INSTRUCTION MANUAL
COLOR MODE The color mode controls whether a still image is color or black and white as well as the color space. The color mode is set in section 3 of the recording menu (p. 80). The live image on the monitors will reflect the selected color mode. For more on the color mode see page 102. Natural Color and Adobe RGB reproduces the colors in the scene faithfully. Vivid Color - increases the saturation of the colors in the scene. Black & White monochrome images.
BEFORE YOU BEGIN Thank you for purchasing this Minolta digital camera. Please take the time to read through this instruction manual so you can enjoy all the features of your new camera. Check the packing list before using this product. If any items are missing, immediately contact your camera dealer.
FOR PROPER AND SAFE USE NP-400 LITHIUM-ION BATTERIES This camera operates on a powerful lithium-ion battery. Misuse or abuse of the lithiumion battery can cause damage or injury through fire, electric shock, or chemical leakage. Read and understand all warnings before using the battery. DANGER • 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.
GENERAL PRODUCT WARNINGS AND CAUTIONS Read and understand the following warnings and cautions for safe use of the digital camera and its accessories. WARNING • Only use the battery specified in this manual. • Only use the specified charger or AC adapter within the voltage range indicated on the unit. An inappropriate adapter or current may cause damage or injury through fire or electric shock. • Only use the charger power cord in the sales region for which it was designed.
• Do not use these products near inflammable gases or liquids such as gasoline, benzine, or paint thinner. Do not use inflammable products such as alcohol, benzine, or paint thinner to clean these products. The use of inflammable cleaners and solvents may cause an explosion or fire. • When unplugging the AC adapter or charger, do not pull on the power cord. Hold the plug when removing it from an outlet. • Do not damage, twist, modify, heat, or place heavy objects on the AC adapter or charger cord.
CAUTION • Do not use or store these products 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 product. • The camera, charger, and battery temperature rises with extended periods of use. Care should be taken to avoid burns.
TABLE OF CONTENTS Names of parts ....................................................................................................................................14 Camera body ...........................................................................................................................14 Data panel ...............................................................................................................................17 Monitor display - recording mode ................................
Enlarged playback ...................................................................................................................43 Viewing movies........................................................................................................................44 Advanced recording .............................................................................................................................45 Display-information button..................................................................
Navigating the recording-mode menu .....................................................................................80 Image size and image quality..................................................................................................82 About RAW image quality........................................................................................................84 Notes on image size and resolution ........................................................................................
Navigating the playback menu ..............................................................................................116 Frame-selection screen .........................................................................................................118 Delete ..................................................................................................................................119 Format .........................................................................................................
Delete confirmation................................................................................................................145 Data-transfer mode ............................................................................................................................146 System requirements.............................................................................................................146 Connecting the camera to a computer ..............................................................
The following marks may be found on the product: This mark on your camera certifies that this camera meets the requirements of the EU (European Union) concerning interference causing equipment regulations. CE stands for Conformité Européenne (European Conformity). This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules.
NAMES OF PARTS CAMERA BODY * 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. 162). Data panel (p. 17) Built-in flash (p. 36) Microphone Strap eyelet (p. 20) Focal-length index Zooming ring USB port/AV-out terminal (p. 128, 147) Front control dial Shutter-release button Card-slot door (p. 26) Lens* Focusing ring (p. 46) Self-timer lamp (p.
Manual exposure Shutter priority Aperture priority Program exposure Auto recording (p. (p. (p. (p. (p. Memory recall (p. 73) Portrait subject program (p. 58) Sports action subject program (p. 58) Sunset subject program (p. 58) Night portrait subject program (p. 58) 56) 55) 54) 51) 52) Exposure-mode dial Display information button (p. 45) Magnification button Rear control dial AE lock button (p. 50) Main switch and mode switch Exposure-compensation button (p.
Function button Metering modes (p. 69) Custom function (p. 136) Memory set (p. 72) Drive modes (p. 61) White balance (p. 70) Camera sensitivity (p. 74) Function dial (p. 60) Accessory shoe Speaker Diopter-adjustment dial (p. 29) Flash sync terminal (p. 76) Digital-Effects Controller (p. 77) Focus-mode switch (p. 46) Custom white-balance button(p. 71) Macro release (p. 49) Battery-chamber (p. 23) Battery-chamber lock (p.
