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Olympus Digital Camera Review  The craze for purchasing a digital camera is spreading like wildfire. Receiving an e-mail with a picture of your grandson attached, or a photo of your daughter's first deer, makes a person appreciate technology. So you make a trip to your favorite store only to discover hundreds of models of cameras, and high price tags on many of them. So where do you begin, what are the differences, and what model should you get? Anyone who has ever shopped for a digital camera has asked all of these questions at least once. In the following article, with the assistance of some of our members here at ModernSportsman.com, I will attempt to answer some of those questions. As it has turned out, the camera manufacture mentioned in this article is Olympus. There were postings in our forum about other manufacturers, and I have saved them for another article at a later date. I would like to introduce Matt Hartman, known as DiveBob in our forums. Matt has been practicing amateur digital photography for almost two years. Matt is a mechanical engineer by trade, and attention to detail comes natural to him. Matt spends a lot of time at the go-kart track photographing the racers, and taking some action shots. Here's what Matt had to say about digital photography. Matt: Recently I have been working with quite a few motor sport photographers at race tracks around the country, and have found that the majority of them have gone digital. They find that the ease and speed with which they can manipulate and transmit images to customers (mainly magazines) outweighs the cost considerations. Over time, they are actually saving money on processing. Granted, these guys are taking thousands of shots a day covering these races. It is definitely quite a chunk to lay out for the hobbyist, for a professional type of setup. But depending on what the end use will be, there are some rather inexpensive digital cameras out there that make superb 8x10 prints. I use an Olympus C-3000, and take photos at a local go-kart track. I turn around and sell the photos to the racers and the majority of them order 8x10's. Now that I have the workings of the camera figured out, the photos are coming out crisp and clear with awesome color. If you're interested, you can see my stuff at http://www.prkarting.com I have always had a hard time getting decent shots with film, but mainly because of my lack of experience with it. I have an immense amount of respect for someone who can take quality images on a film camera. Photographs on film is really an art form, where the digital cameras make it so most anyone can get a good shot. Indiana_Dan: Tell us a little bit about selecting a digital camera Matt. Matt: In all of the advice that I have ever been given, the first and foremost option is to maximize the number of megapixels. Worry about all of the other options after that. For me, I wouldn't go below a 3.0 megapixel threshold. Given the current price range and capabilities of the new cameras. It all depends on what you want to do with the image. Just to define it, megapixels is the number of definable areas on the light sensor that captures the image inside the camera. If you have a 1 Megapixel camera, that means there are 1 million little capture points on your sensor. A 1.2 megapixel will make a photo quality 4x6 image. An 8" x 10" print requires at least 2 megapixels. And with a 4-megapixel camera, you can easily make 11" x 14" prints on your home inkjet or dye sublimation printer. If all you simply plan to do is to email your images, a digital camera with less than a million pixels will do, or one with the ability to capture the image at 640 x 480 pixels. Just remember this, no amount of digital futzing will make up for a poor initial image. You can always go down in size, but you can't go back up. Another thing to think about is if you take a picture with a low megapixel camera, download it to your computer, and want to zoom in on a particular face or portion of the picture, the zoom will be of very poor quality. Indiana_Dan: Tell us a little bit about the camera you use Matt. Matt: As I have said, I have an Olympus C-3000Z digital zoom camera. I bought it about a year and a half ago. I have had great luck with it. I paid about $600 for the base camera. During my research, I ran across a review on Amazon.com, and they said it was the camera they chose to shoot their product shots with, which was the purpose that I had intended it be used for. It takes the flat, thin smart media cards and they are pretty reasonable in price. I got a 128MB card, which holds 77 super duper high quality images, from buy.com for $69. It has 3.3 megapixel element and has a 3X optical zoom with a 2.5X digital zoom. It has built in threads that allow you to attach specialty lenses and filters without making it a big contraption. I have purchased a magnifier to get closer the subjects without having to resort to the digital zoom which degrades the image (no matter what camera you have) It takes 4 standard AA batteries. The lithiums last about 8 hours of moderate use and alkaline batteries burn up in about an hour. I have switched to the NiMH rechargeable that last about three times longer than alkaline, but can be recharged 1000's of times without building up a memory. I think this particular model has been discontinued now, but there are others in the same line that give you more options and quality for the same money. Like the C-3020Z, C-3030Z, and the C-4040Z. After I bought the camera, I decided to try my hand