The Minolta DiMAGE Z1, the first in a series of easy-to-use powerful Single Lens-Reflex (SLR)-type digital cameras, introduced in 2003, one month before Minolta’s merger with Konica. It was a superzoom camera with a diopter-correctable electronic viewfinder. It is equipped with an impressive 10x, 5.8-58mm lens, the equivalent of a 38-380mm lens on a 35mm camera. The maximum aperture ranges from f/2.8 to f/3.5, depending on the zoom lens setting. Focus ranges from 1.6 feet (0.5 meters) to infinity in normal mode, with a macro setting ranging from 3.9 to 47.2 inches (10 to 120 centimeters). There’s also a Super Macro setting that gets as close as 1.6 inches (4 centimeters) for really impressive close-ups. It provides optional advanced exposure modes and full-manual operation. It had a set of still photography exposure programs plus the complete P, A, S, M set of standard modes plus a fully automatic exposure mode, like most contemporary analog consumer SLRs. Thus it can be called a bridge camera.
