Minolta DiMAGE X manual

INSTRUCTION MANUAL E 9224-2776-1 1 H-A1 12[...]

2 B EFORE YOU B EGIN Thank you for purchasing this Minolta product. Please take the time to read through this instruction manual so you can enjoy all the features of your new digital camera. This manual contains information regarding products introduced before February , 2002. T o obtain compatibility information for products released after this da[...]

3 F OR PROPER AND SAFE USE DANGER NP-200 Lithium-ion batteries • Do not short, disassemble, damage, or modify the battery . • Do not expose the battery to fire or high temperatures over 60°C (140°F). • Do not expose the battery to water , or moisture. Water can corrode or damage the internal battery safety devices and cause the battery to o[...]

4 F OR PROPER AND SAFE USE W ARNING General warnings and cautions for product use. W ARNING •T ape over the lithium-ion battery contacts to avoid short-circuiting during disposal; always follow local regulations for battery disposal. • Only use the battery specified in this manual. • If charging is not completed after the specified period ela[...]

5 • Do not use the monitor while operating a vehicle or walking. It may result in injury or an accident. • Do not use this product in a humid environment, or operate these products with wet hands. If liquid enters this product, immediately remove the battery or unplug the power cord, and discontinue use. The continued use of a product exposed t[...]

6 F OR PROPER AND SAFE USE • Do not use or store these product in a hot or humid environment such as the glove compartment or trunk of a car . It may damage the camera, charger , and battery which may result in burns or injuries caused by heat, fire, explosion, or leaking battery fluid. • If the battery is leaking, discontinue use of the produc[...]

7 T ABLE OF CONTENTS Names of parts ....................................................................................................................................10 Getting up and running.........................................................................................................................12 Charging the lithium-ion battery [...]

8 Focus signals .................................................................................................................. .........25 Special focusing situations .................................................................................................... ..25 Flash modes .............................................................[...]

9 Audio captioning ............................................................................................................... .......57 Deleting image and audio files ................................................................................................58 Locking image and audio files .................................................[...]

10 N AMES OF P ARTS * This camera is a sophisticated optical instrument. Care should be taken to keep these surfaces clean. Please read the care and storage instructions in the back of this manual (p. 82). Flash (p. 26) Self-timer lamp (p. 32) Lens* Main switch Microphone T ripod socket Battery/Card chamber door (p. 13, 16) DC terminal (p. 15) Stra[...]

11 AV -out-terminal/USB-port cover V iewfinder* Indicator lamp (p. 81) Mode switch Left key Right key Zoom lever (p. 21) LCD monitor* Display button (p. 48, 52) Flash-mode button (p. 26) Menu button Enter button Speaker Recording mode (p. 20) Playback mode (p. 50)[...]

12 G ETTING UP AND RUNNING GETTING UP AND RUNNING This section covers how to prepare your camera for use. Details on the use and installation of the battery and memory card are given as well as how to attach the hand strap and optional AC adapter . Charging the lithium-ion battery Before the camera can be used, the lithium-ion battery must be charg[...]

Changing the lithium-ion battery To remove the battery , move the latch towards the back of the camera until the battery is released (5). Pull the battery out of the chamber (6). This digital camera uses one NP-200 lithium-ion battery . Before using the battery , read the safety warnings on pages 3 and 4 of this manual. When replacing the battery ,[...]

14 G ETTING UP AND RUNNING Battery-condition indicator Full-battery icon - the battery is fully charged. This icon is displayed for three seconds when the camera is switched on or switched between the recording or playback mode. If power is insufficient for camera operation, the indicator lamp next to the viewfinder will turn red and blink for thre[...]

15 AC adapter (sold separately) The AC adapter AC-4 or AC-5 allows the camera to be powered from a household outlet. The AC adapter is recommended when the camera is interfaced with a computer or during periods of heavy use. AC adapter model AC-4 is for use in North America, Japan, and T aiwan, and AC-5 is for use in all other areas. Insert the min[...]

16 G ETTING UP AND RUNNING Installing and removing a memory card Insert the memory card all the way into the card slot and then release (3). The card should catch in the slot. • Insert the card so the face is toward the front of the camera. Always push the card in straight, never at an angle. Never force the card. If the card does not fit, check [...]

