Olympus C-2040 ZoomOlympus updates an old favorite, producing a "third generation" two megapixel digicam.<<Optics :(Previous) | (Next): Shutter Lag & Cycle Time Tests>> Page 6:Exposure & FlashReview First Posted: 2/20/2001 |
Exposure
The C-2040 Zoom offers a good deal of exposure control, including, Program, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, and Manual exposure modes; four ISO settings (Auto, 100, 200 and 400); and two metering modes: Spot and Digital ESP.
In Program mode, the camera selects both the aperture and shutter speed, while you control the remaining exposure options such as ISO, metering, and White Balance. Aperture Priority lets you set the aperture from f/1.8 to f/10.0 and the camera chooses the appropriate shutter speed. In Shutter Priority, you can select shutter speeds from 1/800 to four seconds, and the camera selects the corresponding aperture setting. You have both these options under Manual control, with the exception of much longer shutter speed times (as long as 16 seconds). An interesting feature of the Manual mode is that, as you scroll through the various selections, the camera indicates whether or not the setting will give you a correct exposure. It does this by showing the f/stop, shutter speed, and exposure differential (the difference between your settings and what the camera meters as correct) in green when everything is OK. If it disagrees with your choice, the selections show up in red, and the exposure differential shows how much under- or overexposed the image will be. The exposure differential shows up as an exposure equivalent (EV) value, with the difference shown within a range of +3 to -3 EV.
The more sensitive ISO settings (those with the higher numbers) are often useful for working within limited light conditions, but they can result in noisier images. In extremely low light, you can mix faster shutter speeds or larger lens openings with the higher ISO's to let in more light, or you can create slow shutter effects (like a motion blur) by using a lower ISO setting. (Note: When ISO is set to Auto in Program exposure mode, it automatically resets to 100 when you switch to Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, or Manual exposure modes.)
Two metering systems are available on the C-2040 Zoom: Spot and Digital ESP. Both are accessed through the Spot / Macro / AEL button on the camera's back panel. Under the default Digital ESP setting, the camera takes an exposure reading from the center of the image as well as the surrounding area and chooses the best average for the entire scene. Spot metering simply reads the exposure from the very center of the image, so you can pinpoint the specific area of the photograph you want properly exposed.
New on the C-2040 is an improved Automatic Exposure Lock function, offering single- and multi-metering options. Controlled through the Record menu, the AE Lock function's default setting is Single, meaning it takes one reading to determine the exposure. To lock on a single exposure reading, you simply frame the subject and press the AE Lock button on the back panel. Under the Multi setting, the C-2040 Zoom allows you to take up to eight meter readings from different parts of the scene, which are then averaged together to determine the best exposure. When you are in the Multi metering mode, an exposure differential bar appears on the LCD panel, continually updating the average with each new reading. (As with Single mode, the exposure points are locked by pressing the AE Lock button.) You can also set the camera to retain the Multi Metering reading after the shot is taken, by pressing the left arrow button before taking the exposure (the word "Memo" appears in the LCD display).
In situations where exposure compensation is necessary, simply press either the right or left Arrow buttons (in all exposure modes except Manual) and the EV value displayed on the LCD will increase or decrease in one-third-step increments, up to a total of +/- 2 EV. (The LCD viewfinder must be enabled to adjust this setting, but once it is set, you can turn the LCD off to conserve power, and the setting remains in effect.) If an exposure compensation is currently active, a small +/- icon appears in the top status display panel, to let you know there's an adjustment in force. Or, you can use the Auto Exposure Bracketing (AEB) function to automatically bracket an exposure as much as +/- 2 EV in either three- or five-step increments of 0.3, 0.6, or 1.0 EV units each. The auto bracketing will center its efforts around whatever exposure you've chosen as the starting point, including any exposure compensation adjustments you've made.
White balance can be set to Auto, Daylight, Overcast, Tungsten, Fluorescent, or Quick Reference, through the Record menu, to accommodate a variety of lighting situations. In Quick Reference mode, new to the C-2040 Zoom, white balance is calculated by placing a white card in front of the lens and pressing the OK button. Also new to the C-2040 is the ability to fine tune the white balance setting with the "WB+/-" setting under the Mode Setup menu. An adjustment bar appears on the LCD screen, with options to increase or decrease the red or blue tones. (We like this idea of fine tuning the white balance a lot: Most digicams tend to have slight biases in their white balance systems under various lighting conditions. Once you get used to how a particular camera shoots, it would be very helpful to have this sort of "tweaking" adjustment available to modify the white balance slightly. Kudos to Olympus for including this feature, and here's hoping it becomes more popular with other manufacturers as well.) The C-2040 Zoom also offers a 12-second Self-Timer (which can be used with the accessory remote) for self-portraits or those occasions when you don't want to risk camera shake by pressing the Shutter button to make the exposure.
