"Picky Details" for the Konica Minolta DiMAGE E323 digital camera
(Timing, Power, and Storage Info)
Timing
I measure both cycle times and shutter delay times, using a test system I designed and built for the purpose. (Crystal-controlled, with a resolution of 0.001 second.) Here are the numbers I collected for the Konica Minolta E323:
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(secs) |
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| Power On -> First shot |
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LCD turns on and lens extends forward. Fairly fast.
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| Shutdown |
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Lens retracts and camera shuts down. Memory buffer clears. (Shorter time is for lens to retract, longer time is worst-case buffer-clear time, before card can be removed. Lens retraction is pretty fast, worst-case buffer clear time is very long.)
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| Play to Record, first shot |
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Time until first shot is captured. Fairly fast.
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| Record to play |
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Time to display a large/fine file after capture. Average to a bit faster than average.
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| Shutter lag, full autofocus |
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First time is at full wide-angle, second is full telephoto. Both are slower than average, the telephoto time in particular is long enough that it could be an impediment to shooting. |
| Shutter lag, prefocus |
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Time to capture, after half-pressing shutter button. Very fast.
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| Cycle Time, max/min resolution |
2.28 / |
First number is for large/fine files, second number is time for VGA (640x480) images. Times are averages. Buffer clears after every shot. Average speed, given that the camera doesn't seem to use buffer memory to speed up the shot to shot interval. |
| Cycle Time, continuous High mode, max/min resolution | 0.76 / 0.83 (1.3 fps) |
First number is for large/fine files, second number is time for VGA size images. Times are averages. Buffer hold 9 large/fine shots, then takes 14.7 seconds to clear. Buffer holds a very large number of low-res images, but takes as long as 55 seconds to clear in that mode. Reasonably fast for an entry-level camera. |
Speed isn't the E323's strong point. It starts up and shuts down fairly quickly, and its shutter response when prefocused (shutter button half-pressed and held) is very fast, but its normal full-autofocus shutter delay is a laggardly 1.13 - 1.32 seconds, longer than average and definitely long enough to be annoying. Shot to shot cycle time is also average at best, as the camera doesn't appear to use its buffer memory to speed up the processing between shots.
Power
The Konica Minolta E323 uses a pair of AA cells for power, meaning you can find batteries to run it most anyplace you might happen to be. I do strongly advise using rechargeable NiMH AA cells though, as this will save you quite a bit of money over time.
The table below shows the power consumption and projected run times of the E323 in various operating modes:
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(@3.4 volts on the external power terminal) |
(two 1600 mA cells) |
| Capture Mode, w/LCD |
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| Capture Mode, no LCD |
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| Half-pressed shutter w/LCD |
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| Half-pressed w/o LCD |
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| Memory Write (transient) |
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| Flash Recharge (transient) |
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| Image Playback |
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The E323 demonstrates surprisingly good battery life for a camera running on only two AA cells, with a worst-case run time of over two hours with 1600 mAh NiMH rechargeable cells. (I continue to use 1600 mAh cells as the basis for these run time estimates, to maintain compatibility with all my earlier tests. Many modern cells are available with true capacities of 2000 mAh and higher, so you could expect run times as much as 25% longer than those shown in the table above.) The best news about the E323 though, is its almost zero power drain in capture mode when the LCD is turned off. You could leave the camera powered up and ready to capture pictures for a couple of days and still have plenty of battery life left. Unfortunately though, the E323's rather tight optical viewfinder means you'll have to resort to the LCD more often than you otherwise might have to.
As always, I recommend picking up an additional set of rechargeable NiMH batteries and a good charger, and keeping a set freshly charged at all times. Click here to read my "battery shootout" page to see which batteries currently on the market are best, or here for my review of the Maha C-204F charger, my longtime favorite.
Storage Capacity
The Konica Minolta E323 stores its photos on Compact Flash memory cards,
and a 16 MB card is included with the camera. (I strongly recommend
buying at least a 64 MB card, preferably a 128 MB one, to give yourself extra
space for extended outings.) The chart below shows how many images can be
stored on the included 16 MB card at each size/quality setting.
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Resolution/Quality 16 MB Memory Card |
Fine | Normal | |
| 2,880 x 2,160 | Images (Avg size) |
6 2.67 MB |
9 1.73 MB |
| Approx. Compression |
7:1 | 11:1 | |
| 2,048 x 1,536 | Images (Avg size) |
12 1.31 MB |
18 889 KB |
| Approx. Compression |
7:1 | 11:1 | |
| 1,600 x 1,200 | Images (Avg size) |
19 821 KB |
29 542 KB |
| Approx. Compression |
7:1 | 11:1 | |
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Images (Avg size) |
99 160 KB |
133 120 KB |
| Approx. Compression |
6:1 | 7:1 | |
Download Speed
The Konica Minolta E323 connects to a host computer via a USB interface. Downloading files to a Sony desktop running Windows XP. I clocked it at 505 KBytes/second. This is close to as fast as cameras with USB v1.1 interfaces get. (Cameras with slow USB v1.1 interfaces run as low as 300 KB/s, cameras with fast v1.1 interfaces run as high as 600 KB/s. Cameras with USB v2.0 interfaces run as fast as several megabytes/second.)
E323 Test Images
E323 Specifications
E323 "Picky Details"
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