The response time during recording and playback is longer with MultiMediaCards compared with SD Memory Cards. This is not a defect, but rather due to the specifications of the cards. When using large capacity cards, some operations like deletion may take longer . The SD Memory Card has a write-protect switch to prevent image data from being deleted[...]

18 G ETTING UP AND RUNNING Setting the date and time After initially inserting a memory card and charging the battery , the camera’s clock and calendar must be set. When images are recorded, the image data is saved with the date and time of record- ing. Depending on the region, the menu language may also have to be set. T o change the language, r[...]

Press the menu button to activate the play- back menu. Use the right key to highlight the setup 1 tab at the top of the menu. Use the zoom lever to highlight the date/time-set menu option. Press the enter button to display the date/time setting screen. Use the left and right keys to select the item to be changed. Use the zoom lever to adjust the it[...]

20 R ECORDING MODE RECORDING MODE This section covers the basic recording operation as well as advanced recording functions. T o start using the camera, read pages 20 through 29. Many of the recording functions are controlled with menus. The menu navigation sections concisely describe how to change menu settings. Descriptions of the settings immedi[...]

21 Using the zoom lens This camera is equipped with a unique 5.7 - 17.1mm zoom lens. This is equivalent to a 37 to 1 1 1mm lens on a 35mm camera. The lens is controlled by the zoom lever at the back of the camera. In 35mm photography , focal lengths below 50mm are referred to as wide-angle; the angle of view is larger than that of the human eye. Ab[...]

22 R ECORDING MODE LCD monitor display - recording mode If the shutter speed falls below the point where the camera can be hand held safely , the camera-shake warning indicator will appear on the monitor and the viewfinder indicator lamp will turn green and blink slowly . Camera shake is slight blurring caused by subtle hand motion and is more pron[...]

23 Basic recording operation Press the shutter-release button partway down (1) to lock the focus and exposure. • The focus signals (p. 25) on the monitor and the indicator lamp next to the viewfinder will confirm that the image is in focus. If the monitor focus signal is red or the indicator lamp is green and blinks quickly , the camera was unabl[...]

24 R ECORDING MODE Focus lock The focus-lock function is used when you want to compose the image with the subject off-center and outside the focus frame. Focus lock may also be used when a special focusing situation prevents the camera from focusing on the subject. This function is controlled with the shutter-release button. Place the subject withi[...]

25 Focus signals Special focusing situations This digital camera has a quick, accurate autofocusing system. The focus icon in the lower right cor- ner of the LCD monitor and the indicator lamp next to the viewfinder indicate the focus status. The shutter can be released regardless of whether the camera can focus on the subject or not. The camera ma[...]

26 R ECORDING MODE Autoflash - the flash fires automatically in low-light and backlit conditions. Red-eye reduction - the flash fires multiple bursts before the main flash burst to reduce red-eye; an effect caused by light reflected from the retina. Use in low-light conditions when taking photographs of people or animals. The pre-flashes contract t[...]

0.25m ~ 2.3m (0.8 ft. ~ 7.5 ft.) 27 Flash range The camera automatically controls the flash output. For well-exposed images, the subject must be within the flash range. Because of the optical system, the flash range is not the same at the lens’ wide-angle position as it is at the telephoto position. Wide-angle position T elephoto position 0.25m ~[...]

Basic Custom Setup 1 Drive mode Image size Quality White balance Single 1600X1200 Standard Auto Camera operations and recording functions are controlled on the menu. Navigating the menu is simple. The menu button turns the menu on and of f. The zoom lever and left and right keys control the cursor and change settings on the menu. The enter button s[...]

29 Refer to the following sections for details on the menu options and their settings. The setup 1 section can be accessed from both the recording-mode and playback menu (p. 54). Drive mode Image size Basic Quality White balance 1600 X 1200 1280 X 960 640 X 480 Super fine Fine Standard Economy Auto Single Continuous Self-timer Movie Audio rec. Fluo[...]

30 R ECORDING MODE The drive modes control the rate and method images are captured. Icons indicating the selected drive mode appear on the monitor . The drive mode is selected in the basic section of the recording- mode menu (p. 28). When the camera is turned off, the drive mode is reset to single-frame advance. Drive modes Movie recording (p. 33) [...]

