Minolta Z2 or Kodak DX6490

[Fredy Lee]

Minolta Z2 or Kodak DX6490

I'm hesitating between DX6490 and Z2, can you give me some suggestion? Thanks.

Fredy

[Fredy Lee]

DX6490 Specifications

CCD resolution 4.23 MP (2408x1758 pixels)
image resolution 4.0 megapixel (2304x1728 pixels)

image quality
4.0MP - best (print, enlargement 20" x 30")
3.5MP - best (optimized ratio for 4" x 6" prints, 3:2)
2.1MP - better (small print)
1.1 MP - good (e-mail)

zoom lens Schneider Kreuznach Variogon
10X optical zoom, 6.3-63.2mm (35mm equivalent: 38-380mm)
3.0X Advanced Digital Zoom

focus
auto-focus, Multi-zone, center-spot

focus distance
wide std. - 0.6m (2 ft.) to infinity;
tele std. -- 2m (6.6 ft.) to infinity;
wide/tele infinity: 20m (65.6 ft.) to infinity

display LCD
2.2" (5.6cm) 153k pixels, Indoor/Outdoor display;

aperture f/2.8 - 8.0 (wide); f3.7 - 8.0 (tele)

shutter speed 16-1/1700 sec.

ISO equivalent Automatic - (80 - 160);
Selectable - 80/100/200/400/800

white balance auto, daylight, tungsten, fluorescent
flash mode automatic, fill, red-eye, off; external flash synch available

flash range wide - 0.5 - 4.9m (1.6 - 16.1ft.); tele - 2.0 - 3.7m (6.6 - 12.1 ft.)

viewfinder electronic - 1.1cm (.44 in.), 180K pixels (800x225)

self-timer 10 seconds

scene/other modes automatic, sport, portrait, night, landscape, close-up, program, aperture priority, shutter priority, manual
color mode color, black and white, sepia, saturated, neutral, sharpness (sharp, standard, soft)

macro/close-up mode wide - 12 - 70cm (4.7 - 27.6 in.); tele - 120-210cm (47.2 - 82.7 in.)

burst mode 3 fps, up to 6 pictures

light metering method TTL-AE (menu selectable: multi-pattern, center weighted, center spot
exposure compensation +/- 2.0 EV with 0.33 EV step increments
exposure control program AE aperature priority, shutter priority, manual

click to capture 0.65 seconds
shot to shot <2 seconds

movie mode continuous digital video with audio capture, audio playback on camera
movie image resolution 320 x 240 pixels at 20 fps

movie length up to 80 minutes, limited by capacity of external memory card

capture mode capture always ready

auto-orientation auto picture rotation

delete dedicated delete button

review dedicated review button

share dedicated share button

review mode 2X or 4X magnify, picture info, slide show, multi-up, fast scroll, protect, albums

video out NTSC, PAL (user-selectable)

software Kodak EasyShare software v3.1

interface Dock Compatibility - Kodak EasyShare camera dock 6000, Kodak EasyShare printer dock 6000

storage internal storage: 16 MB internal memory

external storage: MMC/SD card expansion slot

power options Kodak EasyShare 3.7V 1700mAh Li-ion rechargeable battery (KLIC 5000 or KLIC 5001)

Kodak EasyShare camera dock 6000 (included)

optional 5V adapter

optional Kodak EasyShare printer dock 6000

image file format still: JPEG/EXIF v2.2; movie: Quicktime

interface USB 2.0 compatible, Kodak EasyShare camera dock 6000 and Kodak EasyShare printer dock 6000 compatible

lens protection lens cap tethered to camera body

tripod mount 1/4 in. standard

weight 337g / 11.9 oz. (without battery and memory card)
dimensions WxHxD 99.6 x 79.9 x 81.2mm
3.9 x 3.1 x 3.2 in.

warranty one year


DiMAGE Z2 Specifications

Number of effective pixels Approx. 4.0 million
CCD 1/2.5-type interline primary-color CCD Total pixels: 4.2 million
Camera sensitivity Auto, ISO 50, 100, 200, 400 equivalents

Lens construction 11 elements in 7 groups (includes two elements with three aspheric surfaces)

Maximum aperture f/2.8 - f/3.7

Focal length 6.3 - 63mm (35mm equivalent: 38 – 380mm)

Minimum focusing distance Wide: 0.5 m (1.6 ft.)

Telephoto: 2m (6.6 ft.)

Minimum macro distance Super Macro; 1.2 inches at 11.1mm

Macro Wide: 7cm (2.6 in.)

Macro Telephoto: 100cm (39.3 in.)

Maximum magnification 0.12x (Equivalent to 0.79x in 35 mm format)
Area covered at maximum magnification: 33 x 44 mm / 1.3 x 1.73 inch (approx.)

LCD monitor 1.5 inch (3.8cm) low-temperature polysilicon TFT color with anti- reflection coating

Total number of pixels: 113,000

Automatic monitor amplification

Field of view Viewfinder: Approximately 98%

LCD monitor: Approximately 100 %

Display mode switch Viewfinder display, LCD-monitor display Switch Finder system allows the monitor to be viewed directly or through the viewfinder.

