In summary
Konica Minolta’s latest ‘X’ series camera is similar to the X50 model, although slightly smaller and lighter. Price-wise the X60 competes with the Olympus µ-mini S and Pentax Optio S5z models, and, like an increasing number of ultra-compact digicams, replaces the viewfinder with a large LCD, which is used for shot composition and image reviewing. . . [more]
Full review
Quality rating (out of 10) Build: 8.0Ease of use: 8.5Image quality: 7.0Value for money: 8.0
Konica Minolta’s latest ‘X’ series camera is similar to the X50 model, although slightly smaller and lighter. Price-wise, the X60 competes with the Olympus µ-mini S and Pentax Optio S5z models, and, like an increasing number of ultra-compact digicams, replaces the viewfinder with a large LCD, which is used for shot composition and image reviewing.
The X60’s monitor is a 2.5-inch (diagonal) display, which covers 75% of the rear panel. Its 5-megapixel CCD appears to be the same as the X50’s, but the lens is slightly different, offering a full 3x optical zoom but only 4x digital zoom. Konica Minolta’s clever folding optics system is used to pack the lens into the ultra-compact metal body.
The body is constructed well, save for the card slot door, which sits just behind the lanyard eyelet and is fiddly to open and shut. Otherwise, the camera is simple to operate from start-up, which involves sliding the lens cover to the right. Most controls are on the back panel, although the recording mode settings (still pictures, movies and sound recording) lie on the top between the microphone and shutter button. Unfortunately the X60 is supplied with just one manual, which only covers the DiMAGE Master Lite software!
Test shots taken in sunny conditions with the X60 were moderately contrasty, but with normal colour saturation. Imatest detected low-to-moderate lateral chromatic aberration and a fall-off in resolution across the lens field of view, along with relatively high levels of post-capture processing. The auto white balance failed to remove the orange cast of incandescent lighting but delivered close-to-accurate colours when the manual presets were used. The flash could only illuminate an average-sized room at ISO 400. Low light shots at ISO 400 showed less noise than average and colours were accurately recorded.
We measured an average capture lag of 0.95 seconds, which reduced to 0.1 seconds with pre-focusing. The burst mode recorded four shots at 0.7 second intervals, with the multi-burst mode capturing nine shots at 0.7 second intervals and presenting them as a single frame. [24]
Specifications
Image sensor: 5.34 x 4.01mm CCD with 5.4 million photosites (5.0 megapixels effective)
Lens: 6.3-18.9 mm f3.3-4.0 zoom (38-114mm in 35mm format)
Zoom ratio: 3x optical, up to 4x digital
Dimensions (wxhxd): 83.5 x 56 x 22 mm
Weight: 115 grams (without battery and card)
Image formats: Stills – JPEG (Exif 2.2); Movies – Motion JPEG (MOV), QVGA at 30 fps
Shutter speed range: 4-1/1000 seconds
Focus system/range: Video AF (spot or wide); range 10 cm to infinity; macro to 5 cm
Exposure metering/control: 256-segment multi metering; Program AE plus 7 scene selections (4 automatically selected)
White balance: Auto, daylight, cloudy, tungsten. fluorescent
Flash modes/range (ISO auto): Auto, red-eye reduction, fill-in, flash cancel
ISO range: Auto (ISO 50-160), ISO 50, 100, 200, 400
Sequence shooting: 1.6 fps for up to 4 frames
Storage Media: 15 MB internal plus SD card slot; internal memory holds 5 high-resolution images (no card supplied)
LCD monitor: 2.5-inch digital interface microreflection TFT colour monitor with 115,000 pixels
Power supply: NP-700 lithium-ion rechargeable battery
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