Olympus C3030 Digital Camera Review In the spring of 2000 Olympus released the fourth camera in the popular lineup that began with the C2000. Every release was a strong performer, but the C3030 will be remembered as one of their most comprehensive, polished, filmless cameras. For such a compact, portable unit, the specifications are truly impressive. For a complete run down of the spec, click here. Finally, Enough Resolution to Replace Film This is the first sub-$1,000 digital camera that allowed me to leave the 35mm SLR at home. The C3030 records images that can render photo quality 8" x 10" prints. With previous digital cameras, my greatest fear was capturing a great shot that I'd never be able to use it beyond the web site. Now, I can shoot with confidence. If I digitally record a special moment, I can make a beautiful enlargement of it, too. Beautifully Constructed I love the way this camera feels in my hand. Even though it's compact, the grip has a solid heft that allows me to hold the camera steady. The all-black aluminum body is textured nicely in the areas where you hold it. The matte finish magically repels fingerprints. And all of the dials and buttons are sturdily constructed. Logical Menus I've read a couple reviews in which the author complained that the menus took some getting used to. I didn't have that problem at all with the C-3030. I spent about an hour with the single-language instruction manual (thank you Olympus for including separate manuals for three different languages instead of one multi-language manual that's impossible to use), and I found that I'd mastered all of the menus and controls during my first day of shooting, no less! And speaking of controls, experienced photographers will love being able to adjust the ISO setting, aperture, shutter speed, manual focusing, flash, white balance, and spot metering. I felt in control of the camera. Instead of being limited by a simplistic set of preprogrammed settings, I had options! Yet, if I wanted to slip into pure point-and-shoot mode, it will let me do that too. QuickTime Movies I was pleasantly surprised with the 15 fps, 320 x 240 QuickTime movies recorded with the C3030. The action was smooth, colors saturated, images sharp, and sound quality was clear. The movie footage is recorded onto the SmartMedia card that I simply removed from the camera and placed into the card reader for my Mac. I opened the movie directly from the SmartMedia card and viewed it with QuickTime Player. Two minutes of video might not sound like a lot, but it can be just enough to spice up a multimedia slide show or otherwise static web page. This mode is a great bonus. Voice Annotation You can also add 4 seconds of audio with any still image. Set the audio to record right after the image is captured, or go back later and add audio to the image. The C3030 creates a 32k WAV file with the same file name as its associated image. The WAV file can be played by any number of players for both Mac and Windows computers. I used QuickTime Player without a hitch. The sound quality was impressive. I would prefer having six seconds instead of four, but, for most pictures, I had enough time to record the necessary information. I particularly liked being able to return to my hotel room and add the voice annotations. This allowed me to speak clearly and produce a much better recording. When I burned the CD with a batch of images, I had a very nice catalog of audio documentation to go with them. What a thoughtful addition to an already full-featured camera. Picture Quality In short, the images produced with the C3030 are gorgeous. They look like photographs, not digital images. At high magnification I marveled at the subtle tones and details. The picture quality is outstanding. Shortcomings I like SmartMedia cards, but found myself going through the 32MB ones like cold beer on a hot day. Currently, the 64MB cards are too pricey at $175, where I can buy the 32MB cards at a still expensive, but tolerable $65. This camera really needs an affordable 128MB card. Hopefully we'll see that someday in the SmartMedia format. The biggest disappointment had to do with utilizing the dedicated external flash port on the side of the camera. I spend $325 for the handsome Olympus FL-40 dedicated bounce flash only to discover that it did not come with the cord to connect to the camera. I was particularly annoyed because Olympus clearly states on their web site and in their documentation that the FL-40 is the flash for the C3030. Once I discovered that I needed to buy a separate connector for dedicated functions, I was further disappointed to learn that I had to buy a grip also in order to use the dedicated cord. The entire setup cost another $75 US. Once I had all of the parts, however, everything worked flawlessly. That being said, other cameras provide much more affordable external flash options. Finally, the LCD on the back of the camera extends out from the body and is always rubbing against things like the buttons on my shirt. Over time, this will certainly cause distracting scratches on the protective screen cover. Conclusions This camera is a joy to use. I like having the pro niceties, such as spot- metering, auto-bracketing, manual-focusing, flash compensation, and aperture control. The camera looks good and it takes great pictures. The battery life is impressively long. I genuinely enjoy the voice annotation and the QuickTime movie functions. The USB port is a nice touch. The lens is top notch. If you can afford the dedicated flash setup, it won't disappoint. This will probably be the first digital camera that you can use for years instead of months. C-3030 Features and Specifications High resolution 3.34 million pixel CCD and 2048 x 1536 pixel size images. Fast f2.8 3x zoom (plus continuous 2.5x digital zoom) all-glass 8-element aspherical Olympus lens. Multiple (15) image resolution modes including five uncompressed TIFF modes and up to 191 seconds of QuickTime movie capture with sound. Built-in USB connection and serial connection. Rapid shooting at 3.3 fps burst mode up to 5 photos, and real-time shooting at 1 photo every second (thanks to the 32MB SDRAM buffer). Creative options such as black & white, sepia, black board and white board. Advanced controls such as: User-selectable ISO settings (100/200/400); Slow shutter speeds of up to 16 seconds in manual and 1/800 second to 1/2 second in auto; Aperture settings of F2.8-F11 through the entire zoom range in 1/3 step increments; AEB (Auto Exposure Bracketing) for an array of exposures (+/- 2 stops in 1/3 step increments with 3 or 5 step bracketing); "iESP" Autofocus or manual focus for any focal distance between 8" and infinity. User-friendly menus, controls, and buttons. Improved battery power with the use of the CR-3v (LB-01) Lithium batteries. Wide-View 1.8" TFT LCD with variety of review modes and 3x magnification Inspection Mode for easier viewing from any angle, even in direct sunlight. TTL connector for additional FL-40 external flash. Includes one 16MB Olympus SmartMedia card with Panorama function -- compatible up to 64MB cards. Versatile built-in 6-mode intelligent flash. For more information, visit the Olympus C3030 product page.