Konica Minolta Dimage Z3

The earlier Dimage Z makes have been affordable megazooms that offered a touch less technology than the Japanese manufacturer's advanced Dimage A line. However, with the latest Z10 and Z3 iterations, Konica Minolta has split the Dimage Z series into two segments. The Z3 inherits the Anti-Shake stabilisation mechanism that first debuted in the A1 and increases its focal range to 12x, making this the first competitor to match Panasonic FZ's optical reach.

For the megazoom category, Panasonic's FZ series has long established itself as the standard to beat -- being the only manufacturer last year to offer an optically stabilised system. This year, the flagship 12x zoom camera from Panasonic is the FZ20, with the Dimage Z3 the only other camera to match the former's range and pair it with some form of stabilisation; Canon's IS (image stabilisation) model offers a 10x reach, falling slightly short.

Although the Dimage Z3 sports a stabilisation system, it is achieved differently from Panasonic's lens-shift stabilisation arrangement that has existed on longer SLR telephoto lenses for some time now. The Dimage employs a sensor stabilisation approach that achieves the same effect. With a focal reach that hits 420mm (35mm equivalent), the Anti-Shake (AS) technology makes a more noticeable difference compared with Konica Minolta's 7x Dimage A line. Unfortunately, the Z3 doesn't sport a button to quickly enable and disable the AS mechanism. You'll need to scroll through a couple of menus to get to that option.

Apart from the lower resolution, the Z3 also possesses a slower lens when compared with Panasonic's FZ20. With the inherently larger depth of field on compact cameras -- due to smaller sensors and shorter physical focal lengths -- the FZ20's constant F2.8 is a godsend, allowing you to keep shutter speeds a fair bit higher than, say, the Z3's F4.5 (at the long end). While the differences may not be immediately noticeable outdoors, dimmer situations will put the Panasonic further in front. After all, it doesn't matter if you can get a shot as slow as 1/6 second if your subject isn't able to stay as still.

In terms of aesthetics, the Z3 retains the basic design of its predecessor, the Z2. The atypical space-inspired look remains and the body is still made of plastic. However, there are differences. For starters, the feel of the unit has been bolstered by rubber grips on the left and right of the body. Unlike the previous Z1 and Z2, the newfangled Z3 does not employ the "switch finder" system -- where a mirror redirects the LCD image into the viewfinder -- but the more conventional electronic viewfinder (EVF). Konica Minolta has also repositioned the SD card slot. We actually prefer the older layout as there's now a slight tendency to flip the door open in its new place beside the handgrip. Admittedly, this does allow for faster card switches.

In our tests, we found the Dimage Z3's performance to be pretty impressive. Startup time was quick, just over a second, while shot-to-shot (flash off) intervals in single-shot mode took less than a second. We managed six frames in 4 seconds before a long 6-second wait for the buffer to clear. For shot-to-shot intervals with flash, the camera just slowed slightly, taking about 2 seconds for the flash to recharge. In continuous-shooting mode, the Z3 managed a pretty quick frame rate of 2.5fps for five shots; however, there was an even longer 8-second wait period before the next burst of shots.

The zoom mechanism was very quiet compared with the recent compacts we've been reviewing. And unlike most other compacts, the Z3's zoom had far more discrete steps between focal lengths, allowing for very smooth and accurate framing. The autofocusing (AF) system was mostly peppy, taking about a second for situations with adequate lighting. Although there was the lack of a focus-assist lamp, the Z3 did fairly well with regard to focus accuracy in dim situations. Of course, timings dropped and the Z3 took close to 4 seconds for such scenarios.

For image quality, the Z3 delivered mostly respectable photos. The colour tones were pleasing but metering was generally underexposed slightly. There was also slight clipping of highlights, which is rather common among compacts. The Dimage has ISO sensitivity settings of up to ISO 400. We reckon the outputs at ISO 400 were good enough for 4R prints, exhibiting only some image noise in the shadow regions, but we'd recommend a noise filtration program for A4 or larger outputs.

The automatic white balance preset did fairly well in a variety of lighting conditions but tended to produce a reddish tint on some of our exposures.

Unfortunately, the Dimage Z3 isn't without problems. The camera stalled on us a few times due to SD card issues. Switching SD cards between cameras caused it to hang and some older SD cards appeared to suffer the same fate. We'd recommend using a 66x card at least, as well as formatting it for use solely on the camera if you'd like to avoid such troubles.

With a sticker price of AU$899, the Dimage Z3 is a well-priced competitor to Panasonic's old guard in the megazoom category. We think the Z3 deserves commendation for being the first manufacturer to challenge Panasonic in its domain, and in most respects, to do well at it. If you don't mind being unable to switch SD cards between cameras, we think the Z3 should do well enough for your photographic needs.

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