Customer Reviews

Olympus Camedia C-4040 4MP Digital Camera w/ 3x Optical Zoom

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This makes the third camera in the Camedia series that I've purchased. (I had the 2000Z and the 3030Z too.) I've found that I can sell my older models (about 16 months) after I purchased them, to family and friends for just over 50% of the original purchase price... making the net cost of the new upgrade about ....

Although the older models took good pictures, each upgrade was easier to use and took sharper pictures. (I have about 6 gig of pictures over the last 3 years.) The model 4040 is again, a giant leap forward in ease of use and picture clarity. For example: at normal portrait distances 5 to 7 feet, without any zoom... after you download the pic into the computer, you can zoom in and literally count the number of eyelashes on the person. This is a result of the high number megapixels AND the Olympus quality lens that has been specifically designed for their digital CCDs.

When choosing a digital camera there is a trade-off. On one side you can get cameras with as much as a 20x optical zoom (but it adds considerable size and weight). On the other side of the trade-off is that you can get something small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, like the 4040 (but only have a 3x optical zoom). I think the best compromise is to get a small digital camera with the most megapixels, then take the pictures with the 3x optical zoom, download the image to the computer and zoom/crop the picture (on the computer) without concern of loosing detail (because of the high megapixels). The Olympus 4040 fits this alternative.

Although I think it is one of the best digital cameras on the market, there is always room for improvement. To make this camera better I'd:

1. Include removable NiMH batteries with an in-camera charger adapter. (My purchased add on NiMH batteries that last for around 70 pics per charge.)

2. Although the CCD is rated at 4.1 megapixels, the camera records about 3.8 megapixels.... Why? Where did the other 0.3 megapixles go?

3. Included is a 16meg smartmedia card. This is only enough for about 20 pics. A 128meg card runs about ... and can store more than 160 pics per card. Add a few bucks to the camera and give us a usable card.

4. Since the user manual is about ½ inch thick, you think you have plenty of detailed instructions. Then you realize only 1/8 inch of the manual is in English (the rest is in five or six other languages). And, what is in the manual, does not give sufficient detail about many of the various options. (You have to read/study the instructions on the included CD to get an idea of what many of these functions mean/do.)

I admit to buying each of the Olympus cameras in this series, starting with the C2000. And just about the time I discover what features I really want, Olympus brings out a new model with just those features. Fortunately, I have a hand-me-down system that puts the previous models into good hands.

And the models in this series do get better and better. This latest model has some significant improvements, not the least being a greatly improved menu system.

To start, this is nominally a 4.1MP camera, though I believe the effective pixel count is on the order of 3.87. No matter, it's now at the point where you can make truly superb 8x10 prints with todays's best inkjet photo printers or Oly's own dye sub printer, which is probably the best you can do at home. And as if that were not enough, Olympus supplies this camera with an interpolated mode that creates a gaint 7,680,000 pixel file. I haven't had time to try that yet, since I am wary of these interpolated modes.

The extra pixels are welcome, as is the very fast F1.8 lens. This is probably the same lens that was introduced on the C3040, one of the few cameras in this series I didn't get. Glad to have waited until there was a bit more on offer than just a fast lens. The extra speed lets you shoot more often at 100 ISO, and also give you more selective focus when you need it. It's a worthy improvement.

Perhaps the most welcome improvement is the new menu system, which lets you use configurable top-level short cuts to get to the most used settings. I used to fumble when I wanted to change from one picture size or quality to another. Fumble again when I wanted to tone down the flash power. Now I can put these settings at the top level, where I can find and set them easily. You can also change the function of a new button marked AEL, which comes preset to lock an exposure when you want to expose for something that would ordinarily be overwhelmed by other contrasting elements. Since this function is so useful, I decided not to change its setting, but you could configure it to do something you do more often.

For next time? I still want the top LCD to be dimly backlit -- which it isn't. I also want the attached lens cap not to cause the camera to hemorrhage internally -- which it does. I still want the camera to come with NiMh batteries and charger -- which it doesn't (any more). And I still wish they would supply either no memory card or one of a decent size -- which they don't. A manual that actually explain the advanced functions also wouldn't hurt. What is pixel mapping? Don't ask the manual, I still don't know.

All in all, I believe this is the best compact digital camera you can get. It has plenty of pixel power, lots of manual and semi-manual settings, a great new lens and a quick and intuitive menu system. Unless you need an SLR, with its bulk, complexity and weight, this is the camera to get for best quality results.

