Olympus E-10A 4 megapixel sensor and unique SLR optics make for a major coup for Olympus! (Final review, based on full-production model.)<<Camera Modes & Menus :(Previous) | (Next): Video, Power, Software>> Page 10:Image Storage & InterfaceReview First Posted: 1/26/2001 |
Image Storage and Interface
The E-10 can store images
on either a SmartMedia (3.3V) or CompactFlash Type I or II memory card, with
slots for both cards available on the side of the camera. The SM / CF button
on top of the camera selects whether the camera accesses the SmartMedia or CompactFlash
card slot. The E-10 also features a built-in 32 megabyte, SDRAM buffer memory,
for capturing burst sequences. A 32 megabyte SmartMedia card comes with the
camera, with an upgrade to 64 megabytes available, and 128 megabyte cards available
by the end of the year. Although the card slot supports the Type II form factor,
Olympus doesn't currently recommend using the IBM MicroDrive with the E-10,
as they're apparently still working out compatibility issues. We used a 340
MB MicroDrive in our prototype unit, and it worked fine for the most part, but
we did have a problem starting the camera up once or twice with the MicroDrive
inserted. (It produced a "Card Error" error message.) We never experienced
a problem with the production model we tested, but given Olympus' lack of endorsement
of the MicroDrive, would have to caution against its use in critical picture-taking
situations. (You wouldn't want to miss that once-in-a-lifetime shot because
the MicroDrive was balky starting up!) Type II CompactFlash cards currently
provide storage capacities into the hundreds of megabytes (albeit at a price),
so the lack of MicroDrive support doesn't impose too drastic a restriction on
image storage.
SmartMedia cards can be write-protected by placing a small sticker in the designated
area. Stickers must be clean to be effective and can only be used once. CompactFlash
cards cannot be entirely write-protected, but the E-10 allows you to write-protect
individual images by pressing the Protect button on the back panel. Write-protecting
an image doesn't save it from being erased through card reformatting, however.
The E-10's image resolution/quality selection scheme is a little different than
we've encountered on other cameras, but having seen it, we wonder why it isn't
the rule, rather than the exception. Rather than a family of preset size/quality
settings, the E-10 has four "standard" settings of TIFF (uncompressed)
SHQ (super high quality), HQ (high quality) and SQ (standard quality). Historically
in Olympus cameras, the SHQ, HQ, and SQ designations have been associated with
image quality levels corresponding to the names given them. In the E-10 though,
you're free to program them to be whatever you'd like. Each of the three standard
settings can be programmed to correspond to any of the five image sizes supported
by the E-10, namely 2240 x 1680, 1600 x 1200, 1280 x 960, 1024 x 768, and 640
x 480 pixels. Likewise you can assign any of the three compression levels supported
by the E-10 (1:2.7, 1:4, or 1/8) to any setting. The beauty of this approach
is that you can preprogram three image size/quality combinations into the camera
and switch rapidly between them without having to resort to the menu system.
You're not tied to what some camera designer thought you ought to have available,
but can tailor the camera's image settings to your own needs. Very nice. (Oddly
though, the uncompressed TIFF format is restricted to the 2240 x 1680 size only.)
There is one restriction to this freedom though: According to the manual,
the resolution selected for SQ can't be higher than that chosen for HQ, nor
HQ higher than SHQ.
The smaller image sizes are an area in which Olympus claims special technology:
Their "TruePic" image technology supposedly incorporates a more intelligent
sub-sampling algorithm than commonly used in digicams, meaning that images at
resolutions lower than that of the full CCD pixel count should be of higher
quality than with other cameras. We didn't do any close study of this, but the
smaller image sizes we saw shot with the E-10 were indeed very smooth, with
no jaggies or other artifacts evident in them.
There's also a RAW image mode, which records images as 10 bit/channel data files
directly from the CCD. RAW files feature the .ORF filename extension. An Olympus
RAW File Import Plug-in comes with the camera, so that you can process images
later with Adobe PhotoShop. The plug-in allows you to perform RGB color adjustments
without affecting the white balance or any other color adjustment, or automatically
process the image to adjust the white balance, color, sharpness, and contrast.
