The Digital Revio KD-400Z is the world's first 4-megapixel digital camera with dual memory slots accepting both SD and Memory Stick! It is the smallest 4-megapixel digital camera... more
This review already contains more than 120 words. As a Ciao member you could earn up to £5 with this review.
properly matching!Li-Ion Rechargeable Battery (originally packaged factory-new merchandise)This high capacity rechargeable battery definitely disposes of more power than the original rechargeable battery included in delivery of the unit. This rechargeable battery can be used instead of the original rechargeable battery without any problems and can be recharged with the available standard power supply. The rechargeable battery is protected and secured against overcharge and short-circuits.Features of this rechargeable battery:safety due to heat and overcharge protectionreal lithium-ion rechargeable battery, more power than the original rechargeable batteryno memory effect ? recharge your battery whenever you likeexcellent fitting accuracy, certified quality merchandise, not an original accessorythe standard battery charger can still be used
specifically designed as a replacement for the Konica DR-LB4 battery. It features the latest battery technology, the highest quality components that meet or exceed the original manufacturers specifications. This PREMIUM battery pack is designed to last longer and have no memory effect.
A review by Modena on Konica Digital Revio KD-400Z January 2nd, 2003
Author's product rating:
Picture Quality
Excellent
Range & Quality of Features
Average
Ease of Use
Very Easy
Durability
Excellent
Overall Look & Design
Excellent
Value for Money
Good
Advantages:
Looks, The feel, Excellent pictures, Dual - memory card - slot, Intuitive, Fast startup
Disadvantages:
Digital manual, Dodgy focus in low exposure areas, Lacking a few modes, battery level indicator, beautiful blue light can be irritating
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
The Konica KD-400Z is a high end digital compact camera, it is a (nearly) 4 Megapixel (2304x1704) camera boasting a 3x optical zoom lens, and a whole lot more. To the layman, it’s almost as good looking/stylish as a Canon Digital Ixus, but has far more capability. This camera was launched in Spring 2002 and currently retails for £338 (via internetcamerasdirect.co.uk; which Jessops will price-match), though expect its price to fall soon as it’s near the end of its production run, and has already been superceded by the 5 Megapixel KD-500Z…
>> Basic Specs >>
As I said, this is a 4 Megapixel digital still camera with a 3x zoom lens (39-117mm equivalent), it also has a 2x digital zoom function as well as the capability to shoot short .mov files and voice memos. This is just a novelty feature (which takes about a minute to set up) that every other new digital camera has that I wouldn’t recommend purchasing this camera for…
You can shoot pictures of 3 sizes, 2304x1704 (nearly 4 Megapixels), 1600x1200, and 640x480, and with each size there is a fine or compressed mode, but since you want this camera, you are unlikely to use the compressed mode, you are going to leave your PC to do that…
This camera comes with a conventional optical viewfinder and a fairly good 1.5’ TFT LCD monitor, which is where the menu interface is carried out through, and it is here where one may also playback (and zoom into) the pictures that they have already taken.
>> >> Power >>
The camera is powered by a rechargeable Li-Ion battery, which looks very similar to a Nokia battery, which is quite good. I have read in other reviews that it’s good enough to take 100 shots (with the LCD monitor on) and that is about right if you don’t use the flash too much and are fairly conservative, and a word of warning, transferring photos via the USB cable is draining, try to buy a memory card reader! Personally I feel that this is adequate, but from other reviews I have read, this seems to be disappointing, if you wish to have a spare/replacement battery (original) it will set you back around £30.
It takes less than 3 hours to charge this with the supplied charger, which is reasonable, please note that there is no “docking” charging mechanism, you can purchase a separate AC adaptor device that lets you use the mains to power the camera.
The problem regarding this (and it’s a relatively large problem) is that the power-meter on the LCD screen is not accurate, you may find that suddenly the power moves from full to a quarter, I got no idea why this happens, it don’t happen with my mobile phone does it???
>> >> Dual Memory Card Slot >>
The thing that sets this camera apart from its rivals is that it was the first camera in the world to feature a Secure Digital (SD/MMC) and Memory Stick (MS) slot, which means you can get double the capacity you would usually get with only just one slot. You can set the priority your camera puts on these forms of media, plus there is also 2 Megs of internal memory, which can only store images at the lowest resolution. This is a brilliant feature, you can also copy files from the SD/MMC card to the MS, the problem is that SD cards and MS are not the cheapest media to purchase (a 64 meg card costs £10 more than a Compact Flash equivalent), nor are they the fastest, but in my opinion they are certainly the most attractive.
