Olympus C3040 Digital Camera Testing Cameras can be a Risky Business
Written: Oct 07 '01 (Updated Jan 15 '02)
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Pros: Fast f1.8 lens, Excellent picture quality, 32 mb internal memory buffer, good battery life
Cons: overexposes on auto settings, doesn’t ship with rechargeable batteries/charger, slow RAW/TIFF mode
The Bottom Line: The new Olympus C3040 is that rarest of animals, an update that offers real and useful improvements over it’s predecessor
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| Howard_Creech's Full Review: Olympus C-3040 Zoom Digital Camera |
Olympus has been one of the dominant players in the digital camera marketplace since the beginning of the digicam revolution, and boasts one of the most comprehensive model lineups in the industry. They offer everything from “bare-bones” point’n’shoot models to the "pro" quality E-10 SLR. The company that marketed D300L, the first “serious” prosumer digital camera, continues to set an innovative example with their newest 3 megapixel model, the Camedia C-3040 Zoom. The C-3040 is the third generation of the C-3000 design, and Olympus has continually tweaked and improved the feature set and performance of this family of digital cameras. The C-3040 is designed (and marketed) to compete with the Nikon Coolpix 995, the Canon G1, and other “top of the line” prosumer 3 megapixel digicams.
Usually when digital camera manufacturers update a popular and successful older model, instead of being truly innovative, most companies will play it safe and opt for only minor improvements and small cosmetic changes. The new Olympus C-3040 Zoom, doesn’t look much different than it’s predecessor on the surface, but it offers real improvements and refinements that will help photographers shoot better images
Features
The most notable new feature (on both the 3-megapixel C3040 Zoom and the 2-megapixel C2040 Zoom) is the fast (35mm equivalent) 35-105/f-1.8-f-2.6 zoom lens. This new high resolution 3X zoom extends the working range of the flash and improves the camera's low-light capabilities with the fastest lens aperture on any fixed lens digital camera. Under most lighting conditions (indoors and out) the new lens will produce sharp, well-exposed, highly (color) saturated images. The resolution from the new zoom is equal or superior to any fixed lens digital camera I have used to date.
The point and shoot mode on the C3040 offers more than the standard “automatic” setting on most digital cameras, photographers can set and store user preferences (even in auto mode you still have some control). The camera consistently produces VERY good ISO 100 and ISO 200 images, but the 3040’s ISO 400 exposures don’t work quite as well. The C3040 provides one-touch white balance, a 32MB internal memory (for speedy image processing,) and a Multi-Spot Metering mode. A motor drive style setting, (3.1 FPS at maximum resolution) is a tremendous asset in rapidly changing light or unfolding action when coupled with the cameras 32mb internal memory buffer.
User control of flash power, aperture/shutter speed/manual settings, ISO (film speed equivalent) settings, and auto/manual/spot focus choices will further enhance the creative capabilities of digital photographers. You can choose from 15 still image modes with five levels of picture quality, and the C-3040 (like the C-3030) allows QuickTime video (with audio) at 15fps, and now you are able to edit your movies “in-camera”. The C3040 has an optical viewfinder with central crosshairs (to indicate the Autofocus area) and two LEDs, for AF/AE (green) and flash required, charging, or ready (yellow) the battery compartment makes a comfortable grip for right handed photographers.
Quick review of the images you've shot is easy with the C3040, just double click the button that turns on the LCD, and the last shot you took pops right up, use the thumb-pad navigation buttons to scroll through your images and delete the rejects. With the dual-function zoom control you can quickly switch from a nine-shot thumbnail view to any of several magnifications of a single image (up to 3X). Metering options now include multi-spot and multi-center-weighted. The camera is equipped with a socket for studio flash, but doesn’t have a hot-shoe.
Technical Specifications
Resolution: 3.34-megapixel (2,048 x 1,536)
LCD: 1.8-inch color display.
Lens: f/1.8-2.6/35-105 (35mm equivalent) zoom. Glass lens (with aspheric elements), construction 10-elements in 7 groups.
Manual or Auto Focus.
Shutter speed: from 1/800th of a second to 4 seconds.
Exposure Modes: Program, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, and Manual.
Metering: Spot or Digital ESP.
White Balance: Auto, six user settings, plus a WB color adjustment function.
Built-in flash with four operating modes
External Flash: Yes with five-pin external flash socket
File Formats: JPEG and uncompressed TIFF.
Image Storage: SmartMedia (16MB card included).
Connectivity: USB, plus USB Storage Class connectivity option, which allows image transfers between camera and PC without software installation
Power: 2 CR-V3 battery packs (included) or four AA batteries (AC adapter & battery charger optional).
