The Konica Minolta DiMAGE S414 meets amateur photographers' needs for a digital camera that provides high-quality image processing, a dynamic zooming range, advanced autofocus and... more
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other electronic appliances. The interchangeable DC plugs included are for center plus and polarity protection. Any setting of the output voltage selector switch is protected against unintentional change of voltage. A power on LED and 2 rubber grips for easy handling rounds off the high specification of a neat, compact and easy to carry power supply for worldwide use. Output voltage in 6 fixed steps 2.4v, 3v, 4.2v, 5v, 6v, 6.5v, 7v, 8.4V to match the voltage specifically needed for most digital cameras. 5 inter changeable centre plus and polarity protected DC plugs included. (Plug dimensions 1.7 x 4.75 / 1.7 x 4 / 1.4 x 3.5 / 0.75 x 2.4 / 5.5 x 2.1 all right angled plugs).
A review by herby30 on Minolta DiMAGE S414 June 3rd, 2004
Author's product rating:
Picture Quality
Excellent
Range & Quality of Features
Excellent
Ease of Use
Very Easy
Durability
Good
Overall Look & Design
Excellent
Value for Money
Excellent
Advantages:
See review
Disadvantages:
None
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
Whilst we were in Florida recently, we decided to take advantage of the weak dollar rate as well as of course Florida’s cheaper prices and succumb to the digital era, yes we bought a digital camera, a Minolta Dimage S414 4 million mega pixel version to be precise, which would normally retail here in the UK for around the £200 mark, but we managed to get a bit of a bargain and bought it for a mere $199.99 (around £110), not bad eh?
Not being the most technically minded person, it’s hard to know where to start when writing a review such as this, so for the benefit of people like me out there, I will try to make it as simple as possible.
The Appearance
It is slightly bulkier than your run of the mill 35mm camera only there is a lot more buttons to learn about and although the outer casing of the camera is made from lightweight aluminium, I still find it to be quite a bit heavier than I am used to which is not ideal for a novice like myself, so I’ll just have to be extra careful when handling until I manage to familiarise myself with it, although I did have a little accident on holiday, I foolishly dropped it but luckily the camera was okay and Craig never noticed so it’s obviously very durable but I am not so brave as to repeat that incident, so don’t ask me okay?
The Features
LENS:
It’s equipped with a 7.15 to 28.6mm optical zoom lens, which is equivalent to a 35mm – 140mm zoom lens on a 35mm camera meaning it’s ideal for wide angle photography (close up to around 1.6ft distance) and telephoto photography (3ft distance and over) making distant subjects appear to be closer, the lens is easy to operate, even by my standards, simply by the touch of a button and of course the LCD monitor makes it easier to get your perfect picture without wasting half a film.
CAPTURE MODES:
Manual allows you to adjust the settings helping the budding photographer to capture that perfect image: focus lock, focus signals, exposure, white-balance, image processing (to suit weather conditions), Macro (used for close-up photography producing what can only be described as exceptional quality), Portrait (used for re-producing soft skin tones and defocusing on the background scene), Landscape (used to produce sharp and colourful landscape images), Night Portrait (obviously for photography at night), Text (for the crisp reproduction of fine art and black text.
Auto obviously does it all for you after some simple settings from yourself, the camera will adjust to requirements which is ideal for novices like myself.
It can also act as a video camera but it depends on the memory card you use determining the amount of footage you can capture.
FLASH MODES:
Auto flash: where the flash fires automatically in low light and backlit conditions.
Fill Flash: where the flash fires with each exposure regardless of the amount of ambient light. Fill flash can be used to reduce harsh shadows caused by strong direct light or sunshine.
Flash Cancel: the flash will not fire. Use this option when flash photography is prohibited (at concerts etc), when natural light is desired to illuminate the subject, or the subject is beyond the flash range.