The continuous-advance drive mode allows a series of images to be captured while holding down the shutter-release button. The number of images that can be captured at one time and the rate of capture depend on the image-quality and image-size setting. With the image-size setting of 1600 X 1200, the maximum rate of capture is 2 fps. If the image qua[...]

Used for self-portraits, the self-timer will delay the release of the shutter for approxi- mately ten seconds after the shutter-release button is pressed. The self-timer drive mode is selected in the basic section of the recording-mode menu (p. 28). With the camera on a tripod, compose the picture as described in the basic recording operation secti[...]

The movie-recording drive mode is selected in the basic section of the recording-mode menu (p. 28). Movie clips up to approximately thirty-five seconds in length with audio can be recorded. The movie image is 320 X 240 pixels (QVGA) and recorded at a rate of around 340KB/s. Approximately one 19-second movie clip can be stored on one 8MB memory card[...]

Ninety seconds of audio can be recorded without an image. The audio-recording drive mode is selected in the basic section of the recording-mode menu (p. 28). When the function is active, the live view is replaced with a blue screen. Approximately 842 seconds of audio can be stored on one 8MB memory card. Audio is recorded at approximately 8KB/s To [...]

Changing image size affects the number of pixels in each image. The greater the image size, the larger the file size. Choose image size based on the final use of the image - smaller images will be more suitable for web sites whereas larger sizes will produce higher quality prints. Image size must be set before the picture is taken. Image size is se[...]

36 R ECORDING MODE Image quality S. FIN FINE STD ECON Economy - the smallest file sizes. LCD monitor display Super fine - the highest-quality image. Fine - high-quality image. Standard - the default setting. File type TIFF JPEG JPEG JPEG This camera has four image-quality settings: super fine, fine, standard, and economy . Always select the desired[...]

The number of images that can be stored on a memory card is determined by the size and type of card and the file size of the images. The actual file size is determined by the scene; some subjects can be compressed further than others. The frame counter indicates the approximate number of images that can be stored on the memory card at the camera’[...]

38 R ECORDING MODE White balance is the camera’s ability to make dif ferent types of lighting appear neutral. The ef fect is similar to selecting daylight or tungsten film, or using color compensating filters in conventional pho- tography . One automatic and four preset white-balance setting are avail- able. When one of the preset white-balance s[...]

39 Preset white balance Fluorescent - for fluorescent lighting: office ceiling lights. Cloudy - for overcast outdoor scenes. Preset white-balance settings must be set before the image is taken. Once set, the effect is immedi- ately visible on the monitor . To record the ambient light, set the flash mode to flash cancel (p. 26). The built-in flash c[...]

40 R ECORDING MODE Digital zoom Assisting the optical zoom is a four-step 2X digital zoom. The digital zoom is activated in the custom section of the recording-mode menu (p. 28). The digital zoom increases the magnification of the greatest telephoto setting of the optical zoom in four steps: X1.25, X1.50, X1.75, and X2.00. Although the images recor[...]

41 Instant playback After a still image is captured, it can be displayed on the monitor for two seconds before being saved. Instant playback shows the last frame in the series when used with the continuous-advance drive mode (p. 31). When the LCD monitor is turned off (p. 48), it will automatically activate for the instant playback period. Instant [...]

V oice memo allows an audio track up to fifteen seconds to be recorded with a still image. The function is activated in the custom section of the recording-mode menu (p. 28). When the function is active, the white microphone icon is displayed on the LCD monitor . The voice memo must be set before taking a picture. It will remain in effect until res[...]

43 Folder name All recorded images are stored in folders on the memory card. Folder names come in two formats: standard and date. Standard folders have an eight character name. The initial folder is named 100ML T09. The first three digits are the folder’s serial number , which will increase by one each time a new folder is created. The next three[...]

44 R ECORDING MODE LCD brightness The brightness of the LCD monitor can be set in eleven levels. After selecting the LCD brightness option and pressing the enter button on the menu (p. 28, 54), the LCD brightness screen will be displayed. Pressing and holding the display button will also active the LCD brightness screen. Use the left and right keys[...]

45 Setting the date and time It is important to accurately set the clock. When a recording is made, the date and time of the recording are saved with the file and are displayed in playback mode or with the DiMAGE Image V iewer Utility software included on the CD-ROM. The date and time are set in the setup 1 section of the recording and playback-mod[...]