at taking action shots at a local go-kart track. After some time to get used to the technique, I have been able to take shots that are good enough quality to make crisp clean 8x10 images. I was really impressed with the image quality. The other reason that I opted for this camera was because it didn't use CD's or something else like it. I really liked the idea of being able to reuse the digital film over and over again. It saved me money in the long run because I usually take about 900 photos per weekend. So I would burn up a few CD's that way. I would definitely recommend the Olympus 'C' series for those who want a mid range camera with 8x10 quality without the professional price. If you're interested seeing some of the photos created with the camera, look at some of the subjects with my name, or go to http://www.prkarting.com and click on the picture of the flipping go-kart on the home page. Indiana_Dan: Matt, I've noticed the digital cameras don't have the big zoom lenses on them. Why not? Matt: Digital cameras have two types of zoom; optical zoom and digital zoom. Optical zoom is the magnification that you get from the glass on your camera. Digital takes what the lens lets in, and "crops" it inside the circuitry. It's not really any sort of magic, but it can degrade your image. When I first got my camera and started taking action shots at the go-kart track, I couldn't get within safe distance of the racers to get full frame shots without using digital zoom. The resulting pictures were fuzzy around the edges of the subject, and sometimes there were jaggies around them also. I think mainly this was because it was a fast moving object. So I purchased a 1.45x add on magnifier (lens) and now I can get the subject in a full frame without the digital zoom. The new pictures come out crisp and clean. So there is no substitute for optical magnification. Now, if you're taking still shots of really tiny objects, I think you can get away with digital zoom. Indiana_Dan: Joining in on the postings of this thread in our Outdoor Gear Forum is Nate Smith. Nate brings up a very good point concerning digital cameras and zoom features. Nate_Smith: Some things I found out when looking for a digital camera was don't spend a lot of money on digital zoom features. The image can be digitally zoomed with the software on your computer, so why pay for this feature in your camera? Optical zoom of 3x is a minimum….6x is better. Anything over 6x is gravy on the taters. If you want to take action shots, buy the expensive features for action shots. I opted for the "still" camera to save money. Indiana_Dan: Another member of ModernSportsman comments on his selection of a digital camera. OleOzz: I wanted three things from my digital camera - easy to use, lightweight, and sharp photos. I found all three in the Olympus D-460Z. Many of the pictures that I take are of pointing dogs in the field. They are as sharp and clear as any 2 megapixel camera if you are shooting 4 x 6 photos. If megapixels are important then I would go with the Olympus D-490, basically the same camera as the D-460 but with more pixels. Closing Comments: Before this article was completed, I went out and purchased a new digital camera for myself. As DiveBob (Matt) had mentioned, the Olympus C-3000Z has been discontinued. I bought the model which has replaced it, the Olympus C-3020Z. For a base price of $500, it is every bit the camera I was looking for. It has 3.3 megapixels, 3x optical zoom, and 7x digital zoom. The lens is threaded so I can add additional magnifiers if I choose. It comes with a 16MB SmartMedia Card. The camera has several features for manual control of light settings, and focal adjustments, but also has a "macro mode" which will automatically adjust your light and focal settings. I use the auto mode, which has proven to take great pictures in all types of light settings. The camera has a built in flash unit, which can easily be turned on or off. As is common with many digital camera manufacturers, my camera came with no carrying case. For an additional $85, I purchased an "Accessory Pack", which contained a carrying case, rechargeable batteries and recharger, an AC power supply, another 16MB SmartMedia Card, and the most valuable item in the kit, a ScanDisk Card reader. The card reader plugs into a USB port on your computer and acts like another floppy disk. It features a "hot swap" which means you can plug it in and take it out of your computer without ever turning off your computer. The SmartMedia cards come out of your camera and plug into the disk, and instantly you can upload the photos onto your computer. The AC power adaptor is not needed, nor do you need the camera. Someone can load the camera with a fresh card and be taking more photos while you are uploading photos taken only moments earlier. It is that easy. Other things to consider: Be careful what type of memory card you buy. It's easy to get confused by the terminology. There are three main types of memory cards: Memory Stick - By Sony, and used mostly with Sony products Smart Media - Made by a lot of companies, looks like a little paper thin wafer with gold contacts on one side Compact Flash - This probably the most popular and looks like 1" square 1/4" thick with a female connector on one side. The Olympus C-3020Z uses the Smart Media. I have since bought a 128MB card for about $80, but 64MB is available and good too. With my camera on high resolution, and the 128MB card loaded, I can take around 170 pictures. It is awesome, believe me. |
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