Konica Minolta DiMAGE S414 Digital Camera

Pros: Lots of options, low price, 4.0mp and 4x optical zoom
Cons: Battery life, wastes batteries, clunky design

I bought my Dimage S414 on sale for $229. For the money, I figured a 4.0mp camera with a 4x optical zoom was a good deal. Taking Pictures The camera can be used in automatic mode, and takes pretty good pictures. The flash can be turned to ...

Pros: great metering, better flash than competition, professional like features, solid frame.
Cons: It's not an SLR, 35.5 filter diameter is rare, Auto-focus is not idiot proof.

I’ve worked as a semi-professional photographer and finally decided to buy a digital. In short I like the Minolta S414. For what I consider to be a point-and-shoot camera it’s an excellent camera with a very good lens, very, very good metering ...

Pros: 4x zoom, picture quality, ease of use, multitude of modes and settings.
Cons: Crappy, crappy quality and durability, would rather have a black shell.

After careful consideration, I bought my S414 in June of '03 from an online camera store for $300 plus $40 for shipping. Absolutely no gripes about the ease of use or picture quality; in fact, if you're taking family pictures that will be printed no ...

Pros: Takes Amazingly Good Pictures - Auto Exposure Works - Precise Focus
Cons: Lens cap hassle - Selector Switch Needs Better Detent, Side Door Opens 2-EZ

Best of all is the amazing picture quality this camera produces. Focus window shows you exactly wha ...

Pros: Photo and build quality, 4x excellent zoom lenses,great macro, features, no red-eye
Cons: Unpredictable low-light focusing, a bit slow, yellowish indoors photos

I’ve got this camera for almost two years and took thousands of photos. Reading other comments, I realize that early batches must have been faulty, since I treated this camera as any other photo camera, neither banged it all round nor overprotected ...

Pros: Non-proprietary batteries. Excellent quality. Easy to navigate menus. Fun to use.
Cons: Plastic housing, don't drop this one.

I bought this camera on my honeymoon in St. Thomas last May 2003. Before doing so I had looked at many cameras and did a thorough amount of research. There were several things I was judging my perspective cameras on. 1) Will the camera take high ...

Pros: Picture quality, features and price
Cons: Would have liked a metal lens cap...

I was interested in finding a digital camera that would offer excellent image quality combined with the ability to control the picture-taking process. I was looking for quality and value.

In the end, to cut through the process, I bought the...

Pros: Specs, price
Cons: Eats batteries

Background I just bought the S414 from on on-line auction biz - uBid. The camera was refurbished by Minolta. That didn't bother me - I've purchased numerous refurbished products and always had good luck. Nor was I concerned that uBid seems to have lots ...

Pros: Good price, 4X zoom, can start "basic" picture taking quickly
Cons: Controls sensitive, non-intuitive interface, rechargeable batteries a must., needs additional memory card.

I've wanted a digital camera for some time - my wife and I are shutterbugs. I was looking for a 4 Megapixel camera, Macintosh compatible, in the $300-400 price range, and web searching led me to look at the Olympus 4000 and the HP 812 (both owned by ...

Pros: Great pictures, great optical zoom range, Outstanding software package
Cons: Not supported by Linux (yet), Occasionally drops pictures out of memory, Horrible Tripod mount

I purchased the S414 just after Christmas time this past year and have developed a love/hate rela ...

Pros: 4 Mega Pixels, Excellent Value, Fast Response
Cons: Yellow Tint Indoors, Few Physical Design Flaws

How I Bought This Camera What attracted me to the Minolta S414 camera was the price (bought ...

Pros: Great picture quality, Multiple photographic style/size/quality features. Manual features east to use.
Cons: NOT LINUX compatible, zoom/toggle switch poorly located, Tri-pod mount poorly located

I had planned for many years to buy a digital camera but was quite content to by disposables. I did ...

Pros: Saves uncompressed images, great resolution, great manual features.
Cons: Doesn't save settings in auto mode, eats alkalines, camera strap anchor in bad location.

I did a lot of research on cameras before deciding on the Minolta Dimage S414. I wanted a camera that was more than 4 mega pixels, had a decent optical zoom, the ability to attach lens filters/additional lenses, had manual features, and was priced reasona ...

Pros: Durable. Relatively easy to use. Great A/V. Able to download needed items from website.
Cons: Heavy. Small preview screen.

I needed to replace the sucky Sakar 80379 that I got on sale at Toys 'R Us (that should have told me something) and subsequently lost. At that point I would have been happy to get a camera with a preview screen! I got this from a pawn shop and had the ...