Diopter control - 3 ~ +1m-1

Eye relief 18.8mm

Shutter CCD electronic shutter and mechanical shutter
Shutter speed range 4 - 1/1000 second in programmed-AE and aperture-priority modes.
15 - 1/1000 second in shutter-priority and manual exposure modes.
2 - 1/1000 second in auto-recording and Digital Subject Programs
Bulb (maximum 30 seconds)

Autofocus system Rapid AF: a combination of a passive AF sensor with the video AF system
Autofocus areas 3-Point Wide Focus Area
Spot focus areas with Focus Area Selection
Focus modes Single-shot AF
Continuous AF with predictive focus control

Full-time AF

Manual focus
Focus lock By pressing shutter-release button partway down.

Metering
Multi-segment (256 segments)
Center-weighted
Spot

Exposure modes
P (Programmed AE) (with program shift), A (Aperture priority),
S (Shutter priority), M (Manual).
Digital Subject Programs Portrait, Sports action, Landscape, Sunset, Night portrait. Automatic and manual selection.
Exposure compensation +/- 2 Ev in 1/3 increments
AE lock By pressing shutter-release button partway down
Flash metering Pre-flash TTL
Flash range Wide: Approximately 0.8 - 20 ft. (0.23 - 6.1 m) from CCD

Telephoto: Approximately 4.1 - 15 ft. (1.27 - 4.6 m) from CCD
(Camera sensitivity: auto)

Flash modes
Autoflash, Autoflash with red-eye reduction, Fill flash, Slow-shutter sync. Autoflash not available with aperture priority, shutter priority, and manual exposure modes.
Flash cancel by pushing the built-in flash down.
Flash recycling time Approx. 5 seconds
Flash compensation ± 2 EV in 1/3 increments
Flash synch speeds All shutter speeds
External flashes Auto-flash metering with Program/Maxxum Flash 2500 (D), Program/Maxxum 3600HS (D), Program/Maxxum Flash 5600HS (D)

Continuous advance - UHS (Ultra High Speed) continuous advance:
Approximately ten 1280x960 frames in one second
- Standard continuous advance:
Approximately 1.5 frames per second
* Actual speed may vary depending upon the subject and camera settings.
Approximate number of frames that can be captured at one time with the continuous-advance drive modes:

UHS continuous advance (1280x960)
Fine: 10 frames
Standard: 10 frames
Economy: 10 frames

Standard continuous advance
2272x1704 1600x1200 1280x960 640x480
Fine 5 frames 8 frames 13 frames 42 frames
Standard 10 frames 16 frames 24 frames 67 frames
Economy 19 frames 30 frames 42 frames 94 frames
Actual number of images may vary depending upon the subject and camera settings.


Progressive capture Maximum number of images that can be recorded with the Progressive Capture mode:
UHS: 12 frames
Standard: 5 frames
Exposure bracketing Three frame bracket in 1.0, 0.5, 0.3 EV increments
Self-timer Approx. 10 seconds
Movie Recording time dependent on memory card capacity, image size, and frame rate.
Frame rate: 15 frames per second, 30 frames per second
Fast forward and rewind control.
With and without monaural audio with playback volume control.
Jogging

Movie frame capture
Night movie (automatic selection or disabled)
White balance control Automatic, Preset (Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Flash), Custom
Digital Effects Control Contrast compensation, Sharpness
Contrast compensation Three levels (Low, Normal, High)
Sharpness settings Three levels (Soft, Normal, Hard)
Color modes Natural Color, Vivid Color, Black and White, Sepia
Noise reduction User selectable dark noise reduction
Digital zoom Maximum 4x in 0.1x increments
Copy function To copy single or multiple images to the same or another memory card.
E-mail Copy function Creates a compressed 640x480 or 160x120 JPEG image for transmission.
Date imprinting Year/month/day (Format can be changed.) Imprinting can be disabled
Key customization The function activated by the flash-mode button can be changed.

Image quality modes
Fine, Standard, Economy
Number of recorded pixels
(still images) 2272 x 1704
1600 x 1200
1280 x 960
640 x 480
1280 x 960 in UHS continuous-advance mode
Number of recorded pixels
(Movie clips) 800x600
640x480
320x240
160x120
Recording media Secure Digital (16MB supplied)

Storage capacity* (16MB)
(approx.) 2272x1704 1600x1200 1280x960 640x480
Fine 7 frames 14 frames 22 frames 69 frames
Standard 14 frames 27 frames 39 frames 100 frames
Economy 27 frames 47 frames 69 frames 150 frames
* Numerical value may vary depending upon the subject.


File formats JPEG, Motion JPEG (MOV): with audio.
DCF 2.0-compliant
DPOF-compliant (Supported by printing functions in version 1.1) Exif 2.21
Printing output control Exif Print, PRINT Image Matching II, PictBridge
Direct print USB Direct-Print

AV output NTSC, PAL (selected on the camera)

Batteries Four AA Ni-MH or alkaline batteries (Use of Ni-MH batteries is recommended.)