Use the left and right keys (1) to adjust the exposure-compensation value. • The LCD monitor will display the exposure- compensation icon and value. • Change in exposure compensation is visible in the live image on the monitor . The adjustment in exposure will be automatically set after five seconds or when another camera button is pressed. 46 [...]

Sometimes the camera’s exposure meter is deceived by certain subjects. Exposure compensation can be used in these situations. For example, a very bright scene, such as a snowy landscape or a white sandy beach, can appear too dark in the captured image. Before taking the picture, adjusting the exposure by +1 or +2 Ev will result in an image with n[...]

48 R ECORDING MODE The display-information button controls the LCD monitor display . The display cycles to the next position each time the button is pressed: full display , live image only , and monitor off. If the display button is pressed and held, the LCD-brightness adjustment screen will appear , see page 44. Battery power can be conserved by t[...]

Photography can be a rewarding pursuit. This guide is an introduction to some basic photographic principles. The zoom lens does not only affect how large the subject is in the picture, but it also influences the depth of field and perspective. Depth of field is the area between the closest object in focus and the furthest object in focus. As the le[...]

50 P LA YBACK MODE PLA YBACK MODE Single-frame playback display This section details how to view and edit images on the camera. Basic operation of the playback mode is covered from page 50 to 56. Detailed descriptions of the playback menu settings follow the menu navigation section. Mode indicator T ime of recording Date of recording Lock icon (p. [...]

51 Playing back still images, movie clips, and audio recordings is simple. Slide the mode switch to the playback position (1) and use the left and right keys to scroll through the recordings on the memory card (2). V iewing images and playing back audio recordings To play back the audio track, press the enter button (3). •T o cancel a voice memo [...]

52 P LA YBACK MODE Full display In index playback, the left and right keys, and zoom lever moves the yellow border around the index thumbnails. When the image is highlighted with the border , the date of recording, audio-track indicator , the lock and printing status, and the frame number of the image are displayed at the bottom of the screen. The [...]

53 Enlarged playback With the image to be magnified displayed, press the zoom lever up to activate the enlarged playback mode. • The degree of magnification is displayed on the LCD monitor . Use the left and right keys, and the zoom lever to scroll the image. In single-frame playback, a still image can be enlarged in six steps for closer examinat[...]

When the desired menu section is displayed, use the zoom lever to scroll through the menu options. Highlight the option whose setting needs to be changed. With the menu option to be changed highlighted, press the right key; the settings will be displayed with the current setting indicated by an arrow . •T o return to the menu options, press the l[...]

55 Refer to the following sections for descriptions of the menu options and settings. Setup 1 LCD brightness Enter 3 minutes 5 minutes 30 minutes On/Off Enter YYYY/MM/DD DD/MM/YYYY MM/DD/YYYY 10 minutes 1 minute Date/T ime set Date format Audio signals Power off Basic Delete Lock Audio caption This frame All frames Marked frames This frame All fram[...]

56 P LA YBACK MODE Frame-selection screen When a marked-frames setting is chosen on the menu, the frame selection screen will appear . This screen allows multiple image and audio files to be chosen. The left and right keys move the yellow border to select the frame. Pressing the zoom lever up selects the frame; when selected, an icon will appear ne[...]

Press the enter button (1) to start recording. • If an audio track is already attached to the image file, a confirmation screen will appear . Choosing and entering “Y es” will start the audio caption recording replacing the previous audio track. “No” will cancel the audio-caption operation. A still image can have a fifteen-second audio ca[...]

58 P LA YBACK MODE Single, multiple, or all image or audio files on the memory card can be deleted with the playback-mode menu. Before a file is deleted, a confirmation screen will appear; choosing “Y es” will execute the operation, “No” will cancel the operation. The delete option has three settings: This frame - The image or recording dis[...]

59 Single, multiple, or all image or audio files on the memory card can be locked. A locked file cannot be erased by a playback menu delete function. Important images should be locked. The lock option has four settings: This frame - The frame displayed or highlighted in playback mode will be locked. If the this-frame option is used with a locked im[...]

