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Editors' Rating:
7.7 of 10
| • Value |
8 |
| • Design |
7 |
| • Features |
9 |
| • Ease of Use |
7 |
| • Performance |
7 |
| • Image Quality |
8 |
|
Average User Rating:
9.4 of 10
(22 votes)
| • Installation |
9 |
| • Image Quality |
10 |
| • Ease of Use |
9 |
| • Compatibility |
9 |
| • Overall Value |
10 |
| • Service & Support |
10 |
|
Where to Buy ?
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PROS
•
Sharp, bright LCD
• Customizable My Mode
•
Generous feature set and software package at an affordable price
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CONS
•
Doesn't record sound with video clips
•
No external flash or video-out connections
•
Optical viewfinder not exactly WYSIWYG
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Includes: Olympus Camedia C-3020 Zoom Digital Camera; Auto Connect USB cable; Carrying strap; Lens cap and retainer cord; 4 AA Alkaline batteries; 16MB SmartMedia card; CAMEDIA Master Software; Adobe Photoshop Elements; Instruction manual; Quick Start Guide; and Warranty Card.
Recommended
Accessories |
Offering excellent image quality, the C-3020 is a good
option for anyone who wants lots of flexibility and photographic tools in
a midrange camera.
C-3020' 3.2 million pixel resolution and precision 3x Olympus zoom
lens are complemented by a host of innovative photo features and accurate
metering systems for sharp, perfectly-exposed shots. Thanks to easy
operation, less experienced users can also attain impressive results with
the minimum of effort. Meanwhile, experienced photographers, will enjoy
the creativity afforded by numerous manually adjustable options and the
possibility to personalize the camera's shooting parameters to suit
specific preferences.
Camedia
C-3020 Major Features:
| • |
3.2-megapixel CCD (3.14 MP effective) delivering
image resolutions as high as 2,048 x 1,536 pixels. |
| • |
Real-image optical viewfinder and 1.8-inch color
LCD monitor. |
| • |
3x, 6.5-19.5mm lens (equivalent to 32-96mm zoom on a 35mm
camera). |
| • |
Additional 2.5x digital zoom. |
| • |
Manual and automatic focus control, with Continuous
Autofocus setting and adjustable focus area. |
| • |
Automatic, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, and Manual
exposure modes, as well as five Scene modes. |
| • |
My Image customizeable shooting mode. |
| • |
Adjustable apertures from f/2.8 to f/11. |
| • |
Shutter speeds from 1/800 to 16 seconds. |
| • |
Digital ESP and Spot metering modes, with AE Lock function. |
| • |
Exposure compensation from -2 to +2 in 1/3 EV increments. |
| • |
100, 200, and 400 ISO equivalent sensitivity
settings, with an Auto mode. |
| • |
Built-in flash with six modes. |
| • |
Adjustable White Balance with seven operating modes and a
red/blue calibration tool. |
| • |
Image Effects menu for creative shooting. |
| • |
Noise Reduction mode for long exposures. |
| • |
Movie (without sound), Continuous Shooting, Self-Timer,
and Auto Exposure Bracketing modes. |
| • |
JPEG and uncompressed TIFF file formats,
movies saved as Motion JPEGs. |
| • |
Image storage on SmartMedia memory card (16MB card included). |
| • |
USB cable for high-speed connection to a computer. |
| • |
Software CD included, loaded with drivers and CAMEDIA
Master software. |
| • |
Power from four AA batteries (set of alkaline included),
two CR-V3 battery packs, or optional AC adapter. |
| • |
DPOF (Digital Print Order Format) compliant. |
 |
Full Specs |
|
Customer Reviews
|
A
customer,
from Sonoma, CA, US, Jul 7, 2002
|
|
I've had the camera for about 4 months now and I
love it!! Despite the TERRIBLE manual/directions that come with the
camera, I've learned all I need to know. I'm not a pro, I just wanted
a camera that I could point and click without having to change
settings all the time, and still get quality photos that look good
even when printed on 8 x 10.
When you hook the camera up to your computer via the USB line
(included) and turn the dial to the little green arrow, the camera
just shows up as another drive on your computer in Windows Explorer.
You just drag the files where you want them on your computer and then
delete the files of the camera "drive" to reset the counter
to zero. The camera came with 16 MB smart card, but I bought a 64 MB
card that holds about 80 high-resolution images.
