Another acquisition I made recently, as a vintage enthusiast who is also into the CCD Resurgence and Compact Comeback, is the 3.3MP CCD Konica KD-30M, a user-friendly compact digital still often sought by collectors for its retro aesthetic and simple shooting capabilities.
The camera, introduced by Konica in 2002, is known for its small size and design cues from Konica's APS film cameras. Its production was targeted at enthusiasts seeking a compact, portable, everyday-use camera with easy-to-use features.
Tech-wise, the KD-30M is fitted with a 1.27-inch 3.3MP CCD sensor, a fixed focus 5.1mm f/2.9 lens (equivalent to a 34mm lens on a full-frame camera) with 4x zoom and 2-step manual adjustment, a mechanical shutter speed range from 1/4 to 1/1000 second, an electronic shutter speed at 1/1000 second, an optical viewfinder, a built-in electronic flash, and an 80,000-dot 1.6-inch TFT LCD screen. ISO sensitivity is from 100 to 200.
Basic Camera Features
Small and compact, the KD-30M measures 96 x 66 x 41mm, and weighs 140 grams without batteries and an image storage card.
On the front, just the lens assembly unit with the Viewfinder atop, a Red LED diode to its left, the built-in Flash, and the Lens Cover Switch on the lower right of the assembly.
On the top plane is the Mic, located towards the left shoulder, and to the right, the integrated Shutter Release and Mode Dial buttons with settings for Shooting, Playback, Movie Clip, and Setup modes.
On the back is the Power (slider) Switch, located towards the top-right corner, and the viewfinder eyepiece with a Red LED diode occupies the upper portion, while on the lower section is the 1.6-inch LCD screen, a Menu and LCD button aligned vertically beside it, with a Joystick pad next to it.
On the left shoulder (looking from the back) is the Focus Range switch, and under the flap cover, the USB Connector and DC In Connector ports.
On the bottom plane, the Battery Chamber and SD Card slot cover, and the Tripod bush. The camera is powered by 2 x AA batteries.
Starting Out
Starting out to Record images with the KD-30M is fairly simple and straightforward. Once the battery and memory card are properly installed, open the Lens Cover, set the Mode Dial to Record, select the Focus Range, slide the Power Switch On, and you are ready to go.
On-the-fly adjustments that can be made before shooting include setting the Self-Timer and Zoom settings, and cycling the Flash setting.
LCD Display
The LCD displays the various functional settings the camera is set to.
Joystick Pad Functions
The four directional arrows of the Joystick Pad function as follows:
- In Shooting Mode
- Up Arrow: Cycles Self-Timer mode. The count-down will be displayed on the LCD once the shutter is released.
- Left Arrow: Image Zoom down.
- Right Arrow: Image Zoom up.
- Down Arrow: Cycles Flash mode - Auto Flash, Red-Eye Reduction, Night Scene, Fill-in Flash, and Flash Off.
- In Playback Mode
- Up Arrow: Displays the previous image.
- Left Arrow: Cycles Thumbnail views.
- Right Arrow: Cycles Image Zooms, use Up Arrow to Zoom Up, and Down Arrow to Zoom Down.
In Zoom mode, use the right arrow again to navigate between images. - Down Arrow: Cycle from the first image on the storage media.
- In Video Clip Mode
- Up Arrow: Cycles Self-Timer mode.
- Left Arrow: N/A
- Right Arrow: N/A
- Down Arrow: N/A
- In Setup Mode
- Up Arrow: Navigate Setup Menu Pages 1 or 2.
- Left Arrow: Select the menu item for editing, use Up and Down arrows for selection and editing. Press the Menu button again to go back to the Menu Display page.
- Right Arrow: N/A
- Down Arrow: Replicate Up Arrow function.
Images, which are of course none too close to current standards, are characterized by the distinct, nostalgic aesthetic of digicam photos from the 2000s, with punchy colors, gentle highlight roll-off (bloom), low resolution, and their own intrinsic values.
End Note
The KD-30M, by today's standards, is painfully slow with its image capture sequence, and rushed shots will end up recorded as blurred or fuzzy images. The best option is to take your time with the shutter release and the image recording interval, while enjoying the tactile experience of taking photos as if you are shooting on film with an analog camera.
On a comparative head-to-head evaluation, my preference is still for the Konica Genba Kantaku Digitak DG-2, which I reviewed earlier, for its robust all-weather construction (JIS protection grade 7), better low-light image capture, and basically, the sheer fun of using it. The DG-2, a specialized, rugged, and all-weather digital camera designed primarily for construction site documentation in Japan, was launched in 2002.
No comments:
Post a Comment