Pros: Sharp photos (when in focus), nice features, fairly easy to use in basic mode
Cons: Big, heavy...somewhat complicated when using advanced features...Problems with battery life and focus.

The Minolta S414 is my first digital camera. I suppose I expected the whole digital camera experience to be easier than this, but I must say I have experienced a bit of frustration in the first few weeks that I've had this camera. I don't think it's...

Pros: Stunning picture quality. Ease of use. Price.
Cons: Digital zoom, AC adapter plug in location.

This is my second foray into digital cameras after owning a 2 meg. Wanted to step up to high resolution to get near professional results. I AM NOT DISAPPOINTED!!! After one week I believe it to be the finest mega-pixel camera dollar for dollar on the mark ...

Pros: bargain price for a feature-rich and nicely built camera
Cons: auto-focus problem and auto mode set at ISO 400

For the same price, you can't find another model with 4M pixel resolution and 4X optical zoom. What a bargain !
It performs nicely most of the time, and colors (in natural mode) is more accurate than Canon.
in addition, it provides a lot of...

Pros: Excellent--Good buy Looked a long time for a quality camera and found one.
Cons: Rechargeable batteries a must. Needs additional memory card

I was a bit skeptical about purchasing the S414 after reading the reviews about the S404 but based o ...

Pros: Price, excellent lenses, LCD size,metal body,flash power,manual options,almost no red eyes
Cons: Ergonomically flawed on manual, in auto it sometimes produces messy pictures

After extensive (6 months) experience with this camera, I can say it can take some very, very good pictures. It has good quality lenses and many semi-pro options. It's solidly built(almost all metal), the LCD is of decent size, the camera itself can ...

Pros: Easy to use out of the box Tons of features and settings
Cons: Batteries die quickly, but with good rechargables, who cares.

I read many reviews on Epinions before I bought this camera and for the money spent, it is a great p ...

Pros: sharp natural color pictures. really like the 4-level optical zoom.
Cons: Read-eye when using flash, drains batteries fast.

I've had this camera for a couple of days. Great pictures in natural light. Haven't figured out how ...

Pros: Ease of use, 4 MegaPixs, Great Pics
Cons: Wish I could find a camera that does elapse time frames.

This is a great camera especially for the price. It's got 4Mpx and great pics. Flash, and lots of ...

Pros: The pics, the video, the B/W and Sepia
Cons: the battery life is terrible

This is an incredible camera with all the things you want. I am no pro but I can shoot like one. There is B/W, Sepia, vivid colors, and natural, there is manual white, video with sound, there is different modes and ca,era speeds. The zoom is great. i definaltely like it! The Batteries are terrible. MUST HAVE NiMH Batteries that recharge.

Pros: Many neat additional features
Cons: The camera is bulky

I have recently decided to test out the Minolta S414, and it amazes me. Even though it looks big and bulky than many other point-and-shoot camera, the weigh is actually very light. Also, it has many interesting features such as the movies mode that you can actually record moving pictures.

Pros: Camera rocks! Nothing wrong with it
Cons: Customer service SUCKS!

This camera is one of the best camera I have ever seen for this price. The pictures it takes are flawless! The Camera is perfect in every way. I cant seem to find a problem with it. BUT!!! The customer service at Minolta is horrible! They are bad to deal with in every sense. If your camera breaks or needs service, they dont offer any sort of loaner camera for you to use while it goes through the extreamly long fixing process. Over a month and a half I have had to go with out my camera! They offer no compensation for that and the slightest bit of compassion. That, to me, can some times mean more than good products alone. If you service your product and deal with your customers in a way that sets you apart from your competition, that will leave an indent longer than a camera that will go out of style in 5 years.

Pros: Picture quality, ease of use, full featured manual overrides.
Cons: A bit too big for a regular pocket.

I've owned this camera for a couple of months now. I'm pretty happy with it. The picture quality is excellent (much better than the Fuji 4700 I used to have).
It is easy to use -- the fully automatic mode works well. In the manual mode it has lots of options to experiment and get the perfect picture.
It takes good indoor shots too - not nearly so grainy as other digi-cams I've used.

Pros: Price. Probably the cheapest 4.0 MP Camera Out There.
Cons: If Digital Cameras Were Cars, This One's a 1989 Buick.

