Manual Control Options
The Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z20 has multiple manual controls available when the exposure mode dial is set to a mode other than Auto. The user can control Focus, White Balance, Flash Mode, Metering, ISO, Digital Zoom, Shutter, Aperture, and Exposure Compensation. These are found either within the menu or through the shortcuts displayed on the LCD or viewfinder screen when in regular shooting mode. These shortcuts are a bit tedious to scan and manipulate and are accidentally engaged when portions of the four-way controller are bumped. All of the options can be found in menus, except for the flash mode and focus mode - those can be switched with the button atop the right-hand grip.
Auto Focus (6.5)
The Z20 uses a hybrid auto focus system that incorporates a passive AF sensor with the video AF system. There are three separate auto focus settings on the Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z20: Single Shot AF, Continuous AF with predictive focus control, and Full Time AF. When in Automatic Mode, the camera is set in Single Shot AF. In other modes, the other two auto focus settings become available. It is possible to move the focal area from center to left or right by pressing the center button on the four-way controller. The camera is capable of focusing as close as a centimeter in macro mode. In that same close-up mode, the Z20 can focus as far as 6.6 feet. This is quite a wide range for macro focusing. When users are not in the macro mode, the AF system can focus as close as 1.6 feet to as far as the lens can see. In terms of performance, shooting clustered compositions revealed some trouble with selecting objects within the frame, but for some reason, the Z20 did not have as much difficulty as the Z5. All around, the AF setting will not get in the user's way much more than it will on other compact models.
Manual Focus (3.0)
The manual focus control appears within the onscreen menu when the camera is moved out of Auto mode. Prior to recording, focus can be controlled when the camera is in Movie Mode, but once recording has begun the focus option is locked. The focus setting appears on the right side of the screen as a vertical bar which moves from macro to infinity settings. The focal settings for the Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z20 are controlled by the up and down arrows on the four-way controller, which is a nice touch. Unfortunately there is a delay between button activation and focal reaction.
Metering (7.5)
The user can control the metering settings on the Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z20 when the camera is in either P, A, S, or M exposure mode settings. Once one of these four modes is selected, the user controls the metering mode of the camera through the second page of the LCD menu. These metering modes allow the user to dictate how the camera reads luminance and color. The first mode available is Multi-segment, which makes the camera measure settings by reading from 256 points in an image. The second is called Center-weighted and causes the camera to give added emphasis to the center of the image prior to capturing. The third setting is Spot metering, which reads only a small centered circle within the rest of the frame. This allows the camera to disregard sections of the image which are either extremely dark or light.
Exposure (8.0)
Manual exposure settings for the Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z20 are controlled through the exposure mode dial located on the top of the right side of the camera body. When the dial is switched into manual exposure mode, the user can set exposure settings through either the shutter speed or the aperture settings. The up and down arrows control the shutter speed, and the right and left arrows control the aperture settings. It is also possible to control the EV levels of the camera, with a scale of +2 to -2 (including 0) available. A reading of +2 EV allows for 4x as much light to exist within the shot, while a reading of -2 EV gives 1/4 as much light. 0 EV is the calculated exposure reading. Like ISO, the EV function applies a digital boost to the image to add illumination to the frame but results in additional noise.
On top of the Z20, the rotating mode dial provides access to Manual, Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority, and program Auto modes.
White Balance (7.5)
White balance settings on the Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z20 are located within the on-screen menu of the camera and enable the user to select from a number of standard options. Automatic, Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Flash, and Custom White Balance are all available. Once the manual white balance is set, the user must re-enter the menu to select it; this is slightly inefficient. Note that when using the automatic white balance setting, the Z20 displays an abnormal degree of difficulty orienting the camera to the proper color calibration. Even shooting outside, many compositions recorded with the Z20 displayed rosy overtones that give a warmer feel to the images but also create a slightly skewed, unnatural appearance.
ISO (6.0)
Sensitivity settings for the Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z20 are located within the onscreen LCD menu. ISO options are located within the sensitivity sub-menu and are ISO 50, 100, 200, 320, and Auto. The user cannot control ISO when in Movie, Auto, or preset exposure modes. Due to their position within the third menu screen on the camera, it is hard to quickly change ISO settings. The manual range is somewhat disappointing; most compact models have a range that extends at least to the standard ISO 400 rating. The disappointing automatic ISO range is on par with other digital cameras and is sure to create problems for any automatic point-and-shooter in less than optimal lighting. When the camera is in Auto mode, the ISO settings range shrinks down to ISO 50 to ISO 160. This is an abbreviated scale when compared to the manual control settings; though of course when ISO levels are increased the amount of visible noise within the image is also increased, so if you are going to be doing all of your shooting in daylight, it may be more of a blessing then a handicap.
Shutter Speed (7.0)
The user can control the shutter speed manually for the Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z20 by moving the exposure mode dial to the manual or shutter speed priority settings. The shutter speed range will appear on the LCD screen and allows the user to move from 4 seconds to 1/2000th of a second. This is a bit expanded from the Z5's shutter range of 4 seconds to just 1/1000th of a second. The shutter speed is controlled in this mode by pressing the up and down arrows on the four-way control. The shutter speed display on the LCD screen, like the aperture setting and other features, is small and may be hard for some users to see.
Aperture (7.0)
The manual and aperture priority modes allow users to control the aperture settings. These modes are entered via the exposure mode dial located on the top of the camera. It is possible to control the aperture setting, which will open to f/8 and has a three stop range, through the up and down arrows of the four-way controller when the camera is in shooting mode. The maximum aperture setting will automatically shift from f/3.2 in wide to f/3.4 in telephoto. If the aperture value exceeds the recommended shutter speed range for the camera, the shutter speed on the LCD screen will turn red.
