Model Design / Appearance (6.0)
The Z6 is not exactly a caricature of a camera, but its features are quite exaggerated, and its styling is bold in a clumsy way. The Z6 is to cameras as the Zoot Suit is to 1930’s fashion, or the pale orange leisure suit to the 1970s. What fashion faux pas is it analogous to in 2005? Well, without the benefit of hindsight, it's hard to say, but at the very least, the Z6's pierced belly button is showing.
For some users, the obscure styling will provide practical benefits. Those who hold the camera with their left hand below the lens barrel will appreciate the sloping left side of the camera body. Others might merely appreciate the deviation from convention, while others will no doubt look on and laugh.
Size / Portability (6.5)
Many “SLR-like” cameras are SLR-like in their weight and volume, but the DiMAGE Z6 is not. At 4.3 x 3.1 x 3.3 inches and 12 ounces, it's not really pocket-friendly, but it's closer in size to a compact camera than to a mainstream DSLR.
Its portability is hampered by poor seals against dirt and vulnerable moving parts. The memory card door is flimsy and doesn't latch, so it's essentially begging to be broken off. The lens cap is a friction fit that doesn't seal against dust, and the pop-up flash doesn't latch closed either. The strap lugs poke out of unsealed gaps in the camera shell, inviting crud into the camera's innards.
No camera benefits from careless storage or transport, but the DiMAGE Z6 is a little more likely to break because of bad handling, when other cameras would continue to function well, despite some nicks and scratches.
Handling Ability (6.5)
Particularly due to its powerful telephoto zoom, the DiMAGE Z6 should be held with two hands. But given its small size, that may be a challenge. I found that the most comfortable posture is to cradle the camera in my left palm. My left thumb wraps up around the lens, and my fingers (which aren't especially long) extend more than the width of the camera. To my average-sized hands, the camera feels crowded and would take some time to develop a suitable grip.
Control Button / Dial Positioning / Size (6.0)
The DiMAGE Z6's shutter release is large and well-situated. It's easy to press halfway to activate focus, and its action for making an exposure is also positive. The mode dial is large and logically placed, but it's stiff. The general impulse will be to use two fingers to turn it, which means that users will be forced to change back and forth from a shooting grip to a less-efficient “fiddling with controls” grip.
Menu (7.5)
The DiMAGE Z6 varies its menus according to its mode, hiding settings when they are automated. The menus themselves are readable and presented in a tabbed interface, which is an efficient and clear presentation. The order in which the items appear in the menus is puzzling, though – features such as focus mode, ISO, and flash compensation, which may be accessed frequently during a single shoot, don't show up on the first screen. They're buried, while Image size and Quality, which typically don't change during a shoot, are immediately available. Konica Minolta favored the settings that even beginners could understand, rather than the ones that experienced users would access often.
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Auto and Digital Subject Program Mode menus
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Drive mode
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Choose single shot or burst modes
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Image size
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Choose resolution
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Quality
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Choose level of compression
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Anti-shake
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Set the image stabilization mode
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Auto DSP (Auto mode only)
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Allow the camera to choose between Program mode and the scene modes
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Focus mode (Digital subject program mode only)
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Choose one-shot autofocus, continuous autofocus, or manual focus
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Manual and limited Auto modes
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Drive mode
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Choose single shot or burst modes
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Image size
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Choose resolution
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Quality
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Choose level of compression
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Anti-shake
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Set the image stabilization mode
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White balance
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Set came to show natural colors in various kinds of light; the Z6 offers five presets plus a custom setting
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Focus mode
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Choose one-shot autofocus, continuous autofocus, or manual focus
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Full-time AF
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Set to make the camera focus constantly, without having to press the shutter release halfway
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Flash mode
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Set flash for red-eye reduction, slow sync, automatic, and combinations
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Flash comp.
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Increase or decrease flash exposure
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Metering mode
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Choose spot, average, or multi-segment
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Sensitivity
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Set ISO, or set Auto ISO
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Color mode
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Set to Natural or Vivid color, or Black and White or Sepia
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Sharpness
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Set in-camera sharpening
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Contrast
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Set image contrast
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Key func.
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Customize the function of the flash mode button; it can be set to control flash mode, drive mode, focus mode, color mode, white balance or Sensitivity
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Movie menus
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Frame rate
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Choose 15 or 30 frames per second
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White balance
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Set to show natural colors in various kinds of light
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Movie mode
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Set to normal or night mode
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Anti-shake
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Set Anti-shake mode
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Focus mode
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Set Focus mode
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Color mode
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Set color mode
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The Setup menus on the DiMAGE Z6 control operations that affect the general operation of the camera.
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Setup
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LCD Brightness
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Control LCD brightness
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Power Save
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Set interval for which the camera will stay on while unused
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Inst.Playback
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Choose whether images will playback immediately after they're saved
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Language
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Choose display language; the choices are: Japanese, English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Swedish, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Korean
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Lens acc.
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Set to adjust camera for an auxiliary lens
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File # memory
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Set to have the Z6 reset or not reset the file number every time the memory card is changed
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Folder Name
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Select a folder name format – either one that identifies the camera model, or the date
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Date imprint
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Make the shooting date visible in the image
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Reset Default
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Return camera to factory settings
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Audio signals
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Set beep for button presses
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Focus signal
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Set beep for focus confirmation
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Shutter FX
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Set shutter sound
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Volume
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Set volume for all sounds
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Video output
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Set video out for NTSC or PAL
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Transfer mode
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Set USB port for storage or printer connection
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Digital zoom
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Set camera to magnify images digitally, beyond optical capacity of the lens
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Self-timer
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Set the length of delay from 2 to 10 seconds
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The DiMAGE Z6 also has a Playback menu for controls used while reviewing images.
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Playback menu
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Delete
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Delete images, singly or in groups
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Format
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Format the memory card
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Lock
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Prevent images from being deleted
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Edit movie
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Trim movie clips
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Copy
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Copy images from one memory card to another
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Slide show
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Play back a sequence of images
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Playback
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Select images for a slide show
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Duration
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Set how long each image will display in a slide show
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Repeat
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Set whether the slide show repeats
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DPOF set
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Select images for DPOF printing (printing without a computer)
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Date print
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Set to print with or without date on a DPOF printer
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Index print
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Create an index print of the images in a DPOF order
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Email copy
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Create low-res copies of existing images for email
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Ease of Use (6.5)
The DiMAGE Z6 benefits from good control actuation; the buttons work nicely. Unfortunately, there are too few of them, and too few of them have multiple functions. Cameras with comparable specs usually make it easier to access manual functions. The Z6 relies heavily on menu-based controls, making the camera slower and more cumbersome to operate than a similar camera with a few more direct controls. The Panasonic FZ30 is an example of a camera that is faster to operate.
That said, the DiMAGE Z6 is easy to use in its automatic modes. Both its scene modes and its auto modes control nearly all the major functions of the camera. The big omission is the flash, which must be manually flipped up to operate. Unless the user pops it up, the camera will not flash, no matter how dark the scene.