60 P LA YBACK MODE The print menu option is used to set an order for standard prints from still images on the memory card. Single, multiple, or all images can be printed. The print option has four settings: This-frame - T o create a DPOF file for the image displayed or highlighted in playback mode. All-frames - T o create a DPOF file for all still [...]

61 When the this-frame or all-frames setting is chosen, a screen will appear requesting the number of copies of each image; a maximum of nine copies can be ordered. Use the zoom lever to set the number of copies desired. If the all-frames setting was used to create a print order , any additional images saved afterwards on the memory card will not b[...]

62 P LA YBACK MODE Formatting memory cards When a memory card is formatted, all data on the card is erased. The formatting function is used to erase all data on a memory card. Before formatting a card, copy the data to a computer or storage device. Locking images will not protect them from being deleted when the card is formatted. Always format the[...]

V iew images as described in the playback section. Insert the A V cable into the camera’s A V -out / USB terminal. Plug the other end of the A V cable into the video and audio input terminals on the television. • The yellow plug is for the video output. The white plug is for the monaural audio output. T urn the television on. T urn the camera o[...]

64 D ATA - TRANSFER MODE DA T A-TRANSFER MODE Users with Windows 98 or 98 second edition will need to install the driver software on the included DiMAGE software CD-ROM (p. 67). Users with Mac OS 8.6 will need to download and install a USB mass-storage device from the Apple web site (p. 70). Customers who have bought a DiMAGE 7, 5, S304, or 2330 di[...]

3 65 Connecting the camera to a computer Start up the computer . • The computer must be turned on before connecting the camera. Insert the memory card into the camera. • Confirm that the correct card is in the camera. T o change the memory card while the camera is connected to a computer , see page 71. Attach the other end of the USB cable to t[...]

When the camera is properly connected, a drive icon will appear on the computer . When using Windows XP , the removable-disk window will be displayed. 66 D ATA - TRANSFER MODE T urn on the camera to initiate the USB connection. • While the camera is connected to a computer , the data- transfer screen will be displayed. 5 5 If the computer does no[...]

67 Connecting to Windows 98 and 98SE The driver needs only to be installed once. If the driver cannot be installed automatically , it can be installed manually with the operating system’s add-new-hardware wizard; see the instructions on the following page. During installation, if the operating system requests the Windows 98 CD-ROM, insert it into[...]

68 D ATA - TRANSFER MODE Choose the recommended search for a suitable driver . Click “Next.” Choose to specify the location of the driver . The browse window can be used to indicate the driver location. When the location is shown in the window , click “Next.” • The driver should be located in the CD-ROM drive at :Win98USB. Manual instal[...]

69 The add new hardware wizard will confirm the location of the driver . Click “Next” to install the driver in the system. • One of three drivers may be located: MNL VENUM.inf, USBPDR.inf, or USBSTRG.inf. • The letter designating the CD-ROM drive will vary between computers. The last window will confirm the driver has been installed. Click [...]

70 D ATA - TRANSFER MODE Connecting to Mac OS 8.6 To access this camera with a computer with Mac OS 8.6, the USB storage support 1.3.5.smi must be installed first. This software is supplied by Apple Computer , Inc. free of charge. It can be downloaded from the Apple web site at http://www .apple.com. To download and install this software, follow th[...]

1. Disconnect the USB cable. 2.T urn off the camera. 3. Change the memory card. 4. Reconnect the USB cable. 5. Turn on the camera to remake the USB connection. 71 Changing the memory card - data-transfer mode Care should be taken when changing memory cards while the camera is attached to a computer . Data could be lost or damaged if the camera is n[...]

PICT0001.THM 72 D ATA - TRANSFER MODE Image-file names begin with “PICT” followed by a four-digit file number and a tif, jpg, mov , or thm extension. V oice-memo and audio caption files have a wav extension and the file name corresponds to its image file. Audio recordings also use the wav extension. The thumbnail images (thm) are produced with [...]

73 Files and folders on the memory card can be deleted using the computer . Do not change the name of a file on the card or add a date to the card with a computer . Never format the memory card from the computer; always use the camera to format the card (p. 54, 62). The number in the image file name may not correspond to the frame number of the ima[...]

Click on the small window to stop the device. The safe-to-remove-hardware window will appear . Close the window and then disconnect the USB cable and turn off the camera. When more than one external device are connected to the computer , repeat the procedure above except right click on the unplug-or-eject-hardware icon. This will open the unplug-or[...]

