Minolta Dimage G500 5MP Digital Camera w/ 3x Optical Zoom

Other products by Minolta

Product Details

Supplementary Guide [910kb PDF]

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Product Manual [2.46mb PDF]

• Product Dimensions: 1.2 x 3.7 x 2.2 inches ; 7.1 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B0000BYO7U
• Item model number: 2731-131
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #8,623 in Camera & Photo (See Bestsellers in Camera & Photo)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: March 3, 2004

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Housed in an elegant metal case and weighing just 7 ounces, the compact Minolta Dimage G500 can be easily slipped into a pocket or fanny pack while on vacation. It blends powerful automated features with a host of manual controls (such as color saturation, contrast, and sharpness) and offers a 5-megapixel resolution, 3x optical zoom, compatibility with SD cards and Memory Sticks, and a movie mode with sound.

Optics and Resolution
The Dimage G500's precision electro-optical system is built around a 5.36-megapixel interline primary-color CCD with 5 million effective pixels for beautifully crisp, high-resolution images. It captures up to 2592 x 1944 pixel images for up to 13 x 17-inch enlargements (at 150 dpi). It also offers 2048 x 1536 (3 MP), 1600 x 1200 (2 MP), and 640 x 480 (VGA) resolution modes.

With its high-quality 3x aspheric optical zoom lens, the Dimage G500 has a focal range of 8–24mm (equivalent to a 39–117mm zoom on a 35mm camera). It also has a smooth 3x digital zoom for a 9x total zoom. The maximum aperture of f/2.8–4.9 allows the camera to be used in less than ideal lighting conditions without flash.

Movie and Audio Modes
The Dimage G500 captures up to 30 seconds of video with sound at a 320 x 240 pixel resolution. The camera can also record audio on its own, either as an audio-only file (up to 30 seconds) or as an image caption.

More Features
With a fast 1.3-second startup time, you can capture the action at a moment's notice. Plus, the ergonomic control layout makes settings quick and simple; the three most used controls are conveniently placed on the top of the camera body for quick, one-touch access.

The e-mail copy function creates a 640 x 480 or 160 x 120 JPEG copy of an image on the memory card so that it can be easily transferred over the Internet.

The Dimage G500's versatile flash modes let you shoot in a variety of lighting situations with confidence. In automatic mode, the flash fires whenever it's needed. If the main subject is backlit, you can select fill-flash for additional subject illumination.

Other features include:

• 1.5-inch LCD with optical real-image viewfinder
• Image adjustment control settings include saturation, contrast, sharpness, and color balance as well as ISO-equivalent sensitivity and flash compensation
• Manual exposure mode allows you to adjust the lens aperture and shutter speed (from 1/1,000 to 15 seconds ) independently
• Macro mod can get as close as 2.4 inches in both telephoto and wide angle shooting

Storage and Transfer
The Dimage G500 features a dual card slot system for expanded image storage; Memory Sticks and Secure Digital (SD) memory cards can be used alone or in combination. A 16 MB SD card is included with the Dimage G500, and it can store approximately 11 images shot in Normal, 5-megapixel mode. Images can be downloaded to either a Mac or PC via USB 1.1, which means the camera can be connected to any USB-based Windows Me/2000/XP and Mac OS 8.6 or later computer without installing any software.

Power and Size
The camera is powered by a rechargeable lithium-ion battery (NP-500). It measures 3.7 by 2.2 by 1.2 inches and weighs 7.1 ounces excluding the batteries or 8.3 ounces when loaded with the battery.

What's In The Box
This package contains the Dimage G500 digital camera, 16 MB SD memory card, lithium-ion battery (NP-500), battery charger (BC-500), USB cable (USB-800), hand strap (HS-DG130), Dimage Viewer CD-ROM, instruction manual CD-ROM, and quick-start guide.

Product Description

Dressed in an elegant metal case, the DiMAGE G500 is a stylish and versatile companion, packing high-quality 5 megapixel images and powerful imaging controls in a compact body. Measuring only 3.7 x 2.2 x 1.2 inches, the G500 can be easily slipped into a pocket, purse, or fanny pack. And weighing a mere 7 ounces, this camera will not be a burden.Despite its small size, the DiMAGE G500 is packed with image-making features. Exposures can be set manually. Color saturation, contrast, and sharpness can be controlled to create the picture you want. And a maximum 9X zoom ratio provides powerful photographic potential.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great point-and-shoot, November 14, 2003

By A Customer

This is a great point & shoot digital. It is very small, fits in your pocket. The lens cover is very convenient. It takes great pictures at 5 megapix. Start up time and time between pics is very fast. The movie made allows you take 30sec audio/vid clips which is very cool and convenient and they come out great. Its nice for those times when you don't have / or dont feel like getting your camcorder out.

My only issue is the red-eye - which seems to happen on all small point and shoots. Most photo software packages allow you to zap out the redeye pretty effectively with the click of a mouse - so it's not a big deal.

Battery life is awesome. I've taken about 15 vids and 100 pics and the battery indicator still reads full-charge; and I always the display (not the viewfinder). My old camera used to chew through 4 AA's after some 30 pictures.

I was going to get the canon s40 which is very comparable but the price is better on this + its 5 megapixle + there is a 25$ credit towards memory card upgrade. You'll need to get a bigger mem card.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Smart little camera, October 23, 2003

By	Tom (new york, ny United States) - See all my reviews

There are a couple of other cameras that rank right next to the g500 in features, size and quality. But they rank $150-200 higher in price. There ends some of the debate.

It's usability and the final product (in this case, the pictures) that attest to the thought that goes into a gem like this. All control butons are well-placed, and clearly defined. The interface is very intuitive - you'll be shooting away long before you have to turn to the cd-rom manual (thankfully - would it be so costly to provide a printed book?) The default settings on this camera are excellent - but if we must, there are manual choices available.

My tip on that long strap: adjust the slide to create a wrist length, knot the cord above that and cut it off. As for a case, I'm using a neat leather cell phone case for a "flip" type phone. There are lots of them around: carry the camera with you and try some out till you get one that fits.Or maybe a vintage cigarette pack slip case.

Utlimately, this is a beautiful camera with features (like 5mp) that belie it's easy to handle price.

30 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Get this camera, September 23, 2003

By	"shelbylynn76" (Denver, CO USA) - See all my reviews

I've owned 4 different digital cameras in the last few years, but this is the first one that I'm in love with. Compact, light-weight, 5 MP, brilliant screen, ultra-stylish, easy to use, and takes two types of memory (SD and/or Memory-Stick). Add to that the nifty green light bars on front which zoom back and forth when it turns on (reminiscent of a certain talking car from an 80's tv show) How cool can you get?

Few things to note. The strap that comes with this camera is about 18 inches long...way too long for my tastes. The included memory is a very stingy and virtually pointless (in my opinion anyway) 16 MB.

So far the only really bad thing about this camera has been my difficulty in finding a case that isn't too big. I've tried everything from a pda case, to a mp3 player case, to a small camera case and they're all too big and bulky for this little beauty.