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| Scaling Mt. Olympus |
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Hardware Reviews May 2001 • Vol.12 Issue 5 Page(s) 14-16 in print issue |
Scaling Mt. Olympus A Look At Five Digital Cameras On The Summit | ||
 Test, review, and snap enough pictures with enough digital cameras and it quickly becomes apparent that a few manufacturers loom heads and shoulders above the rest when it comes to consistently producing quality cameras. Olympus is one of the true giants in this regard, churning out excellent models year after year. We've never been shy about expressing our genuine affection for and approval of the excellent images, features, and construction Olympus' cameras typically offer. Like any relationship, there's bad to take with the good. In this case, Olympus cameras are generally more expensive and difficult to use than others, but there are only a few manufacturers we'd say have as good of a track record at producing innovative, boundary-breaking cameras. For this review, we gathered five recent cameras from Olympus that range from a basic point-and-shoot model aimed at entry-level users to one possessing characteristics that will appeal to users with advanced, professional-like skills. Naturally, the cameras vary in price and functionality, but what remains constant with each model is the general excellence of image quality and construction each offers. And contacting Olympus for further information requires no additional skills. Call (800) 347-4027 or (631) 844-5000 or visit its Web site (http://www.olympusamerica.com).  How We Tested Initially, we set each camera to its default settings and snapped images in four locations with different lighting, including outdoors, indoors with fluorescent, tungsten, and a mixture of natural and fluorescent lighting. We shoot our images at a resolution as close to 640 x 480 pixels as possible and at the camera's highest resolution. We transfered images to a test machine and viewed them on a 15-inch ViewSonic E655 monitor. Our reviews are listed according to the street price of each camera, which we obtain by averaging prices from several online camera retailers.  D-490 Zoom $390 The D-490 Zoom is a classic example of a thing not always being exactly what it appears to be. On the surface, the D-490's resume suggests it's a point-and-shoot model as outstanding as any entry-level user and certain mid-level users would want to own. The camera captures images at a high resolution of 1,600 x 1,200 pixels, which we'd rate as being way above average. The D-490 also has features not typically found in a sub-$400 model, such as the ability to capture up to 60 seconds of QuickTime movies at 15fps (frames per second). It also has five shooting modes, one-touch focus settings, four white balance settings, and a sequence mode to take five shots in High Quality or 45 shots in Standard Quality at 1.3 shots per second. In addition, the D-490 recovers extremely quickly between shots, has 3X optical and 2X digital zoom, and can take uncompressed TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) shots that should translate into very good prints. However, dig deeper and you'll find the D-490 lacks a USB (Universal Serial Bus) port, instead relying on a serial cable to transfer shots to a computer at a snail's pace. In addition, it ships without rechargeable batteries or an A/C adapter, which can drastically improve battery life, especially when transferring images. Tacking on the cost to acquire these accessories suddenly doesn't make the sub-$400 price tag quite the bargain it seems. You'll also find that operating the camera isn't as easy as it could be. The camera lacks a mode dial, some of the buttons on the back are fairly vague, and although the menus are easy to maneuver through, you'll need some time with the manual to get acquainted with the various icons used. In addition, we don't like the way the built-in lens cover physically bumps the 5.4mm-to-16.2mm lens when it is slid closed. Still, the D-490 is better than the majority of entry-level models you'll find on the market. Its images in all lighting conditions are crisp and sharp, and colors are accurate and vivid. In addition, the camera's compact, solid construction makes it an excellent traveling companion.  C-211 Zoom $550 The C-211 Zoom shares many of the same features and characteristics of other Olympus models, but it's unlike any other model the company has produced. For that matter, it's unlike any other digital camera released in the United States. What makes the C-211 special is its ability to instantly produce prints from on the spot. Partnering with Polaroid, Olympus incorporates Polaroid's 500 Print Engine in the camera's frame to output prints on Polaroid's instant Type 500 film. Instead of transferring images to a PC or connecting the camera to a printer, the camera can create prints anytime, anyplace. Granted, the prints you get only measure about 2 inches high x 3 inches wide, and the image quality is a bit grainy and dark. However, you can crop and adjust your images on the camera's 2-inch LCD (liquid-crystal display) before printing them. Considering you can pick and choose the images to print, and you only wait minutes to see your results on a print, the quality tradeoff isn't a bad one. Its instant prints make the C-211 worth considering, but the camera also produces excellent digital images with a good range of color and sharp focus at a high resolution of 1,600 x 1,200 pixels. The camera's features go beyond those of a typical point-and-shoot camera. For example, you can shoot at five quality settings and take uncompressed TIFF images. You can also access three ISO equivalency settings, programmable auto exposure settings, and auto white balance (with four preset modes) settings. The camera also records up to 60-second QuickTime movies, uses the same sequence mode as the D-490 Zoom, and uses a 5.4mm-to-16.2mm lens (equivalent to a 35mm-to-105mm lens on a 35mm camera) with 3X optical and 2X digital zoom. All this ability doesn't come without some hitches, the most obvious being the camera's considerable size. Measuring 7 inches high x 5.5 inches wide x 2.25 inches deep, the camera is anything but travel-friendly and light; it weighs in at nearly 1.7 pounds. However, if you're willing to lug it around, you'll get a whole lot of camera. C-2100 Ultra Zoom $675 The C-2100 Ultra Zoom is Olympus' first digital camera with a 10X optical zoom lens. That feature alone tells you this isn't a run-of-the-mill, point-and-shoot camera. But taking advantage of the