Red-eye Reduction: the flash will fire twice before the main flash helping to reduce red-eye, it’s best to use in low light conditions when photographing people or animals.
DRIVE MODES:
Single Frame Advance: Suitable for snapping single images.
Self-Timer/Remote Control: Handy for when no one is around to snap the image you cannot manage yourself and even for group shots where no one has to be left out because they are taking the picture. Although remote control does not come with package, it is available for purchasing separately.
Continuous Advance: For snapping multiple images, easy to use simply by holding down the shutter release button.
Bracketing: For the more adventurous photographer perhaps, used for snapping a series of three images with differing exposures.
VOICE MEMO:
Allowing you to record a 5 to 15 second audio track with a still image.
DATE IMPRINTING:
The ability to capture the memories of that special day with a date on your images, a piece of advice here if you have set this up and don’t wish it to continue with every pic you take, remember to switch it off again.
This wonderful camera even comes with a guide to photography in the instruction manual and of course a troubleshooting guide as you would expect.
It also came with rechargeable batteries which so far have done rather well, I reckon a good 11 hours so far and an 11MB memory card, obviously that will not hold many pictures, we were told in the shop that approximately it will hold 11 in it’s memory bank, but we have managed to get 24 held so far, but we do plan to upgrade to a larger memory card on the next visit to Jessops.
The camera connects to your PC using a USB cable making it rather easy to download images.
The camera came in a large box with a rather hefty fact filled manual, 4 off AA rechargeable batteries, neck strap, lens cap, Compact Flash card, AV cable AVC-100, USB cable USB-600, a CD full of drivers and software and of course a warranty card (1 year).
So all in all would I recommend it?
That answer to that would have to be a definite yes, like I said before I am no David Bailey so the ability to delete rubbish images can only be a plus without having to waste a small fortune developing films that in the end you are disappointed with, the quality of the pictures are superb and it does seem to be very well made, I think I got a bargain at £110 but to be honest I probably would have paid £200 and still thought it a good price.
Advantages: Image and build Quality, adjustablity Disadvantages: battery life, lens cap
...huge amount of money the Minolta S414 was recommended by a friend. All I can say now is that I will never go back to film cameras. It is hard to know where to start with this camera, but I will start with the heart of the camera, the lens. The lens (Minolta GT) was one of the main selling points as far as I was initially concerned. Its specs and reputation preceded it. I was not disappointed when I finally got my Minolta Dimage S414, the images produced ... ...in the case of the Minolta Dimage S414 is excellent. Although the body is lightweight aluminium it is incredibly tough (unlike some cameras with plastic cases), there are no rattles or vibrations, just smooth operation. The true build quality was demonstrated in an incident I don’t plan to repeat. Whilst on holiday I slipped down a flight (6) of concrete steps during which time the camera left my hand and bounced on most of the steps, the result ...
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Advantages: Clear Qualinty Images with good sound and video recording. Very sturdy construction. Disadvantages: Rather heavy compared to later models, so Rechargeable batteries are a must for this thirsty camera.
It’s one of these cameras that are as complicated as you make them.
You have to option of auto; point and shoot images. No messing about point the cameras at your subject and you’ve got yourself a nice holiday snap.
But it you want to fiddle which the settings, the timing the light transparency focus exposure degree dishwasher thingy…. Then you can do that too.
It’s probably as heavy as you expect a camera which as 4AA batteries inside to be.
... ...ones dry within hours.
But rechargeable ones seem to last or weeks…. I can’t explain it but there we are.
I’ve had this camera for about 2½ years now it’s never let me down.
I think once upon a time it cost £400!
It’s been a firm favourite ever since it’s release and consistently performs well against cameras of a much higher price. ...
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Advantages: Looks right, Handles well, Great Results, Low Price for Spec, True VFM Disadvantages: Needs bigger card and rechargeable batteries - no external flash
...range. Then I saw the Minolta S414 on the internet. It seemed to be almost everything I wanted at a reasonable price.
