hehe 1st post

[SRSpawn]

Minolta Dimage Xg great cam :cool: wished it had Anti-Shake :rolleyes:

[bka314]

Hi!

When I read your message first, strange thoughts came into my mind...
Then I saw the news on the Z3.
Anti-shake is coming down to the more simple cameras, slowly - maybe in one or two years, one successor of the Xg will have it...

Kris

[SRSpawn]

Hi, bka314

I hope it eventually does.
after all the Dimage Xg like alot of others is meant to be used as a point & shoot camera, so if such cams came with Anti shake feature then that would benefit both users as well as the manufacturers. Makes alot of sense to have it on point & shoot cameras compared to Pro Cam's where a tripod is most likely be used.

I think alot would agree ;)

[venom1]

i love the body of the z3. it's stylish. i want to know the prices on the z3 and the z10. anyone know?

[migtey]

As you wish...

Z3 Images Samples (http://photohobby.net/webboard/show.php?Category=alldata&No=1139)

The price: $499 U.S. at http://www.jr.com (http://www.jr.com/JRProductPage.process?Product_Code=MIN+DIMAGE%2fZ3&JRSource=DealTime.datafeed.MIN+DIMAGE%2fZ3)

699$ Canadian at http://www.henrys.com/ (http://www.henrys.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ItemsDisplay?catalogId=10101&departmentId=10404&itemID=131565&categoryId=10429)

[John_Reed]

Hi!

When I read your message first, strange thoughts came into my mind...
Then I saw the news on the Z3.
Anti-shake is coming down to the more simple cameras, slowly - maybe in one or two years, one successor of the Xg will have it...

Kris
It's already been available for a few months now with the Panasonic DMC-FX5, and their recently introduced cameras the DMC-FX2, and DMC-FX7 have it as well. These are pocketable, consumer-level, point & shoot cameras. I know of at least one FX5 user who says he hardly has to use his flash, the anti-shake works so well indoors!

[John_Reed]

As you wish...

Z3 Images Samples (http://photohobby.net/webboard/show.php?Category=alldata&No=1139)

The price: $499 U.S. at http://www.jr.com (http://www.jr.com/JRProductPage.process?Product_Code=MIN+DIMAGE%2fZ3&JRSource=DealTime.datafeed.MIN+DIMAGE%2fZ3)

699$ Canadian at http://www.henrys.com/ (http://www.henrys.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ItemsDisplay?catalogId=10101&departmentId=10404&itemID=131565&categoryId=10429)
Those are impressive samples. This camera looks like a real competitor to Panasonic and Canon. Anyone know how fast its lens is? I couldn't find the spec for that. And I couldn't see any filter threads. How will accessory lenses be mounted to this thing?

[George Riehm]

Those are impressive samples. This camera looks like a real competitor to Panasonic and Canon. Anyone know how fast its lens is? I couldn't find the spec for that. And I couldn't see any filter threads. How will accessory lenses be mounted to this thing?

I think if you look closely at the first picture of the camera you can see inside threads on the lens.

The pictures are OK, but not spectacular. Even the "impressive" zoom shot is a little on the soft side. Your long-zoom bird pics over at Shoreline are far better.

Maybe once Jeff gives it a run we will see if it is really up to FZ standards. At least we know they are available somewhere.

[John_Reed]

I think if you look closely at the first picture of the camera you can see inside threads on the lens.
I saw those, but there seemed to be a taper to them. My experience with Panasonic gear is that I think any extension that mounts on the lens itself may put a lot of mechanical strain on the lens mounting system. Even with my FZ1's mount of the TCON-17 (+ adapter) to the collar surrounding the lens barrel itself, I began to notice it loosening up after a lot of usage, even though it didn't affect picture quality, because the lens, collar, and even the stabilizer all seemed to move as a single unit. But I don't see that "un-screwable" collar ring on the Z3. Maybe it's there, I just don't see it. The FZ10 has an un-screwable collar ring, and it seems to be much solider for that purpose than the FZ1 was.

