Customer Reviews

Olympus C3030 3.2MP Digital Camera w/ 3x Optical Zoom

5 star:		(48)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I had the predecessor to this camera the 2020Z. Great camera but I wanted audio capability. Everything I liked about the 2020Z is here and more. Its still compact (fits in pockets better than most), EASY on batteries, excellent colors, fast lens (2020Z is faster), fast shot recovery, wireless remote and very light weight. The 3030Z expands on the 2020Z with one lever zoom for both optical and digital modes, higher resolution (won't gain you much on average size pictures), more control over power off and on settings. Some things that I do miss about the 2020Z are it's faster lens and the ability to shot 30 frames per second in low resolution movie mode. You do have a large memory buffer on the 3030Z so you can shoot 5 frames in best resolution mode in a little over a second! While no camera can yet do it all this one comes very close. I currently have an Olympus 2500L, 500L, 2020Z and Nikon Coolpix 950 and this is my favorite by far.

The only things I would change on the 3030Z are: an incredibly close macro mode like the 950/990 Nikon, standard NiMH batteries and charger like my 2020Z, faster lens of the 2020Z (one of the fastest on a digital), 30 fps in all movie modes as well as optical instead of digital zoom with movies and the nifty little exposure histogram like on the high-end Nikons. Those minor quibbles aside it is an outstanding camera. It doesn't eat batteries, takes great pictures (not just great digital pictures) and is very fast between shots and from the time your press the shutter to the shot is actually taken. If you have used a Kodak 280 or 290 you know how aggravating it is to press the shutter and wait...wait... wait... until you finally lose the once in a lifetime shot you actually wanted to take.

It is tough to go wrong if you buy this camera. It is not cheap but it is an excellent value. The "boot up" time of the camera is really quick too. If you are willing to trade off a slightly smaller memory buffer for burst mode and slightly less recording time in movies as well the Olympus 3000Z is a good choice and you will save about $200. One big plus often overlooked is the software that comes bundled with the camera. The software included with the Nikon's is basic at best. If you buy the 3030Z you get Adobe Photoshop 5 LE which is an outstanding program that gives you a lot of control over editing your images. It may be the "light" version of Photoshop but it is still incredibly powerful. This does NOT come with the 3000Z though! I think that is part of the pricing difference between the two. One other big plus about the Olmpus "C" series in general is that you rarely get "red eye" when using the built in flash. I can't seem to avoid it on my Nikon 950 and my friend has the same problem on his Nikon 990. The 3030Z does a great job in low light conditions without the flash too. Buy one, it's a great camera!

Being a tech geek, I did a bit of research on the various websites and narrowed my choices between the Olympus 3030 and Nikon 9090. It seemed to be a toss up depending on which features you valued most. I chose the Olympus for a variety of reasons and haven't regretted my decision. First of all, the picture quality exceeded my expectations from the very first picture. I've taken a variety of shots from the different settings and even with the "avereage" quality setting of images, the detail the camera picked up is unbelievable. I've even zoomed in on the images with various photo editing programs and still can't detect any distortion. Secondly, the installation of the provided software was a easy. A nice bonus to the software was the supplying of Adobe Photoshop 5.0 LE, a slimmed down version of the very popular photo editing program that sets the industry standard for professional photo editing. Third, Olympus provided a USB cable for downloading images from the camera to the PC, which speeds up the process tremendously when comparing it to a Serial transfer.

The few complaints I have concern more of the decisions of Olympus for what they provided instead of the overall quality of the camera. First, why in the heck didn't they provide a charger and rechargable batteries? Sure, they upgraded to Lithium batteries but this camera eats a lot of juice when using the LCD monitor. And how about providing an AC adaptor for those times we want to download all our images or use the camera indoors. Second, I had to go out and purchase a little lens cap strap since the cap isn't connected to the camera. Having to place the cap in and out of my pocket when I want to take pictures is asking for the cap to be lost (especially when making the family trips to Disneyland).

Finally, the Olympus also uses the Smartmedia data storage and provides you with a 16MB card. This isn't bad depending on what setting you have your camera on (the higher the quality, the less pictures you can take) but I would consider purchasing an additional memory card with a higher capacity. As of this date, I believe the highest amount of MB that Smartmedia makes is 64Mb. I know the Nikon uses the Compact Flash system and can go a as high as 128MB. That's a feature to consider (well, the cost for a 128MB Compact Flash card runs on average is about $300).

