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Olympus CAMEDIA C-4040 ZOOM
February 27, 2002 A friend of ours recently bought a digital camera and was thrilled to be able to download the pictures right away, view them on computer and send them via e-mail to friends and family. Although a novice computer user and photographer, our friend is one of the many people discovering the joys and advantages of digital photography. What’s so great about digital cameras? Plenty. Digital cameras use no film, so you can shoot, preview on-camera, download, send or print--all in minutes. Make prints on your own printer, at a local photo lab or order them over the Internet. And with digital photos you can fix red-eye, enhance brightness and contrast, add text or special effects and a host of other actions before printing (for a copy of our recent column on photo editing, send us a SASE). Digital cameras capture images by using an electronic light-sensitive device that divides the picture into an array (similar to a jig-saw puzzle) of millions of minuscule elements called pixels (one million pixels equals one megapixel). Pixel information is processed and saved as a file in the camera’s memory card or chip. More pixels mean better picture detail and better prints, but more pixels also result in larger file sizes. Current digital cameras for consumers range from simple point-and-shoot to sophisticated models with more control over the camera functions. Sizes range from one to five megapixels, and prices range from $59 to $1,500. A sophisticated consumer digital camera that we used recently is the CAMEDIA C-4040 ZOOM (Olympus, $799 street price). This 4.1 megapixel camera was a joy to use. It’s point-and-shoot easy out of the box, but sports enough image and function control capabilities to make even the most avid photographer happy. Picture color rendition and resolution are excellent, and the camera has several features we especially liked. First of all, it’s compact enough to carry in a large pocket but hefty enough (about a half pound) to steady all your shoots. And the non-slip rubberized grip makes it easy to hold the camera firmly. The on-camera flash is amazing for this size camera. It has an extended range of almost 20 feet and surprisingly wide angle coverage, giving you plenty of flash power to take even large group pictures. We saw this feature at work when we were able to get great quality photos of a school concert featuring more than fifty performers. In automatic mode, when poor lighting requires a flash, the flash pops a short pre-flash that the camera uses to focus on the subject and set the flash power: lower for close and more for distance. This prevents the "white-faced" look for close-up people pictures. Another control feature we liked was being able to set the flash for red-eye reduction, fill or off. Although these settings are commonly found on many cameras, Olympus takes them further by letting you set flash power to +/-3 exposure values, slow synch, first or second curtain synch. And, when using an external Olympus flash, the camera uses TTL (through the lens) exposure control to regulate the external flash. You select whether to use external flash only or combine it with the on-camera flash, giving you great lighting control. With the bright LCD monitor, you can see pictures clearly in all but the brightest sunlight, allowing you to use the monitor to set up photos. There’s also a standard viewfinder if you prefer. A convenience feature is the dual level menu system. Characteristic of digital cameras, the C-4040 ZOOM has the usual layers of menus to set camera features, but the Olympus includes short-cuts to get to the most popular menus quickly. Using the exposure control, with its multi-patterned "intelligent" metering, we had very few too-light or too-dark photos. For instance, a picture we took of a child next to a bright window was properly exposed for his face. Another convenience factor is the camera’s use of a variety of batteries for power: two 3V lithium, four rechargeable AA Ni-MH or Ni-Cd batteries, four AA alkaline or four AA lithium batteries. Pictures are stored in removable SmartMedia cards, and the included 16 MB card holds from one to 165 images, depending on the picture pixel size and amount of compression you choose. These settings affect picture quality. The camera also has a movie mode, allowing you to record up to two minutes of video and audio. Download your pictures from the camera directly to your computer, using a USB connection and the included software, or download from the SmartMedia card itself, using an option card reader. The f1.8 all-glass lens is designed specifically for digital, providing the extra image flatness needed by the CCD image capture chip for superior picture resolution. Details on some other features are: zoom range 35mm-105mm (35mm equivalent); sensitivity (ISO) 100, 200, 400 or auto; aperture f1.8-f10; shutter speed 4-1/800 sec.; focus 7 in.-infinity; white balance: daylight, tungsten, fluorescent, overcast, manual compensation; image effects: sepia, B&W, black or white board. We liked this camera. It may seem a bit expensive, but the image quality and features make it well worth the price. |
