Minolta Dimage S404Dimage technology and optics in a compact, stylish four megapixel design<<Viewfinder :(Previous) | (Next): Exposure & Flash>> Page 5:OpticsReview First Posted: 1/30/2002 |
OpticsBuilt into the S404 is a 4x Minolta GT, 7.15-28.6mm lens, the equivalent of a 35-140mm lens on a 35mm camera. A plastic lens cap protects the lens when not in use, and features a small tether to attach it to the camera and prevent it from being lost. When the camera powers on, the lens telescopes outwards about three quarters of an inch, into its operating position. Two aperture settings are available, with values of f/3.0 and f/6.7 when the lens is in its wide angle position, and f/3.6 and f/8.0 when the lens is zoomed to its full telephoto setting. (As is the case with essentially all digicam lenses, the effective aperture gets smaller as the lens is zoomed towards its telephoto end.) The aperture settings can be either automatically or manually controlled. Lens focus also features either manual and automatic control, and ranges from 1.6 feet (0.5 meters) to infinity in normal focusing mode. A distance readout appears on the LCD monitor in manual focus mode, with the actual focus distance controlled by the up and down arrows of the Four Way Arrow pad (pressing the center of the pad changes the operation of the up and down arrows back to the optical zoom). Macro mode alters the focus range for closer, smaller objects, focusing from 6.2 to 23 inches (0.16 to 0.6 meters). Macro coverage is about average among cameras I've tested, with a minimum area of 2.7 x 3.6 inches (69 x 92 mm). Through the Setup menu, you can activate a Full-Time AF mode, which adjusts the focus continuously instead of only when the Shutter button is halfway pressed.
The S404's user interface shares the up and down arrow keys rather nicely between manual focusing and lens zoom control. In normal operation, the up/down positions of the rear-panel rocker control actuate the lens zoom mechanism. When you switch to manual focus mode though, the same controls actuate the focusing mechanism. Simply pressing the center of the rocker control toggles the function of the up/down arrows between the zoom and focus functions. Normally I'm not keen on camera functions sharing controls in this fashion, but it works pretty well in the case of the S404. It does mean though, that focus and zoom adjustments will end up being even slower and more deliberate than their already somewhat leisurely pace.
In autofocus mode, the S404 lets you change the AF area by pressing and holding the center of the Four Way Arrow pad. The AF Area Selection screen appears on the LCD monitor, with five available AF areas to choose from. The arrow keys navigate the area selections, and a half-press of the Shutter button (or a full press of the center of the Four Way Arrow pad confirms the area selection. Pressing and holding the center of the Four Way pad again returns you to the default wider-area focusing mode. (A minor design quibble here: The five spot-AF targets are all clustered rather closely in the center of the frame. A wider spacing would have been more useful in accommodating off-center subjects.)
In addition to the 4x optical zoom, the S404 also features a 2.2x digital zoom option (enabled through the settings menu). I always remind our readers that digital zoom significantly compromises image quality because all it does is crop and enlarge the central portion of the CCD image. Digital zoom always results in decreased resolution, and doesn't typically offer the same sharpness or clarity found with true optical zoom.
A series of filter threads inside the lip of the lens barrel accommodates lens conversion kits, which are available as separate accessories. Thus, you can extend the wide-angle, telephoto, or macro shooting capabilities of the S404. The filter threads are a rather odd size, 35.5mm according to the labeling on the front of the lens itself. You'll therefore most likely be constrained to using Minolta's own accessory lenses. I have to say that I'm also pretty surprised to find filter threads incorporated directly into the front element of a telescoping lens design: You should exercise extreme caution when using them, so as to not over-torque the delicate telescoping mechanism, nor overstress it by mounting a too-heavy accessory lens in this fashion.
Optical quality is an area where Minolta really seems to be making a name for themselves in the digicam arena. In common with those of other high-end Minolta digicams, the lens on the S404 is of noticeably higher than average quality. Despite its being a 4x design (as compared to the 3x of most digicams), the S404's lens shows less geometric distortion than is common for digicam lenses, with only 0.4% barrel distortion at wide angle, and 0.08% pincushion at telephoto. (Most lenses I've tested do pretty well at the telephoto end, but the average barrel distortion at wide angle is 0.8% or more. The S404's lens thus does very well in this respect.) The S404 also does very well with another bane of digicam performance, chromatic aberration. - This distortion shows up as colored fringes around high-contrast objects at the edges of images. The S404's lens seems to show almost none of this effect, and stays quite sharp into the corners as well. Finally, the S404 shows very good resolution, with artifacts beginning to appear in the resolution test image at about 750 lines per picture height, strong detail appearing to about 1150 lines, and "extinction" occurring at about 1300 lines.
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