75 On the unplug-or-eject-hardware window , the hardware devices to be stopped will be displayed. Highlight the device by clicking on it then click “Stop.” Confirm the indicator lamp is not lit and then drag the mass-storage device icon and drop it into the trash. Disconnect the USB cable and turn off the camera. • If the USB cable is disconn[...]

76 S ETTING THE MENU LANGUAGE Press the menu button to active the playback menu. Use the right key to highlight the setup 2 tab at the top of the menu. Use the zoom lever to highlight the language menu option. Press the right key . The language settings will appear on the right side of the menu. Use the zoom lever to select the language. Press the [...]

77 A PPENDIX Problem Symptom Cause Solution The camera will not work. Nothing dis- played on the the monitor . The battery is dead. The auto-power-off func- tion has shut down the camera. The AC adapter is not connected properly . Recharge the battery (p. 12). T urn the camera on using the main switch. Check that the adapter is con- nected to the c[...]

78 T ROUBLESHOOTING Pictures are not sharp. Focus signal is red and the viewfinder indicator lamp is green and blinking quick- ly . Subject is too close. Make sure the subject is within the autofocus range of 25cm (0.8ft.) to infinity . A special situation is pre- venting the autofocus system from focusing (p.25) Use the focus-lock function to focu[...]

79 A PPENDIX If the camera does not function normally , turn it off, remove and reinsert the battery , or unplug and reconnect the AC adapter . Always turn the camera off using the main switch otherwise the memory card may be damaged and camera settings reset. Problem Symptom Cause Solution The lens was partially covered with an object or finger . [...]

80 T ROUBLESHOOTING The indicator lamp next to the viewfinder can be used to diagnose camera operations. The lamp colors change between green, red, and orange, and the lamp can glow steadily or blink at two rates. Color State Indication Green Red Orange Steady Blinking slowly Blinking quickly Camera ready to take an image. Camera-shake warning - sh[...]

81 A PPENDIX 1. Insert a memory card in the camera and connect it to the computer with the USB cable. Other devices must not be connected to the computer during this procedure. 2. Right click on the My-computer icon. Select “properties” from the drop-down menu. Windows XP: from the start menu go to the control panel. Click on the performance an[...]

82 C ARE AND STORAGE Camera care • Do not subject the camera to shock or impact. •T urn off the camera when transporting. • This camera is neither waterproof nor splashproof. Inserting or removing the battery or memory card, or operating the camera with wet hands may damage the camera. • When at the beach or near water , take care not to ex[...]

83 • If the camera or the outside of the lens is dirty , gently wipe it with a soft, clean, dry cloth. If the camera or lens comes in contact with sand, gently blow away loose particles. Wiping may scratch the surface. •T o clean the lens surface, first blow away any dust or sand, then, if necessary , moisten a lens tis- sue or soft cloth with [...]

84 C ARE AND STORAGE • Check the camera’s operation; take test pictures and recharge the battery . • Minolta has no responsibility for any damage or loss incurred by equipment malfunction. •I f you have questions about your camera, contact your local camera dealer or write to the Minolta distributor in your area. • Before shipping your ca[...]

This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions: (1) This device may not cause harmful interference, and (2) this device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation. Changes or modifications not approved by the party responsible for complia[...]

86 T ECHNICAL SPECIFICA TIONS Number of effective pixels: 1.96 million CCD: 1/2.7-type interline complementary-color CCD with a total of 2.1 1 million pixels. Camera sensitivity (ISO): Automatic (between ISO 100 - 200 equivalent.) Aspect ratio: 4:3 Lens construction: 9 elements in 8 groups. Maximum aperture: f/2.8 - f/3.6 Focal length: 5.7 - 17.1 m[...]

87 Battery performance (recording): Approximately 120 frames: based on Minolta’s stan- dard test method: NP-200 lithium-ion battery , LCD monitor on, full-size images (1600 X 1200), standard image quality , no instant playback, no voice memo, flash used with 50% of the frames. Approximately 190 frames: based on Minolta’s stan- dard test method:[...]

Printed in Japan ©2001 Minolta Co., Ltd. under the Berne Convention and the Universal Copyright Convention.[...]