I've owned and used a wide range of digital cameras over the last 4 years in my work as a web/graphic designer, and none (at this price) come close to the versatility and quality of the Minolta Dimage 5. I've tried Olympus, HP, and other brands and models, but none pack the punch of this beautiful camera.
WHAT'S TO LIKE: It's light and sports a nice 35-mm-like feel (unlike many of the more 'oddly' designed digital cameras). The photo quality is superb and extremely customizable, allowing you to snap shots at four different sizes and four different levels of quality. The lens is heads above similarly priced digital cameras. It has in and about it's body enough bells, whistles, and settings to keep a pro happy about the level of manual control, yet is easy enough for a beginner to take it out of the box and start shooting. Everything seems to be easy with this camera, from setting up and snapping shots, to downloading them to your machine. All around a fabulous piece of technology, and the reason I am now a Minolta fan.
WHAT'S NOT TO LIKE: Like any digital camera, this baby is a battery hog. Luckily it comes with a nice set of rechargables. But I still suggest picking up a set that recharges faster. One other small complaint is the fragile feel of some of the knobs and dials. For such an expensive piece of equipment, I'd prefer a more solid feel to some of the settings. It's more important to me than the weight. It also comes with a 16 mb flash card, which if you're taking photos at the higher resolutions, does not hold very many shots. I quickly bought a 128 mb Viking card (through Amazon) and can now shoot well over 100 pictures on one storage device. Well worth the extra money.
BOTTOM LINE: If this camera is in your price range, it is worth every penny. The Pros well outweigh the few minor Cons listed above. Beginners and pros will both marvel at how far digital technology has come, and will find a new love for photography.
