Minolta DiMAGE S304 (2001)
Minolta announced the DiMAGE S304 at PMA on 11 February 2001, alongside the DiMAGE 5 and DiMAGE 7. Minolta released the full specifications to the public the same day. It was a compact digital camera built around a 3.3 megapixel CCD (3.14 effective, producing 2048 x 1536 images) and a 4x optical zoom lens, with an additional 2x digital zoom on top. Maximum ISO was 800.
The S304's optics are what set it apart. It used Minolta's GT Lens technology, an apochromatic 4x zoom design that Minolta described as a new, high-performance lens class for digital cameras. The higher-end DiMAGE 5 and 7 used the same lens technology. The camera also had Minolta's CxProcessing image processing. The sensor was unusually small for its class. You might expect a 1/1.8-inch (14.1 mm diagonal) sensor, but the S304's measured approximately 8.89 mm on the diagonal. The body was a compact metal shell, powered by a lithium-ion battery, with USB connectivity.
Past that, the record is thin. No original retail price, detailed spec sheet (focal length, aperture range, shutter speeds, viewfinder specs, storage media), or production run details have surfaced. A service manual exists (reference numbers 2770-5125-01, 2770-1992-01, 2770-1211-01), and a single user on a manual repository site rated it 8/10. Camerapedia notes that 2001 was a strong year for Minolta's digital push, and describes the S304 as a "digital viewfinder camera" introduced for "the new era's revolutionized photography." One imaging resource noted that Minolta's Image Viewer utility could batch-convert images from the S304's color space to sRGB and others, and praised Minolta for attempting to break out of sRGB's limitations. The camera turns up occasionally on the secondhand market. A Dutch thrift shop lists one at €36.98, and eBay listings describe tested units with charger included.
Known specifications:
- Announced: 11 February 2001 (PMA), alongside DiMAGE 5 and 7
- Sensor: 3.3 MP CCD (3.14 effective, 2048 x 1536)
- Lens: 4x optical zoom, 2x digital zoom, Minolta GT LENS (apochromatic)
- ISO: up to 800
- Body: compact metal shell
- Power: lithium-ion battery
- Connectivity: USB
If you own an S304 and can fill in the gaps - the aperture range, focal length, or how it compares in hand to the DiMAGE 5 - the Archive would welcome the record.
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