DATA PANEL Located on the top of the camera body, the data panel shows the status of the camera. All icons have been shown for clarity. The single-frame advance and continuous advance indicators are displayed in the same area of the data panel. Digital-effects indicator (p. 77) Exposure-compensation indicator (p. 59) Flash-compensation indicator (p. 59) Single-frame advance (p. 33) Continuous advance (p. 64) Bracketing (p. 62) Self-timer (p. 68) Image-quality display (p. 82) Image-size display (p.
MONITOR DISPLAY - RECORDING MODE 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. Microphone indicator 20. Flash-mode indicator (p. 61) 21. 22. Flash signal (p. 36) Mode indicator 23. Flash-compensation display (p. 77) 24. Filter display (p. 77) 25. Sharpness display (p. 97) 26. 27. Color-saturation-compensation display (p. 77) 28. Contrast-compensation display (p. 77) 29. A. B. C. D. 18 NAMES OF PARTS Camera-sensitivity (ISO) display (p. 74) White-balance indicator (p.
MONITOR DISPLAY - QUICK VIEW & PLAYBACK MODE Histogram 1. Mode indicator 2. Time of capture 3. Date of capture 4. Voice-memo indicator (p. 115) 5. Lock indicator (p. 121) 6. Print indicator (p. 126) 7. Frame number / total number of images 8. Scroll arrows (p. 43) 9. Battery-condition indicator (p. 24) 10. Image-quality indicator (p. 82) 11. Image-size display (p. 82) 12. Magnification display (p. 43) 13. Folder number - image file number 14. Folder name (p. 137) 15. Sensitivity setting (p. 74) 16.
GETTING UP AND RUNNING This section covers the preparation of the camera. This includes the changing of batteries and memory card as well as the use of external power supplies. ATTACHING THE CAMERA STRAP Attach the camera strap to the strap eyelets as shown. The tip of the strap should pass under the buckle (2). Always keep the camera strap around your neck in the event that you drop the camera.
ATTACHING THE LENS HOOD 1 The lens hood is used to control stray light from entering the lens and causing flare. When using the camera under bright light, the use of the lens hood is recommended. The lens hood should not be used with the built-in flash as it can cause a shadow. To mount the lens hood, align the rectangular dimple on the rim of the hood with the focal-length index on the top of the lens barrel (1).
CHARGING THE BATTERY Before the camera can be used, the lithium-ion battery must be charged. Before charging the battery, read the safety warnings on page 4 of this manual. Only recharge the battery with the supplied battery charger. The battery should be recharged before each shooting session. See page 164 for battery care and storage. Plug the power cord into the back of the charger unit (1). Plug the other end of the cord into a live household outlet.
INSTALLING AND CHANGING THE BATTERY This digital camera uses one NP-400 lithium-ion battery. Before using the battery, read the safety warnings on pages 4 of this manual. When replacing batteries, the camera should be off. Open the battery-chamber door by sliding the batterychamber lock to the open position. Insert the battery with the battery contacts first. Insert the battery so that it slides past the battery latch in the chamber. Push the battery into the chamber until the latch clicks into place.
BATTERY CONDITION INDICATOR This camera is equipped with an automatic battery-condition indicator. When the camera is on, the indicator appears on the data panel and monitors. The monitor indicator will change from white to red when battery power is low. If the data panel and monitors are blank, the battery may be exhausted. Full-battery indicator - the batteries are fully charged. This indicator is displayed for five seconds on the monitors when the camera is turned on.
EXTERNAL POWER SUPPLIES (SOLD SEPARATELY) The AC Adapter allows the camera to be powered from an electrical 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-1L is for use in North America, Japan, and Taiwan, and AC-11 is for use in all other areas. The External High-power Battery Pack Kit EBP-100 is a portable power source and significantly extends the operating time of the camera.
INSERTING AND CHANGING A MEMORY CARD Always turn off the camera and confirm the access lamp is not lit before inserting or removing a memory card, otherwise the card may be damaged, and data lost. A memory card must be inserted for the camera to operate. If a card has not been inserted, a no-card warning will be displayed on the monitors. Type I and II CompactFlash cards and IBM Microdrives are compatible with this camera. For memory card care and handling, see page 163.
