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Olympus Camedia C-770 Zoom 4.0 megapixels, a sharp 10x zoom lens, a unique flash head, and loads more features! Select a topic Reference: Datasheet C-770 Photo Gallery! C-770 Sample 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-770 Review --------------------------------- Digital Camera Comparometer (TM) --------------------------------- <-- Digital Cameras (Home) <-- Digital Camera Reviews Index <<Camera Modes & Menus :(Previous) | (Next): Video, Power, Software>> Page 10:Image Storage & Interface Review First Posted: 07/06/2004

Image Storage and Interface

The C-770 stores images on xD-Picture Cards, and comes equipped with a 16MB card. The C-770's file naming protocol includes the month and day at the beginning of the file name, and provides the option of numbering images progressively from one card to the next, or of resetting the naming sequence for each card. The camera lets you write-protect individual images from accidental erasure through the Playback menu. (Note that individually protected images can still be erased by a card format operation).

The C-770 can store images in both uncompressed TIFF and compressed JPEG file formats. JPEG compression levels include Super High Quality (SHQ), High Quality (HQ), and Standard Quality (SQ). No less than seven image sizes are available, with a variety at each quality setting. Resolutions include 3,200 x 2,400 ("Enlarge" size, produced by interpolating up from the 2,288 x 1,712 pixels of the CCD); 2,288 x 1,712; 2,288 x 1,520 (3:2); 2,048 x 1,536; 1,600 x 1,200; 1,280 x 960; 1,024 x 768; and 640 x 480 pixels.

The myriad size options can be assigned to the camera's TIFF, SHQ, HQ, SQ1, and SQ2 quality levels via the Shooting menu, as shown in the table below. (Green table cells indicate image size options that can be assigned to each named quality setting.) Whatever image size/quality options are assigned to the five named quality settings can be quickly selected either by the "shortcut button" (see the earlier description of the user interface) or via the record setup menu. The second table below shows the approximate size and compression ratio of each of the 750's size/quality setting combinations, along with how many of each image size can fit on the included 16MB memory card.

Image Size Options	3,200 x 2,400 (Interpolated)	2,288 x 1,712	2,048 x 1,536	1,600 x 1,200	1,280 x 960	1,024 x 768	640 x 480
TIFF		•	•	•	•	•	•
SHQ	•	•
HQ	•	•
SQ1			•	•	•
SQ2						•	•

Image Capacity vs Resolution/Quality 64 MB Memory Card		TIFF	Fine	Normal
2,288 x 1,712	Images (Avg size)	5 11.6 MB	23 2.7 MB	65 985 KB
	Approx. Compression	1:1	4:1	12:1
2,048 x 1,536	Images (Avg size)	6 9.8 MB	35 1.8 MB	81 790 KB
	Approx. Compression	1:1	5:1	12:1
1,600 x 1,200	Images (Avg size)	11 5.8 MB	45 593 KB	128 311 KB
	Approx. Compression	1:1	4:1	12:1
1,280 x 960	Images (Avg size)	17 3.7 MB	70 914 KB	199 321 KB
	Approx. Compression	1:1	4:1	12:1
1,024 x 768	Images (Avg size)	27 2.4 MB	107 595 KB	307 208 KB
	Approx. Compression	1:1	4:1	11:1
640 x 480	Images (Avg size)	67 948 KB	266 241 KB	665 96 KB
	Approx. Compression	1:1	4:1	10:1

 

The C-770 comes with interface software and cables for both Mac and Windows computers. It employs a USB interface for high-speed computer connection, and implements a "storage-class" connection. This is what Olympus refers to as their "USB Auto-Connect" function, which lets you connect the camera directly to a Windows Me, 2000, or XP computer, or a Mac running OS version 8.6 or later, without the need for driver software. Download speed is quite fast, but not as quick as many current models with high-speed USB 2.0 interfaces. I clocked the C-770 at a download speed of 731 KB/second to my 2.4 GHz Sony VAIO computer, running Windows XP. (Cameras with slow USB interfaces run as low as 300 KB/s, cameras with fast v1.1 interfaces run as high as 600 KB/s. Cameras with USB v2.0 interfaces run as fast as several megabytes/second.)