for the price, this camera can’t be beat. In my opinion, this must be the best all-around point-and-shoot on the market.

If you are looking for a P/S with this 28-70mm zoom range, GET THIS LEXIO 70. YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED!!!! If you can check it out in a camera shop, do. I live rurally and couldn’t, so made a mistake with the Olympus 80 Wide. This Lexio 70 is much, much smaller than the Olympus/Minota models (probably the Canon, too), but takes excellent pictures. I can’t say enough about this Lexio 70. Just buy one! It makes me want to go out and buy Konica stock because this is such a great product.

Customer Service

N/A

Similar Products Used:

- various Minolta/Olympus p&s zooms over the years
- Canon Rebel XS SLR (still own)
- Olympus 80 Wide DLX (replaced this 4-month old Olympus with the Lexio)

size
zoom range
optics
backlight display
flash

distortion +++ at 28 mm
red eye button too small
flare
28 mm when camera is switched on (50 mm would be better)
case is for the bin

Nice little point and shoot camera. It fits in every pocket. Zoom range (28-70) is acceptable, especially to have 28 mm in a P&S is helpful. However there is considerable distortion at 28 mm. People and buildings at the edge of the picture at 28mm is something to avoid. Flare has been a problem at several occasions. The Red Eye button is really too small, because you need it for indoor people photography. I have got lots of pictures of my son with wounderful red eyes so a bigger button may have reminded me using it more often (maybe not).
So, distortion at 28, flare and red eye button are pretty much all the weak points of this camera.

Now some good points. Pictures are sharp, contrasty and I think really quite good for a P&S.
You can take it anywhere in a little case other than the one supplied with the camera (I bought a Lowepro Z 10 which is perfect).
This Konica features some manual control which is quite handy (i.e flash off, +1.5 exposure compensation, macro).
Focusing (AF) works fine and in more than 95 % of the pictures I have taken so far the results were sharp. I seem to have some problems with focusing peoples faces if they fill only part of the centre autofocusing circle, but that is probably my fault.

There is one thing I would really like in this type of camera (zoom 28-70 with so much distortion at 28mm)and that is a starting focal range of 50mm once you switch the camera on.

I only use the Konica if I don't want to carry my SLR equipment around. As quality is concerned there is a huge difference between the Konica Lexio pictures and pictures taken with my Canon SLR and 50mm 1.4. If your Konica makes similar or even better pictures than your SLR than your SLR lens is probably one of the cheap zooms.

Overall 4 points, value 4 points ( I could'nt get it any cheaper in the UK)

Customer Service

not needed yet

Similar Products Used:

None

very compact, well built, sharp lense, illuminated display

not much, maybe the clam shell body design, and of course the cheap pouch

I bought this unit because of the reviews here at this site and I am not disappointed. A wide angle camera is often more useful than that super-zoom. It has a very compact body, could be a little lighter though but it appears to be a well built product. Occasionally, it appears that pictures are a little bluish-green but I have only shot one roll so far, so this might have been the light. There was one indoor flash shot where I was not satisfied, otherwise, perfectly balanced and sharp pictures throughout. And did I mention how compact it is?

Similar Products Used:

Yashica Zoomate 115

-Small size!
-Easy one-hand operation
-Sharp lens, good color
-Perfect camera when wanting to catch that "once in a lifetime" split-second shot on the street
-forgiving when dropped
-gets ready quick, VERY quiet
-Does not waste film!
-metal front case does a good job protecting the insides

-Bad distortion in corners at wide-angle
-diopter can't be locked, always needs adjusting
-Clam shell cover can be finicky

I just returned from three weeks in China and exposed nearly 20 rolls of Kodachrome 200 with this camera. I was able to carry it in my pocket at all times and it was ready to go at a moment's notice. Can't wait to see the results from Kodak!

It is super-quiet! Quiet enough to capture candid shots without disturbing the subjects (granting you turn the flash off :) And so quiet that people taking pictures for me had to ask "Did it go yet?"

My only complaints are the flare on wide angle pictures and the clam-shell cover which can get stuck, especially if the camera is dropped. Extreme humidity can cause the LCD display to stop functioning, but it dries out quickly. The image in the viewfinder zooms during auto-focus, which can be confusing at first, but this does not affect the intended image.

I can't say enough about how beautiful this camera is to capture life "as it happens." Changing film is extremely quick-and-easy, you never miss a shot "fiddling" around. The film catch is easy to engage and this camera needs only a short bit of leader. I was able to get 39 shots from every 36 exp. roll on this trip. With 20 rolls that's an extra 60 shots!

THE smallest and lightest zoom P&S I could find at less than 1/4 the price of a Leica Minilux. A fast lens for a P&S(F3.4-7.9) and great features make this camera extremely flexible in all situations.

The Lexio is smaller than even most APS cameras and aasily beats any APS camera on picture quality. It is only slightly larger than an ELPH, but uses 35mm film! Just try finding APS film in China -- it isn't easy -- but Kodak Express stores with 35mm are everywhere!!!

This camera is great for amateurs who demand quality (like me), and just might be THE PERFECT TRAVELING COMPANION. Great job Konica!

Customer Service

Haven't needed it yet!

Similar Products Used:

-Olympus Zoom XB70
-Minolta APS