Included: 1 16MB SmartMedia card, (2) LB-01 3V lithium batteries (CR-3V); USB cable, Audio/Video cable, RM-1 remote control, Camedia Master 2.5 Utility Software, instruction manual, QuickStart Guide, lens cap and strap.
In The Field/Handling & Operation
My friend and I had decided to test both the new Olympus C3040 and the new Sony CD300 simultaneously. After getting together on an absolutely beautiful Saturday afternoon, we took both cameras to Cherokee Park. We drove around looking for interesting things to photograph. The park was crowded with joggers, folks hanging out, and people throwing Frisbees, and playing with their dogs. We shot some action shots of a couple of very talented local dogs catching frisbies in mid-air. Neither of the cameras did very well at this task, but the Olympus was quicker than the Sony.
After it got a little too warm to be out in the open, we retired to the forest edge and scouted around looking for interesting intimate landscapes and macro images to shoot. I found a huge old oak shelf fungus growing at the base of a dead tree. I took some macro shots of the fungus with the Sony CD300, while my friend stood holding the Olympus 3040 by the side of the trail, just behind me. Once I finished I stood up, and suddenly heard a strange skittering noise, I jumped back just as a big “grand-daddy” groundhog burst out from a hole under the tree (I had evidently startled him when I stood up) and shot across the trail straight at my friend, who is afraid of big animals and absolutely hates the woods.
My friend saw me jump up and then saw this huge gray/brown animal headed right for him, which scared the living daylights out of him. He leaped back so hard that he fell over backwards, throwing the brand new Olympus C3040 over his head in a slow classic under-handed arc. The camera sailed about fifteen feet and crashed loudly to the ground. My friend got up and dusted himself off and asked me “what in the hell was that? It was %&$#@*+ huge”. I smiled and said, “that was the world famous giant rodent of Cherokee Park, a Groundhogus Horribilius” He gave me a look that would have melted glass and said, “Very Funny, I’ll bet the %$&@#!* camera is ruined” We walked over and picked it up and while it did have a couple of small dings and was covered with dust, it worked perfectly. This is an unexpected and unplanned testimonial to the durability and toughness (Kids, please don’t try this at home) of the new Olympus C3040.
The following Friday evening I met my friend and another photographer buddy at Bowman Field to shoot the annual balloon glow that is the kick off event of the Adam Mathews Cheesecake Balloon Festival. Louisville businessman Adam Burckle (the founder of Adam Mathews Cheesecake) has sponsored this festival (the largest in Kentucky, and one of the top ten hot air balloon events in the U. S) for the past three years. The AMCBF draws entries from all over the mid-west and upper south, and this year ninety hot air balloons signed up for the balloon glow and race. What really sets the Adam Mathews Cheesecake Balloon Festival apart (especially for photographers) is the fact that festival spectators are allowed complete access to the balloons. You can get up close, talk to the crews, and shoot pretty much anything you like. The free Adam Mathews cheesecake passed out to crowd is also a great feature of this festival.
For several days it didn’t look like the festival would get off the ground because of the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington (over-flights of the city are currently prohibited) but early Friday morning the word came down that the festival was a go. Most of the day Friday was dark and cold with gusty winds and a sky filled with rain clouds, but early in the evening the weather cleared up rapidly. The festival ended up having absolutely perfect weather; blue skies, wispy white clouds and temperatures in the mid seventies. The event drew a large crowd to watch the balloons inflated just after dark, which makes for some stunning color images because the propane burners used to produce the hot air for lift, light the colorful balloons up beautifully against the night-time sky.
There were plenty of photographic opportunities, starting with a gorgeous sunset with deep pink clouds lining the western horizon and one absolutely beautiful lenticular cloud that just glowed right above the airfield. As it got dark a crescent moon rose about twenty degrees south of the western horizon. The Olympus worked beautifully for crowd shots and shots of the balloon crews getting their behemoths ready. The f1.8 maximum aperture was perfect for the just after sunset light. Like most outdoor Louisville events the festival was a sea of noisy active children and barking dogs, which provided the opportunity to shoot lots of “candid/street” type images. Families and couples spread out on quilts laid on the ground, just hanging out and listening to sixties Rock’n’Roll from Donny Dynamite and the Dynamos. Just before full darkness the rock and roll group was replaced by the Louisville Pipe Band (bagpipes and drummers) which did a beautiful tribute to the firefighters, police, and rescue workers lost in the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center with a moving and mournful rendition of “Amazing Grace”
The balloons were absolutely fantastic once they started getting lit up, although since most of burners only flared for a couple of seconds, it was very difficult to time exactly when to trip the shutter. It was easy to fill two 64mb smart media cards with images of the sunset, the kids & dogs, and dozens of colorful glowing balloons against the dark night-time sky. The three of us left just before the large crowd turned Taylorsville Road into the longest parking lot in Louisville.
