| Product: |
Olympus Camedia C-3030 Zoom |
| Date: |
06/03/08 (37 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Build Quality, Optical Viewfinder, Picture Quality, Functions, Weight distribution, Hand Fit
Disadvantages: Battery comsumption , Connectivity, Memory Limitations, Poor Video Quality
PLEASE SEE OTHER REVIEWS FOR TECHNICIAL INFORMATION.
BACKGROUND:
I just wanted to point out that 6 years on from buying this camera second hand for £375 via ebay, it is still in use and performs very well. Originally it was around £800-900, I bought mine approx 1.5 years after it was released.
QUALITY OF BUILD:
This is not just evident externally, but the internal circuitry must be welded in securely. I say this because I have dropped it more times than I'll admit, on hard surfaces such as concrete/tarmac. It just keeps going and amazes me how many knocks it puts up with. I'm not really a traveller but I've been unfortunate enough to be in cold conditions (-15C, no wind-chill) as well as hot (over 35C) and it worked faultlessly. The only noticeable
USABILITY:
It has multiple functions and settings, all of which provide brilliant rich photographs in any situation. Due to battery drain (4 x AA's) the optical viewfinder is by far the preferred method of taking photographs, even though the LCD display is tiny by today's standards - it has to be appreciated that this is an approx 8 year old camera, i.e. 8 year old technology! There will be instances where the LCD display has to be used, for example in variable ambient lighting situations, as the whiteness may have to be adjusts so as not to wash out the photo.
VIDEO FACILITY:
Compared with modern day mobile phones, this function really isn't worth using. I had a Nokia 6230 which had equivalent performance/quality, a Nokia 6288 surpassed it and the N95 8GB I current have wipes the floor with it. Still, at the time it was a pleasant novelty!
BATTERY LIFE:
By being super-tight, I have taken approx 300 photographs with one set of batteries (Non-rechargeable quality brand). However if the flash or LCD is used, this greatly reduces the images.
ADDITIONAL OPTIONS:
Lenses and adaptors from ebay / china are quite useful, but to be honest they don't allow for spontaneous photos.
NOT VERY FUTURE PROOF:
As far as I know Vista probably won't support it (please check comments in case others know otherwise. XP is OK though, however the downside generally is that you need the Camedia Software version 2.5'ish to access the camera contents. Of course you can remove the memory card and use an adaptor, but I'm generally not keen on removing memory cards as you're very slightly rubbing the contact areas each time. Over time this can cause connectivity problems.
The other minor issue is that it requires a special'ish cable to connect via USB, not the typical mini USB.
MEMORY LIMITATIONS:
So far as I know the maximum memory installable is 128MB but please check any comments people have made - could be 256MB. Pictures are generally slightly less than 1MB depending on variation of colour / contrast / shades of the photograph. A 16MB panoramic card is normally included and this allows full 360 degree photographs to be taken and then stitched together automatically using the camedia software. It works pretty well, shame it requires a specific panorama card.
CONCLUSION:
When this dies I will buy another camera, it does have limitations compared to the current generation of cameras, but it's an enjoyable camera to use and produces excellent results. To replace it I would have to spend over £400 despite the abundance of compact quality cameras such as Canon's offerings. However for the avid though not professional user, compact cameras often have certain limitations.
Summary: Second hand bargain digital Camera, good choice for the competant photographer.
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