Konica Minolta Dimage X1

More megapixels doesn't always mean better quality, but Konica Minolta has released its first 8-megapixel compact camera, the Dimage X1.

The main advantage of 8-megapixel images is that it's possible to severely crop them and still end up with a decent-sized print without much reduction in quality. Alternatively, full-size images can be printed at very large sizes.

The CCD in the camera is larger than most, but it's still a small space into which to cram this many pixels, and the result is that the camera produces more 'noise' than most in the form of a nasty speckling effect evident in dark areas of the image.

However, it's not detrimental and when printing at normal photo sizes, it's hard to see the noise, while outdoor images are not badly affected.

The camera has a good image stabiliser to combat camera shake, which is something usually found in more expensive cameras with longer zoom lenses than the 3x model on the Dimage X1.

Thanks to some clever use of folding optics, the lens doesn't protrude from the body, which keeps it compact but also means it's easy to accidentally slip a finger over it.

While this is a good camera, there aren't many people who will make use of an 8-megapixel model. A 5-megapixel camera would be cheaper and better suited to more people.