In summary
Konica Minolta’s DiMAGE Z6 is almost identical in design to the Z3 and Z5 models but sports a higher-resolution, 6-megapixel sensor. The 12x optical zoom lens has the same specifications and focusing range and the control layout is identical, so the problems we identified with the SD card slot in the base of the Z3’s body remain unsolved in the Z6; it is still too easy to open inadvertently. . . [more]
Full review
Quality rating (out of 10) Build: 8.0Ease of use: 8.5Image quality: 8.0Value for money: 8.5
Konica Minolta’s DiMAGE Z6 is almost identical in design to the Z3 and Z5 models, but sports a higher-resolution, 6-megapixel sensor. The 12x optical zoom lens has the same specifications and focusing range and the control layout is identical. The problems we identified with the SD card slot in the base of the Z3’s body remain unsolved in the Z6; it is still too easy to open inadvertently.
Still picture recording functions remain essentially unchanged – beyond the change in image resolution. Users can select from four image sizes and three quality settings and the mode dial has P, A, S and M options, plus full auto and five scene pre-sets. Surprisingly, Konica Minolta has downgraded the movie capabilities of the new model. Whereas the Z5 could record movie clips at both VGA and QVGA resolution, the Z6 only supports QVGA (320 x 240 pixels), although 30 and 15fps frame rates are still selectable. With 32x cards movies can be recorded to the card’s capacity and you can zoom slowly during movie capture, although the zoom mechanism can be heard if ambient noise is low.
The test camera delivered bright, punchy images, with relatively high contrast and modest colour saturation. Imatest showed overall sharpness and colour accuracy to be slightly below average and a reddish cast was visible in many shots. The white balance performed well in its pre-set and custom modes and the image stabiliser allowed some great close-ups to be taken with long focal length settings. Unfortunately, digital zoom shots were slightly soft.
After dark shots taken with the slowest shutter speed were also unsharp. This could be due to noise-reduction processing because it affected all ISO settings equally. Noise reduction is applied automatically so there’s no way to adjust or deactivate it. Imatest detected some lateral chromatic aberration but we found no evidence of coloured fringing in outdoor shots. Response times were excellent, with capture lag averaging 0.4 seconds and shutter lag negligible. The burst mode captured shots at 0.6 second intervals, regardless of image size. [26]
Specifications
Image sensor: 5.34 x 4.01mm interline primary colour CCD with 6.4 million photosites (6.0 megapixels effective)
Lens: 5.83-69.9mm f2.8-4.5 zoom (35-420mm in 35mm format)
Zoom ratio: 12x optical, up to 4x digital
Dimensions (wxhxd): 108.5 x 80 x 84mm
Weight: 340g (without batteries and card)
Image formats: Stills – JPEG, Movies – Motion JPEG (MOV)
Shutter speed range: 4-1/1000 second
Focus system/range: Video AF; range 60cm to infinity; macro 10 to 100cm; super macro to 1cm at 10.45mm focal length only.
Exposure metering/control: Multi-segment, centre-weighted and spot metering; Auto, P, A, S and M shooting modes plus 5 scene settings
White balance: Auto, daylight, cloudy, tungsten, fluorescent, flash, custom.
Flash modes/range (ISO auto): Auto, red-eye reduction, fill flash, slow sync, flash cancel; range 0.2-3.6m
ISO range: Auto, ISO 50, 100, 200, 320
Sequence shooting: Continuous mode – fps; progressive – 1.8fps, last 10 frames saved.
Storage Media: 16MB SD card; holds 4 high-resolution images or up to 101 VGA shots.
Viewfinder: 0.33-inch colour EVF
LCD monitor: 2.0-inch digital interface TFT colour
Power supply: 4xAA batteries
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