Memory card insertion and removal is excellent, they fit next to the battery via a spring mechanism that locks them into position, and all you need to do is press them and they will spring up so that you can remove them, it’s all very neat and fluid…
>Operation
Operation is intuitively simple, once everything is set up, just slide the lens cover all the way, the beautiful front blue light will flash, the camera will play the equivalent of the windows startup sound, and within 2 seconds you are ready to shoot. The lens cover feels very solid and I think it’s a great opening/shutting mechanism, first of all you wont accidentally turn the camera on; but you can by holding the “play” button for a few seconds to view your snaps; there is an auto shut off feature.
>Functions/Modes
Picture taking-wise, the camera only comes with standard shooting modes. There’s a Macro mode, an “infinity” mode, timer mode, several flash modes, and you can play with exposure settings. I wish there was a “sports” mode though (if there is, I cannot find it). Another feature worth mentioning is the 2x digital zoom, once you have used up your optical zoom (3x), you can zoom in a further 2x digitally, by pressing the zoom-in button again and it will instantly zoom in effectively 6x. Just to clarify, the zoom range is anywhere between 1x and 3x, and then a jump to 6x, on the LCD screen the picture looks quite bad when using the digital zoom, but the picture turns out okay…
>How Many Pixels???
As I have implied, 4 Megapixels are quite a lot, well how much do you need? The Jessops brochure recommends that you need at least a 1,3 Megapixel camera for 6x4 prints and a 4 Megapixel camera is good for prints up to 16x12, but personally I want pictures that can be enlarged quite a lot on my PC screen, and if that’s your desire too, then the answer is at least 3 Megapixels, great if you can get 4.
The picture quality from this camera is excellent, especially in good light, thought it does not like facing the sun too much, you need to play with the modes when that happens. If you want better, I guess you need to buy an SLR or one of those cameras with a “professional” lens.
>>The downside of having too many pixels
If you are shooting at 4 Megapixels in fine mode, with the supplied 16 meg card, you can store 8 images, you can get about 37 onto a 64 meg memory card, so I would recommend that you get at least that; problem is SD/MS is not the cheapest media, nor is it the fastest (it takes 4-5 seconds before you can take the next shot)…
>Freebies There aren’t any, all you get is a small strap so you can wear the camera around your neck, you’d think Konica would at least give us a carry case. Also you are only supplied with a quick start manual, if you want the manual you have to print it off the CD, which comes with Acrobat Reader (to view the manual), QuickTime (to view any movies you shoot) and Win 98 and earlier drivers (Win Me and XP do not require a driver). The software crashed my PC when I tried to install only the manual, so if I were you, I would just find the manual file on the CD-Rom and transfer that to your hard drive manually. As I mentioned, you get a 16 Meg (Toshiba) SD card and a fairly short USB cable also, the packaging is great. There is no photo software; which is no big deal…
>The Rivals Well if you want to purchase this camera, why not also look at some of its rivals, firstly the Kodak LS 443 or the Casio QV-R4, costs a little more, looks okay and have a superior spec. Or the HP Photosmart 812, similar spec (but 7x digital zoom) it costs much less but it doesn’t look “pocketable”. Or the Canon Digital Ixus V3, this is the only camera that looks better in my opinion, but it’s a shame that it only has a 2x optical zoom lens and is only a 3 Megapixel camera, you can pick this up for just over £300 if you look hard enough! You could also go for the KD-500z or look for a KD-310 (which I have only seen on the internet), a 3 Megapixel equivalent.
>The Verdict I have got to give this camera 5 out of 5, there are lots of minor faults, but I can live with them and get used to them, the fact is that I am very satisfied with this camera, and I will be even more so once I explore the more advanced features; there aren’t many, but enough for me to really sink my teeth into. If you want a camera that looks great and can take great pictures, then this you can’t do much worse than the Konica KD 400z; it feels so “right”. It’s a shame that there are the little problems like difficult auto-focussing and a dodgy power meter (also if you hate red-eye then avoid this), but that fails to take the shine off a very complete product. I feel you really need a professional digital camera to do better, but they are not pocketable…
Advantages: Small, lots of features inc. 3xzoom and rechargeable battery Disadvantages: Odd startup sequence, and redeye handling could be better
The Konica KD-400Z is my fourth attempt at finding the pefect digital camera in the last five years. After buying one of the first low-res cameras and upgrading over the years, I finally decided to hold off until something came on the market that had the following spec:
- 3 Megapixels
- 3 x optical zoom
- Video (with audio)
- Pocketable (at least compared with my old Kodak DC210)
- Pricetag of less than £350
When I decided to re-look at the ... ...S3 and this Konica fitted the spec, and opted for the Konica, mainly as it added the following in addition to my own requirements:
- Recharchable battery
- 4 not 3 megapixel
-Slots for SD/MMC card and memory stick
The Konica measures 98mm x 55mm x 31mm, and with it's all-metal finish and sturdy lens protector (that doubles as the camera's on-off switch), you really get the feeling that you're using something both small and exceptionally well ...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Picture Quality
Range & Quality of Feat...
