The Minolta Dimâge EX (also sold as EX 1500) is a
digital camera
A digital camera is a camera that captures photographs in digital memory. Most cameras produced today are digital, largely replacing those that capture images on photographic film. Digital cameras are now widely incorporated into mobile device ...
, first marketed in 1998. Similar to the earlier
Minolta Dimâge V
was a Japanese manufacturer of cameras, camera accessories, photocopiers, fax machines, and laser printers. Minolta Co., Ltd., which is also known simply as Minolta, was founded in Osaka, Japan, in 1928 as . It made the first integrated autofocu ...
of 1996, the Dimâge EX line was one of the first consumer
point-and-shoot
A point-and-shoot camera, also known as a compact camera and sometimes abbreviated to P&S, is a still camera designed primarily for simple operation. Most use focus free lenses or autofocus for focusing, automatic systems for setting the exposu ...
cameras released in the American market and featured an unusual interchangeable lens system not normally found in point-and-shoot cameras.
The Dimâge EX line was originally intended to be "obsolescence-proof," in that it was designed with internal software that would be upgradable through
downloads
In computer networks, download means to ''receive'' data from a remote system, typically a server such as a web server, an FTP server, an email server, or other similar system. This contrasts with uploading, where data is ''sent to'' a remote ...
or
patches based on FlashPoint Technology's
Digita
''Digita'' is a genus of moths of the family Erebidae erected by Michael Fibiger in 2008.
Species
*''Digita biuncus'' Fibiger, 2008
*''Digita ampullai'' Fibiger, 2008
References
*
Micronoctuini
Noctuoidea genera
{{Micronoctuini-stub ...
camera operating system, and that its lens interface would support future lens configurations. However, this concept was abandoned as Minolta continued on redesigning the Dimage line, eventually merging more
SLR-style features into it.
Features
The Dimâge EX features a maximum resolution of 1344×1008 pixels and stores files in
JPEG
JPEG ( ) is a commonly used method of lossy compression for digital images, particularly for those images produced by digital photography. The degree of compression can be adjusted, allowing a selectable tradeoff between storage size and imag ...
format. Though the term "megapixel" was not widely used at the time of its manufacture, it operates at 1.5 megapixels, a large file-size for non-SLR digital cameras of its time. It utilizes
Compact Flash
CompactFlash (CF) is a flash memory mass storage device used mainly in portable electronic devices. The format was specified and the devices were first manufactured by SanDisk in 1994.
CompactFlash became one of the most successful of the ea ...
cards and initially shipped with a single 8 MB card.
[
The Dimâge EX's interchangeable lens assemblies set it apart from most point-and-shoot cameras. It initially shipped with a 3× zoom lens (the equivalent of 38-115mm focal length), named ''Dimâge EX 1500 Zoom'', but Minolta also introduced a wide angle lens as ''Dimâge EX 1500 Wide'' that could replace the standard lens unit.][ In 1999, Minolta also marketed the ''Dimâge 3D 1500'', incorporating ]MetaCreations
MetaCreations was a computer software company that was best known for its graphics applications, notably Ray Dream Studio/Infini D, Fractal Design Painter, Bryce, and Kai's Power Tools.
History
MetaCreations was founded in 1997 by the mer ...
' MetaFlash
MetaCreations was a computer software company that was best known for its graphics applications, notably Ray Dream Studio/Infini D, Fractal Design Painter, Bryce, and Kai's Power Tools.
History
MetaCreations was founded in 1997 by the mer ...
technology in a special flash accessory module to be mounted between the camera base and its lens in order to achieve stereoscopic photographs.
The port for the removable lens units also doubles as a port for a serial cable connection to a computer for direct downloading of photographs. The downloading process is handled via a packaged software interface called 'Digita
''Digita'' is a genus of moths of the family Erebidae erected by Michael Fibiger in 2008.
Species
*''Digita biuncus'' Fibiger, 2008
*''Digita ampullai'' Fibiger, 2008
References
*
Micronoctuini
Noctuoidea genera
{{Micronoctuini-stub ...
Desktop'. The unit also has a separate dedicated video-out port which supports both PAL and NTSC video standards.[
The Dimâge EX uses four standard AA batteries. However, the many features of the Dimage causes relatively fast draining of batteries, compared to other digital cameras of its time.][
]
See also
* Ricoh GXR
The Ricoh GXR is a compact digital camera first announced by Ricoh Company, Ltd, Tokyo on November 10, 2009. Unlike conventional cameras which either have a fixed lens and sensor or interchangeable lens and a fixed sensor, the GXR takes interchan ...
* Sony SmartShot
References
External links
imaging-resource.com''Digital Photography Review'' entry on Zoom-Lens version''Digital Photography Review'' entry on Wide-Lens version
{{Minolta
EX