|
||
 |
||
|
| Olympus 3000 Zoom |
 Email This
 Print ThisView My Personal Library |
|
Hardware Reviews July 2000 • Vol.3 Issue 7 |
Olympus 3000 Zoom | ||
 If you were to place the C-3000 and C-3030 Zoom digital cameras from Olympus side by side, there wouldn't initially seem to be a whole lot of difference between the two models outside of the color of their frames. Dig deeper, though, and you learn that each camera has a few unique characteristics. Primarily, the C-3000 lacks the huge 32MB (megabytes) of buffered RAM (random-access memory) that the C-3030 offers. It also ships with less storage space. Don't let those omissions fool you, however. The C-3000 is an exceptional digital camera. The lack of buffered RAM might not enable you to use the C-3000 in the same capacity as the C-3030 to capture quick-moving action, but the C-3000 still takes incredibly good shots with 3-megapixel quality and costs about $200 less. Beyond a difference in color, the cameras share the same basic design. The C-3000's frame is decked out in silver with black trimming, while the C-3030 Zoom is all black. On the back of the C-3000, you'll find several buttons for setting camera options and operating the 1.8-inch LCD (liquid-crystal display). In addition, there are accessible navigational buttons that make maneuvering through menu settings much easier than has been the case with previous Olympus cameras. While the C-3000 Zoom is an improvement for Olympus in terms of ease of use, the camera is still more difficult to operate than other cameras from different manufacturers, primarily because of its ample manual options. In addition, the real-image TTL (through the lens) optical viewfinder and LCD are both located on the left side of the camera's back, making nose and fingerprints an unfortunate reality. In addition, the placement of the lens on the extreme left front of the camera leaves little room for supporting the camera with the left hand. Those complaints aside, we can find little fault with the C-3000. The camera includes both auto and manual focus abilities that range from 8 inches to infinity in normal mode and 8 inches to 30 inches in macro mode. In addition, the built-in flash has slow synchronization ability for action and night shots and a burst mode to take 3.5fps (frames per second) up to five frames. Additionally, the camera can shoot 46 seconds of video at 320 x 240 pixels at 15fps in high quality and more than three minutes of video at 160 x 120 pixels in standard quality. Also impressive is the camera's USB (Universal Serial Bus) connection, 15 different shooting modes (including five uncompressed TIFF [Tagged Image File Format] modes), and the ability to record four seconds of sound to each image and attach an external Olympus FL-40 flash. The camera features a quality all-glass f2.8 to f11 lens with 3X zoom (equivalent to a 32mm to 96mm lens on a 35mm camera) and 2.5 digital zoom. White balance is automatic, but there are preset options of daylight, overcast, tungsten lighting, and fluorescent. The C-3000 Zoom ships with a removable 8MB SmartMedia card to store 1 to 82 shots in five quality settings. The camera's top resolution is a true 2,048 x 1,536 pixels. Other resolutions include 1,600 x 1,200 pixels, 1,280 x 960 pixels, 1,024 x 768 pixels, and 640 x 480 pixels. Our test shots taken at all resolutions were exceptional. Both our indoor and outdoor images featured extremely crisp focus and sharpness, and colors were especially vivid and full of life. Overall, the camera produced some of the best images we've seen from a consumer model, falling just behind the Nikon CoolPix 990, Kodak DC290, and the C-3030. At $750, the C-3000 Zoom isn't cheap, but its three-megapixel image quality and fine array of manual control options go a long way to offset the dollars purchasing the camera will take out of your pocket. The camera does require an adjustment period to learn to use it effectively, but once learned, both new and advanced users should find this camera more than capable of suiting their needs. by Blaine Flamig
$750 (street) Olympus (800) 347-4027 (631) 844-5000 http://www.olympusamerica.com
|
|
Home Copyright & Legal Information Privacy Policy Site Map Contact Us