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Olympus C-3020 Zoom A bargain-priced, full featured 3 megapixel model from Olympus! Select a topic Reference: Datasheet C-3020 Zoom Test Images --------------------------------- 1. Intro and Highlights 2. Executive Overview 3. Design 4. Viewfinder 5. Optics 6. Exposure & Flash 7. Shutter Lag & Cycle Time Tests 8. Operation & User Interface 9. Camera Modes & Menus 10. Image Storage & Interface 11. Video, Power, Software 12. Test Results & Conclusion --------------------------------- Print-Friendly Review Version Additional Resources and Other Links Reader Comments on C-3020 Zoom Review --------------------------------- Digital Camera Comparometer (TM) --------------------------------- <-- Digital Cameras (Home) <-- Digital Camera Reviews Index <<Viewfinder :(Previous) | (Next): Exposure & Flash>> Page 5:Optics Review First Posted: 2/16/2002

Optics
A 3x, 6.5-19.5mm zoom lens is built into the C-3020, the equivalent to a 32-96mm lens on a 35mm camera. This is slightly "wider" overall than most digicam lenses, a help in close quarters, a minor limitation at the telephoto end. (I think I come down on the side of zoom ranges biased slightly toward the wide angle end as being more useful overall.) The lens features a telescoping design, meaning that it extends out from the camera body whenever the camera is placed in any record mode. A plastic lens cap is spring-loaded to fit just inside the lip of the lens, and has a small strap to attach it to the camera and prevent it from being lost. (This strap appeared to be missing from the box my eval unit came in, but I'm pretty sure one is included in the retail units.) The lens aperture setting can be manually or automatically adjusted, with a range from f/2.8 to f/11.0. Focus also features manual or automatic control, and ranges from 0.6 feet (0.2 meters) to infinity (this includes the Macro range). A Macro button on the back of the camera optimizes it for shooting close-up subjects. Though the manual states that the lens should be set to the furthest wide-angle setting, I found the best results by zooming in to about the middle of the lens' focal length range. Macro performance is on the low side of average, as the 3020 captured a slightly larger-than-average minimum macro area, at 4.39 x 3.29 inches (111.47 x 83.6 millimeters). - This would be fine for photographing many small objects for eBay and such, but won't be enough for larger-than-life portraits of bugs, etc.

The C-3020's autofocus system uses a contrast-detection method to determine focus, based on the center portion of the image. You can opt for Digital ESP or Spot AF area options, with the Digital ESP mode basing focus on a large area in the center of the frame. Though there is no focus lock function, you can manually lock the focus on another part of the subject by simply moving the camera and half-pressing the shutter button. Whatever portion of the subject is in the center of the frame when the Shutter button is halfway pressed will determine the focus. You can just reframe the subject while halfway pressing the Shutter button to keep the focus locked. (The only limitation to this approach is that exposure is also locked at the same time as the focus. This is generally not a problem, but in some circumstances you might want to set exposure separately from focus. - In that case, use the AE lock button on the camera's rear panel.) You can also switch over to Manual Focus, by holding down the OK button until the focus display appears on the LCD monitor. A distance scale appears on the right hand side of monitor, and can be set to report distances in meters or feet. Finally, the Fulltime AF option (accessed through the record settings menu) causes the camera to continually adjust the focus, instead of waiting until the Shutter button is halfway pressed–good for moving subjects.

In common with previous and current cameras in their "compact" series (currently 2040, 3040, 4040), the C-3020 Zoom has a set of threads inside the lip of the raised area around the lens on the camera's body. These accept Olympus' CLA-1 lens thread adapter, which provides a set of 43mm filter threads positioned properly for affixing closeup lenses, filters, and other auxiliary optics (wide angle or telephoto adapters, for example) in front of the camera's own lens. If you're an "enthusiast" shooter, I highly recommend getting a CLA-1 at the same time as you purchase your 3020. (Along with a thread adapter to take the oddball 43mm threads up to some standard size, such as 49, 52, or 55 mm.)

I did notice some distortion from the C-3020's lens during our testing. The most obvious distortion being a moderate amount of corner softness, which in some cases extended down the left side of the frame. (But which didn't extend too far into the frame.) Optical distortion on the C-3020 is low at the wide-angle end, where I measured only about 0.6 percent barrel distortion. (Most digicams I test with 3x zooms come out in at around 0.8% barrel.) The telephoto end showed about 0.3 percent pincushion distortion, slightly above average. Taken as a whole whole, optical distortion on the 3020 seems to be about average among digicams in its price/features category. Chromatic aberration is fairly low, showing about one or two pixels of coloration on either side of the target lines. (This distortion is visible as a slight colored fringe around the objects at the edges of the field of view on the resolution target.)