Hot Stuff
Weekly Contest
FREE AKVIS Sketch!
CreativePro.com Podcast
Don't miss it! Updated every Monday.
FREE Mags for Creative Pros!
Creativity, Website Magazine, and more!
Olympus C-3030 Zoom Misses its Mark
Faulty ergonomics and performance blemish an impressive list of features
Written by Marty Beaudet on May 5, 2000
Related Articles
Related Reading
Party favors
The Olympus C-3030 brings to the 3-megapixel party many of the same features as other guests: auto-exposure-bracketing, white-balance adjustment, a movie mode, direct connection to a TV or printer, sound recording, and a panorama mode, to name a few. Threads inside the lens ring suggest that the camera accepts a lens converter, but neither the manual nor the Olympus Web site offer any information on conversion lenses for the C-3030. A $500 external flash is available (requiring a special grip and cable, as well), but the C-3030 does not have a built-in hot-shoe as does the Epson PhotoPC 3000Z.
One unique feature of the C-3030 is the included remote control, which lets you get in the picture (with the self-timer function) or give a slideshow when the camera is attached (via the included video cable) to a TV monitor. Cute, maybe, but for my money any number of other items -- an AC adapter, a case, a rechargeable battery pack -- would have been a better value.
Down time
When it came to downloading, I found tethering my Olympus C-3030 and crawling behind the PC to plug in the USB cable, removing the lens cap, turning the camera on, and remembering to turn it off, to be very tedious. With CompactFlash (CF) media (used by the Epson and Nikon cameras), by contrast, getting pictures into my PC involves simply popping the CF cards into my Lexar USB JumpShot reader. While there are similar options for SmartMedia (a $100 SmartMedia reader, a $150 FlashPath floppy disk adapter, and a $150 PC Card adapter), the slower SmartMedia cards' flimsier construction and exposed contacts make them less suitable for throwing in a pocket and frequently swapping out. And SmartMedia tops out at a capacity of 64 MB, while CF cards run as high as 160 MB.
I also found the C-3030's bundled software (Olympus Camedia Master 2.0) to be more wearisome to use than the Sierra Image Expert that comes with the Epson cameras. The latter's Camio Viewer plug-in pops up automatically when it detects a CF card or camera connection and allows simultaneous copying and erasing of images on the card. The Olympus software requires each of those steps to be performed manually. It does provide a respectable set of quick image-retouching tools, however. Adobe Photoshop 5 LE is also included with the camera.
Share:
In response to D. Laird's comments
Bad days aside, let me address some issues raised here.
_
D. Laird said: "To change from one image quality to another only takes 7 or so button pushes - more than I might like, but nowhere near the 20 claimed by the author."
_
Depending on the resolution and size desired, selection can require *up to* 20 button pushes, as I stated in the review.
_
D. Laird said: "In addition, I find the battery usage of this camera to be quite reasonable. Perhaps that's because I, unlike the author, can remember to turn the camera off when I'm not using it."
_
Remembering to turn off the camera is certainly a good idea with the C-3030, however I am not in this habit because all the other cameras I've used turn themselves off in minutes.
_
D. Laird said: "Also, I can't understand why the author was complaining about having to crawl behind his PC to plug and unplug the USB cable - I guess he couldn't figure out that it can be left plugged in, even when not in use."
_
Because I often test mulitple cameras simultaneously, in addition to using other USB devices, I can't leave them all plugged in at once. Not only is a shortage of USB ports an issue, but some cameras' download software gets confused or crashes when multiple cameras are attached.
_
D. Laird said: "I also wonder where he shops, for he quoted a $100 price for a SmartMedia reader. A very cursory look at most any shopping site finds them being sold for well under $50. The prices he quotes for other accessories are quite odd, as well."
_
Where possible I have taken prices from respective vendors' websites. Prices will always vary among retail vendors.
-Marty Beaudet, author
Review off the mark
You don't have to click thru the menu each time you want to access digital zoom. When once activated, a slide scale appears on the LCD screen. As to automatic shutdown, my 3030 does so in exactly three minutes, not four hours. Colors of the flowers had a blueish cast on an overcast day? Of course they would. Why didn't you switch to "cloudy" white balance? And your USB complaint about "crawling" behind the computer to change it because of multiple uses for your USB port. Wouldn't the same be true if you connected a Nikon or Epson reader to your USB port?
About the Lens Cap
Think about this, have you ever used a REALLY GOOD 35MM camera?? At least with my Nikon FG and my 2 Pintex K1000's all the lens that they have use lens caps that do not have a teather. This camera is made up put Digital, and 35MM together with the manual features that it has. So why wouldn't it have a non teathered cap. With my old Sony cam I had it had a teathered cap and it kept either getting in the picture or in front of the LCD, that did me more harm then good. On the subject of the carrying case. I would rather use my handy backpack that I store all my camera supplies in then have to have a seperate one for my DC. In conclusion, the author of this article had some good drugs that day because I love my 3030, it is starting to replace my 35mm cams, how you could not like this DC I don't know.
Chris Hileman.
www.chrishileman.com - Where everything is FREE!
Review misses the mark by a mile
I'm afraid it appears that the author of this review had a terribly bad day. At least he didn't blame the camera for his getting stuck in the snow.
While the 3030Z does have a complex menu structure, I find that it is not nearly as bad as described here. To change from one image quality to another only takes 7 or so button pushes - more than I might like, but nowhere near the 20 claimed by the author.
In addition, I find the battery usage of this camera to be quite reasonable. Perhaps that's because I, unlike the author, can remember to turn the camera off when I'm not using it. By the way, the camera does enter a power-saving 'sleep' mode when left on for ~3 minutes.
Also, I can't understand why the author was complaining about having to crawl behind his PC to plug and unplug the USB cable - I guess he couldn't figure out that it can be left plugged in, even when not in use. I also wonder where he shops, for he quoted a $100 price for a SmartMedia reader. A very cursory look at most any shopping site finds them being sold for well under $50. The prices he quotes for other accessories are quite odd, as well.
I will admit, however, that he does have a couple of valid points. I think that the lack of 'in the box' accessories is a disappointment. A lens cap tether, set of NiMH batteries, and a carrying case would be logical freebies to be thrown in with a $1000 camera. Overall, however, the camera is a joy - much more than I can say about this review.
Donald Laird
laird@donaldlaird.com
Oviously did not spend the time to learn.
Many statements of "fact" that are totaly untrue. Flowers (last photo) are not Columbines but Dwarf Larkspur.