I was lured into this camera based on its 4.0 megapixel spec and its price point, but I wish I hadn't taken the bait. I was upgrading from a 2.0 megapixel Nikon, and thought this would be the way to go. Not really. The camera is kinda heavy and clunky, and very slow--from startup to autofocus--it really has a hard time keeping up. (My 3-year-old Nikon is definitely faster.)The no-flash images are definitely good, but most decent manufacturers can legitimately make that claim. Like many point-and-shoot digitals, shots requiring a flash are pretty poor...an understandable fact of life. Not a BAD camera, but nothing real great either.

Pros: Good outdoor quality photos
Cons: Poor indoor/evening shots; annoying lens cover; poor tripod positioning; too bulky

I bought this camera as an upgrade from my 2mp camera. I picked this camera b/c of good specs for the price. It takes great pictures outdoors. Nice 4x optical zoom. Good size LCD screen to view taken pictures. Unfortunately, it takes awful indoor or evening shots in manual or automatic mode. The background is too dark and is lost in the picture. However the person in the picture comes out clear. When compared side by side w/other 4mp cameras, the Minolta was distinctly darker for indoor shots. The annoying lens cover has to be manually applied to the camera after each use to prevent damaging the lens. Other cameras out there have automatic retracting lens covers. In addition, the Minolta is a tad bulky. Lastly the tripod is useless for this camera.

Pros: Cheap. Camera is inexpensive. Uses compact flash cards and AA batteries. That's about it.
Cons: Minolta customer service and repairs. If this camera breaks, throw it away.

I too have had a horrible time with Minolta customer service. The camera started out fine, but had a small problem with some debris in the lens. I sent it in to Minolta for repair and they have completely screwed up the camera. Now the picture quality is horrible, and nobody at Minolta has any sympathy. They are going to replace my camera, but get this.... only with another USED one!

Avoid Minolta! Buy a Canon instead.

For additional information on my horror story, see the accompanying link. Because of the link moratorium at epinions, you'll have to decipher the following link :-)

http colon slash slash mywebpages dot comcast dot net slash a dot wirtz12 slash minolta slash Minolta dot html

Pros: Great customer service!
Cons: I would be hard pressed to come up with anything of significance!

Great camera! Someone blasted the customer service, so I had to respond to my experience with them.
I dropped the camera and it would not auto flash anymore.
I sent it to the service center and they quickly sent back a confirmation of receipt and estimated time of repair (two to three weeks).
Less than a week after I sent it in, they had sent it back repaired under the warranty.

Pros: Beautiful pictures,many file sizes to choose, simple to use.
Cons: a bit large in size. we just can't find anything to complain about.

A bit large in size, but a wonderful companion. Beautiful pictures in any file size you desire. Beach Camera and Minolta team up and offer a great product. Purchase 2100 or better mAh rechargeable batteries,larger memory card,camera case and you will snap away for a long, long time. We have owned the camera over a month and are still enjoying our garden memories in vivid detail and color thanks to Minolta. Buy this camera.tony & karen, oregon

Pros: I dunno I could never use it long enough to rate any pros
Cons: Battery life, Heavy w/ 4 AA's

I bought this camera in 2004 and I pretty much had problems with it from the getgo. Camera would turn itself on mysteriously. The battery life would only be a few minutes no matter what kind of battery I would use. Alkaline, NiMH (2500mA) or Lithium. I trashed it and bought a Canon Powershot SD1000

Pros: None
Cons: Battery Life, Have to wait to long between shots

Even if free run from this camera. Bad picture quality.
Can only take one picture every 10 to 15 seconds.

Pros: None
Cons: Battery life; focus quality; size

Purchased this camera 10 months ago and have had nothing but problems. Sent it out for service (camera shutting down on its own) and have had same problem. Batteries last a matter of 10 pictures (Contacted Minolta only to be told I should buy $30 set of batteries) Incredibly slow recovery rate. Bulky size. I would highly discourage anyone from wasting their money on this poor product.

Very impressed with this camera (my second digital camera). Exellent optics, combined with 4 megapixels and 4X zoom. Fine color control, with great saturation. Offers TIFF lossless images, as well as 3 levels of JPEG compression. Manual controls are good for a "prosumer" camera, but I'd prefer more manual controls--however, at this price ($324 delivered, from Butterfly Photo), I probably shouldn't complain. Uses up batteries pretty fast, so get some extra sets of NiMH AAs and a good battery charger. Also, the 35.5mm lens is a somewhat unusual size, so getting filters and lens accessories isn't as easy as some. I ended up getting a step-up ring to 46mm ($6), so I could use some existing filters. Would happily buy this camera again, however!