I bought it and dont regret it at all. Superb lens with very accurate focusing and exposure control. Card was too small and Batteries useless but £60 got me a 256mg card, a High Power rechargeable batteries and a card reader so for £300 I had it all.
One or two niggles I can live with - no external flash can be used - On/Off switch ...
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Advantages: Great value for money, Excellent picture quality (4.0M pixels), 4.0X high speed Optical Zoom Disadvantages: No rechargable batteries, No flash memory
The Minolta DiMAGE S414 Digital camera features 4.0 Mega Pixels for delivering superior quality images. The 4X OPTICAL zoom gives a close view using Minolta High speed GT lens. The Shooting ability is further-more expanded with a 2.2X Digital zoom with no loss of resolution! This is a top spec machine for its low price and can out perform its more expensive competitors. The let down is that it does'nt come with rechargable batteries (standard Alkaline) ... ...machine's operating system is one of the most easiest to control because of its intuitive HCI, therefore a novice can user can result in high quality images and the 4 way D pad and the center button proves easy navigation through menus. The camera has an automatic setup and manual setup utility so you can start snapping immediately. I RECOMMEND this for First time buyers new to digital photography ...
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Advantages: User Friendly, Packed with features, value for money Disadvantages: big & bulky
...pictures. I have had the Minolta S414 for a month now and love it. It takes great pictures and the battery life has been better than what the website says it should be. The camera is bigger than some people might want to carry around, but that allows it to take more professional pictures than some of the smaller cameras (i.e. the flash is very bright and night pictures come out great). Some websites have mentioned that the pictures need to be fixed ... ...before they will look good, but I have had to use the program on only a few pictures, the rest have looked great straight from the camera. Another great thing about the camera is how quick it recovers after you take a picture. It's ready to take another picture in just over a second. Overall, this is a great camera for the money, enjoy! ...
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The Konica Minolta DiMAGE S414 meets amateur photographers' needs for a digital camera that provides high-quality image processing, a dynamic zooming range, advanced autofocus and autoexposure performance and fast, easy operation. The DiMAGE S414's high-precision electro-optical system is built around a 4.1 megapixel 1/1.8-type interline primary-color CCD with 4.0 million effective pixels for fine high-resolution images. This pixel resolution will produce B4 size 150dpi prints or A5 size photo-quality prints. The Konica Minolta DiMAGE S414 features a Konica Minolta GT LENS, a high performance lens class for digital cameras. It is a high-resolution, all-glass apochromat lens featuring both an AD (anomalous dispersion) element and two double-sided aspheric elements to ensure clear, sharp, and detailed images with minimum chromatic aberration at all focal lengths. The DiMAGE S414 features Konica Minolta's proprietary CxProcess, a new image processing technology that provides clear and natural images. In image processing, too much emphasis on natural color produces flat color pictures. Overemphasizing the color range creates an unnatural color scheme. CxProcess balances both extremes by controlling sharpness, color reproduction, tonal gradation and noise to produce pleasing photographs. The digital camera has a 12-bit A/D conversion that can provide a fine tonal gradation with deep shadows, brilliant highlights and millions of colors, up to 4,096 levels in each RGB channel, with more than 68 billion colors. Konica Minolta's 12-bit A/D conversion provides exquisite details in portraiture: smooth complexion, rich shadows and luminous highlights, as opposed to the standard 10-bit A/D conversion with its limited 1,024 levels per RGB channel. The DiMAGE S414 has a high power 4x optical zoom lens - a range equivalent to a 35mm-140mm zoom lens on a 35mm camera - that has the flexibility to capture pictures ranging from wide-angle landscapes to intimate portraits. The One-Touch 2.2x digital zoom gives the Konica Minolta DiMAGE S414 a zoom ratio of up to a 308mm focal length on a 35mm camera. The macro setting on the camera produces sharp close-up images of subjects as near 3.9 inches from the lens. A higher pixel count generally means slower operation. However, the DiMAGE S414's