Olympus Camedia C-4000 4MP Digital Camera w/ 3x Optical Zoom
 | Olympus Camedia C-4000 4MP Digital Camera w/ 3x Optical Zoom /Olympus release date: |
description:
With exposure options ranging from automatic to manual control, as well as six innovative scene program modes, it's easy to customize the Olympus C-4000 digital camera for any shot you line up. The C-4000 features a 4-megapixel CCD sensor, a 3x optical zoom lens, and expandability via SmartMedia cards.
Optics and Resolution
Featuring a CCD sensor with 4 million effective pixels, the C-4000 can capture digital images up to 2,288 x 1,712 pixels for 11-by-14-inch prints and beyond. The C-4000 features an Olympus aspherical glass lens (6.5-19.5mm, or 32-96mm equivalent in 35mm photography) that's designed exclusively for digital photography and provides vibrant color and sharp detail. It features an aperture range of f2.8 to f11.
Shoot both wide-angle and close-up shots easily with the 10x total zoom lens (3x optical and 3.3x digital). Use the macro mode to shoot a flower from a distance of 8 inches, or use supermacro mode to shoot a dewdrop on a petal from just 1 inch away.
Storage and Transfer
The 16 MB SmartMedia memory card supplied with the C-4000 can store 16 images at the default high-quality setting (2,288 x 1,712 pixels). You can save images as either a TIFF or a JPEG. We recommend purchasing an additional high-capacity memory card.
Movie Mode
In movie mode, the C-4000 produces digital videos in two formats--320 x 240 and 160 x 120 pixels--for QuickTime movies at 15 frames per second. You can shoot movies up to 2 minutes in length.
The limited resolution of your movies guarantees that this feature won't replace your camcorder, but it's perfect for when you just want to capture a quick movie and e-mail it to a friend or relative.
More Features
The advanced manual controls let you take the picture you envision. Or choose full-auto mode for point-and-shoot simplicity. The C-4000 also includes six scene modes, including portrait, self-portrait, sport, landscape, landscape-portrait, and night scene. There are even four customizable "my modes" for instant access to your favorite combinations of camera settings. The new virtual-dial interface provides quick, easy, and intuitive access to all shooting modes, including the six scene modes.
For extra-large prints, choose the optimum image enlargement mode to increase image size to the equivalent of 7.6 million pixels (3,200 x 2,400). And with 3:2 aspect modes, you can print photos in traditional 35mm format. Olympus's noise-reduction technology helps prevent the image noise that could otherwise appear in longer exposures taken in low light. The C-4000's USB autoconnect enables you to connect to your PC automatically--no driver software is required to transfer photos to most computers
Power
The camera is powered by two CR-V3 lithium-ion battery packs (included). We recommend getting a set or two of rechargeable nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) batteries (you'll need a total of four AA NiMH batteries to power the camera) and a charger. A digital camera will kill a set of alkaline batteries extremely quickly, especially if you're using the camera's LCD display, so they aren't recommended except in a pinch.
Size
The C-4000 measures 4.3 by 3.0 by 2.8 inches and 10.5 ounces (without battery).
Contents
This package includes the Olympus C-4000 digital camera, a 16 MB SmartMedia card, AV and USB cables, two CR-V3 lithium-ion battery packs (model LB-01), carrying strap, lens cap and retainer cord, Camedia Master software CD-ROM, drivers for Mac and Windows, and a printed instruction manual.
comments:
"Best Value for a 4MP Camera"
WHO IT'S FOR: With its complete set of manual controls, the Olympus C-4000 is for the serious amateur photographer or a novice wanting to learn a lot more about photography. If you're one who would rather just point-and-shoot, this camera or its rivals (like the Canon S45) is NOT for you, better just save your $200 and go for the cute compact types.
Granted that YOU ARE serious about your photography BUT you are on a tight budget, then this camera is perfect for you. The 4MP is just right for the occasional 8x10 prints and more than enough quality for 5x7 prints. Among the competition (Canon S45/G2, Nikon Coolpix 4300, Sony S85), its price and features stand out.
I bought this camera here at Amazon 5 months ago for 2 main reasons:
- given the features and full manual controls, it had the most competitive price among the competition.
- although not included in the package, the camera uses standard 4 AA-sized NiMH rechargeable batteries.
I brought the camera to Europe for my honeymoon and have taken 300+ pictures with it. I am extremely pleased with it. Prints on 4x6 came out as crisp as my 20-year-old SLR (the excellent Nikon F3), and sometimes better (mainly because you can preview a shot and tweak exposure and composition without worrying about the cost of film: an obvious advantage for all digicams).
PROS:
- excellent daylight exposures on full auto or manual modes.
- a fully-charged set of AA NiMH batteries lasts me two days of shooting 60+ pictures and previewing the LCD, something the proprietary batteries of other digicams would be hard-pressed to match.
CONS:
- You have to remember to remove the cap before turning the camera on -- an annoyance for all C-class Olympus cameras. Forgetting that doesn't damage the camera, but it's an annoyance still.
- No remote control. You have to turn on the timer every time if you want to be in the picture or you want to take long exposures.
- The lens cap more often than not gets removed inadvertently when removing or replacing the camera in its case. Be sure to always bring lens tissues or whatever you use to clean lenses.
- The paltry 16MB card that comes with it. Although all camera brands have this fault of not including enough memory, I hoped Olympus would just do the right thing and pack it with a 128MB card.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
- Always have two sets of 4 AA NiMH batteries. Buy the Olympus B-50SU Quick Charger or the Kodak Max K2000 Battery Charger. They both come with 4 NiMH AA batteries and works whatever a country's voltage is. Then buy an additional set of 4 Kodak Max 1850mAh NiMH batteries.
- Buy at least 2 128MB SmartMedia cards. Each 128MB card stores about 60-70 pictures at full 4MP SHQ resolution. Better still, bring your laptop along when going on extended vacations to backup your pics. I made the mistake of not bringing mine and had to look for shops to transfer my pics to CDs whenever space on my cards were running out.
Finally, just go ahead and buy it (with the charger, extra batteries and extra memory cards). It's an excellent camera given its features and price.
"Excellent features/price ratio."
This is a very full featured camera for not a lot of money compared to other similarly equipped cameras out there.
Relatively compact size with a nice comfy handgrip. Menu features are easy to access, although this sometimes makes it difficult to quickly customize your shot (such as setting f-stop, shutter speed, ISO, etc). Fortunately, the automatic mode takes very good pictures and does a good job adapting to lighting conditions. One of the buttons can be set to access a feature you commonly want to change, such as picture resolution or ISO. Two of the menu items can also be customized for quicker access to shot settings.
It does a much better job at focusing in low light conditions and seems to be a little easier on batteries than older Olympus C model cameras I've used. The flash is adequate, although if you want to light things up more than 5 meters away, you'll probably need something with a little more oomf. The viewfinder is reasonably accurate (actual photo is a little bit larger than what's seen in the viewfinder), but for close-up shots you'll want to use the LCD.
One nice feature I have been taking advantage of is the ability to take panorama shots using panorama-compatible Olympus SM cards (the cards will indicate this compatibility). Switch to Panorama mode and you get two boxes on either side of the LCD that you can use to help with registration.
Overall, an excellent camera with tons of features for the price.
"Red Eye"
This camera generally takes very good pictures but I do have one complaint that has not been resolved. Even with red eye reduction feature on, it still takes bad redeye, especially with babies. The software does not eliminate it either. I have been through their customer service several times for this and one other problem and they were not helpful. I felt I was being talked down to and I finally gave up. I like the camera except for that, but I probably would not buy another Olympus unless customer service is more helpful.