Olympus D-460 ZoomOlympus updates a popular 1.3 megapixel model with improved features and a simpler interface.<<Optics :(Previous) | (Next): Shutter Lag & Cycle Time Tests>> Page 6:Exposure & FlashReview First Posted: 6/14/2000 |
Exposure
The D-460 is great for consumers who want the uncomplicated ease of a point and shoot camera, since its exposure control is almost entirely automatic. While the camera controls shutter speed and aperture, you do optionally have control over exposure compensation, white balance, metering, ISO setting, image quality and other settings through the LCD based menu system. This more extensive LCD menu system is a bit of a departure from the D-450 design, which had many more control buttons. On the D-460, Olympus tried to eliminate some of the control buttons, placing more of the functions in the main LCD menu.
Camera operation is very straightforward, just point the camera at the subject, halfway press the shutter button to focus, then all the way to shoot. The LEDs next to the viewfinder let you know when the camera is ready and if the orange LED blinks after focusing, it means that the camera recommends using the flash due to low shutter speed. As with most other digicams, the D-460 sets exposure and focus based on what's roughly centered in the frame, but this can be changed by simply moving the camera. All you do is focus the camera on the portion of the subject that you want to base your exposure and focus on and halfway press the shutter button. Then, while continuing to hold down the shutter button, reposition the subject in the viewfinder to the original composition.
The D-460 also features a Quick Focus option, controlled by pressing the infinity button or the 2.5m/8ft button in conjunction with halfway pressing the shutter button. Olympus touts this as a good feature when quick shooting is required, but you need to be prepared in advance of the exposure by stopping to look and place your thumb over the appropriate button before you frame your shot. It is a helpful feature in low light situations, where the camera's autofocus sometimes has trouble.
Flash
Activating the D-460's flash is simple, just pop it up with the tab and set it to the desired mode via the flash button on the back panel. The camera will indicate if it thinks a flash is needed for the exposure by flashing the orange LED next the optical viewfinder after the focus has been set. It will also display the flash symbol on the LCD monitor, if it's activated. You can choose from six flash modes: Auto (no icon displayed), Red-Eye Reduction (eyeball icon), Fill-in Flash (lightning bolt), Forced Off (lightning bolt with a slash), Slow Shutter Synchronization Auto (lightning bolt with the word "slow" displayed) and Slow Synchronization with Red-Eye Reduction (lightning bolt, "slow" and eyeball icons). Olympus reports this as six flash modes, but in actuality, the Forced Off mode is merely controlled by closing the flash itself, not through the flash button. Remember that if the orange LED continues to blink even though the flash is in the "up" position, the camera is still charging the flash, and isn't ready to fire. Olympus rates the D-460's flash power as having a maximum range of 8.5 feet (2.6 m) in telephoto mode and from eight to 13 feet (0.2 to 4 m) in wide angle mode. In our own tests, we found the flash highly effective all the way out to 14 feet, even in telephoto mode.
Variable ISO
As with the previous D-450 model, the D-460 gives you the benefit of a variable ISO setting, a very useful feature on a digicam. Through the Record menu, you can select from Auto, 125, 250 or 500 ISO settings. The ISO function on digicams works similar to that of film based cameras, meaning a higher ISO usually equates to faster shutter speeds and less light required, but the resulting image may appear grainy or noisy. While the noise can become fairly pronounced at the higher ISO settings (particularly at lower light levels, with longer exposure times), the ability to capture these images at all is a tremendous benefit. Higher ISO settings are also valuable in action photography, where higher shutter speeds are better at freezing fast-paced action.
Self-Timer
Activated by the Self-Timer button on the back panel, the D-460's self-timer gives you a 12 second countdown before firing the shutter. The operation is pretty much the same as most other digicams. When you enter this mode, the self-timer icon is displayed on the LCD monitor and the small status display panel on top of the camera. Then, all you do is fully press the shutter button to trigger the timer and wait (or run around to get into the picture). A red LED lights on the front of the camera to indicate that it's counting down the time, blinking for the last few seconds before the shutter is tripped. (If you have the beep sounds enabled via the Record menu, the camera also beeps as a warning just prior to the exposure.)
