Deal? Minolta 4.0 MP Dimage S-414 - FREE ground shipping $299

[Drewbad]

This seems to ba a good deal and I'm in the market for a camera. I've never had a digital cam, is this decent?

 

[DanTMWTMP]

i have the s404....it's pretty goood.....i like it.....got it for relatively cheap as well (but non import version)......

seems like the only difference btwn the s404 and the s414 ...is 0.1 megapixel??...well, i heard the 414 uses a new ccd technology thing...i donno, don't know too much about it....

the only beef i have is that the switch to change the modes and to turn on teh camera is sooo damn easy to switch on...(the dial switch u see on the upper left of the camera)....i accidetnly turned on the camera many times...it's super annoying and one time, my cf card got corrupted cuz of it...

when u do get this, i suggest u tape that dial when not in use...cuz i do that....




as for the store, i think they're selling the import version..that's why it's so cheap....it comes in a plain box, with no accessories and no warranty

 

[Buz2b]

While I believe that this is indeed a good deal, I think that it would be wiser to spend a few more bucks and get it from a different retailer. ResellersRatings shows them with a high rating now but the lifetime rating is piss poor. Reading back on some of the older ones shows some "questionable" practices by this retailer. Look back to page six of the reviews on them.
I love the camera though and just ordered one from da Egg. Free shipping but higher price. You pay for the piece of mind.
Still a nice find though.

 

[a2k]

I was also in the market for a new camera recently and it came down to this one or the Canon A70. Based on reviews I read, the Canon gives you more control but the Minolta is higher resolution. Some people complained about tinting and fuziness with both cameras, though it seemed to be a bigger problem with the minolta. Most people raved about both.

In the end, I got the A70 because of an officemax deal where it came with a 256 MB CF card shipped for $270 but could have just as easily gotten this one. The camera's supposed to arrive today, so I haven't formed my own opinion yet.

 

[agent2099]

Originally posted by: DanTMWTMP
i have the s404....it's pretty goood.....i like it.....got it for relatively cheap as well (but non import version)......

seems like the only difference btwn the s404 and the s414 ...is 0.1 megapixel??...well, i heard the 414 uses a new ccd technology thing...i donno, don't know too much about it....

the only beef i have is that the switch to change the modes and to turn on teh camera is sooo damn easy to switch on...(the dial switch u see on the upper left of the camera)....i accidetnly turned on the camera many times...it's super annoying and one time, my cf card got corrupted cuz of it...

when u do get this, i suggest u tape that dial when not in use...cuz i do that....




as for the store, i think they're selling the import version..that's why it's so cheap....it comes in a plain box, with no accessories and no warranty

You don't seem too excited about it. How do you like the image quality?

 

[Tainer]

review

The focusing range is 19.7 inch to infinity in wideangle, 35.4 inch to infinity in telephoto. The dedicated macro mode is fixed at 15.5mm and covers from 6.3 to 23.6 inches.

 

[Hobit]

Originally posted by: a2k
I was also in the market for a new camera recently and it came down to this one or the Canon A70. Based on reviews I read, the Canon gives you more control but the Minolta is higher resolution. Some people complained about tinting and fuziness with both cameras, though it seemed to be a bigger problem with the minolta. Most people raved about both.

In the end, I got the A70 because of an officemax deal where it came with a 256 MB CF card shipped for $270 but could have just as easily gotten this one. The camera's supposed to arrive today, so I haven't formed my own opinion yet.

I had a Minolta s303, older version with 3.3 MP I think and currently have the A70. I like the s303 better. It has a 4x optical and somehow gets better pictures than the A70. One good aspect of the A70 is its smaller size. But overall, flash is poorer and in the sun, pictures seem too soft. This is my personal experience on both cameras. I am not a pro but can tell you that I have taken over 1000 pictures since I got into digital cameras. So if the s303 is better to me, then the s404 or s414 must be superior to the A70.

 

[Hobit]

I forgot to mention the F100. It's compact and has 4 MP. This one is for sure a lot better than the A70. I regretted selling this camera.