Ease of Use
Durability
Overall Look & Design
Value for Money
very helpful
25.10.2002
Pocket Marvel Review ofKonica Digital Revio KD-400Zby
FVELLA
Advantages: Compact, Solid, and excellent bodywork nd fuctions Disadvantages: There is a newer model now.
Konica Revio KD-400Z
Well I have been using this camera a few months now so it is time to review the results.
My preference for taking pictures is to set it at1600 by 1200 pixels which will give a decent picture. The smaller pics at 640 by 480 are ok for emails or for palms but they do not achieve the best results. I have taken a few pics at 2304 by 1704 pixels (excellent results) but you I have to keep zooming them down to view on a monitor set ... ...time. By the way if use compression when saving you can double the amount of pics your memory card can normally hold and it does not deteriorate the picture that much, so my best setting is 1600 compressed (you will get approx 160 on a 64mb card).
The camera is small enough to fit in your pocket but is quite solid. It comes with a 1.5 inch colour screen. I find it easy to operate and does not drain the battery that quickly.
The screen display can ...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: Small, compact, good display screen, easy to use. Disadvantages: Red eye control is poor, and pictures can be grainy when taken in poor lighting
...since been superseded by the Konica KD 410Z which my husband has bought. (But that is in anotherreview.)
The Konica KD 400Z doesn’t come with a lot of memory, so we bought a 256MB memory card for it. On a 256MB card, I get 144 pictures at the highest resolution, but even on a 64 MB card, you can get 40 shots on the finest resolution. ***Technical stuff***
This comes with 4.0-megapixels (maximum 2,300 x 1,700-pixel resolution images.), although ... ...more pictures on the memory card. This gives great picture quality, and means that you can increase the size of your photo’s to about 10x8, and still get a good picture.
There is an optical viewfinder. This is handy if the light is bright outside, and you have trouble seeing the screen, which can be a problem in the summer.
There is a 1.5-inch colour LCD monitor. This is quite good quality, and you can see the pictures quite clearly on it, as long ...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Picture Quality
Range & Quality of Feat...
Ease of Use
Durability
Overall Look & Design
Value for Money
very helpful
25.02.2004
(29.05.2004)
Konica is no Kon! Review ofKonica Digital Revio KD-400Zby
larabulford
I have been using the camera for a good while now, and feel that I can comment safely on its good and bad points - What do I like about it.... well, it has a fabulously solid feel and finish to it, I was very suprised at first and thought it would be a lot more "plasticky" but it definitley looks and feels the part. Also, the blue flashing light at the front, what a godsend !! my baby boy never stops looking at it, so his pictures always turn out ... ...toddler!). What else, yes, its compact size makes for easy transportation and it has a very quick start-up time from cold with almost instant shutter closure, again perfect for toddler photos.
What don't I like.... not a lot really, unless you are looking at doing full Digital SLR type photography, (then KD-400Z is not for you!) this camera is very easy to use and fun. everything is automatic, but that can be a bind for shutter speeds, you have ...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: Very small, easy to use with very good build quality and takes great pictures Disadvantages: expensive spare battery and no tiff mode for photos
...a card reader when traveling. The Konica will mount up as an external volume on just about any Apple Mac or Windows PC. My only complaint has been the high cost of a spare battery for the Konica as it uses a bespoke battery. All in all a real winner. ...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful
Advantages: Good range of features. Disadvantages: None that I have discovered yet.
...I bought this camera about 6months ago at a discounted price. I find it has a lot of features and the quality of the pictures very acceptable.
I particularly like the good sized screen which makes reviewing the pics easy and practical. Comparing this with my last digital camera which was a KonicaRevioKD-400z I find the Optio M20 a big step up in terms of functionality. I also like the ability to resize a picture after the shot which means you can effectively increase the zoom capbility. I have used this to snap a ship on the horizon at full zoom and then using the trimming function retake which brought the ship into much closer view. However at this point clarity was compromised as expected. Altogether a very acceptable camera for my needs....
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
The Digital Revio KD-400Z is the world's first 4-megapixel digital camera with dual memory slots accepting both SD and Memory Stick! It is the smallest 4-megapixel digital camera in its class at only 3.7 x 2.2 x1.2 and weighing only 7.2 oz. It features a 4.13-megapixel CCD, offering image excellence suitable from high-resolution photo quality printing to e-mailing. Suited with a 3x optical Hexanon zoom lens (39-117mm) and a 2x digital zoom this camera allows you to achieve 6x zoom power. Having the flexibility of dual memory slots for SD and Memory Stick, you can connect to the most digital devices on the market today. Equipped with multiple recording modes and an array of included accessories such as a 16MB SD card, rechargeable battery and charger, USB cable, and more, now you're ready for anything.
