Great photos if in great light
Written: Dec 02 '05
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Pros: Great photographs, built like a tank, lots of features
Cons: Poor low light focus
The Bottom Line: The resolution and clarity are great. This is an excellent camera for taking still photos of well lit objects. It is not a good camera for low light situations.
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| damonthompson's Full Review: Olympus Camedia C-8080 Wide Zoom Digital Camera |
When this camera focuses it can take some really nice pictures. This camera is very well constructed and has a nice feel to it. The macro function is also excellent for close ups of coins, jewelry, flowers etc... The extended lens can sometimes cast a shadow over the subject but you can adjust for that.
The problem comes when trying to take photographs in low light. The auto focus is very poor in low light. My idea of low light is inside my house at night with one 75 watt bulb in a room. In this kind of light I mis-focus about 50% of the time at wide angle and almost 100% of the time at full zoom.
You can switch to manual focus but since the image is pixelated it's almost impossible to see if you are in focus. I have also noticed that the auto focus goes through two full cycles of focal range but the focus assist light only stays lit for the first so there's no chance of it catching focus the second time around.
The auto focus seems to get worse when the battery is low and even starts focusing improperly in good light for the last couple dozen photos before the low battery light comes on. This isn't a big problem since the battery is awesome.
There is also considerable shutter lag (around 0.55 seconds) when using the flash. Add this up and I've got virtually no chance of getting a photo of my daughter dancing around the room to Barbie Swan Lake before bedtime.
For outdoor lighting during the day this camera is excellent. There is virtually no shutter lag in daylight. The auto focus is fast. The photos have great color and exposure. You occasionally have a missed focus if there are any strong vertical lines well behind the subject (like trees or something).
I'm not sure if my particular camera is worse than the normal C-8080 but my old Olympus D-490Z 2 Meg from five years ago focuses much better and faster in low light.
SUMMARY:
If you want to take a lot of outdoor daytime photos this camera may work very well for you. If you want to take indoor low light action photos do not buy this camera. It will just frustrate you.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): $500
This Camera is a Good Choice if You Want Something... Flexible Enough for Enthusiasts
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Epinions.com ID:
damonthompson
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Reviews written: 12
Trusted by: 0 members
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