Minolta Corp. has introduced a new digital camera: the DiMAGE Xt Biz, the company’s first camera that can handle images, image annotation, audio annotation, image validation, and text capture. It’s compatible with Mac OS X (10.1.3 and higher) and Mac OS 9.x.
The DiMAGE Xt Biz is a US$299, 3.2 megapixel digital camera with USB connectivity, a 3x optical zoom lens, 4x digital zoom , and small form factor (3.4 by 2.6 by 0.8 inches and 4.2 ounces). The lens is positioned vertically within the camera, which allows the lens to always remain inside the camera body.
There are two autofocus modes. Wide AF uses a large autofocus area, while Spot AF uses a small focus area in the center of the image frame for singling out a specific subject or detail. The DiMAGE Xt can snap images of objects as close as 5.9 inches from the camera face, without the need for special macro settings.
The camera’s multi-segment metering evaluates subject and scene brightness and continuously monitors the situation for changes. For basing the exposure on a small area of the subject or scene, spot metering mode concentrates the exposure reading to the area covered by the spot AF sensor. The Xt uses information about subject location from the AF system along with 256 metering segments to calculate the optimum exposure based on subject and background brightness.
The camera boasts an extended shutter speed range. It can control the exposure from four seconds for scenes at night to 1/1000 th of a second for sunlit landscapes. There’s also user-selectable noise reduction, which automatically activates for exposures of one second or longer.
An optional Marine Case is available when the camera needs to be used in harsh environments. It’s water tight down to a depth of 100 feet.