The Function menu option enables you to capture images in black and white, or to use the White and Black Board settings for capturing text on white or black backgrounds respectively. (These modes appear to adjust image contrast and default exposure levels to maximize contrast and force the background toward the appropriate tonal value.) The C-2040 Zoom also features sharpness and contrast adjustments.
FlashThe C-2040 Zoom has a fairly standard built-in flash unit, with four basic operating modes: Auto-Flash, Red-Eye Reduction, Forced Flash, and Flash Off modes. Flash power extends to approximately 18.4 feet (5.6 meters) in wide-angle mode and to about 12.5 feet (3.8 meters) at the telephoto setting. Any of the flash modes may be combined with the Slow Sync mode to increase the ambient light exposure. The Slow Sync setting allows more ambient light into the background, producing more natural lighting behind a flash-illuminated subject. You can also produce shots which combine motion blur in the subject (from prolonged ambient light exposure) with the initial or final image frozen by the flash exposure. We say "initial or final," because the C-2040 supports both front curtain (Slow 1) and rear curtain (Slow 2) triggering in Slow Sync mode, firing the flash at either the beginning of the exposure or at the end. The rear curtain sync produces motion blur on moving objects that trail the sharp, flash-exposed image, rather than precede it.
A nice feature of the C-2040 Zoom's internal flash system is its +/- 2 EV exposure compensation adjustment. This gives great flexibility in using flash to illuminate your pictures, because you can use the built-in flash with an external unit, and adjust the balance of light between the two with the EV adjustment control.
A five-pin flash sync socket allows you to connect an external flash to the camera for more powerful flash needs. Olympus offers the FL-40 external flash as an accessory, which can be controlled through the camera in tandem with the internal flash. Both the internal and external flash units can be used together or separately. We have only one small, ergonomic gripe about the external flash (that we also had with the C-2020 Zoom). That is, the sync socket is protected by a tiny plastic cover that is very easy to lose. There's nothing attaching it permanently to the camera and it is very small and difficult to grasp.
Special Exposure Modes
Movie Mode
The C-2040 Movie mode is accessible via the Mode dial on top of the camera (marked with a small movie camera symbol). Once in Movie mode, you can record up to 60-second QuickTime movies in the standard quality (SQ) mode (160 x 120 pixels) and up to 15 seconds in high-quality (HQ) mode (320 x 240 pixels). A number indicating the available seconds of movie storage on the SmartMedia card appears in the status display panel, and on the LCD monitor, if activated. You can use the optical zoom while recording movies, but the zoom action is slower than usual. (Most cameras we've tested don't permit use of the zoom lens at all during movie capture.) Manual Focus, Spot Metering, Exposure Compensation, Focus Lock, Self-Timer, ISO, White Balance, and Black and White effects are also available in Movie mode.
Panorama Mode
The C-2040 Zoom offers a Panorama exposure mode when using an Olympus brand panorama-enabled SmartMedia memory card. In this mode, the Exposure and White Balance for a series of shots are determined by the first exposure. The Panorama function provides light-blue guide lines at the edges of the pictures to help you align successive shots, leaving enough overlap between them for the stitching software to be able to do its job. Up to 10 shots can be taken in a panoramic series. Note that this function is only enabled by SmartMedia cards with built-in panorama-related firmware found on Olympus brand memory cards. Images are saved individually and then compiled on a computer after they've been downloaded.
Sequence Mode
Taking advantage of its large 8MB memory buffer, the C-2040 Zoom offers a Sequence mode that mimics the motor drive on a film camera, continually recording images for as long as the shutter button is held down or until the memory runs out (this varies with the qualities of the image and available SmartMedia space). The instruction manual states that the slowest available shutter speed is 1/30 second in Sequence mode, to prevent blurring from camera movement. It also notes that the mode is available with all compression settings except uncompressed TIFF. One obvious limitation of Sequence mode is that the camera's internal flash cannot be used. However, if you have an external flash capable of recycling at 1.6 frames per second, and you shoot in Aperture Priority mode, the external flash may work just fine. You can also set the camera to base all exposure and focus settings on the first shot taken, or to adjust the exposure and focus with each image (which decreases capture speed).
Reader Comments! --> Visit our discussion forum for the Olympus C-2040 Zoom!
Follow Imaging Resource: