Olympus C5050 Review Reviewed by Johnny Koh on 11th August 2003 Specifications Lens Olympus lens 7.1 ?21.3mm, F1.8 ?2.6, 10 elements in 7 groups (equivalent to 35 ?105mm on a 35mm camera) Digital Zoom mode 1 ?3.4X (up to 10X with optical zoom) Photometric system Digital ESP light metering, Spot light metering Sensitivity Auto, and settings equivalent to approx. ISO64, 100, 200, 400 Exposure control Programmed auto. Aperture-priority and Shutter-priority exposure modes Aperture-priority: wide:F1.8 ?8 / tele:F2.6 - 8 Shutter priority: 4~1/1000sec. used (with mecanical shutter) Manual exposure mode: 16~1/2000sec. Scene programs: Portrait, Sports, Landscape, Landscape Portrait, Landscape, Night Scene, Self-Portrait AE lock: available except with manual exposure mode Motion JPEG image mode: 1/30~1/10.000sec. Focusing TTL system iESP/spot/fulltime autofocus Normal mode : 0.8m ??br> Macro mode: 0.2~0.8m Super macro mode:?up to 0.03m (focal lens fixed) Manual: 0.2m~?br> AF illuminator effective distance: approx.?0.5 ?2m* *varies depending on conditions White balance iESP II full auto TTL, One-Touch, Preset (Daylight, overcast, tungsten, 4 types of fluorescent light) Sequence mode Normal speed : up to 11 pictures at 1.7 frames per second in HQ mode High speed: up to 4 pictures at 3 frames per second in HQ mode (excluding TIFF) Motion JPEG image recording HQ (320x240 pixels) : Approx.. 96 sec. SQ (160x120 pixels) : Approx. 424 sec. With sound: approx. 93sec. in HQ and 374sec. in SQ (When using a 32MB or more xD picture card) Special functions 2-In-1 images, Black and White, Sepia, Black Board Image editing Resize, Trimming, Raw data creation Viewfinder Optical real image viewfinder, LCD monitor LCD monitor 1.8 inch low temperature polysilicon TFT color LCD display, approx 114,000 pixels Charging time for flash Approx. 6 sec Flash working range Wide : Approx. 0.8 ?5.6m Tele : Approx. 0.2 ?3.8m (ISO100) Flash modes Auto (automatic flash activation in low light or backlight), Red-Eye Reduction, Fill-In (forced activation), Off (no flash), 1st/2nd Curtain Slow Synchronisation, 1st Curtain Slow Synchronisation + Red-Eye Reduction; Flash intensity control :available in 1/3EV stops within + - 2EV Slave function : 10 levels of output Selftimer Electronic selftimer with 12 sec. delay Outer connecters DC-IN jack, USB connector (Storage-Class), AV video output connector, external flash connector Calendar system Up to 2099, recorded with picture data simultaneously Power supply Two CR-V3 lithium battery packs/Olympus LB- 01 2PE, or four AA (R6) NiMH batteries, AA lithium batteries, AA Alkaline batteries, or AA Ni-Cd batteries (Do not use manganese batteries) Optional AC Adaptator Image Quality Test Contrast and Grain Test The camera was supported on a tripod and shots taken at different apertures(f2.8, f5.0 and f8) and ISO values (64, 100, 200 and 400) for this test. The selected portion 80x80 from the above shot is blown up to 200% as shown below: ISO f2.8 f5.6 f8.0 64 100 200 400 From the above result, it shows that shots taken at f5.6 have highest contrast (slight difference) and higher ISO like 200 and 400 shots show obvious grain. This camera has a setting of iso 64 (not found in most consumer digital cameras) which offers a detailed image with less grain. The Olympus C5050 produces fairly sharp and high resolution. Compare with Canon Powershot G5 The test shots were taken at apertures f5.6 and different ISO values (50/64, 100, 200 and 400). Both camera set to average settings (contrast , sharpening and brightness) and auto White Balance. The selected portion 160x160 from the above shot is blown up to 200% as shown below: ISO Olympus C5050 Canon Powershot G5 Sample Shots 64/50 100 200 400 From the above result, it shows that Olympus C5050 produces sharper (at all ISO values) and lesser grain (at ISO400) shots than Canon Powershot G5. However Canon Powershot G5 produces more accurate WB than Olympus C5050 which gives warmer color. Night Shots Test For this test, the camera was supported on a tripod and timer mode used to capture the night scene. Above is the night shot that taken with 5 sec, f8 and then resized to 500x375 without sharpening. The red box is the area that was cropped and shown below. taken with Noise Reduction turned ON The result shows that the Olympus C5050 can take pretty good night shots. It has the noise reduction system able to remove noise from long exposure. When enabled this feature will automatically remove noise (visible as white or aberrant coloured pixels in an otherwise dark night sky) from images which have a slower shutter speed e.g. 1 sec. For long exposures this means a second 'dark frame' exposure immediately after the first shot. This dark frame is used to subtract hot pixel noises from the first exposure. The slowest available timed shutter speed is 1 seconds, however you can take manual exposure mode up to 16 seconds (use timer mode is recommended). Below is the final touch up night shot after sharpening. Sample Shots There are 22 images in the samples gallery. Below show some of the sample shots as follows: See the rest Conclusion Advantages Natural rendition of skin tones Fast lens f1.8 that good for low lighting shots like indoor Flash Hot-shoe seems to work well with external flash Auto metering up to 4 seconds the long shutter (A mode) Noise reduction works well in low lighting shots Excellent battery life (with a good set of NiMH rechargeable's) Disadvantages Some chromatic aberrations visible Slow and Noisy startup time RAW format does not come with good software converter Need to remove the lens cap in order to turn on the camera Have to toggle the self timer mode everytime when using it The On/Off switch is located too near to the dial button and will easily trigger it to turn off while using the camera Compensate Exposure needs to press 2 buttons + the dial button LCD cannot flip to the side Overall Conclusion Here's my rating of the Olympus C5050: Recommended