DiMAGE X31 Digital Camera

CNET editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 3.0 stars Good
  Detailed editors' rating
  Design : 7.0
  Features : 7.0
  Performance : 5.0
  Image quality : 7.0
  Overall score: 6.6 (3.0 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Theano Nikitas
• Edited by:
  Aimee Baldridge
• Reviewed on: 12/07/2004

Slim and stylish, Konica Minolta's Dimage X31 adds some panache to the 3.2-megapixel point-and-shoot category. In addition to basic snapshot features and an internal zoom lens, this camera offers some fun features for creative types.

Like its higher-end Dimage X siblings, the X31 is less than an inch thick with a squarish body that slips nicely into most pockets. Even though it's mainly plastic instead of the brushed metal of the more expensive X cameras, its two AA batteries make it a bit heavier than they are--but it's still quite lightweight at 6 ounces.

The battery compartment and the coverless SD/MMC card slot are located on the side, so you can easily switch cards and batteries when the camera is mounted on a tripod. Because the lens is positioned in the upper-left corner, you have to grip its body carefully, lest you take a picture of your fingers. With such a small device, it's no surprise that there's no optical viewfinder and that the LCD measures only 1.5 inches. The screen gains up to give you a usable if noisy preview in low light but is washed out in bright sunlight. One handy design touch is a little convex mirror on the front for composing arm's-length shots of yourself (and a friend, presumably).

The Dimage X31 has very few external controls: a little switch for selecting photo or video-clip capture, menu and playback buttons, and a small, difficult-to-use joystick. You change settings by navigating a graphical LCD menu with the joystick. Once you learn the icons, selecting submenus works quite well. You can also program the joystick to directly access a setting such as exposure compensation or white balance, and its up and down arrows control the not-entirely-smooth 3X optical zoom.

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Recent user reviews

• Average user rating: 2.5 stars out of 19 reviews
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• Showing 3 of 19 user reviews

• 2.0 stars

  "Doesn't focus consistently...even in good light."

  by boris_thespider on November 27, 2005

• 3.0 stars

  2 out of 2 people found this helpful

  "focus focus focus..."

  by adriennec on March 11, 2005

• 2.0 stars

  1 out of 1 people found this helpful

  "It can't focus!"

  on February 12, 2005

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