Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
127 of 129 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
portable, superior results, November 3, 2004
My perfect camera has to do two things very well. First, it has to deliver superior results. Second, it has to be portable. I think this Olympus C-7000 comes the closest to perfect and this is the one that I bought.
For superior results I thought I wanted a dSLR, but after handling one I realized I wouldn't often want to take something that large and vulnerable with me.
The Canon G6 and S70 are the only other cameras that I took any serious interest in. The G6 was tempting but still a little thick (especially the grip bump). The S70 was tempting too, but still longer than the C-7000.
Neither Canons offer as much zoom as the C-7000 (5x optical), though they both offer a wider angle.
I gave only four stars because I still wonder how it compares to the G6 in light gathering ability. Maybe I'll upgrade it to five stars once I settle that issue.
I was determined to buy a Canon or a Nikon. I had no thought toward buying an Olympus. This camera impressed me enough that now Olympus has a new customer. Nice job Olympus.
|
|
|
140 of 148 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great Camera, Questionable Software, New RAW Format, November 29, 2004
I'd like to split this review into different sections: The Camera, Implementation and Bundled Software.
I'll begin with the negative impressions first.
Implementation
One of the driving forces behind my new digital camera purchase was that I'd outgrown my old camera's capabilities. My skills had reached the point where having a camera that saves images in a RAW format was highly desirable. When screening my choices, the C-7000 came in at a reasonable price while offering this feature.
I must digress for a moment here. It seems that RAW format is not a universal standard. My present imaging software, PhotoShop CS, lists RAW formats from a variety of vendors. Apparently all are unique. While the C-7000 was not specifically mentioned, the C-8080 and C-5060 were mentioned, as were several other Olympus models. Additionally, Adobe has proposed an open standard for RAW formats, dubbed DNG for Digital Negative, and the same list of cameras appears on the list of supported formats that may be converted to the DNG format. Once converted, a DNG image may be read by any program utilizing that format.
At least that's the theory. Olympus seems to have changed their specs for RAW from the other cameras in their line up as neither the DNG converter nor PhotoShop, with the latest RAW reader plug-ins, is able to read an Olympus Raw Format (*.ORF) image from the C-7000. Major disappointment! Other than ORF images, I had no trouble reading any other images.
Bundled Software
The inability of my software to read an ORF image lead to the installation of the included Olympus Master software. Installation is painless: insert the disk and an auto-install wizard takes over. Once installed, the software is ready to go.
Personally, I felt the software was aimed at a first time camera user. The interface was so simple I found it almost insulting. I mean, come on, do you really need a wizard to help you e-mail a photo or print a picture? You also don't need the software to transfer images to your PC (see The Camera, below). I found nothing in the software, or advertised features, to warrant the expense of upgrading to the "full version" at a cost of almost US$20.
While the software is capable, especially if you have no other image enhancement software, there are some serious shortcomings. I hate to keep harping on the RAW format, but it's a problem here too. You are free to manipulate the image, but you can't save it to another RAW format usable by any other product. You can save the image as a JPG or TIF, but there is quality loss involved. That's what the RAW format is supposed to avoid. Olympus, PLEASE sign on to the DNG standard or at least offer the ability to convert these RAW images to the same format as your other cameras that are supported by third party imaging software.
The Camera
Now we're getting to the good stuff! Ten minutes after unpacking the camera, I was off and taking pictures. It's that easy. The controls were different from my old D-460, yet intuitive enough there were no major problems. Even if this was your first digital camera, I estimate you could be taking your first digital photos in less than half an hour. The setup folder is easy to follow. I used the battery without charging it and got about fifteen exposures before I ran it down. Fully charged, I'd expect about a hundred exposures before recharging.
Now that I had some test shots, I wanted to see them. Without reading the manual, I simply plugged the supplied USB cable into the camera and then plugged the cable to my PC via a hub. Windows 2000 showed a notice that new device was detected and in a couple of minutes I received a notice my removable drive was ready to use. No additional disks to insert for drivers, no Internet searches for drivers or anything more complicated than finding an open USB port. Windows Explorer showed the new drive and I was able to navigate to the photos, drag `n' drop to a temporary folder and I was able to view them with my graphics viewer of choice (JPG images only). I'd expect the same to be true for Windows XP or Mac users.
The only customization I'd done to this point was selecting an image size of 640 x 480 to maximize the number of images stored on the supplied 32 Mb XD flash memory. During use I was impressed with the speed it wrote to the memory. On viewing the images, I was impressed with the evenness of the exposure, accuracy of focus and quality of the flash. Using a tabletop to hold the camera steady, I did some available light work with exposures of one to two seconds length. The resolution is impressive as is the contrast of the images. I don't have any objective data to back my results, but I'd match this camera against any other fixed lens digital camera on the market. Superb optics!