In the before time, long long ago, I had a Panasonic Coolpix. This horrible [camera] took 640x480 pictures, had no flash, 2 shutter speeds, a light filter, and came with a 2MB compact flash card...after this nightmare, I purchased a then just-released Olympus C2000 zoom -- first generation, no USB, and an 8mb smart media card. After 2 long years of service, thousands of really really cool pictures, and much abuse, I sold the camera to a friend and decided to upgrade. The experience with Olympus was quite pleasant; I knew I wanted
one again. After looking at the 3040, I decided to go all-out and get the latest/greatest, and so I have the C4040. 4.1 megapixels of glory. Quicktime video with sound. More pro-photography toys than you can shake a Pentax 35mm at. I LOVE THIS THING. You can take pictures in black & white, sepia, black/white board, you can take panoramas, you can manually adjust the flash to your liking, and you can control the exposure, aperature priority, shutter priority, and even a virtual film speed control (100-400). You can even edit the movies you make on it. (15fps, they look pretty slick) I can't describe in words how the pictures look out of my HP1315 PhotoSmart printer (another of my reviews here) -- it has to be seen to be believed. What you should get:
- a set of NiMH AA's
- couple 64 mb cards and a 128mb card (you will play with the movie feature...trust me)
- tripod so you can play with extended exposure

Other cool features:
- read/write light for the smart media
- keeps everything off for USB download mode
- finally has a lens cap strap (lost my old camera's cap about 1 week after I got it)
- uses AA's or the new photo batteries
- much lighter than older models

Anyway, go BUY THIS CAMERA!!!

My first digital camera was the Olympus D340R, a 1.3M pixel "entry" level camera I purchased in 1999. It was (and still is) fantastic, and has me hooked on Olympus since. I wanted to upgrade because I wanted two things the 4040 offers:

1) be able to print super-large prints (like the 16" x 20" and the 20" x 30" size prints offered by Ofoto)

2) be able to print reasonable size enlargements by digitally zooming into a digital photo.

Well, I just got my first 16" x 20" size photo back from Ofoto and it's gorgeous! On top of that, you can crop and retouch (using Photoshop) to your desire, so you can get everything just right.

I had planned on buying the 3040, but when I saw this camera, I couldn't resist. I'm not sure if the extra savings can be justified by others, but in my case, it gives me the resolution confidence to do the large size prints that I want.

Also, the extra resolution is perfect for cropping to a small portion of the orginal photo for printing, within losing needed resolution for a quality print.

Some other neat applications with the camera's features:

- bright lens is great for indoor picture without flash. do this if possible as underexposed images can be resuscitated with Photoshop, but not too much can be done with overexposed photos

- use the manual focus to pre-focus before asking a passerby to help you take a photo of you and your spouse. This way, the inexperienced photo-taker would not out-of-focus photos by framing the picture so that the center of the photo is the infinity that is in between you and your spouse.

I started with the C-2000, and now years later, have finally upgraded to the C-4040. I highly recommend it. They fixed everything that i didn't like about the first camera.

Drawbacks? Takes too long to take a picture (the camera takes the picture nearly two seconds after you pushed the button) so, in action shots, you miss them often. I'm still trying to figure out a way to configure it to take pix immediately.

This is my third generation of digital camera's. First 1.3 mp, then 2.1 mp, now 4.1 mp. I bought and tested the Nikon 995, Kodak 4800 and finally kept the C-4040. Picture quality is the best by far. Menus are second to the kodak 4800. The camera is much more comfortable and controls are located in the best possible spot. I would buy this camera again, and again.

Many people have written wonderful reviews of the C-4040. I have to say that I agree with most of them ... this is a great camera with wonderful functions.

Unfortunately, there's something most people have overlooked about this digicam. The lens is so flawed that I'll go as far as to say the C-4040 delivers worse photos than the old C-3030! Before you doubt me completely, hear me out.

Most digital cameras suffer from something called "barrel distortion" at the wide-angle setting and "pin-cushion distortion" at the telephoto setting. What this means is, if you take a picture of a house and look closely at the sides of the house, the up-and-down lines of the sides of the house will "bend" outward at wide-angle and "bend" inward at telephoto. On some digicams you can barely see this distortion without a magnifying glass. But with the C-4040, the barrel distortion at the wide-angle setting is so bad it actually makes it look like buildings are being squeezed from above and the sides are bending out!

This isn't a problem if you never use the lens at wide-angle, or if you never take a photo of something with lines that go straight up and down, but I take photos of buildings on a regular basis. I upgraded from a C-3000 to a C-4040 a month ago. Although the C-4040 delivers higher resolution photos than the C-3000, the barrel distortion on the C-4040 was so bad that I took it back to the store and went back to using my C-3000.

Unless you NEED a 4-megapixel camera for 11x14 prints or larger, don't get this camera. Get a C-3000 or C-3030 and you'll be MUCH happier. Trust me. If you do get a C-4040, use the lens in the middle range. Don't ever go wide or tele because up-and-down lines will bend one way or the other.

My work group tested many digital cameras over the last few years. We looked at resolution, image distortion, color saturation and accuracy and evaluated zoom lenses at the extremes of their zoom range. In general, the Olympus cameras performed better than the others tested, including Canon, Nikon and Kodak. Manufacturers can advertise how many megapixels their cameras have, but the real test is to take a resolution test image, then enlarge it to 800% and print it on a high quality printer. Our results showed that Olympus cameras performed very well "per pixel". Also, the Olympus cameras gave excellent results at the widest angle of zoom, an area where many consumer cameras fall short. Apparently, the optics used are superior, resulting in lower barrel distortion.

The image size of 4mb is more than adequate to produce sharp 8.5 x 11 prints. With an image this large, one can zoom in and enlarge 1/4 of the image to 4x6" and still get a very sharp print. The ability to use AA batteries is a plus. Excellent value in a mid-priced camera.

