Mahwah, N.J. — Konica Minolta contributed to the pre-PMA blitzkrieg with two new 5-megapixel, ultra-zoom models.
The DiMAGE Z5 sports a 12x optical/4x digital zoom, a 2-inch LCD and the company’s Anti-Shake system. According to Konica Minolta, the Anti-Shake technology was migrated down from its more advanced models, including its new digital SLR, and lets users shoot with shutter speeds four to eight times longer than possible when shooting without it.
The camera’s Rapid Autofocus (AF) system can focus in roughly 0.2 second in the wide angle and 0.3 second in telephoto. The Z5 also features several preset scene modes, exposure modes including full manual, a VGA movie mode at 30 frames per second (fps), and a continuous advance shooting mode at 2 fps to three frames at the camera’s maximum resolution.
Konica Minolta’s other entry is the Z20 with an 8x optical/4x digital zoom, alongside Rapid AF, and a 0.5-second start-up time.
According to the company, the Z20’s Rapid AF combines a passive AF sensor with the video AF system, enabling a focus time of 0.3 second in both the wide-angle and telephoto positions. The camera’s Rapid AF also has Predictive focus control, which can predict where a moving subject is heading and focus accordingly.
The camera can snap up to approximately 450 images with the four AA alkaline batteries (included), offers a macro mode to 0.4 inches and can record VGA movie clips at 30 fps.