Another major surprise was the camera body finish. The brochure describes it as Titanium. I don't know if Olympus is describing the color or the actual material, but it certainly isn't plastic! The shell has a nice solid feel in your hands and, while I wouldn't deliberately drop it, it gives the impression of ruggedness. Holding it you feel your money was well spent.
Conclusions
Overall, I'm very pleased with this camera. I bought it because I wanted something compact and rugged, yet easy to use. I bought it for the quality of the camera and the picture taking ability of the camera, not the software. In time, I'm sure my problem with the ORF images will be solved and the image format in no way interferes with the camera's abilities. I would suggest two accessories to purchasers of this camera, both of which are based on common sense, not any shortcoming of the camera.
1) Get an extra battery and always keep a charged spare with you.
2) Buy the highest capacity XD card you can find. You'll use it!
To Olympus I'd suggest offering some conversion of this new ORF format to DNG and perhaps marketing another package that is priced to include the camera and XD memory without the proprietary software. While the software may be useful to some users, it is an unneeded duplication for others.
12/23/2004
Adobe has solved the problem of reading the RAW format. There is a new plug-in for PhotoShop, RAW 2.4 Beta, that allows me to read the ORF this camera generates. I still stand by my 4 star rating based on the quality, or lack there of, of the bundled software. The camera by itself earns a full 5 stars, it's the total package that suffers.
|
|
|
61 of 62 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Otherwise Great Camera Marred By Poor Auto-Focus..., January 5, 2005
Having purchased an Olympus D-580 a few months back, and not having been thrilled with its auto-focusing ability for indoor photos, I decided to splurge and purchase the C-7000 after considering the Canon G6 and Sony DSCV3. The C-7000 has an AF Illuminator that the D-580 doesnt have; I figured this would solve the auto-focus issues I had experienced with my D-580 while taking indoor photos. Wrong. Under indoor, lamp-lit conditions, the C-7000 often takes several seconds to focus and then, when the green "focus indicator" light finally comes on, a quick glance at the monitor reveals that the camera is obviously NOT focused. (And, your subjects will probably be wondering how much longer they're going to have that red AF Illuminator shining in their eyes.) Having said all that, I will admit that after using and practicing with the C-7000 for awhile, you sort of "get the hang of" (for lack of a better term) the auto-focus and can achieve acceptable results. I also found it helpful to adjust the camera to "always auto-focus," which is an added drain on the battery, but seems to improve focusing performance. But, all things considered, I'd prefer to just be able to point the camera at my subject and shoot rather than wrestle with an inferior auto-focus. For a $500-$600 camera, I think Olympus can do better.
On the good side, this 7.1 megapixel camera does take very good, very high resolution photos (see my samples) and is solidly constructed (aluminum and plastic). All sorts of settings, ranging from full auto to full manual, including aperture priority, shutter priority etc... I basically leave it on auto, but I did go in and increase the color saturation and the contrast a bit. This compact, easy to carry camera also has a nice selection of features as well (I couldn't get the red-eye reduction feature to work, but oh well: I can fix those better on the computer, anyway.) The C-7000 also allows you to take black-and-white or sepia photos, but you have to switch into either mode BEFORE you take the pictures, whereas the D-580 allows you to make B&W or sepia versions of photos you've already taken. Battery life is decent; it takes just under 2 hours to give the battery a full charge, so buy a spare. The C-7000 uses a proprietary battery so you can't just swing into a convenience store and buy some Duracells to throw into it...
The big question: If I had it to do over again, would I still go with the C-7000? No. I'd choose between the Canon G6 or Sony DSCV3. But, I'll stick with the C-7000 for now. Over time and settings adjustments, I suspect I'll learn to like this camera.
2/19/05 - Update
After using this camera for a month and a half, reading other user's reviews and forum postings, I realize that the C-7000 does have critical auto-focusing issues. I called Olympus tech support and spoke with a gentleman who suggested putting the camera in "night" mode when taking pictures around the house. He then suggested I use "sports" mode when taking pictures of the kids, because "they're always running around." Why the camera won't focus when my kid is sitting perfectly still in a chair smiling patiently at me while the auto-focus grinds away remained unexplained. At any rate, I decided to email Olympus through their website - hoping the question would reach someone who understands the difference between auto-focus and exposure settings - and ask about the C-7000's auto-focus issue. To date, I've received no response. My advice? Steer clear.
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
Saving...
for detailed specifications for the Olympus C7000 7MP Digital Camera with 5x Optical Zoom 