This is an outstanding camera. There is little you cannot do with it, from simple point and shoot to fully manual operation. With 128mb memory cards going for about $55 on the net, get several so that you can play with movie mode. One 128mb card will hold 170 pictures at standard resolution, and over 1300 at lower resolution, so to reviewer who dissed the olympus for its use of media, I have a question: How many pictures do you take in a day? Check out other review sites and you will find that this is one of the most highly respectd and best reviewed series (3000, 3030, 3040, 4000, 4020, 4040)of cameras ever produced. Professionals and amatures alike are consistant in their praise.

I bought my first "real" camera in 11th grade: a 35mm Yaschica SLR. I loved it. I shot only Kodachrome, and took thousands of pictures with it. In college, I got a Pentax 35mm SLR, with lots of attachments, strobe flash, professional tripod...the works. The system was great, but it weighed a ton. As a result, I didn't use it very much. Twenty years later, (about 7 years ago) I bought a Nikon 35mm SLR with a Nikkor 35 - 105 zoom. I think it's called the 8000. It takes great pictures but, again, the weight makes it cumbersome. As I result, I usually leave it behind when my son and I go on snowboard trips and the like. Then, about 2 years ago, I bought my first digital camera. It was an Agfa, pretty basic stuff. I was amazed at how easy it was to use, and how light it was. And although it cost only about $..., it took great pictures. After awhile, however, I wanted more features. I was desiring more control over the exposure process, the focusing, and the flash. I missed the opportunity to take "creative" photographs, rather than just snapshots. And I wanted pictures that had high quality, that would hold up at 8 by 10, and maybe 11 by 14.
I bought the Olympus C-4040 based upon the reviews I read at this site. I have had it for 3 days, and I wanted to share some intitial reactions, both good and bad. First the bad:
1. There are too many "instruction" manuals (about 10 different pieces of literature) that make it very confusing when you are trying to figure out how to turn the darn thing on and get going. I would recommend one comprehensive manual, with a good index.
2. There are inadequate directions on how to upload the photos to the computer. I am a college graduate who can figure out most things, but I still have not figured out how to upload onto my Windows 98. I have read the big manual; I have downloaded the Adobe Photoshop driver; and I have downloaded the Camedia Master Guide. Still no luck. Every time I try to upload, I get a message stating: "Improper camera connection," listing some possible problems. I have checked them all, read and re-read the manuals and the CD info...still not able to upload. I guess I am going to have to go to the photo store for help.
3. It DOES eat batteries. I'm glad I bought the AC adaptor and the rechargable NiCad batteries. As others have said, use the AC plug when watching on TV, or trying to upload. It's worth the extra money.
4. The 16MB card is a joke. I'm glad I bought the 128 MB version. It's worth it.
5. It's hard to see the monitor image, outdoors, in sunlight.

GOOD THINGS
1. The camera is smaller than I thought it would be. I think it weighs only 11 ounces. It is very compact. This means I will be taking it on those snowboard trips, simply putting it in my jacket pocket.
2. I have hooked up the camera to my 29 inch Sony TV, to review the pictures. They are quite good. I think they are as good as the 35mm Nikon shots, and I suspect they will be better, once I better understand the camera's features. (I am taking most of the shots so far on automatic mode.)
3. Take the camera out of the box, put all the manuals aside, put batteries in, from the bottom, turn it to "P" on the mode dial (where the old "ASA" knob is on 35mm cameras) and start taking pictures. Push the "monitor" button on the back of the camera (right below the clearly marked "OK" button) and you can review your shots. Push it twice quickly, and you can review the last shot you took. After you take a few, use the "arrow" button on the back of the camera (using the left and right directions, rather than the up and down) to look through your shots. Push the "OK" button to start the menu. When it appears, use the "arrow button" to steer over to "mode" at "3 o'clock" and use the "right" directional button to select "camera." Then go up or down until you come to the function you want to adust. When you get to it, go "right" again, then select "ok" when you land on the function or feature you want. If you want to erase a shot, push the "flash" button on the top of the back of the camera, and the menu will show you how to erase.
4. The 1.8 lens is quite cool. It is super bright, and makes it easy to see what you are about to shoot. And since the manual focus is set by entering into the camera the amount of "feet" or "meters" you are from your subject (rather than by simply turning the barrel while looking through the lens, as with an SLR) it's a lot easier, and likely more accurate, to set the menu to "always autofocus" before shooting. The focus has been razor sharp. (I have taken about 60 shots so far.)
5. The directions assume that you already know a lot of the technical jargon. I don't know what "pixel mapping" means, and the info provided doesn't let on. I don't know what CCD stands for, either. But it is neat that there is a CD version that is more complete. I still haven't read it all, as it is about 110 pages, all in English.

I am frustrated that I can't upload my images, but I am sure I will find out what I am doing wrong. I am looking forward to familiarizing myself with the items on the menu, so that I can use the camera in as versatile a way as possible. It's cool that it has such high quality optics, and is so light and small, and is apparently capable of many, many variables. I look forward to reviewing again, hopefully in the next two weeks, after I have gotten to know it better.