INTRODUCTION
With the courtesy of my friend, who is an Olympus fan as well as collector. I must say he has a rather rich dad, who happily finances his collecting hobby. In his private collection, I am not sure did he actually miss out any camera at the moment. He has nearly all the 35mm and Digital camera that Olympus produced in his collection now.
Last month, I was lucky enough to join him to purchase another digital camera from Olympus. His aim is set on the Olympus Camedia C-4040, so our duty is rather simple. We went to the local electrical shopping area in town, look for the lowest offer, and just get it.
The Olympus Camedia C-4040 was introduced by Olympus in July 2001, as a direct replacement (I Believe) to the previous Olympus Camedia C-3040.
RESOLUTION
The Olympus Camedia C-4040 comes with a 4.13 megapixel CCD, and have a maximum resolution of 2272 x1704 pixels (without Olympus Optimum Image Enlargement).
We did most of our test shots in this setting. Photo printout quality on our HP Plotter is as follow
1) 6x4 - Perfect
2) 10x8 - Perfect
3) 11x14 - Excellent
With the help of Olympus Optimum Image Enlargement, the Olympus Camedia C-4040 can produce image of enlarged size of 3, 200 x 2, 400 pixels and 2, 816 x 2, 112 pixels.
In Summary, The Olympus Camedia C-4040 can produce images in the following size,
1) 3, 200 x 2, 400 pixels (Enlarged)
2) 2, 816 x 2, 112 pixels (Enlarged)
3) 2, 272 x 1, 704 pixels
4) 2, 048 x 1, 536 pixels
5) 1, 600 x 1, 200 pixels
6) 1, 280 x 960 pixels
7) 1, 024 x 768 pixels
8) <i >640 x 480 pixels
The Olympus Camedia C-4040 can also store motion pictures in the following size,
1) 320 x 240 pixels
2) 160 x 120 pixels
STORAGE
The only storage for the Olympus Camedia C-4040 is through the provided SmartMedia card. A 16 MB card is provided as a standard package.
Due to the size of high quality pictures, it is advisable to get a few higher capacity cards to prevent any disappointment due to storage shortage.
BUILD
The Olympus Camedia C-4040 look and feel small when hold onto my hand. The build is excellent, and the robust feeling of the camera make it very good for tough photography situation.
OPTIC
The optic of the Olympus Camedia C-4040 is definitely the most important plus point. The Olympus Camedia C-4040 offers a 3x-zoom lens, Olympus lens 7.1 - 21.3 mm, F1.8 - 2.6, 10 elements in 7 groups (Equivalent to 35mm zoom in 35 - 105 mm film format).
This is a very fast lens, providing an aperture f-stop of 2.6 even at the telephoto end of the lens.
EXPOSURE CONTROL
The Olympus Camedia C-4040 offers
1) Programmed Auto
2) Aperture-Priority
3) Shutter-Speed-Priority
4) Manual
METERING
The Olympus Camedia C-4040 offers
1) Digital ESP Metering
2) Spot Metering
FOCUS
The Olympus Camedia C-4040 offers
1) TTL system iESP Autofocus
2) Manual Focus
OTHER FEATURES
The Olympus Camedia C-4040 also offers the following features
01) 4.5-cm/1.8 inch color TFT LCD monitor
02) White Balance Setting
03) 2.5x Digital Zoom
04) Manual Exposure Compensation
05) Macro mode: 0.2 - 0.8 m
06) Monochrome, Sepia, White and Black Board Modes
07) Built-In Flash
08) Self Timer
09) Noise Reduction System for Long Exposures
10) Optimum Image Enlargement
11) ISO Sensitivity Settings
12) AV Output Terminal
QUALITY TEST
After the purchase of the Olympus Camedia C-4040, we immediately conduct a shooting test with the camera, first indoor in his home, and then outdoor at the nearby children playground.
The Olympus Camedia C-4040 definitely need a manual to operate, at least to myself. There are not much buttons on the camera, but with the help of the manual, you will then only be able to know what you are doing. We went through the manual during our lunch break at the McDonald’s and that’s how easy to get it going.
Holding the camera is very easy, thanks to the ergonomic design of the body. Gripping the camera in any position prove not much of a problem for composing shots.
Using the different exposure mode is very easy. The Programmed Auto mode is very reliable for most shots. Even when switched to the Aperture Priority Mode, it is still very much like an SLR camera.
The Digital Metering by Olympus is very accurate, managed to produce accurately exposed pictures most of the time. Only side lighting indoor cost a bit of a problem.
With the high quality Olympus lens, pictures taken are all very sharp. The color is very saturated and beautiful. I love the fast aperture provided by the lens, as I could still shot at dim light without using flash, but I might have to set the light sensitivity to 400 for some shots.
The only complain I have about the Olympus Camedia C-4040 is the getting around of the menu in the LCD. To be fair, it might be due to my fresh introduction to this camera. But I have trouble going around it, it might improve after using it for some period of time.
SUMMARY
Although I have no plan (Might Never Have) to purchase an Olympus (I am a Nikon Fan), I cannot deny that the Olympus Camedia C-4040 is a very good and worthy choice.
It will be an excellent asset to anyone who own it. With the size of pictures that normal consumer will normally printed, the Olympus Camedia C-4040 will no doubt be in a very important segment of the consumer digital market for many years to come.