Olympus C-3000 ZoomOlympus develops a slightly slower, but lot cheaper version of the C-3030 Zoom. (Looks like a great bargain!)<<Image Storage & Interface :(Previous) | (Next): Test Results & Conclusion>> Page 12:Video, Power, SoftwareReview First Posted: 5/30/2000 |
Video Out
The C-3000 has a video-out port which supports the NTSC timing format
on US and Japanese models (we assume that the PAL standard is supported on European
models). The video output can be used for reviewing previously shot images or
running slide shows from the camera, but also shows all the LCD menu screens
as well as the preview display from the LCD viewfinder. Combined with the very
flexible infrared remote control we mentioned earlier, the availability of a
live viewfinder display via the video signal opens interesting possibilities
for portrait photography, using a video monitor as a remote viewfinder.
Actually, the output cable is a true A/V cable, as it fans out into two RCA
jacks, one for video, and one for audio. As noted above, this is the only way
to hear the sounds you've recorded directly from the camera, since there's no
internal speaker. Plugged into any video monitor (or TV with direct video and
audio inputs), the audio capabilities of the C-3000 Zoom make for an unusually
effective portable presentation device.
Power
The C-3000 is powered by four internal AA Ni-Mh, Ni-Cd, alkaline or lithium
batteries or two CR-V3 (Olympus LB-01) batteries. The camera ships with two
of the new CR-V3 batteries in the box, but no rechargeable batteries. Do yourself
a favor, and don't even use the CR-V3s in the camera, but instead put them immediately
into your camera bag as a backup power source for such time as your rechargeable
batteries (inevitably) are dead when just when you need them the most. Go out
and buy a couple of sets of high-capacity NiMH rechargeable AA cells and a good-quality
charger, and plan to use these for the main power source of the camera. The
CR-3V lithium cells provide great battery life, and more or less indefinite
shelf life (something like 5 years or so) in your camera bag. They thus make
an absolutely excellent backup power source that'll always be ready when you
need it. For routine use though, they're just too expensive, at something like
$10 apiece. (A pair? - no matter, still way too pricey, IOHO.)
Earlier cameras in this series from Olympus (the C-2000 Zoom and C-2020 Zoom)
were surprisingly efficient in their battery usage, particularly if you kept
the LCD display screen turned off. The C-3000 Zoom continues this happy tradition:
It's "idling" power in capture mode with the display off is almost nil, meaning
you can comfortably leave the camera on all day, so it'll always be ready whenever
you want to take a picture. This is a very nice feature, and really increases
its usefulness. Despite this thrifty battery usage, we still strongly recommend
that you pick up a couple extra sets of high-capacity rechargeable batteries
and a decent charger. Here's a table showing the C-3000's power consumption
in a variety of operating modes. (Overall, it has very good power efficiency
for a three megapixel camera: A good set of NiMH AA cells should easily last
for a full day's shooting, if you can just avoid the temptation to ogle your
pictures on the LCD monitor.)
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| Capture Mode, w/LCD |
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| Capture Mode, no LCD |
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| Half-pressed shutter w/LCD |
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| Half-pressed w/o LCD |
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| Memory Write (transient) |
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| Flash Recharge (transient) |
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| Image Playback |
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Memory Retention
We don't normally comment about memory retention in digicams (clock/calendar,
settings, etc), but at least one other internet reviewer knocked the earlier
C-3030 Zoom for losing its memory if the batteries are removed for more than
an hour or so. So much has been made of this in various discussion forums and
newsgroups that we felt compelled to comment. While it is certainly convenient
for cameras to have a separate lithium battery to provide backup power to the
clock/calendar chip and settings memory, the C-3030/3000 is by no means unique
in lacking that feature. The earlier C-2000 had a backup battery, but the C-2020
did not. More to the point, the Nikon Coolpix 990 (with which the C-3000 directly
competes) does not either, meaning that it will lose its date/time setting at
least as fast as the C-3000 Zoom will. True, the Canon Powershot S-20 does have
a clock backup battery, but we don't feel it's fair to single out the C-3000
Zoom on the basis of this one deficiency. For our part, we invariably leave
one set of our NiMH batteries in our digicams all the time anyway. It's true
that NiMH cells have a relatively short shelf life, but not nearly to the extent
that other authors have represented: Some have claimed that NiMH cells lose
5% of their charge per day: While some cells may show this level of self-discharge,
we've more often heard quoted a figure of 1% per day, and this matches our own
(non-quantitative) experience more closely. Thus, while we would clearly like
to see a lithium clock-backup battery in the C-3000 Zoom, we don't feel it deserves
any special condemnation for its lack thereof.
Included Software
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The C-3000 comes with a very nice complement of software on an included CD.
Direct camera control and image downloading are provided by an updated version
of Olympus' own Camedia software package (version 2.0) which allows you to download
and save images to your hard drive, and provides rudimentary organization capabilities.
We confess to slightly mixed feelings on the other half of the package though:
On the downside, we were chagrined to see that the excellent panorama-making
program QuickStitch (from Enroute Software) is no longer included in the software
bundle. On the upside though, all software packages provided are fully functional
on both Mac and PC. It's nice to know that if you choose to switch operating
systems, the software programs you own will work on the new system, too.
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