The software that comes with it, Adobe Photoshop Elements, is
great. It's got the best (and easiest) features of the real Photoshop
but takes less hard drive space and it's free!
When shopping, I got all hung up on the "mini-movie"
feature of the camera and was very unhappy that you couldn't record
sound with it. But I'm over it -- if you want movies, buy a camcorder.
This a great digital camera.
|
|
•
Installation |
8 |
|
•
Image Quality |
10 |
|
•
Ease of Use |
9 |
|
•
Compatibility |
8 |
|
•
Overall Value |
10 |
|
mrefranklin,
from Seattle, WA, US, Jun 27, 2002
|
|
I bought this camera a few weeks ago and
absolutely love it. In the interest of full disclosure, I do have to
admit that I am not a camera expert. I do, however, have a friend who
is a professional photographer and took me out for the day when I
bought this to help me learn the ins-and-outs of the features. What I
found is that this camera offers a good selection of features for
folks that do not aspire to being anything more than amateur
photographers. For true hobbyists and professionals, you may want to
pay more for a full-featured digital. This camera has some custom
settings available, but not to the degree that most enthusiasts are
really going to desire.
When people complain about these being power-hungry little
monsters, they're absolutely correct. My first set of batteries made
it through about half of my first day. I thought I was being battery
conscience at the time. Now that I've gotten the hang of the camera a
bit more though, I found that taking pictures without using the lcd
screen makes the batteries last "a lot" longer. So far, I've
found that buying the lithium photography batteries are a great
investment. As a climber, the batteries are lighter and don't freeze
at low temperature.
I'm generally happy with the picture quality. Using the highest
resolution TIFF setting and printing out to 8X10, you see only very
slight pixellation when you hold the photo up at reading distance.
I've certainly found them good enough to frame at my house. I cannot
begin to tell you how great it is to not have to worry about using
film and paying to print all of your photos. Using firewire at home,
the picture transfers from my camera are blazing fast. You can
pinpoint the ones you want in a matter of moments and pick the best
ones to send off for processing, right over the internet.
I strongly suggest that you upgrade your SmartMedia card right out
of the gate. The 16MB card is not enough to really take many
non-compressed images. I bought the 128MB card and that seems to be as
good as it gets. I may even buy another card so that I have plenty of
room for taking as many photos as I can on a climbing or hiking trip.
I also recommend that you purchase some sort of protective case for
the camera if you're going to use it much outdoors. As other reviewers
have mentioned, due to the quality lens on the camera, the camera body
is pretty large, and in need of a bit of protection when packing it.
|
|
•
Installation |
10 |
|
•
Image Quality |
10 |
|
•
Ease of Use |
9 |
|
•
Compatibility |
10 |
|
•
Overall Value |
10 |
|
The Lowest Price is not always best !
 When you buy a digital camera, the basic package almost always includes
extras such as a battery charger, lens cap, batteries, flash memory card, and software.
One of the more disreputable practices a dealer can engage in is called unbundling. These
dealers remove items from the package that are normally included in the price and
price them separately.
When purchasing
a camera you have three components of the price to consider - the camera price, postage and
handling, and taxes. Many dealers lower the price to make the camera more attractive, then
increase the postage and handling to boost their profits.
Hesitate before
accepting extended warranties. Every knowledgeable consumer expert says it's better to
gamble. Most of a company's profit is in the sale of these warranties so they press, and
press hard. Your job is to resist, and resist hard. The only thing to keep in mind is that
digital cameras can be horribly expensive to repair. If you want peace of mind, you may
want the warranty, even though it's probably overpriced. The cost of a repair can
approach, or even exceed, the original purchase price.
When you buy a
camera from a reputable dealer, you expect to be able to return it if you aren't
satisfied. Some dealers try to discourage this by requiring a restocking fee for returned
merchandise. This is always explained as a way to recover their costs of checking the
merchandise and restoring the packaging you may have opened.
Many dealers is
truly a false, deceptive and a total crook. Bait and switch tactics used. Does not sell
new merchandise and will ship used or refurbished goods without notifying customer. They then
try to charge a restock fee on top of their exobitant shipping fees to make a profit where
they could not on their goods. A try case of buyer beware.
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Olympus Camedia C-3020 Digital Camera:
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