Minolta Dimage F300A compact, stylish camera with a full five-megapixel sensor and clever autofocus system.<<Image Storage & Interface :(Previous) | (Next): Test Results & Conclusion>> Page 11:Video, Power, SoftwareReview First Posted: 05/22/2003 |
Video Out
The F300 comes with an AV cable
for connecting to a television set. Through the Setup menu, the F300 offers
both NTSC and PAL timing options. All images that would normally appear on the
LCD are routed to the external video display so that the television screen becomes
an enlarged version of the LCD monitor, and can be used both for image playback
and composition.
Power
The
F300 uses two AA batteries for power, either alkaline or NiMH types, or accommodates
one CRV3 lithium battery pack. I strongly suggest picking up a couple
of sets of rechargeable NiMH batteries, and keeping a spare set freshly charged
at all times. A battery indicator in the status display panel reports the current
charge level of the batteries. When battery power gets too low, a red battery
icon flashes in the LCD monitor and the camera eventually shuts itself off.
The F300 offers an Auto Power Save option through the Setup menu, which lets
you specify how long the camera must be inactive before it shuts itself off.
Additionally, the status display panel on top of the camera (which reports several
important settings) means that you can easily operate the camera with the LCD
monitor switched off. Working with the LCD monitor off drastically increases
the amount of operating time for a set of batteries. An AC adapter is available
as a separate accessory, recommended if you plan to spend much time reviewing
images via the LCD monitor or downloading to a computer. (Really although, in
terms of bang for the buck, just get a few extra sets of high-power NiMH rechargeable
batteries, and a good charger. Read my review
of NiMH batteries for current information on which cells have the most capacity,
and my review
of the Maha C-204 charger for a look at my favorite charger.) The projected
run times in the table below are based on a set of AA NiMH batteries with a
true (vs advertised) capacity of 1600 mAh. Cells are now available with true
capacities as high as 2000 mAh, but I've continued to use the 1600 mAh cells
as a reference, to provide continuity and a basis of comparison with older camera
models first tested when 1600 mAh represented the highest capacity you could
find in NiMH cells.
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(@ 3 v) |
(1600mAh, 2.4v 2 NiMH 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 Dimage F300 is a bit of a mixed bag when it comes to power consumption. With the LCD on, battery life is rather short, even when using high-capacity NiMH rechargeable batteries. (Although a good set of true 2000 mAh cells should give a worst-case run time of just over an hour and a half.) On the other hand, with the LCD off, the F300's power consumption is among the lowest of any camera I've tested. The conclusion? High-capacity rechargeable NiMH AA cells are cheap enough these days that you should buy several sets, and always pack along a couple of sets of spares. Doing that, you'll get reasonable amounts of run time on outings, albeit with the hassle of having to deal with a few sets of spare batteries, and swapping them in and out of the camera. If you can manage to avoid using the LCD except when absolutely necessary though, you'll find that a set of good-quality batteries will easily last you for a full day's shooting.
Included Software
Packaged with the F300 is a software CD containing the latest version of Minolta's DiMAGE Image Viewer Utility for both Windows and Macintosh platforms. The DiMAGE Image Viewer Utility allows you to download images from the camera, view them, and organize them. With the latest version comes a more effective image browser utility, an extended meta data display, better printing utilities, and a movie viewer with correction tools. Also included are the necessary USB drivers for connecting the camera. Overall, this is a pretty capable software package, with a lot of image adjustment power built in.
In the Box
Included with the Dimage F300 digital camera are the following items:
- Camera.
- Hand Strap.
- AV Cable.
- USB Cable.
- 32MB SD Memory Card.
- CRV3 battery (buy a charger & a couple of sets of good batteries!).
- DiMAGE software CD-ROM (Mac/Windows compatible).
- Instruction manuals and registration information.
Lost Images? - Download this image-recovery program so you'll have it when
you need it...
Since we're talking about memory and image storage, this would be a good time
to mention the following: I get a ton of email from readers who've lost photos
due to a corrupted memory card. It's tragic when it happens, there are few things
more precious than photo memories. Corrupted memory cards can happen with any
card type and any camera manufacturer, nobody's immune. "Stuff happens,"
as they say. A surprising number of "lost" images can be recovered
with an inexpensive, easy to use piece of software though. Given the amount
of email I've gotten on the topic, I now include this paragraph in all my digicam
reviews. The program you need is called PhotoRescue, by DataRescue SA. Read
our review of it if you'd like, but download the program now,
so you'll have it. It doesn't cost a penny until you need it, and even then
it's only $29, with a money back guarantee. So download PhotoRescue for
Windows or PhotoRescue for
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(Disclosure: IR gets a small commission from sales of the product, but I'd highly
recommend the program even if we didn't.) OK, now back to our regularly
scheduled review...
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