Battery performance (approx.)
(playback) Approximate continuous playback time: 300 min. with alkaline batteries.
Battery performance (approx.)
(recording) Approximate number of recorded images: 250 frames with alkaline batteries, LCD monitor on, Full-size images (2048x1536), Standard image quality, No instant playback, No full-time AF, Flash used with 50% of the frames.

External power source 6V DC with specified AC adapter

Interface Full-speed 12Mbps USB 1.1

Dimensions (WxHxD) 109.5 x 77.5 x 80 mm / 4.31 x 3.05 x 3.15 inch

Weight 305 g / 10.8 ounce without batteries or recording media

Standard accessories
Neck Strap NS-DG6000, Lens Cap LF-242A, Accessory Shoe Cap SC-1000, AV Cable AVC-400, 16MB SD (Secure Digital) Memory Card, USB Cable USB-500, DiMAGE Viewer, ArcSoft VideoImpression 2 CD-ROM (for windows only), Four AA Alkaline batteries

Optional accessories
AC Adapter AC-1L, Camera Case CS-W20, Leather Neck Strap NS-DG1000, External High Power Battery Pack Kit EBP-100, Wide Converter Kit ZCW-100, Adapter ring for attaching filter/converter ZCA-100, Konica Minolta Program Flash 3600HS (D), 5600HS (D), and 2500(D)

[murphyc]

What you should get depends on what you need and what kind of pics you'll be doing the most--sports, family/portraits, nature, etc.

[Fredy Lee]

Originally Posted by murphyc

What you should get depends on what you need and what kind of pics you'll be doing the most--sports, family/portraits, nature, etc.

I make pics always about family, nature, landscape etc.

[Fredy Lee]

If you are interested in both Z2 and Kodak DX6490, please show your idea here, I'm waiting for your advice...

[CastleDude]

I own a 6490 and have shot about 14000 shots with it. It is a fantastic camera and you will not be dissapointed by it. It's simple to use but put it in the PASM mode and the camera gives you enough manual features to keep you happy. The user interface is fantastic and easy to learn. The cradle is great for keeping the charger and USB cable organized (not just another dangling set of wires).

With the Z2 Minolta released it later than the 6490 and addressed most of the issuespeople had with the 6490.

In all aspects except for three the Z2 is better than the 6490.
1- Price the 6490 is being heavily discounted
2- Lens the Kodak lens is really amazing with about the lowest amount of PF of any 10x I've seen.
3- That big display on the back (great for showing people pictures).

The 6490 has a better feel (a little more solid), it has a more traditional look (not so art deco).

I have printed a lot of 8x10 pictures that are great quality.

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The Z2 is a great camera and has a whole bunch of little features. The addition of manual focus is probably the most wanted feature (can be very handy in low light).
The fast speed is really great (10fps in a web mode).

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Bottom line ... If I had to choose between the two I would take the Z2 now.


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I would advise also looking at the FUJI S7000 it is 6MP and being heavily discounted to near the same price as the Z2/6490

[bacata55]

I am deciding between this two cameras. I want to picture old newspapers, so, they must be readable... wich one would you suggest me for this pupose??

I thank you.

Camilo.

[x10guy]

bacata55 wrote:

I am deciding between this two cameras. I want to picture old newspapers, so, they must be readable... wich one would you suggest me for this pupose??

I thank you.

Camilo.

------------------

If all you need is to take pictures of B/W newspapers then both might work but it's probably overkill. You don't need an ultrazoom camera for that purpose. Actually you might be better off with a lens that has more wide angle lens.

[bacata55]

x10guy wrote:

bacata55 wrote:

I am certainly a newbie. What of the parameters on a camera tells me the "angle" of a lens? is it like this?? f 2.8 - f 3.7...bigger the second number, wider the angle??
I'd thank you your orientation.

[CastleDude]

bacata55 wrote:

I am certainly a newbie. What of the parameters on a camera tells me the "angle" of a lens? is it like this?? f 2.8 - f 3.7...bigger the second number, wider the angle??
I'd thank you your orientation.

No the number you are looking at is the mm value (in 35mm equivalence) example the 6490 has a lens that goes for 38-380mm. The lower the number the wider angle the lens. The wider angle the lens the closer you can get to the subject and get more area in the picture.

50mm is considered a normal 1x lens. 38mm is slightly wide angle 28mm is pretty good (about as good as you can expect on a point and shoot type).

One aspect to remember though is you don't get more info crammed into a picture without a cost. The cost is distortion. Smaller than 50mm and straight lines will appear to curve. IMHO what you really want to do is post the paper on a wall and then back up until the paper is fully in view at a lens setting of 50mm or greater.

The other thing to consider is the resolution of the capture. A standard (US) newspaper was 23" x 13" (newer papers are 23"x 12"). This corresponds to 299 sq inches. With 4MP this is is about 116 dpi. The text and graphics will be readable but on the low end of archival quality. You might want to consider shooting a top half and bottom half of each page and then stitching the two together. You will probably not like the effect of shooting two facing pages since the resoluiton will drop to about 90dpi which is not that good.