Saturday morning my friend and I met at Bowman Field at 8:00 am. The balloons had been lifting off since about 5:30 am (balloon races aren't really very fast) and all 90 of them were spread across the beautiful blue sky in an 80 degree arc from west to east. It was a hazy cool morning with puffy white clouds. We were able to use the Olympus 3040’s 3X zoom to isolate tight backlit groups of colorful balloons against the morning sky. It was easy to fill a 64mb smart media card with images of the balloons in flight. We stayed for about thirty minutes, which was all we needed to shoot dozens of images of the balloons in flight against the beautiful autumn sky.
A Few Concerns
My biggest gripe with the Olympus C3040 is the inadequate manual, Olympus could have done a much better job here. The included software is pretty basic, and a bit dated but it will satisfy anyone who isn’t already using photoshop or one of the “pro” editing/manipulation software programs. Battery life is pretty good, but the lack of a battery charger and re-chargeable batteries is unacceptable. Olympus has put most of the controls for the camera in menus, which makes operation considerably more complex than it needs to be.
Conclusion
Images from the C3040 are as good or better than the images from any 3 megapixel camera I have used, and image quality really is “job one” with digital cameras, everything else is just icing on the cake. To put a bit more of an emphasis on that statement, images shot with the C3040 are equal to images shot with the Olympus “pro” E10, which is a four megapixel digital camera. The 3040 represents a real advance in the digital imaging arena with the fastest lens (f 1.8) of any currently available digital camera, very good low light performance, lots of user input, and lots of serious image enhancing options. The camera is worthy of serious consideration by anyone looking for a viable 3 megapixel digital camera.
For information on How to Choose a Digital Camera please see my review:
http://www.epinions.com/elec-review-2E46-17B174E2-39A418E3-prod1
For information about specific Digital Camera models, please see my Digital Camera Reviews:
Nikon Digital Cameras
Nikon Coolpix 5000
http://www.epinions.com/content_52720406148
Nikon Coolpix 885
http://www.epinions.com/content_46290931332
Nikon Coolpix 995
http://www.epinions.com/content_40256769668
Nikon D1X
http://www.epinions.com/content_36023996036
Nikon D1
http://www.epinions.com/elec-review-4868-E2433E5-38737CF8-prod2/tk_~CB003.1.78
Nikon Coolpix 880
http://www.epinions.com/elec-review-2DA8-DF21E52-39E118CA-prod5
Nikon Coolpix 990
http://www.epinions.com/elec-review-3B78-3C431D90-3A345313-prod3
Canon Digital Cameras
Canon Powershot G2
http://www.epinions.com/content_47646084740
Canon Powershot S10
http://www.epinions.com/content_7563808388/tk_~CB003.1.74
Canon EOS D30
http://www.epinions.com/content_11625991812/tk_~CB003.1.58
Canon Powershot PRO 90IS
http://www.epinions.com/content_30440001156/tk_~CB005.1.9
Canon Powershot G1
http://www.epinions.com/content_8768294532/tk_~CB003.1.70
Canon Powershot PRO 70
http://www.epinions.com/elec-review-6496-25768DA-38C3E01A-prod9/tk_~CB003.1.70
Sony Digital Cameras
Sony DSC S85
http://www.epinions.com/content_51957567108
Sony MVC-CD 300
http://www.epinions.com/content_45591793284
Sony DSC-S50
http:http://www.epinions.com/content_15885897348
Sony Mavica MVC-CD1000
http://www.epinions.com/elec-review-5F01-365BA12-3980602C-prod3/tk_~CB003.1.14
Olympus Digital Cameras
Olympus Camedia C3040
http://www.epinions.com/content_42675179140
Olympus Camedia C3000
http://www.epinions.com/content_26106105476/tk_~CB003.1.30
Olympus Camedia E10
http://www.epinions.com/elec-review-59FB-183DFC73-3A17388F-prod2/tk_~CB003.1.42
Fuji Digital Cameras
Fuji Finepix S1 “PRO”
http://www.epinions.com/elec-review-5591-16816C34-39047A87-prod5/tk_~CB003.1.18
Minolta Digital Cameras
Minolta Dimage 5
http://www.epinions.com/content_49104522884
Just “cut’n’paste” the URL into your browser’s address window.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 700.00
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Howard_Creech
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Member: Howard Creech
Location: Louisville, KY
Reviews written: 333
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About Me:
Photographer/Writer fascinated by Movies, Music, Books, American Diner Food, History, "Popular Culture", and Travel.
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