Viewfinder (0.0)
There is no viewfinder on the DiMAGE X60. The space a viewfinder would have occupied is paved over by the large LCD screen. While the LCD allows shots to be composed with a 100 percent field of view, the omission of a viewfinder eliminates a way of framing shots when the battery is low.

LCD Screen (7.0)
The DiMAGE X60’s large 2.5-inch LCD screen has relatively limited resolution considering its size at just 115,000 pixels. The 4:3 format screen features Konica Minolta’s anti-reflective coating that is designed to minimize glare and allow images to be seen easily, even under bright light. However, in practice the screen solarized easily and was restricted to a limited viewing angle. The screen’s brightness is controllable within the setup menu and provides a useful range. While the screen’s large size is useful for framing images and viewing pictures, its low 115,000 pixel resolution limits the level of detail provided and can be distracting in scenes with high contrast.

Flash (5.0)
The DiMAGE X60’s flash is located in the center of the camera’s body, just a bit left of the lens axis. The flash is nicely situated as to avoid being obstructed by the user’s fingers, though it takes a laborious 6 seconds to recharge between shots. In wide angle shooting, the flash has a limited 7.9 foot effective range, dropping to just 6.6 feet in telephoto shooting. This is about as limited as flash units get these days in terms of power and illumination potential, however, for close subjects, this may help limit the harsh quality inherent in small fixed flash units.

Flash coverage is uniform, although again, it is quite slow to recycle in comparison to other similarly styled cameras, so users will have to be selective in their shots. Available modes are: Auto, Red-Eye Reduction, Fill Flash, and Flash Cancel; there is no slow sync setting.

Zoom Lens (6.5)
The DiMAGE X60 has a Konica Minolta 3x optical zoom that reaches from 6.3-18.9mm (38-114mm in 35mm equivalent) and does not protrude from the camera’s body. The non-extending lens helps the body remain compact during usage and should increase start-up speeds. While the conceptually quick boot-up time is a marketed element of the X60, we found its start-up speed to be quite slow – even with the non-extending lens. Perhaps this made the feature more of a functional necessity than a stylistic decision by Konica Minolta’s design team?

The camera also offers an additional 4x digital zoom, though using it is not recommended as it will degrade picture quality. The lens has a maximum aperture of f/3.3 in its widest focus, closing to f/4.0 in telephoto shooting. This puts the X60 at a disadvantage in terms of low light capabilities, as most comparable cameras will open an extra 1/2-stop to f/2.8.

The lens will focus from 4 inches to infinity in wide angle shooting and from 20 inches to infinity in telephoto shooting. For close-up shots, users can switch over to the X60’s macro mode, enabling capture as close as 2 inches from the lens; however, the lens will only operate at a fixed focal length of 12mm (equating to 72mm on a 35mm camera), and focus very slowly.

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