lens and other exceptional qualities the camera offers will cost you some extra dollars and time spent poking around the users manual. The C-2100's barrel-like, all-glass lens is the camera's centerpiece. The 7mm-to-70mm (equivalent to a 38mm-to-380mm lens on a 35mm camera) lens is threaded to attach accessory 49mm filters and lenses. It also has an appreciated stabilizing function that reduces optical shake that can occur using a long, high-powered lens. In addition, the camera has 2.7X digital zoom, giving the C-2100 a combined zoom range of 1000mm. Beyond its zoom ability, the camera can take images at four resolutions (topping out at 1,600 x 1,200 pixels) at 12 quality settings, including four TIFF settings. It can also record QuickTime movies at 320 x 240 pixels (at 15fps up to 35 seconds) and 160 x 120 pixels (at 15fps up to 135 seconds). The C-2100 also has 16MB of buffered memory, which helps produce fast recovery times (less than 1.5 seconds between shots) and lets users take 3fps in continuous shooting modes. We also appreciate the camera's manual focus ability, slow synch flash setting, and electronic viewfinder that functions as a tiny LCD screen to view camera settings and images. There are also four metering modes, automatic and manual white balance options, three ISO settings, aperture priority and shutter priority, and S-Program modes. In S-Program mode, the shutter speed and aperture settings are set automatically while the user selects a night, sports, portrait, or landscape option. Despite its array of features, the C-2100 is relatively easy to use, thanks to a mode dial and four-way jog button. It also uses a USB connection and ships with excellent documentation. Overall, the C-2100's sharply focused images with rich, crisp colors impress us most.  C-3030 Zoom $750 The C-3030 Zoom has been around for a while, but it's still one of the best mid-range cameras we've seen. Its price has fallen from nearly $1,000, but it's still not cheap. However, once you see the camera in action, you might be convinced to spend the extra dollars. The camera offers 3-megapixel image quality with a shooting resolution topping out at 2,048 x 1,536 pixels. We saw the camera first about six months ago, and to date, its images still rate as being among the best we've seen. Olympus enhances the image quality by constructing the camera with a whopping 32MB of buffered memory. That lets you take about a shot a second, or 3.3fps up to five shots. In addition, there are 15 quality settings to shoot at, including five TIFF modes. But that's just scratching the surface. The camera's 6.5mm-to-19.5mm lens (equivalent to a 32mm-to-96mm lens on a 35mm camera) has 3X optical and 2.5X digital zoom. There are manual and automatic focus and exposure options, manual white balance, three ISO settings, and a QuickTime mode to shoot 186-second movies at 15fps at 160 x 120 pixels or 46-second movies at 15fps at 320 x 240 pixels. The C-3030 has a USB connection and records audio to images. It stores an impressive one-to-165 shots on the included 16MB SmartMedia card. Shots we took with the C-3030 were simply outstanding. Images in all lighting conditions were clear and bright, with colors vivid and lifelike. Shots we took at default settings were extremely good, but the images we took after making manual adjustments were superb. Taking shots and accessing the C-3030's lengthy list of features isn't easy. Olympus provides a mode dial and jog button, but the menus take time to maneuver. Options are packed into a compact and attractive frame making this camera even more appealing.  Camedia E-100RS (Rapid Shot) $1,200 The E-100RS' price will scare off some users, especially users just entering the world of digital photography. That's probably good, because many of its functions and options are ones many amateurs won't use. In addition, the camera's bulky professional-style design isn't conducive to slipping it into a coat pocket to take with you. But if you're not frightened away by the price and design, you should like what you find. Olympus markets the E-100RS as being faster than any previous digital camera in its class, and it may be. It takes just seconds to power up, and its generous 9.5MB of buffered memory stores shots until they can be processed so you can continue shooting. The camera impressively takes 15fps, 7.5fps, 5fps, or 3fps at six quality settings up to various shot limits. Finally, there's a unique Pre-Capture mode that saves one-to-five shots in buffered memory before you fully press down the shutter button. We don't run a benchmark test for speed, but we can say the E-100RS is noticeably speedy between shots. In addition to speed, the E-100RS has a bevy of attractive features. Most notable is the 10X all-glass zoom lens that has an Image Stabilized System to reduce camera shake. The 6.8mm-to-70mm (equal to a 35mm-to-380mm lens on a 35mm camera) lens is enhanced by 2.7X digital zoom, four metering settings, and automatic and manual white balance options, including four preset manual white balance settings. We expected the E-100RS to render good images, and we weren't disappointed. Images were as sharp as we've seen from a consumer model, and the colors were accurate and fully defined. We were pleasantly surprised at the ease with which we took our shots. There's a learning curve to overcome and preparation to tackle before you'll be comfortably shooting, but not as much as we feared. The camera shoots at four resolutions, including a top resolution of 1,368 x 1,024 pixels. It records QuickTime movies at four settings, including up to 8 seconds at 15fps at 640 x 480 pixels and up to 16 seconds at 15fps at 160 x 120 pixels. An 8MB SmartMedia card is bundled, but the camera also has a slot so you can insert a CompactFlash Type I or II card to store images. Final Word Choosing a Smart Choice winner in a review of products from different manufacturers is usually tough. Picking a winner from a group of excellent models from the same manufacturer is nearly impossible. Any camera you opt for will depend on your skill level, how much money you're willing to spend, and how much you anticipate learning about and growing into your image taking. With those considerations, we'd spend our money on the C-2100 Ultra Zoom. Its price falls in the middle of this group, plus it has a stylish design, 10X optical zoom lens, and multiple shooting modes. In addition, it's reasonably easy to use and produces excellent images. In our eyes, those attributes make it the giant among giants.  by Blaine Flamig
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