 

[dman]

I have the S404, as above, it is nearly identical to the S414. I think they added a few small things to the firmware, such as 'sepia' mode and such. Hardware specs are the same from what I've read.

The camera works REALLY well in outdoor / well lit situations.

In indoor / low light it's a bit weak, sometimes misfocusing and the pictures are a bit grainy at full resolution. I'd say it's a good 2MP camera in low light.

The 4x zoom is a bit slow, but it works.

The on/off switch is annoying, it does tend to switch on when you put it in a bag.

Overall though it's a good camera and certainly worth $299-399 prices I've seen.

 

[Quickfingerz]

Most cameras have noise in low light and at full res look at sample Olympus 5050 pictures or even G5 pictures.

This is the MOST UNDERRATED CAMERA in the market right now. I'd still keep my C-4000 over it due to manual focusing abilities and many subtle controls (ie: color and such)

but if you're looking for a camera for around $300, the S414 has to be your top option.

 

[Cheapest]

No good! This camera is too big to me!

 

[DanTMWTMP]

Originally posted by: agent2099

Originally posted by: DanTMWTMP
i have the s404....it's pretty goood.....i like it.....got it for relatively cheap as well (but non import version)......

seems like the only difference btwn the s404 and the s414 ...is 0.1 megapixel??...well, i heard the 414 uses a new ccd technology thing...i donno, don't know too much about it....

the only beef i have is that the switch to change the modes and to turn on teh camera is sooo damn easy to switch on...(the dial switch u see on the upper left of the camera)....i accidetnly turned on the camera many times...it's super annoying and one time, my cf card got corrupted cuz of it...

when u do get this, i suggest u tape that dial when not in use...cuz i do that....




as for the store, i think they're selling the import version..that's why it's so cheap....it comes in a plain box, with no accessories and no warranty

You don't seem too excited about it. How do you like the image quality?

haha..just except for the dial....i think it's awesome!! it's great!! a;sklfjjdf!! i love it!! there's my excitement hehe..no i'm serious about it though...i like my camera....i just wanted to give u the cons of it as a fellow consumer so u can make a good choice...

i don't question its ability to take high quality pictures....the resolution is stunning.....and quality and the color options and quality is really nice....i like the features....the movies u take w/ it isn't that great as the canon series, but hey...u buy a camera to take pics..and this camera does it really well........it doesn't seem artificial like the canon elph series...i liked the bigness of this camera because i want the camera feel....and the lens is big enough to take large pictures w/o distortion...

(although that series is a very nice series of digi cams...but the small lens and aperature size causes some color distortion on the edges and it tries to make it up by flooding the whole image w/ more saturation.....i donno how it really works but that's how i felt when i tested my dad's elph s400...their 4 megapixel small camera)

all in all, i like it a lot

 

[DanTMWTMP]

Originally posted by: dman
I have the S404, as above, it is nearly identical to the S414. I think they added a few small things to the firmware, such as 'sepia' mode and such. Hardware specs are the same from what I've read.

The camera works REALLY well in outdoor / well lit situations.

In indoor / low light it's a bit weak, sometimes misfocusing and the pictures are a bit grainy at full resolution. I'd say it's a good 2MP camera in low light.

The 4x zoom is a bit slow, but it works.

The on/off switch is annoying, it does tend to switch on when you put it in a bag.

Overall though it's a good camera and certainly worth $299-399 prices I've seen.

yup..he has the same problem as i do..the on/off switch goes on super easily...i just tape it...

i thought indoor was decent...as long as u have the flash on....if u turn it off, the camera will take a while to shoot and the shots come out blurred.....4x i thought wasn't THAT slow...it works and i don't mind it at all...i never took notice of it until u mentioned it actually..heh...

and yeah, i got mine for around 310 shipped about one year ago....you won't find another 4 mp camera within that price range....at least i didn't....

woa, ygpm dman....want to know where'd/how u got the firmware?


NOTE:
as for the store, call to make sure it's a non-import!!!!

 

[kyutip]

Don't buy from them unless you like to be torture.

Remember the golden rule, if the deal sound to good to be true, something is rotten somehwere.