Home > Consumer Reviews > Minolta Dimage Xi 3.2MP Digital Camera w/ 3x Optical Zoom

No, this camera doesn't have the most pixels or the biggest zoom. However, you will use it the most for two reasons. It is small enough to take in a shirt pocket or purse. The main feature is "audio notation" which records 15 seconds of audio after each picture. When, you return from a trip, you don't have to try to remember what city or landmark you visited. In a few mouse clicks, you can create a slide show with your own voice describing the sites. Very few cameras have this feature, and some who have it don't know how to use it, but it is a great general purpose camera. Most people who see it in use ask what it is and how to get it.

Great camera. Easy to use, easy to retrieve pictures (no software needed! just drag and drop), and very compact.

So compact that I left it in my pocket and it went through the washer and dryer... doesn't work anymore (though I suspect its only the battery).

oh, btw: Battery life is lacking.

I was looking for a small camera that I could shove in a pocket and take wherever I went so that if a photo oportunity came about, I would have a camera ready. I was low on money, and found this camera refurbished. I read lots of reviews and compared this camera to other cameras with the same features. Buying this camera is definitely not a mistake! I have the basic case and an extra battery, and since the batteries only take about an hour and a half to charge I always have one ready when the battery in the camera dies (Which is usually after a full day of continuous photography).
The camera is incredible rugged, I have dropped it on more than one occasion, and it still works. Whether I am in school, at home, or pretty much anywhere, this I know that I am sure to get a good picture.
Now to adress some of the problems that people say this camera has:
1. anemic flash - Although the flash is a little wimpy, when you use it within about 12 feet of your subject it is fine.
2. picture quality - the picture quality is as good as any 3.2 megapixel camera. It just depends what setting you have it on. I always keep mine of the largest picture and fine quality(next level below tiff). If you are complaining about image quality, get a film camera, and wait until digital cameras get better. Film is the equivalent of about 15-20 megapixels.
3. 16 megabyte card - duh, you can't get many pictures on here that are even somewhat decent in quality. No matter what camera you buy, you will still have to buy a larger card if you want a good amount of pictures. I have a 256 megabyte card that holds 160 pictures on fine and about 38 in tiff mode.
4. Finger in the picture - yeah, I agree that if you have big hands this can become a problem. The best way to hold this camera, is to use the controls and take the picture with your right hand and hold the bottom left hand corner of the camera with your left hand to steady it.
5. this camera is not for professionals - I agree. If you want all the controls of a manually controlled camera, keep looking, however, the autofocus does do a nice job, and I don't understand why a camera with more things to adjust would be better for snapshots and and active lifestyle.
All in all, this camera is truly one of the most handy electronic gadgets that I can think of and I WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS CAMERA TO ANYONE.

Overall this camera takes very good pictures and it is very compact. The only downside if any is when taking pictures in low light. Using flash the image is slightly underexposed and clor balance slightly off(can be easily corrected digitally later). In low light there is some noise at max resolution. If the image size is reduced to 2MP this noise is not seen but it reduces the resolution.
Overall very satisfied with the camera. I have also used a1000mA AC adapter at 4.5V to power it and it works fine.

Believe it or not.. I left the camera in the pocket of my shorts (it is soooo compact), and sent it through the complete wash cycle int he washer. To my complete amazement, the camera (including the battery and memory card) worked perfectly (after I let it dry for a day).