1 2 3 4 To eject a card, open the card-slot door (1), and press and release the card-eject lever to extend it (2). Press (3) the card-eject lever to eject the card (3). The card can now be pulled out. Take care when removing the card as it becomes hot with use. The card-eject lever should remain inside the camera body. If it extends, push it into the camera. Insert a new memory card and close the card-slot door (4). A memory card used in another camera may have to be formatted before being used.
TURNING ON THE CAMERA Press the main switch to turn on the camera. The access lamp glows briefly and an audio signal sounds to indicate the power is turned on. The audio signal can be turned off with the setup menu (p. 141). Access lamp If the camera shuts down immediately after it is turned on, the battery power is low. See page 22 on how to charge the battery. Press and hold the main switch to turn the camera off.
ADJUSTING THE VIEWFINDER AND MONITOR The electronic viewfinder can be tilted between 0° and 90°. Simply grip the finder between your fingers and move it to the position desired. The LCD monitor can be tilted between –20° and +90°. Grip the top of the monitor and pull to tilt it down. The bottom of the monitor can then be swung up. Always store the camera with finder and monitor against the body. DIOPTER ADJUSTMENT The EVF has a built-in diopter that can be adjusted between –5.0 to +2.0.
SETTING THE DATE AND TIME After initially inserting a memory card and 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 recording. Depending on the region, the menu language may also have to be set. To change the language, see the camera notes on the following page. 1 Turn on the camera. While holding down the function button (1), press the menu button (2) to open the setup menu.
Use the right controller key to highlight the 2nd tab at the top of the menu. Custom set File # memory Folder Name Select folder New folder Date/Time set Color mode Off Std. form 100MLT16 – – Use the down key to highlight the date/time-set menu option. Press the right key. “Enter” will appear on the right side of the menu. Press the central button to display the date/time setting screen. Use the left and right keys to select the item to be changed. Date/Time set 2003 . 10 .
BASIC RECORDING SETTING THE CAMERA TO RECORD IMAGES AUTOMATICALLY 2 1 Set the exposure dial to the program (P) position (1). Confirm the mode switch is in the recording position (2). All camera operations are now fully automatic. The autofocus, exposure, and imaging systems will work together to make photography effortless. The Auto exposure mode acts like the program mode, except that the many of the recording functions are reset each time it is selected, see page 52 for more information.
BASIC RECORDING OPERATION Use the zooming ring to frame the subject (1). The effect of the zoom is immediately displayed in the viewfinder (EVF) and LCD monitor. 1 Place the subject within the focus frame. For off-center subjects, use the focus-lock function (p. 34). The subject must be within the focus range of the lens: 0.5m (1.6ft) - ∞. For subjects closer than 0.5m (1.6ft), use the macro function (p. 49).
FOCUS LOCK The focus-lock function is used when the subject is 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. Place the subject within the focus frame. Press and hold the shutter-release button partway down. • The focus signals will indicate that the focus is locked. The shutter speed and aperture value will change from white to black indicating the exposure is locked.
FOCUS SIGNALS This digital camera has a quick, accurate autofocusing system. The focus signals in the lower right corner of the EVF and LCD monitor indicate the focus status. For more information on autofocus modes, see p. 46. White focus indicator - focus confirmed. Red focus indicator - the subject is too close or a special situation is preventing the AF system from focusing. The shutter can be released.
USING THE BUILT-IN FLASH In low-light conditions or indoors, the flash is needed to illuminate the subject and reduce blurring through camera shake. The flash can also be used as a fill light in direct sunlight to soften harsh shadows. Always remove the lens hood when using the built-in flash; the hood may cast a shadow if mounted. To use the flash, simply pull up the unit by the tabs on each side.
ANTI-SHAKE SYSTEM The Anti-shake system minimizes the affect of camera shake, a slight blurring caused by subtle hand motion. Camera shake is more pronounced at the telephoto setting than at the wide-angle. Anti-shake is employed when the shutter speed falls below a certain limit depending on the focal length in use. The effectiveness of Anti-shake depends on the shutter speed in use and the degree of shaking. The system may not work with moving subjects or when the camera is panned.