high speed LSI with a 32-bit RISC CPU and the 32 MB SDRAM buffer memory ensures responsive and effortless operation. The DiMAGE S414 is fast. The image capturing interval time of 0.8 second and brisk continuous advance speed of 1.3 frames per second with up to 7 frames (with full-size - 2272x1704 pixels - images in the fine image-quality mode) can transform a passing moment into a priceless memory. With a playback loading time of 0.2 second, images are previewed quickly. Using a wide focus area, the cross-hair main autofocus control accurately and quickly determines subject distance, regardless of the horizontal or vertical subject contrast. Focus Area Selection is a flexible tool that singles out a specific subject in the image area by selecting from five spot focus areas. With Konica Minolta's Focus Area Selection, photographers can move the focusing point to single out a specific subject from a number of objects at varying distances. The S414 can also be manually focused for users that wish to take creative control. The controls over exposure are amazing. The DiMAGE S414 has multi-segment and spot metering. Multi-segment metering uses 270 segments to determine exposure. Three exposure modes are available: program, aperture priority, and manual. 15-second bulb exposures can be made in manual exposure. Camera sensitivity can be set to auto or to one of four ISO equivalent levels: 64, 100, 200, or 400. And to ensure the best exposure possible, an automatic three-frame bracket can be made with 0.3, 0.5, of 1.0 EV steps. The camera's controls are positioned and designed with a four-way controller and easy-to-read menu for ease of use. The mode dial allows the user to switch instantly between fully automatic recording and multi-function recording for more creative control. A shutter sound effect indicates the shutter has been released. The DiMAGE S414's compact design features a lightweight aluminum body, and is designed to feel comfortable in the hands, making it the perfect choice for people on the go. The sharpness, contrast, and filter digital effects controls are image-processing tools built into the DiMAGE S414. These functions allow image data to be maximized at the scene. Sharpness accentuates or softens details. Contrast controls the difference between brightness levels; increasing the contrast makes the highlights brighter and the shadows darker. And the new Filter effects make a color image warmer or cooler. Unique to digital imaging, the DiMAGE S414's real-time histogram shows the luminance distribution of the image before it is captured. Displayed with the live image, the histogram allows the subject brightness and contrast to be evaluated to optimize the camera's exposure and contrast controls. White balance controls how the camera interprets the color of the ambient lighting. Auto white balance compensates for changes in lighting automatically. Four preset white-balance settings, daylight, cloudy, tungsten, and fluorescent, can be selected for specific light sources. And for critical control over color, the custom setting allows the camera to be calibrated to the lighting conditions at the scene. The camera's color mode has five options: Natural Color, Vivid Color, black and white, Sepia, and solarization. Natural Color preserves the actual colors of the scene and Vivid Color accentuates them. Black and white creates a neutral monochrome image whereas the new Sepia mode gives the classic appearance of toning in old photographs. Solarization creates a partial reversal of tones and colors in the highlights for creative effects. The DiMAGE S414 can continuously record still images at a rate of approximately 1.6 frames per second. A ten-second self-timer is available for self-portraits. The optional remote control RC-3 can used to record still images and movie clips from up to 16 feet away. The DiMAGE S414 is not limited to recording still images. Sixty seconds of digital video with audio can be captured. Voice memo allows up to 15 seconds of audio to be attached to an image when it is captured. The movie clips and audio tracks can be played back in the camera. The LCD monitor displays active camera settings, exposure information, and warnings. This information can be turned off so that the entire image can be viewed. The DiMAGE S414 has two additional displays for critical composition: grid and scale. Usually found in large-format view cameras, the grid makes aligning the camera with vertical or horizontal elements within the image simple; confirming that the horizon or buildings are straight in landscape or architectural photography is easy. The scale can be used in close-up photography to judge the relative proportions of the subject.
