Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #99894 in Camera & Photo
• Size: SLR Size
• Brand: Konica-Minolta
• Model: Dimage-5
• Released on: 2001-09-01
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Dimensions: 3.00" h x 2.00" w x 5.00" l, 1.00 pounds
• Memory: 16MB
• Display size: 1.8

Features

• 3-megapixel sensor captures 2,048 x 1,536 images for prints at sizes up to 11 x 14 inches
• 7x optical plus 2x digital (14x total) autofocus zoom lens
• Included 8 MB CompactFlash card stores 8 images at default resolution
• Connects with Macs and PCs via USB port
• Uses 4 AA batteries (alkalines included)

Customer Reviews

Definitely worth considering.
This itineration of the Dimage series brings excellent quality and useful features to the buyer in the 'upper middle' segment of the digicam market. The Dimage 5 is almost identical to the Dimage 7, though it sells for roughly 1/2 the price, with the only difference being the 3.3 megapixel resolution of the Dimage 5 vs the 5 megapixel resolution of the Dimage 7. If you are not planning on shooting pictures ultimately intended to be blown up to poster size, 5 megapixels is not going to be worth the money.
This camera is well made, well balanced (though slightly large for my preferences) and features an excellent electronic viewfinder, great optics and a very powerful and accurate 7x optical zoom (bumped by a 2x digital zoom if needed). Its controls offer a lot of options for creativity, while the fully auto setting makes life simple for those who like it so. It does require the purchase of a much larger (128) memory card and a second set of batteries, but otherwise is ready to go as is. The main competitor, in my opinion, would be the Olympus 2100, which has a more powerful zoom (10x) and the highly desireable image stabilization.

Almost Perfect
I recently purchased the Dimage 5 after doing quite a bit of research on digital cameras in it's class. I bought my first digital camera 4 years ago (olympus 320d) and since then have been waiting for that moment when someone would produce an affordable, high quality digital camera that would give me the flexibility and control that my old Canon Ftb slr did. I have to say I am pleased with the results. The color rendering is accurate without being over saturated. The level of manual control offered and it's accompanying results are very good. The performance of the EVF is quite good even in low light situations. Placement of the controls are convienent once you get used to them. The ability to have 35mmSLR-like control of shutter speed, ISO, manual focus, and a manual zoom ring(not a fan of motorized zoom) is wonderful. Did I mention the lens accepts 49mm filters? I have not experienced what I would consider to be unusual power consumption as some have experienced. I am using 1600 mAh NiMH batteries purchased from the local Radio store. Of course I do take advantage of the power saving features such as setting the EVF to only come on when my eye is at the viewfinder and I rarely frame with the lcd panel. I use it mainly to briefly view a shot after I have taken it. Shooting maximum size shots at the fine setting I had no trouble getting 75 frames over the course of a 2 hour hike along the local river on one set of batteries. Whats missing? Image stabilization and built in noise control for high speed ISO settings and low light shots. Other than that I am completely satisfied with my purchase.

The truth on the Dimage 5
There was a review posted earlier with some serious errors. This review is to help you make an informed decision about this camera.

Yes, this camera is a battery hog. Most digital cameras are. So much that the set of four alkaline AA batteries that came with the camera were good for about 8 pictures. Yes, eight. However, a set of NiMH (nickel metal hydride) rechargeable batteries and a charger was included with my camera. The charger is an overnight charger, so you may wish to consider the purchase of a fast charger and another set or two of NiMH batteries.

The camera has several levels of compression when it stores the pictures. The superfine, fine, normal, and economy are in standard JPEG format that DO NOT need to be converted to any other format for use. The sRGB format does, however. This stores images in a 36 bits per pixel format. This is a professional-quality format that requires 9MB per image! If you are going to use this format, get a larger CompactFlash card (or IBM microdrive).

The download speed via USB is relatively slow compared to other digital cameras, including my older Toshiba PDR-M70. If you have a large CF card, you may wish to purchase a separate USB CF reader for faster transfer speed.

Well, there are the negatives. Unless you dislike a camera with a fast shutter-release speed, incredible levels of manual control (including program shift and manual white balancing capabilities), an incredibly sharp zoom lens, and future-proofing via firmware downloads from the Internet!

I've had 5 digital camera previous to this one. While the Minolta has some negatives, it is seriously superior to any digital camera I've owned before. Definitely worth a look!