"Picky Details" for the Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z10 digital camera
(Timing, Power, and Storage Info)
Timing
When you press the shutter release on a camera, there's usually a lag time or
delay before the shutter actually fires. This corresponds to the time required
for the autofocus and autoexposure mechanisms time to do their work, and can
amount to a fairly long delay in some situations. Since this number is rarely
reported on (and even more rarely reported accurately), and can significantly
affect the picture taking experience, I routinely measure both shutter delay
and shot to shot cycle times for all cameras I test, 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 DiMAGE Z10:
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(secs) |
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| Power On -> First shot |
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LCD turns on, camera is ready to shoot. Pretty fast, since the Z10's lens doesn't need to telescope out.
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| Shutdown |
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First time is with no shot currently being processed, second time is worst-case buffer-clearing time. Worst case time is long, but buffer holds 100+ small/basic images in continuous mode.
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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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First time is that required to display a large/fine file immediately after capture, second time is that needed to display a large/fine file that has already been processed and stored on the memory card. Average to a bit slower 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. On the fast side of average. (Average is 0.8-1.0 second.) |
| 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 |
2.31 / |
First number is for large/fine files, second number is time for "TV" mode (640x480) images. Times are averages. Leisurely at best, but all shots are this fast. (Either buffer memory is never used, or it never fills.) |
| Cycle Time, continuous mode, max/min resolution | 0.75 (1.33 fps) |
Cycle time is the same for large/fine images and "TV" size images. Times are averages. Takes 5 large/fine shots this fast, then slows to 1.64 seconds per shot, and takes 4 seconds to clear the buffer. In TV mode, shoots over 100 shots this fast, and takes 20 seconds to clear the buffer. Not very fast, but not horrible either. |
| Cycle Time, "Progressive Capture" mode, max/min resolution | 1.12 / 0.86 (0.89 / 0.67 fps) |
First number is for large/fine files, second number is time for small/basic images. Times are averages. Shoots continuously while shutter button is held down, and then records the last 6 shots, once the shutter button is released. Oddly, a little bit slower than normal continuous mode. (Not really fast enough to help with reaction time for catching a critical moment.) |
With a full-autofocus shutter lag that ranges from 0.73 to 0.79 seconds, the Z10 falls just slightly on the fast side of average. Its lag time when prefocused by half-pressing and holding down the shutter button prior to the shot itself is blazingly fast, at only 0.07 second. Cycle times are a relatively leisurely 2.3 seconds for large/fine images or 1.9 seconds for small/basic ones. Both times are on the slow side of average these days, but there's no buffer memory to fill: All shots you take in sequence will be this quick. Continuous shooting speed is likewise nothing to write home about, at 0.75 seconds/frame for up to five large/fine images or 0.74 seconds for over a hundred small/basic ones.
Power
The Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z10 uses four AA batteries for power.
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(@6 volts on the external power terminal) |
(four 1600 mA cells) |
| Capture Mode, w/LCD |
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| Capture Mode, w/EVF |
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| Half-pressed shutter w/LCD |
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| Half-pressed w/EVF |
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| Memory Write (transient) |
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| Flash Recharge (transient) |
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| Image Playback |
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With a worst-case run time of over 3.5 hours, even with "standard" 1600 mAh batteries, the Z10's battery life is at or near the top of the field. (With modern high-capacity NiMH cells with true capacities of 2000 mAh or more, you coudl see worst case run times of well over four hours. I do still strongly recommend though, that you purchase at least two sets (a total of eight batteries) of high-capacity NiMH rechargeable batteries though, as well as a good-quality charger. Check out my Battery
Shootout page for the latest in actual, measured performance of various
AA batteries. - Read my review
of the Maha C-204F charger, to learn why it's my longtime favorite.
Storage Capacity
The Konica Minolta stores its photos on SD/MMC 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.
| Resolution/Quality 16 MB Memory Card |
Fine | Normal | |
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| 2048 x 1536 | Images (Avg size) |
9 1.6 MB |
18 850 KB |
34 458 KB |
| Approx. Compression |
6:1 | 11:1 | 20:1 | |
| 1600 x 1200 | Images (Avg size) |
15 1.0 MB |
29 540 KB |
51 311 KB |
| Approx. Compression |
6:1 | 11:1 | 19:1 | |
| 1280 x 960 | Images (Avg size) |
23 671 KB |
42 376 KB |
75
213 KB |
| Approx. Compression |
6:1 | 10:1 |
17:1
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Images (Avg size) |
75 213 KB |
108 147 KB |
98 KB |
| Approx. Compression |
4:1 | 6:1 | |
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Download Speed
The Konica Minolta connects to a host computer via a USB interface. Downloading files to my Sony desktop running Windows XP (Pentium IV, 2.4 GHz), I clocked it at 886 KBytes/second, a pretty good rate. (Cameras with slow USB 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.)
Z10 Test Images
Z10 Imatest Results
Z10 Specifications
Z10 "Picky Details"
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