[George Riehm]

I saw those, but there seemed to be a taper to them. My experience with Panasonic gear is that I think any extension that mounts on the lens itself may put a lot of mechanical strain on the lens mounting system. Even with my FZ1's mount of the TCON-17 (+ adapter) to the collar surrounding the lens barrel itself, I began to notice it loosening up after a lot of usage, even though it didn't affect picture quality, because the lens, collar, and even the stabilizer all seemed to move as a single unit. But I don't see that "un-screwable" collar ring on the Z3. Maybe it's there, I just don't see it. The FZ10 has an un-screwable collar ring, and it seems to be much solider for that purpose than the FZ1 was.

Hmmm. Well, I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Hopefully Jeff (or one of the other DC reviewers will get one soon, since they seem to be avaialble in Thailand. The update is interesting as well, as it seems that the Anti-Shake feature can cause overheating(?). Guess that puts the Kabash on using it here in the desert, except September to May. ;) .

[John_Reed]

The update is interesting as well, as it seems that the Anti-Shake feature can cause overheating(?). Guess that puts the Kabash on using it here in the desert, except September to May. ;) .
I hadn't heard that rumor before. Is that just for the KM Z3, or for all IS cameras? I don't notice any great battery drain due to IS on my FZ10, though I must confess I've never turned it off!

[George Riehm]

I hadn't heard that rumor before. Is that just for the KM Z3, or for all IS cameras? I don't notice any great battery drain due to IS on my FZ10, though I must confess I've never turned it off!

To quash the rumor...

Apparently the temperature icon replaces the Anti-shake icon when the camera is overheated due to high ambient temperature or internal heating. The warning is to not use AS until the camera cools down (makes sense).

I suggest reading the whole section on AS as it looks like there are some gotchas to using AS on the Z3. Let me know what you think. It's toward the bottom of the discussions at the link in Thailand in case you can't read the attachment.

http://a1.cpimg.com/image/0F/A5/37391631-bed2-016800FB-.jpg

[John_Reed]

To quash the rumor...

Apparently the temperature icon replaces the Anti-shake icon when the camera is overheated due to high ambient temperature or internal heating. The warning is to not use AS until the camera cools down (makes sense).

I suggest reading the whole section on AS as it looks like there are some gotchas to using AS on the Z3. Let me know what you think. It's toward the bottom of the discussions at the link in Thailand in case you can't read the attachment.
That's interesting, George. For the FZ10, the "anti-shake" system is on all the time the power is on, it's my understanding. It doesn't seem to use much juice. It has two modes. In Mode 1, it's always active, and seems to require no "warmup" time. (It's available immediately upon startup) In Mode 2, stabilization only happens after you fully depress the shutter button. In Mode 2, there seems to be some kind "warmup" delay upon turning on the power. But for either mode, there are no additional delays to worry about, and no "thermometer" to account for over-heating. Those cautions would make me a little bit reluctant to use the IS system unless I really felt strongly about a particular situation. Minolta may be using a system that either consumes more power than Panasonic's, or is just more sensitive to thermal rises. I forgot, there's also a third mode (for the FZ10), when you can turn IS off entirely.
One kind of interesting advantage of KM's anti-shake mechanism is that, using the CCD assembly rather than a lens element to control shake, there is the potential to create a line of dSLRs where every lens gets benefit of the anti-shake feature, without the added expense of having it built-in to the lens.

[Jake Conner]

In fact, Minolta's already annouced the development of a DSLR like that, the Maxxum 7D. It's supposed to be formally introduced at Photokina this year.

Jake

[migtey]

See, this store talk about the Z3 have a Progressive Scan CCD

Click here (http://www.fotosense.co.uk/konica_minolta_dimage_z3_specs.html)

Some body know what is a Progressive Scan CCD?

[John_Reed]

See, this store talk about the Z3 have a Progressive Scan CCD

Click here (http://www.fotosense.co.uk/konica_minolta_dimage_z3_specs.html)

Some body know what is a Progressive Scan CCD?
Two things:
1. A progressive scan CCD is one where data is shifted out one row after another, as opposed to an interlaced CCD where data is shifted out every other row in succession.
2. Sorry to disappoint you, but that page link took me to a page that had a picture of a Konica Minolta Dimage Z3, but it had the specifications of a Konica Minolta Dimage A2. I don't think the Z3, good as it is, will have a 922,000 pixel EVF and an 8 megapixel CCD!