Following are the approximate number of storable images and compression ratios
for a 32 megabyte SmartMedia card.
| Resolution/Quality vs Image Capacity |
RAW Data
|
Uncompressed TIFF
|
SHQ
|
HQ
|
SQ
|
|
|
2240 x 1680
|
Images
|
7
|
2
|
11
|
16
|
32
|
|
Approx. Compression
|
1:1
|
1:1
|
2.7:1
|
4:1
|
8:1
|
|
|
1600 x 1200
|
Images
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
22
|
32
|
64
|
|
Approx. Compression
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
2.7:1
|
4:1
|
8:1
|
|
|
1280 x 960
|
Images
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
32
|
51
|
103
|
|
Approx. Compression
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
2.7:1
|
4:1
|
8:1
|
|
|
1024 x 768
|
Images
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
53
|
80
|
160
|
|
Approx. Compression
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
2.7:1
|
4:1
|
8:1
|
|
|
640 x
480 |
Images
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
139
|
200
|
400
|
|
Approx. Compression
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
2.7:1
|
4:1
|
8:1
|
|
Interface software and a USB cable also accompany the camera, for high speed connection to a computer.The E-10 is apparently a "storage class" USB device, as opposed to a "device class" one. This means that, unlike most USB-equipped digicams, the E-10 is about as fast as a USB card reader, as opposed to 1/3 to 1/2 the speed. - A welcome feature, given the very large file sizes the E-10 can generate. Our testing upheld this contention, as we clocked the E-10's transfer rate at a very respectable 554 KBytes/second.
One
of the first things any new digicam owner will need is a larger memory card
for their camera: The cards shipped with the units by the manufacturers should
really be considered only "starter" cards, you'll definitely want a higher capacity
card immediately. - Probably at least a 32 megabyte card for a 1.3 or 2 megapixel
camera, 64 megabytes or more for a 3, 4, or 5 megapixel one. (The nice thing
about memory cards is you'll be able to use whatever you buy now with your next
camera too, whenever you upgrade.) To help you shop for a good deal on memory
cards that fit the E-10, we've put together a little memory locater, with links
to our price-comparison engine: Just click on the "Memory Wizard" button above
to go to the Olympus memory finder, select your camera model , and click the
shopping cart icon next to the card size you're interested in. You'll see a
list of matching entries from the price-comparison database. Pick a vendor &
order away! (Pretty cool, huh?)
Lost Images? - Download this image-recovery program so you'll have it when
you need it...
Since we're talking about memory and image storage, this would be a good time
to mention the following: I get a ton of email from readers who've lost photos
due to a corrupted memory card. It's tragic when it happens, there are few things
more precious than photo memories. Corrupted memory cards can happen with any
card type and any camera manufacturer, nobody's immune. "Stuff happens,"
as they say. A surprising number of "lost" images can be recovered
with an inexpensive, easy to use piece of software though. Given the amount
of email I've gotten on the topic, I now include this paragraph in all my digicam
reviews. The program you need is called PhotoRescue, by DataRescue SA. Read
our review of it if you'd like, but download the program now,
so you'll have it. It doesn't cost a penny until you need it, and even then
it's only $29, with a money back guarantee. So download PhotoRescue for
Windows or PhotoRescue for
Mac while you're thinking of it. (While you're at it, download the PDF
manual and quickstart
guide as well.) Stash the file in a safe place and it'll be there when you need
it. Trust me, needing this is not a matter of if, but when... PhotoRescue
is about the best and easiest tool for recovering digital photos I've seen.
(Disclosure: IR gets a small commission from sales of the product, but I'd highly
recommend the program even if we didn't.) OK, now back to our regularly
scheduled review...
Reader Comments! --> Visit our discussion forum for the Olympus E-10!
Follow Imaging Resource: