Olympus-OM
[Top] [All Lists]

[OM] Now for another camera recommendation

Subject: [OM] Now for another camera recommendation
From: AG Schnozz <agschnozz@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thu, 3 May 2007 10:25:55 -0700 (PDT)
A few weeks ago I helped some friends pick out a new "pocket" camera.
 Off to Beast-Buy we go...

As a dyed in the blue fanboy, you know I'm going to suggest something
that begins with "O".  However, I play it cool and let them look at
the Sonys and Canons.  They're replacing a Sony so there is some
leaning going on there.  One Sony has a touch screen--really nifty. 
I point out the advantages and disadvantages of each, but I had
already spotted the "keeper" and was attempting to keep them away
from it until the end.  :)

Then comes the questions:  What do you want the camera for?  Where
would you really like to take a camera if you could?

You see, the wife is into canoeing and they live in a real
four-seasons playground area.  They both snowshoe in the northwoods
and the desire to have something with them at all times, regardless
of conditions was desired.

A few weeks earlier I had drooled over a particular camera as my "go
anywhere" camera and had already done my due-diligence.  Yup, the
C-770WS.

After getting the camera back to their house (we were staying with
them for a couple of days), I got to spend some serious quality-time
with the camera and with teaching them how to use it.  Here's my
thoughts:

1. No RAW. Bummer, but the in-camera JPEGs are really good.

2. Image-quality (at low ISO) is probably equivelent to my E-1 at
about ISO 400.  Not great, but not horrible either.  The
noise-reduction smears, so you'll want to keep it down to a minimum.
However, when cranked up to the highest iso (1600, I think), the
files are still good enough for 5x7 and under with no problems.

3. Physical shell is outstanding. However, the LCD display is
vulnerable to scratching. I'd recommend using vinyl screen protectors
like we use on our palm-pilots.

4. VERY good lens.  It uses the folded optics to keep the entire lens
assembly inside the camera. Not only does this keep the camera thin,
but the lens is fully protected from the elements.  I found
absolutely no vignetting in my tests.  None.  Distortion was even
well controlled.  The zoom range isn't that much, but in reality,
it's perfectly adequate.  I'd rather have a 3:1 zoom that takes
excellent pictures and is "fast" than a 10:1 that shrinks down to F8
at anything beyond wide-angle.

5. Red-eye edit mode doesn't work.  After the picture is taken you
can do some in-camera editing on the file--really slick.  One feature
is the red-eye correction tool.  It didn't do squat.  The other edit
tools worked perfectly, though.  Actually, you can do enough
in-camera editing to pretty much avoid ever having to touch a
computer.  The exposure-correction tool is cat's-meow.

6. Low latency.  When you have all the pre-picture nonsense turned
off, the camera is very responsive.  Maybe a 1/4 second. Ain't no XA,
but definitely better than most digitals.

7. Image color has "Olympus" written all over it.  Yeah, they nailed
that one.

8. Scene modes work, but...  The scene modes are nothing more than a
whole bunch of predetermined setting changes.  The biggest problem is
that the ISO tends to bias a bit high.  It's better to control you
settings yourself.

9. Image-stabilization.  Um, I'm not quite sure what's going on here,
but it DOES work.  This isn't just ISO-boost (it does that too in
some of the presets), but it does stabilize the image.  I suspect
it's doing an overscan.  I detected no discernable loss in image
quality when IS was turned on.  The documentation was of no help in
determining what technology is being used for IS.

10. Exposures. Not bad, not bad at all.  The only time it failed to
expose correctly was when I goofed.  The ESP mode seems to be a bit
more consistant than usual.

11. Flash. As per typical Olympus, the in-camera flash has a bit more
oompf than the average P&S.

12. No live histogram. Bummer.

13. No viewfinder.  This is becomming less of an issue for me because
live-view is getting so good in these cameras and the LCD is bright
and clear with an outstanding viewing angle.  Besides, the optical
viewfinders in P&S cameras are aweful.

14. AF.  Not only does it work well, but it is fast.  Absolutely no
issues there.

15. Durability.  Hmm. You gotta love a camera where the cleaning
instructions say to submerge it in a bowl of water.

16. Control layout.  A camera this small is always going to have UI
issues, but I was pleasantly suprised with how many buttons it has.
The only problem I kept running into is the lens is in the
upper-right corner (facing the front) of the camera.  It's difficult
to find a place with your left hand that keeps all your fingers out
of the way of the lens.

17. Menu layout and quick-access.  Ah.  Olympus is finally getting
it. You can access a menu item, go on to shooting and with a push of
a button return directly to that last menu item.  YES!  When not
using the scene-modes, you can easily and quickly access ISO, WB and
other major settings in only a click or two.  Outstanding
implementation of a menu-driven camera.

18. Playback controls.  Just like my E-1, you can zoom in with
multiple clicks, but a single reverse of direction takes you
immediately back to the whole-image.

I could go on and on. This camera is a nearly perfect pocket-cam.
There are a lot of image-enhancement features built-in which will
correct for nearly any lighting condition.  It easily slips into a
shirt pocket too.

I was immediately enamoured with the camera and have been silently
sitting on my keyboard not wanting to write this message until enough
time went by to let the gloss wear off.  Then yesterday, MR on LL
writes his praise of the camera.  Everything he wrote I am in full
agreement with, but I can also tell from his comments that he hasn't
"tweaked" his settings for maximum image quality, but for
convenience.

The price is high for a pocket-camera, but when you consider the
image-quality, features, and robustness, it isn't that bad of a deal.
This camera will take abuse and has a true metal shell, not
silver-painted plastic.

I'm really wanting a C-770WS.  It's not only an outstanding camera,
but it just has that XA "something extra" characteristic.  Oh, did I
mention the B&W mode?  It's good, very good.

AG

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around 
http://mail.yahoo.com 

==============================================
List usage info:     http://www.zuikoholic.com
List nannies:        olympusadmin@xxxxxxxxxx
==============================================

<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>
Sponsored by Tako
Impressum | Datenschutz