Home > Consumer Reviews > Minolta DiMAGE S414 Digital Camera [4MP 4xOptical]

The Minolta S414 is a 4MP, metal bodied camera with a 4x optical and a 2.2x digial zoom at a price more akin to a 3MP camera and as such represents a real bargain. The camera is a little larger and heavier than many of the latest compacts but thanks to its metal body it has a solid feel that gives the impression of top notch build quality.

The lens is amongst the best around and produces very sharp pictures at all settings with a nice neutral colour balance.

The camera is very easy to use, in auto mode it is simply a case of point and shoot and for the more experienced photographer there are plenty of options. Anyone coming to digital for the first time but who has used an SLR or rangefinder in the past will find the S414 has virtually everything they are used to, including different ISO setting, aperture priority auto and manual exposure control.

The only real criticism is that the camera is power hungry and gets through batteries very quickly unless you use high capacity (1800 mAhr or above) NiMH rechargables. In emergencies you can get away with AAs but they really don't last very long at all.

Nonetheless, all in all this is an excellent camera for both the absolute beginner and for the semi-serious amateur, all at a remarkable price.

I've been inerested in photography for 25 years using film and for a 1st digital camera wanted a) good A4/10x8 type prints, a macro facility, reasonable zoom range, not too bulky, reasonably easy to use and yet with enough manual control to cope with the unusual once I got used to using the camera. After a LOT of reading I went for the Dimage S414 and have found it a pleasure.
Plus points: 1)4 mega pixels + very good apo lens, 2)4 x optical zoom (equiv. to up to 140mm in 35mm), 3)controls well placed and easy to use quickly, 4) TFT screen reasonably bright (up to 5 brightness settings), 5) Auto picture controls eg. white balance, very good for most things, 6)macro good from c.12-15cm, 7) Easy to transfer images to pc or review on camera (can zoom, scroll delete or lock any image), 8)Manual controls, esp. exposure compensation are a doddle to use, 9) exposure times up to 15 secs, 10)around 100 fine quality highest definition jpeg images on 250mb card, 11) can play to TV (if you want to), 12)a mode for photographing text.
Minus points: 1) The main thumbwheel control can catch easily going into a case turning the camera on. If the lens can't extend fully in the case it won't damage it but you need to remove the batteries to reset the camera. Don't let this put you off, just take the camera when you want to buy a case and try it for fit, 2) Not for the pocket (takes 4 AA size batteries) though it's not too bulky/heavy, 3) Optical viewfinder only gives c.85-90% view - why? TFT screen gives just about 100%.
Overall - I've had lots of cameras, this is my first digital and it's not only a good camera it's fun to use. I was surprised at how good the prints are (depends on your printer too of course). I haven't tried the 'movie' mode yet but why would I, I bought a camcorder for that.

I bought this camera just before going on holiday to Budapest. Came back very impressed with its handling, although nothing is perfect. Many of the things I would complain about this camera are generic to most compact digital cameras.

The limited range of apertures (true of all compact digitals) makes depth of field difficult to control. The limited number of focus points (also true of any camera of this type) also makes precise control of focus and depth of field more difficult.

The LCD display is very convenient, and can be seen at quite a wide range of angles, although there are some lighting conditions where it does become more difficult to view (I may try and play around with the brightness setting to see if I can alleviate this). The information on displayed on the LCD is comprehensive, but can be switched off if it interferes with the view of the image. The additional LCD on the top of the camera, that displays some of the settings and the available memory left, is a useful addition I have not seen on many other cameras of this type.
The thumbwheel on the top makes this almost as easy to use as a film camera, but as some others have commented, it is very easy to nudge the thumbwheel when putting the camera back in the bag, and this not only drains battery, but can cause the camera to get confused about its state. I have also had the camera lock up on me on one other occasion, when writing an image back to the card, and had to remove the batteries to reset it (and lost the last shot because of it). Otherwise, the camera did what was asked of it.

The dial wheel has 4 main setting: playback (just to review your pictures, and delete the duffs); a movie mode (a minute or so of low res movie); and auto mode; and a 'M' mode which is allows you to manual adjust settings you choose, while leaving other setting in auto. I almost exclusively used auto mode, with auto bracketing to allow for any unusual lighting that might confuse the metering (you can very quickly review the shots afterwards, and delete the ones that were not the exposure you wanted). When I did want to change a setting, it was very quick and easy to do, and I did not normally find myself hunting around the menus to see where I had to go to change it.

Image quality is superb.

In terms of size, it is not ultra compact (some of the very small ones, while convenient to carry, can be more difficult to use), but is still very small and light. A little bit plasticky (particularly the battery compartment cover), but never seemed to be at risk of being easily damaged.

Given the present limitations of all compact digital cameras at present, I think this is as good as it gets (of course, by next year, there will always be something better), and I would consider it very cheep for what it provides.

I bought this camera in june 2003. I was tempted to put in a good review immediately but thought I'd use it for a while to get low down on any 'quirky' things. I'm very glad to say I haven't found any and recommend you buy this. I get photo's to die for, and with a decent printer(I use Epson photo 895)you can blow it up to full A4 size with no pixelation. It feels great in your hands cos some makes are to small and fiddly, and looks good aswell. Please use nickel hydride rechargeables(they have no memory and last longer) or duracells though as brand new so called super power batteries wont even start it up sometimes. Another helpful tip which may save buyers time is what case to buy.... I bought the 'Tamrac digital bag' model no.5693. It fits very well in this giving adequate but not O.T.T. protection, it'll hold batteries and straps aswell. good shootin people.

What a bargain.
My first digital camera, after much research, and I'm delighted with my choice.
Image quality is excellent, build is very solid and very easy to use. Controls are well placed, easy to access and intuitive virtually straight out of the box. Colours vivid on basic auto, focus looks very sharp to me. Haven't explored the manual exposure/shutter features yet. 4x zoom as well plus macro all easy to use.
4mp image is superb at this price level.
Software setup is easy (I'm on Windows 98 SE). Supplied software is a bit limited, will need something additional for anything other than basic viewing.
Snags - only batteries, so likely to get similar problem whichever digital camera used. Gobbles up the alkalines supplied so will need to buy additional 1 or 2 sets of rechargeables plus a charger. Seem to get a reasonable life on 1800 mah and above.

Many more features to explore yet but at this price with the features offered, it must be very difficult to get better value.