The Olympus Camedia C-4040 gives you Superb LARGE Photo Quality!
Written: Dec 27 '01 (Updated Jan 19 '03)
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Pros: Excellent Photos!
Cons: No rechargeable batteries & the SmartMedia card is too small!
The Bottom Line: Great quality in a digital camera with great quality in the photos!
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| surferdude7's Full Review: Olympus Camedia C-4040 Zoom Digital Camera |
Olympus has done it again, another superb quality camera that offers you everything and a photo image as large as 2274 x 1704 in resolution. The Olympus C-4040 Zoom looks and feels like the Olympus Camedia C-3000 series, in fact it is almost identical to the Olympus C-3040 except for the fact it takes a larger photo.
C-4040 verses the C-3040
The only difference I could find in the two models is the C-4040 is a 4.0 Megapixel that has a resolution of 2274 x 1704. The C-3040 is a 3.3 Megapixel that has a resolution of 2048 x 1536. The C-3040 will print a beautiful 11 x 14 inch color photo while the C4040 will print one as large as 16 x 20 inches. Both cameras can print larger photos but for the best quality I have listed what I see as the best quality.
Bottom Line is: Most printers at home will only print an 8 x 10 inch photo so the Olympus C-3000 and up give you an excellent 8 x 10 inch photo.
Video
Yes you can take Videos with this camera. There are two modes 160x120 and 320x240 recorded in QuickTime movie modes at 15fps (Frames Per Second) with sound. The 160x120 mode will record up to 148 seconds and the 320x240 mode will record up to 32 seconds. You can stop them at anytime during recording and record as many as your SmartMedia card has room for.
Picture quality is good in both modes but I find the 160x120 mode being too small to view.
Images
Still images can be taken in different modes like HQ (High Quality) and SHQ (Super High Quality) mode. They can be recorded on the TIFF or JPEG format, I prefer the JPEG format.
There are six different resolutions to choose from, 2274 x 1704, 2048 x 1536, 1600 x 1200, 1280 x 960, 1024 x 768 and 640 x 480.
This gives you many possibilities to fit your needs.
TV Viewing
You can view your photos or videos on your TV by connecting the supplied cable to your TV and camera. The tiny remote that comes with it lets you choose your photos and even zoom in on them and move around the photo while being zoomed in.
The Lens
The lens is a main feature on this camera being incredibly fast at F1.8 - F2.6. It has 10 lenses in 7 groups and is an all glass aspherical lens.
The lens is a 3x optical that is equal to a 35mm lens equivalent of 35-105mm in focal length. There is also a 2.5 digital zoom giving you a total zoom of 7.5.
Aperture Range is in the wide-angle F1.8 - F10 and in the telephoto it has a range from F2.6 - F10. You can make manual adjustments at 1/3 EV steps.
The Flash
This camera has a built in flash that can be turned off, set on red-eye reduction, fill-in, slow synchronization and auto.
Working flash range is at ISO 100.
The View!
You have an optical viewfinder to view your subjects in on, this saves on battery power when you have the LCD turned off. There is a Diopter control adjustment knob on the side, this makes it handy to adjust for you preference so you don’t have to wear your eye glasses to focus in with.
The back has a built-in color LCD viewfinder that can be used to focus you subjects in with or use it to preview a taken photo. The LCD is also your menu system that lets you make all kinds of adjustments to your preference.
On top of the camera is a monochrome data LCD that lets you know things like how many photos are left to take.
Other Features!
DPOF (Digital Print Order Format)
Date/Time Calendar
USB connection
Self Timer with the remote, about 12 seconds
Optimum Image Enlargement Mode lets you make images up to 3200 x 2400 pixels.
New Noise Reduction System for better photo quality
Manual or Auto Focusing
ISO settings of 100, 200, 400 equivalent to a 35mm camera.
Image Effects and Adjustment modes
Panorama feature using an Olympus Panorama SmartMedia card.
Take from 2 to 8 shots per second depending on your settings.
What comes with the C-4040 Zoom
You get the Olympus C-4040 digital camera.
A 16MB SmartMedia Memory Card
A tiny Wireless Remote Control
USB Cable and NTSC Audio/Video Cable
Lens Cap & Carrying Strap
A CD with the software needed plus Adobe Photoshop LE
Extras to Get!
The C-4040 only comes with a 16MB SmartMedia Memory Card and with that you can only get 1 photo in the TIFF mode in the highest resolution and 5 photos in the JPEG mode. I recommend the JPEG mode for all photos. So I recommend buying a larger SmartMedia card like a 64MB or 128MB card. A 64MB card costs under $50 and a 128MB card costs under $99.
Overall
This is an excellent digital camera with superb photo quality. The camera is easy to use but you will have to learn it a little bit. You can just set it to point and shoot or make all of your adjustments manually.
The camera lists for around $900 but can be found on the Internet for a little over $600.
The Olympus C-4040 Zoom comes with a one-year warranty.
Update 7-7-02. Olympus now includes a rechargeable battery, when they first came out this wasn’t included. A nice improvement for an excellent camera!
Here are some of my other camera reviews!
Canon PowerShot G1 Digital Camera
Casio QV3000EX Digital Camera
Casio QV-2300UX Digital Camera
Fuji FinePix 2800 Digital Camera
Kodak DC215 Zoom Digital Camera
Kodak DC280 Zoom Digital Camera
Kodak DC3400 Zoom Digital Camera
Kodak DX4900 Digital Camera
Minolta Dimage E-201 Digital Camera
Minolta Maxxum HTsi 35mm SLR camera
Minolta Maxxum 7
Minolta Maxxum 800si 35mm SLR camera
Olympus C-3020 Zoom Digital Camera
Olympus C-4040 Zoom Digital Camera
Olympus Camedia D-40 Zoom Digital Camera
Olympus Camedia D-380 Digital Camera
Pentax Optio 430 Digital Camera
Nikon Coolpix 900-s Digital Camera
Nikon Coolpix 3500 Digital Camera
Sony MVC-FD87 Digital Camera
Sony Mavica MVC-FD95 Digital Camera
Sony DSC-F717 Cyber-shot Digital Camera
Sony DSC-P2 Digital Camera
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 699
This Camera is a Good Choice if You Want Something... Flexible Enough for Enthusiasts
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surferdude7
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