Product Description

There are a number of ways to explore life. But have you ever tried exploring life with pictures? Well, Minolta has the perfect camera for exploring life. The Freedom Zoom Explorer EX. This camera provides point-and-shoot ease, exciting features, and high-quality results. Its 2.7-times zoom lens lets you shoot high-quality photographs with ease. Get close to capture a hidden world that often goes unseen. Or widen out for sweeping landscapes, beautiful night views, memorable travel photos, or full-frame portraits. Freedom Zoom Explorer EX does it all, and it's ready when you are - in your pocket, purse, or fanny pack.Minolta's Freedom Zoom Explorer EX features a slim, smooth, and protective design that makes it very easy to carry in a pocket, purse, or fanny pack. When the camera is turned off, the lens and flash retract completely into the camera body to form a smooth, capsule-like shape. The body is finished in eye-catching metallic silver matte, and the control buttons are in brilliant metallic silver, to give the camera an elegant, high-precision appearance. To make the Explorer EX very easy to operate, each button is positioned next to its corresponding indicator in the data panel, so that the user can see at a glance which functions each button controls.This package includes Freedom Zoom Explorer camera, RC-3 remote control, case, film roll, and battery.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #78111 in Camera & Photo
• Brand: Konica-Minolta
• Model: Zoom Explorer EX
• Dimensions: 2.60" h x 1.70" w x 4.70" l, .80 pounds

Features

• Deluxe point-and-shoot kit with 28-75mm zoom
• Programmed autoexposure with center-weighted metering and 4 special modes
• 3-beam active infrared focusing
• Built-in flash with red-eye reduction
• Panorama mode, continuous shooting, date imprinting, and self-timer

Amazon.com Product Description
This stylish pocket-sized "capsule" 35mm Minolta Freedom Explorer camera features a built-in wide-angle 28-75mm lens. Designed for both scenic shots and close-ups, the Minolta Freedom Explorer EX lets users select panorama mode and date imprinting at any time. Users may also choose between selectable exposure modes to ensure proper exposure for close-up, night portrait, or landscape/night view shots every time.

This camera also offers precise, three-beam active infrared autofocus for sharp pictures. The built-in automatic flash system includes "soft flash" for close-ups, along with red-eye reduction, autoflash, flash fill, and cancel flash. Film advance and rewind are automatic and fuss free, and users can select continuous advance or midroll rewind. The Minolta Freedom Explorer EX also features a 10-second self-timer setting and wireless remote control release. Along with the camera, the kit includes a carrying case, strap, film, batteries, remote control, and a two-year warranty.

Customer Reviews

the best point-n-shoot camera with wide angle lense
I own the older Explorer model with black face, and is very happy with this camera. The new model is Explorer EX with silver face, and comes with remote. I recently bought one for my friend. To me this is one of the best point-n-shoot cameras

Pros: Most importantly it takes great pictures. Easy to use. With great features, such as wide angle lense (28mm) and with zoom (70mm), softer flash so that it will not "white out" you face for night shoot, red eye reduction flash light, date stamp and much more

Cons: View window is too small. Objects are a little bit distorted (stretched) on both sides of the piture because all point-n-shoot cameras have small lenses. In closs-up mode, small object tends to off forcus.

Very good, but not perfect.
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I chose to buy this camera because it was rated number 1 in Consumer Reports magazine. Besides being one of the few that was rated as actually taking good photos (which is the most important thing!), it also got a high rating for being small, light, simple to use, for containing many features, and for being well priced.

I agree with this in general and recommend it. I tested all the features and they seemed to work well. I even compared photos from this camera with those taken at the same time with my other two cameras (including an SLR). My conclusion is that the Minolta Freedom Zoom Explorer does take nice clear pictures with good colours that I am pleased with. However, a potential buyer should be aware of certain things:

1) The viewfinder itself is quite small and dim, and the objects within the viewfinder are also very small. The viewfinder is the biggest problem with the camera and an annoying one. You have to squint and struggle to get your objects into the frame even if you are not an eyeglass wearer. Dark settings will make the situation worse.

2) Some, but not all, of my 28mm wide-angle photos have a dimness or darkness near the sides.

3) When you turn the camera on, it goes to the 28mm wide-angle setting by default. This is annoying since you will rarely use this setting for photos. Instead it should go to a more common middle setting like 50mm (since that represents what you see with your naked eye).

4) There is no way to know what zoom setting you are at. Ideally, as you zoom in and out you should see the numbers (mm) displayed in the viewfinder or at least on the main LCD display. The camera does not do this, and the objects in the viewfinder are too small and dim to even help guide you. So you are basically guessing with every shot.

5) When taking shots with no flash, especially self-timer shots, you'll have a hard time knowing when the shutter has closed. You can hardly hear it when you are not right next to the camera or if you are in a loud environment. A light should stay on for the length of time that the shutter is open. Otherwise you or your subjects might stop posing before the camera is done taking the picture, which produces a blurred image.

6) The remote works, but not as smoothly as I would have liked. Sometimes I have to push the button 2 or 3 times to get the camera to shoot. I did test the battery and it is good.

7) It is difficult to use this camera with gloves on because the buttons are quite small.

8) A couple more features like the BULB feature (to keep the shutter open for as long as you want) and the feature that overlaps frames (for cool effects) would have been good to have. Some point and shoot cameras have these features.

But besides all this, all the features that the camera has work well on mine like Macro (for close-ups), Panoramic, Night, Landscape, even the Red Eye Reduction seemed to do its job despite all the flashing being so annoying.

It is also a very easy to understand and use camera, and I like the yellow Date numbers on my photos instead of red ones that most cameras produce.

Overall, I am very pleased with this small, light, fun camera in general, and still recommend it despite the faults written above.

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Great camera for the money
For under $200, this is probably one of the better point-and-shoot cameras. The Minox CD-140, ... is nice too, but a little pricier.

It is near perfect! It has autoexposure with center-weighted metering, 4 modes you can select between for dummy-proof GREAT shots you might otherwise screw up, infrared focusing, uilt-in flash with "red-eye reduction" (but this only works so-so). It also has a panorama mode, but most people never use this. The date imprinting, and self-timer are nice additions too.

I ave TWO complaints though. 1) Small viewfinder for your eye to look through and compose the picture. 2) Only a 28-75mm zoom; most other zoom point and shoot cameras in this price range have a longer zoom (like up to 100 or so) so you can get closer to the action/image.

Overall, it's a GREAT buy.