Macro Mode
Macro mode is accessible through the Macro/Digital Telephoto button on the back panel (indicated with the standard flower macro symbol). In this mode, the lens can focus on objects from eight to 31 inches (0.2 to 0.8 m) away. The LCD monitor is automatically activated when you enter this mode and the macro flower icon appears on the display. The mode is just as quickly canceled by pressing the Macro button twice more.
Digital Telephoto
Controlled by the same button as the Macro mode, the D-460's digital telephoto offers an additional 2x zoom (pressing the button twice enters the mode, a third press cancels it). The 2x digital telephoto can be enabled at any zoom setting, but remember that digital enlargement somewhat compromises image quality. It simply crops out the central portion of the camera's sensor array, producing a smaller image. (The D-460 Zoom automatically switches to "SQ" mode whenever you engage the digital telephoto function.
Sequence Mode
Sequence mode allows you to shoot up to two frames per second, depending on the image quality chosen and storage space available. The flash settings are unavailable in this mode and the shutter speed is fixed to go no slower than 1/30 of a second. In Sequence mode, the camera will snap pictures one after another as long as you hold down the shutter button. (Note that shot-to-shot speed is a strong function of the image quality, and you'll only get the two shots per second in "SQ" mode.)
Panorama
Through the Record menu, the Function option allows you to take panoramic images when a standard Olympus memory card is in the camera. This feature of the camera is the only one that requires an Olympus brand SmartMedia card, all other camera features work just fine with third party cards. In Panorama mode, blue cropping lines appear to help you line up each image of a panorama sequence and you can take as many exposures as you have room on the card for. All the exposure settings are determined by the initial exposure, to make "stitching" easier on the computer later. Panorama mode is canceled by switching it off in the Record menu. The flash is unavailable in this mode and Olympus suggests not moving the zoom lever after shooting the first picture to avoid problems assembling the picture later. They also recommend shooting in SQ (standard quality) mode to save SmartMedia space. Personally, we'd just recommend buying a larger memory card, as you're most likely going to want one anyway.
Exposure Compensation (EV adjustment)
Exposure compensation is controlled through the Record menu, and is adjustable from -2 to +2 EV in half step increments. (Each full "EV" unit corresponds to a doubling or halving of the exposure.) Press the OK button to confirm the selection. You can cancel the adjustment through the same process or by closing the lens cover to power down the camera. Olympus warns that this setting may not be as effective when shooting with the flash. As with the D-450 model, we'd prefer to see an EV adjustment that doesn't rely on the LCD menu system. If the setting was shown on the top status display panel, it could be changed with fewer button actuations.
Spot Metering Mode
The D-460 offers two metering options: Digital ESP and Spot. Both are accessible through the Record menu. The benefit of spot metering is that most "averaging" metering systems are easily fooled by backlit or high contrast subjects. EV adjustments can help with these situations, but spot metering offers a better solution, since it only looks at a tiny area in the center of the field of view. Using the exposure locking method we talked about earlier, spot metering usually provides a much more accurate exposure.
White Balance
Also accessible through the Record menu, the D-460's white balance system gives you five options: Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Incandescent and Fluorescent. Hit the OK button to confirm the setting and the designated icon appears in the status display panel. You cancel the setting in the same manner or by closing the lens cover. We found the D-460's white balance system worked quite well under moderate changes in lighting, but had difficulty with the strong yellowish cast of household incandescent lighting.
Sharpness Setting
A new feature on the D-460 is the sharpness setting, which gives you the option of taking pictures with Normal or Soft sharpness. While we greatly appreciate the ability to soften the image a little, we'd also like to see the ability to go in the other direction and boost the in-camera sharpening. Still, the adjustment is a nice addition to the camera's features, very useful when you want to manipulate an image extensively on the computer later. (Heavy in-camera sharpening tends to get in the way somewhat when you're working on images in the computer. You're better off working with an unsharpened image and sharpening it at the end, after you're through with all your manipulations.)
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