This is a very nice camera. I agree with Jim DuLaney on the shutter delay of digital cameras. I am use to the release on my Canon F-1 and A-1. However, you can shoot again while the camera is still recording the image to the SmartMedia Card.

PLEASE NOTE: "Slopedirk" (see his review) must not have used the owner's manual. You most certainly can set your own default settings, such as your preferred resolution; whether you want flash or no flash; shutter priority or aperture priority, and the preferred setting; etc.

The menu selections are fairly simple once you play with the camera awhile. As for the problem of taking the lens cap off before turning on the power - buy the extender tube (an Olympus accessory). This tube is needed if you attach accessory lenses. I find it very useful because it allows me to use a filter (Haze, UV, Skylight, etc.). I leave it on at all times!

A good companion book for any digital camera: Digital Photography For Dummies®, by Julie Adair(find it at [amazon])... This is an excellent resource and also explains imaging software (Photoshop, etc.) and printing. (Don't let the title steer you away. I don't usually like Dummy books; but a professional photographer even uses this book and highly recommends it!)

I had a hard time deciding between the Olympus 3030 and the Nikon 990. In the end, I choose the Olympus because of the option of sound on the movie feature. (I bought the camera to take pictures of a new addition to the family.) I really like how easy it is to take basic pictures. Family picture takers will like this camera. It takes great pictures, easy to transfer using USB, and comes bundled with great software. The camera is also very compact - its about the size of an average point and shoot.

The only thing that I would change about the camera is making the menu system more accessible. It is relatively easy to use, but I have not mastered making quick changes yet. A great addition would be a quick menu system in the top LCD area instead of having to power up the monitor. Or a button to quickly shift between some saved modes. You will also need to read the manual in order to really understand some of the features. They are not that intuitive for a Nikon SLR user...

If you are buying this camera, you should also get extra memory and batteries. You should also invest in either an external memory reader or the AC Power Adapter. I haven't tried rechargeables yet, but that may be my next purchase.

First -- this is a good camera. The surprise is how fast the manual reads and how simple to follow the instructions are! Who knew?

This is my first experience with a digital camera of any kind after 26 years in the darkroom working in cold water -- and what a treat. I can override the shutter speed, the aperture or both and get the same effects as with my old manual Nikon -- and do it in color, sepia, or black and white. What's more, the flash is versitile and easy to switch off for ambient light work -- and even the fully automatic settings turn out some fine exposures.

It self corrects for florescent, tungsten, shade or sun -- it zooms tight for close ups without requiring lots of extra lens purchases up front -- it gives me enough flexibility in dpi / resolution that I can shoot 40 or 300 frames on a single disk -- and it's easy to download into my little Mac iBook thanks to the included software -- it does everything I would have on my wish list if I were making up this camera myself....

No problems. Just be sure and get extra Nimh batteries and lots of smartmedia to play with. I'm building a toy store online with mine -- and the teddy bears all love to have their picture made so I'm burning up those little 32mg disks....

fun fun fun!

This is the Digital Camera you must have if you want outstanding photo quality. You can't tell the difference between prints from this camera and that of a good 35MM SLR. It's amazing. Be aware that this camera is only USB compatable if your PC has Windows98 and not the upgrade. Windows 95 users will need to purchase a floppy disc adapter for the smart media card in order to download pictures to a PC. A Serial Port Cable also works with Windows95. I had a Sony FD-91 Mavaca Digital before I bought this Olympus and the C-3030 has the Mavaca beat hands down. So if you want a digital camera that gives you by far the best print quality around then the expensive C-3030 digital is the one for you.

This camera has incredible versatility. It allows for many pixel compressions of jpeg files, all of which are fine quality. In the 1st 3 weeks, I have taken over 1,000 photos of nature, travel, people, and objects. It uses smartcards which are smaller than a matchbook cover and the 32 meg smartcard allows 330 photos on the SQ2 down to 40 on the HQ compression. I print on a Hewlett-Packard Office Jet 60R and the quality is very close to 35mm enlargements from a color lab. I recommend using the rechargeable batteries since they last many hours then take a quick recharge.

