Minox DSC - Digital Spy Camera USA

Comments about Minox DSC - Digital Spy Camera:

Takes very nice pictures when you aim it properly. If you plan on taking spy pictures in public its best to act like you're looking at a small phone so they don't think you're up to something. Best to keep it charged as the shutter speed diminishes and occasionally streaks the photos. Which is cool if that's what you're trying to do.

Comments about Minox DSC - Digital Spy Camera:

Tiny. Not the best picture quality. Completely silent operation. The attachable flash is really effective but makes the camera a little awkward.

Overall, great for keeping in your pocket for happy snaps but don't use it to take photos of anything important.

Comments about Minox DSC - Digital Spy Camera:

I purchased this for product defect verification in work (which is demanding)and personal shots, which is more important to me and the unit does the job. The goofy block of the chain fob by the flash notwithstanding, the camera does the job well and mine charges fine and all the buttons work.It's a welcome addition to my few fine Minoxes.

Comments about Minox DSC - Digital Spy Camera:

[...]I had researched this device extensively, and knew that other people had had other defective units on occasion. However, both of the components did not function. Neither would take a charge despite being connected for 12+ hours. Not worthy of Minox name, I'm afraid.

Comments about Minox DSC - Digital Spy Camera:

I have a thing for Minox cameras. I have a collection of them. I have thought for many years that Minox should make a camera in the form factor of the 8x11 cameras, to heck with the other consquences.If you have no fondness for Minoxes in general or the form factor, don't buy the camera. You can get a better camera that is a lot bigger for the same money. Any pocket camera from the usual suspects (Canon, Nikon, Sony, Panasonic, etc.) in the same price range is a better *camera*.But it won't be a Minox. This is a digital Minox, and if *that* appeals to you, keep reading.There are things to love and some wretchedness in it. For example, there is a flash unit for the camera that is a very nice flash. It has a separate lithium battery (more life in a tiny camera) which is cool. There is an LCD display on the flash unit, which is a great use of space.But -- the flash fits over the same spot as the Minox chain. You can't have the chain on the camera and the flash. That's wretched. I almost sent the camera back for that flub alone. But I decided to keep it because -- well, it's a digital Minox. It's cool.The camera connects to your computer and charges over a mini-usb connector. It's the same mini-usb that lots of people use now. My Canon uses it, my BlackBerry uses it, etc. That's great.The flash unit connects via a bizarre sliding connector that is like a headphone jack, and you have to use a jack-to-USB cable to charge it. That's wretched. I hate having to have a single-purpose bizarre cable.The camera has a nice heft to it. It feels good. Taking pictures takes some practice, because you're looking through a viewfinder (unless you have the chain off and flash on), and there's a red LED as the only indicator.But hey -- I have a Minox EC in my collection, and it isn't that much worse than a Minox EC for usability.The integrated lithium batteries are a great convenience, but that also means that in three years, the batteries will be toast and there will be no way to replace them easily. On the other hand, there's liable to be a Minox DSC B by then, too.The picture quality is mediocre, but umm, well, the picture quality on film Minoxes was always mediocre. However, I will agree with another reviewer here and say that it is mediocre in ways that are cool, because they give the pictures a spy camera, Minox-y feel. Come on, you're not buying this camera for the image quality, you're buying it because it's a digital Minox!At [$] this is a great little camera if you are the sort of person who thinks that a true digital Minox is a cool thing. If you are not that sort of person, you won't like the camera. Many of the complaints I have and other people have with it can be fixed if you're willing to pay [$] for the result. I like it the more I use it. It's fun. It's a conversation piece. It's worth the money. You get what you pay for. If you looked at the DSC and thought, "Oh, cool!" then you will like it (except for the stuff I mentioned, like the chain).But I really, really want Minox to read what I don't like and fix those things. Come on, make a better digital Minox, and I'll buy it. Really -- fix the chain issue, guys. Geez.

Comments about Minox DSC - Digital Spy Camera:

easy point and shoot; carry in pocket.
nothing really great about this camera. I expected more from Minox. Image quality very poor with blocked highlights. Buttons may or may not work.

Comments about Minox DSC - Digital Spy Camera:

I love Minox and this could have been very nice if it had the same quality as its German made Minox: A, B, BL, CLX, AX) counterparts- May be even if they made in steel or Aluminum not in plastic! This one is inferior quality wise and mine did not work (the buttons froze on me) after 2 days usage. I hope they re-think their strategy and produce it back in Germany instead of South East Asia.

On the positive side though, it looks great and it is a nice conversation item. I just hope it worked as well as it looks.

Comments about Minox DSC - Digital Spy Camera:

The cameral is what I expectd from Minox. I've used Minox cameras since the early 60's. I'm pleased with their approach. I didn't like the copies of other cameras (M3's and such) but I do like their approach to copying the Minox "B" features that I enjoyed. Separating the screen from the camera is a good idea. I plan to view the pictures on my computer so the small screen is no problem.

Comments about Minox DSC - Digital Spy Camera:

Please don't buy this camera unless you are a die hard Minox or submini fan or unless its stylish looks and diminutive size appeal to your senses. This is a great cult camera in the Minox submini tradition, but its ability as a digital point and shoot is well below average. There are plenty of cell phone cameras today that meet or exceed the image quality of this little curiosity. On the plus side, I personally like the somewhat gritty, hazy image quality and the peephole, yet Galileian style viewfinder. It reminds me a bit of my Minox B or Rollei 110 cameras, which are still a step or two above in quality but are now shelved for for a more convenient fleet of digital point and shoots. Leave the flash / LCD attachment at home for an even more classic submini picture taking experience, no chimping allowed! I doubt it was a deliberate effort on the part of Minox but as far as the picture quality goes it seems appropriate that it emulates the grainy, contrasty look of the 8x11 and 110 films. I wish I could attach a sample image, but when they are converted to B&W think good old fashioned TRI-X. Color shots also exhibit an almost granular like noise. When auto enhanced on my iMac the color can be saturated and contrasty not unlike Dynachrome and Agfachrome slide films of yore. As for the whole James Bond spy marketing ploy I don't totally buy it. This is more of a digital nostalgia for film, somewhat in the way the digital Rolleiflex and Leica M3 are. If you like 70's retro subminis you'll like the DSC....maybe?