MOVIE RECORDING Movie files are recorded at approximately 522KB per second. A 16MB Compactflash card can store about 19 seconds of digital video with audio. Actual time depends on the subject and the amount of free space on the memory card. For more on movie recording, see page 112. 1 Set the mode switch to the movie recording (1) position. Before recording, the data-panel and monitor frame counters will show the maximum time in seconds that can be recorded. Shooting digital video is simple.
DISPLAY MODE SWITCH Located on the back of the camera, the display-mode switch controls which monitor is active. The three position switch allows the choice between automatic display and setting the display to the EVF or LCD monitor. / Auto display - the camera will automatically change between displaying the live image in the EVF or on the LCD monitor. The EVF’s eye sensors monitor if the EVF is being used and switches the display location accordingly.
BASIC PLAYBACK Images can be viewed in the Quick View or playback modes. This section covers the basic functions in both modes. The playback mode has additional menu functions, see page 116. To view images from the playback mode, turn the mode switch to the playback position. / To view images from the recording or movie recording modes, press the Quick View / delete button. SINGLE-FRAME PLAYBACK AND HISTOGRAM DISPLAY Image size (p. 82) Image quality (p.
VIEWING IMAGES AND HISTOGRAM When in the Quick view or playback mode, use the left/right keys of the controller to scroll through the images on the memory card. To view the histogram of a still image, press the up key. Press the down key to return to single-frame playback. To return to a recording mode from Quick View, press the menu button. DELETING SINGLE IMAGES The displayed image can be deleted. Once deleted, an image cannot be recovered.
CHANGING THE QUICK VIEW & PLAYBACK DISPLAY The display-information button controls the display format. Each time the button is pressed, the display cycles through to the next format: full display, image only, index playback. Image only Full display Index playback In index playback, the four-way keys of the controller will move the yellow border to the adjacent image.
ENLARGED PLAYBACK In single-frame playback, a still image can be enlarged for closer examination from 1.2X. The degree of maximum magnification depends on image size: 8X for 2560X1920, 6.4X for 2080X1560, 5X for 1600X1200, 2X for 640X480, and 4X for 1280X960 digital-zoom images. RAW and TIFF images cannot be enlarged. 1 With the image to be enlarged displayed, press the magnification button (1). Use the up/down keys of the controller to adjust the magnification.
VIEWING MOVIES Movies can be played back on the camera. Movie files are indicated by an indicator at the bottom of the display. Play Press the center of the controller to play back the file. Press the controller to pause the movie; pressing the controller again will resume the playback. Pause Rwd Fwd Vol Use the left/right keys of the controller to rewind or fast forward the movie clip. Use the up/down keys to adjust the volume of the audio track.
ADVANCED RECORDING This section contains detailed information on the camera’s recording functions and operation. Read the sections pertaining to your interest and need. DISPLAY-INFORMATION BUTTON The display-information button controls what information is displayed with the live image. Each time the button is pressed, the display cycles to the next format: standard display, real-time histogram, focus frame, and live image only.
FOCUS-MODE SWITCH Single-shot AF (Autofocus), continuous AF, and manual focus is set with the focus-mode switch. Slide the switch to select the appropriate focus mode. Single-shot AF - a general purpose autofocusing mode. Its operation is described in the basic recording section. Continuous AF - used for photographing moving subjects. The camera continuously tracks and focuses on the subject. Place the focus area on the subject.
Manual focus - the MF indicator is displayed in the lower right corner of the monitors to indicate the focus mode. Use the focusing ring at the rear of the lens barrel to focus. Always use the monitor image to confirm focus. The approximate object distance from the CCD is displayed near the frame counter. The Flex Digital Magnifier (p. 105) can be used to enlarge the live image to judge sharpness.
FLEX FOCUS POINT The Flex Focus Point (FFP) is a powerful tool for off-center subjects. It can be moved to any point in the image area. The FFP cannot be used with the digital zoom or movie recording. Press and hold the center button of the controller to activate the Flex Focus Point; the wide focus frames are replaced with a central cross. Use the controller’s four-way keys (1) to move the Flex Focus Point in the live image.
MACRO MODE The macro mode is used for close-up photographs of small objects. The built-in flash cannot be used with macro mode. The use of a tripod is recommended. Align one of the arrows on the zooming ring with the index next to the macro switch and slide the switch forward. The lens must be zoomed to the wide-angle or telephoto position for the macro switch to engage. The zooming ring is locked at the wide-angle position.