I intend to use this camera to photograph mushrooms in our forests this August and have total confidence in it. The macro button allows the lens to be within inches of the subject, and with both manual and digital zoom enabled, the subject fills the view. The lens is fast enough to use in dim light, but the flash is there when you need it. The accompanying software is easy to install, easy to use.

Caveats: it is very complex and the accompanying manual is essential. I refer to the manual daily. Also, I find it hard to get accustomed to the shutter delay of a digital cameras after using a Canon A-1 SLR for all these years. I should mention that the 1 1/2 inch LCD monitor cannot be seen when in direct sunlight, although is perfectly visible when in shadows. The biggest flaw is the lens cap which MUST be removed before power is turned on, and CANNOT be in place while power is on, a very odd flaw, Olympus.

snapshooter convenience, professional level images. easy to use in default, amazingly flexible(complicated) when you delve into features. lens seems a little fragile when extended, but linked optical/digital zoom with one button improves greatly on c-2020, which i also have. this is my 5th digital, and i love it. with large-gig laptop, and pcmcia card adapter, it's easier than floppies.

I've had my C3030 for months, now. It's so small I can take it everywhere--and I do. With it, I've taken great shots of daily scenes in and around Miami, FL. Having it makes street photography fun and easy.

As for the C3030's image quality, no other digital camera, in its price range, outdoes it. I went from a One Megapixel camera straight to the C3030. Needless to say, the difference was astounding. The large number of resolutions from which to choose really allow the photographer to shoot for any purpose--from email attachments, to Web pages, to professionally output hi-res images. Usually, simply using the default resolution with the built in picture taking modes is right for any situation not requiring super hi-res output. And it's easy.

I coupled my Olympus with an HP DeskJet 1220C. Using the camera's default resolution, the printed output is guite good. I can tell I haven't used the higher resolutions. But my friends, who see the framed photos, usually think they came from a lab.

Of course I use Photoshop to help tweak the images until they look just as I want them to look. But I really don't need to.

All in all, the C3030 is an excellent Camera. The number of settings and menus is, at first, a bit daunting. But spending some time to get to know the camera really unlocks its full potential.

If you want an excellent digital camera, with excellent image quality, easy to use default settings, and advanced features for even more flexibility, the C3030 is the one to get.

This is an outstanding camera. I have been a casual photographer for many years and finally took the digital plunge - the C3030 outstrips the performance of my 35 mm SLR, and after much research, I concluded it outperforms most digital cameras as well. I also read some of the previous reviews, and most of the negative "problems" people listed either weren't problems of the camera or were because the person didn't know how to use the camera.

When it comes right down to it, picture quality is what makes or breaks a digital camera. The C3030 sweeps the field. Color quality and sharpness exceeds my 35 mm. I took a face portrait of my son and blew it up to just his eyeball - you could count the tiny veins in his eye. You can easily blow up pictures beyond 8 x 10 and still have sharp pictures. It does a better job reproducing sharp, realistic colors than most Kodak film. Low light capability is very good (even better with the new C3040 with its 1.8 lens). The menu is easily navigated (although it will take a little study of the manual; the camera has a lot of capability) and the controls are, for the most part, very easy to use. The camera is nicely programmable for those who want to venture there. The memory-buffered multi-picture capability (like a fast motor drive in an SLR) is very handy for action shots. The camera is extremely compact considering its capability and can be carried easily. When taking pictures, it is very comfortable and natural to hold, unlike many other digital cameras.

The USB transfer rate is much better than a serial cable but I took it a step further and bought an inexpensive Smart Media PC card adaptor. I pop the card out of the camera and into the PC slot and it is a near instant download of 128 MB of pictures! (I purchased the 128 MB card and it holds a huge number of pictures).

It uses up batteries, but no more than other digital cameras. I purchased 1400mah NiMH batteries and travel charger for only $38 - it works great and lasts a reasonable amount of time; hasn't been a problem.

I have taken many hundreds of pictures, perhaps thousands, without a single glitch. One of my few complaints is the flash performance, but the camera takes such great pictures without the flash, especially with a tripod, I mostly don't use it. Again, the new C3040 may take this even one step further. I also wish the Macro performance was better (closer) but it has been acceptable for most applications. My next purchase will be the telephoto lens to expand the camera's capabilities.

Bottom line is you will love this camera.