 Check out some of Peter's pics taken with the Dimage V 
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The first time I saw an ad for the Dimage V digital camera, I entered a state of advanced techno-lust. There was something about that detachable 2.7x zoom lens, all flexible at the end of its umbilical connection. Look over a crowd of tall persons, peek around a corner, send it into the Titantic on an aquabot. OK, that last one will be a little tough with a one meter cord, but I was fever dreamin'.
The more I read, the more I liked. Some of the other selling points included:
If you want just the facts, Jack, press this button: Damn thing even had an LCD monitor instead of a viewfinder! You could scan an index screen showing up to nine images stored in memory, so you could delete shots out in the field that don't measure up. So, Gareth gets them on the phone and scares one up. The camera arrives, I slap in the batteries, wheel around to shoot the family mutt and start to wonder why the unit's already flashing its battery warning. I shoot, maybe, two shots and that's it for that set of batteries. No problem, I'm flushed with enthusiasm for a new toy. I plunk down US$12 for some high quality lithium batteries. They last about twice as long. At three bucks a shot, I'm starting to have trouble seeing the big savings digital photography is supposed to bring to my life. We call Minolta's PR firm to complain. They swap us for a new review unit and enclose the NiCad batteries the camera needs to be more than a fashion statement. With the NiCads, I finally get some genuine shooting time with the unit...and some really nice pics. Now this is my first digital camera, so I gotta tell ya, going from the real into the computer world is a pretty major thrill. The unit is tidy, with a nice logical and unintimidating collection of controls. The LCD screen is generally bright enough, and the images look pretty good when I open them up on the Mac. Still, a number of things begin to mar the experience, many attributable to using an LCD screen rather than a viewfinder. I have to hold the unit away from my face to focus on the image (duh...). This doesn't protect the photographer from interacting with subjects the way more familiar cameras do, a distance that I generally enjoy. It also encourages dogs to eat the camera, never a good thing. It's the LCD screen as well that causes the bothersome power drain. When it came time to try out the detachable lens, my enthusiasm began to return. In conjunction with the Macro Focus, holding the lens in your hand opens up a whole world of tabletop fun. I got some very dramatic shots of little rubber toys looking like mountains. Then the second set of batteries went dry, and my enthusiasm with them. I hear that LCD screens are notorious power hogs in these early digital cameras. Until such time as power management tricks are up to the task, I've got a radical suggestion for the manufacturers: Don't Use 'Em! I would have been much happier working with a little see-through window if it meant I could spend some relaxed time with the machine. I know that wouldn't help much for the shots using the tethered lens, but having the low tech option could make the Dimage more than a rich geek's toy. Unless you've got a regular need to shoot some serious tabletops and you've got some money to burn, I have to say this rather expensive camera isn't always ready when you are. - Peter Sugarman [2/20/98] Other digital cameras reviewed on Street Tech:
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