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Olympus C-2040 Zoom

Olympus updates an old favorite, producing a "third generation" two megapixel digicam.

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Page 10:Image Storage & Interface

Review First Posted: 2/20/2001

Image Storage and Interface
The C-2040 Zoom uses 3V (3.3V) SmartMedia memory cards and comes equipped with an 8MB card. Currently, you can upgrade to card sizes as large as 128MB.

The C-2040 Zoom can store images in both uncompressed TIFF and compressed JPEG file formats. The TIFF setting can be assigned to any one of three resolutions through the camera's Mode Setup menu. JPEG compression levels include Super High Quality (SHQ), High Quality (HQ), and Standard Quality (SQ). Both SHQ and HQ settings record files at the 1,600 x 1,200 pixel size, while the SQ compression level has a few options. SQ1 records files at the 1,024 x 768 pixel size, and SQ2 records files at the 640 x 480 pixel size. Both SQ1 and SQ2 feature High and Normal quality options, adjustable through the Mode Setup menu.

We appreciated the C-2040 Zoom's file naming protocol, which includes the month and day at the beginning of the file name, and provides the option of numbering images progressively from one card to the next, or of resetting the naming sequence for each card. The Camedia allows you to write-protect individual images from accidental erasure through the Playback menu. Entire SmartMedia cards can be write protected by placing a write-protection sticker over a specified spot on the card. While individually protected images can still be erased by a card format operation, cards that are write-protected with a sticker are also protected against card formatting. Write-protect stickers can only be used once and must be clean to be effective.

The table below summarizes the compression ratios and number of images which can be stored on the included 8MB memory card with each size/quality combination.

Image Capacity vs
Resolution/Quality
(8 MB Memory Card)
TIFF
Super High Qualty
High Quality
Normal Quality
High Resolution Images 1 7 16
N/A
Approx.
Compression 		1:1 5:1 12:1
N/A
Standard Resolution Images 3
N/A
 13
38
Approx.
Compression 		1:1
N/A
 4:1
11:1
Low Resolution Images
8
N/A
32
82
Approx.
Compression
1:1
N/A
4:1
10:1


The following shows the approximate amount of movie recording time:

Resolution Sizes
8MB
HQ (320 x 240)
15
SQ (160 x 120)
65


The C-2040 Zoom comes with interface software and cables for both Mac and Windows computers. It employs a USB interface for high-speed computer connection.


One of the first things any new digicam owner will need is a larger memory card for their camera: The cards shipped with the units by the manufacturers should really be considered only "starter" cards, you'll definitely want a higher capacity card immediately. - Probably at least a 32 megabyte card for a 1.3 or 2 megapixel camera, 64 megabytes or more for a 3, 4, or 5 megapixel one. (The nice thing about memory cards is you'll be able to use whatever you buy now with your next camera too, whenever you upgrade.) To help you shop for a good deal on memory cards that fit the C-2040, we've put together a little memory locater, with links to our price-comparison engine: Just click on the "Memory Wizard" button above to go to the Olympus memory finder, select your camera model , and click the shopping cart icon next to the card size you're interested in. You'll see a list of matching entries from the price-comparison database. Pick a vendor & order away! (Pretty cool, huh?)

Reader Comments! --> Visit our discussion forum for the Olympus C-2040 Zoom!



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