Olympus C-3020 ZoomA bargain-priced, full featured 3 megapixel model from Olympus!<<Optics :(Previous) | (Next): Shutter Lag & Cycle Time Tests>> Page 6:Exposure & FlashReview First Posted: 2/16/2002 |
Exposure
Like many of Olympus' Camedia digicams, the C-3020 offers exceptional exposure control. A variety of exposure modes are available, depending on the experience level and needs of the user. Program AE mode places the camera in pretty complete control of the exposure, while the user is free select a variety of other camera settings. Also available are Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, Manual, and My Image modes. Aperture and Shutter Priority modes both offer limited exposure control, allowing the user to select one variable (either aperture or shutter speed) while the camera chooses the best corresponding one. Manual mode provides complete control over the exposure, as well as a larger shutter speed range. In Program and Aperture Priority modes, the shutter speed ranges from 1/800 to one second. Shutter Priority mode extends the range up to four seconds, and Manual mode offers shutter times as long as 16 seconds. Aperture selections are the same in both Aperture Priority and Manual modes, and range from f/2.8 to f/11. The My Image mode allows you to save a set of custom exposure settings for rapid recall later, a handy feature if you do a lot of shooting under the same lighting and exposure conditions. Pretty much *every* exposure option is available under My Image mode, including shutter speed and aperture, if you've selected the appropriate exposure modes. (Aperture or Shutter Priority or Manual.)
In addition to the main exposure modes, the C-3020 also offers a Scene Program mode, with five available "scene" options: Portrait, Sports, Landscape/Portrait, Night Scene, and Movie. Portrait mode optimizes the camera for capturing portraits of people by setting a larger aperture for a shallow depth of field. This results in a sharply-focused subject in front of a slightly blurred background. Sports mode biases the exposure system to use faster shutter speeds to capture fast-moving subjects, and activates the Fulltime AF function so that the camera constantly adjusts the focus. Landscape/Portrait mode uses a smaller aperture setting and thus a larger depth of field, so that both the foreground and background of an image are in focus. Night Scene uses slower shutter speeds to capture more ambient light in twilight shooting conditions, and a tripod is highly recommended. You can use the Slow-Sync flash modes in conjunction with Night Scene for night portraits. Finally, Movie mode captures moving images without sound.
By default, the C-3020 employs a Digital ESP metering system to determine exposure. In Digital ESP, the camera reads the center of the subject, as well as a small area around it. You can switch to Spot metering mode by pressing the Macro/Spot button on the back panel, and the camera will meter only a very tiny spot in the center of the frame. In all exposure modes except Manual, the exposure is adjustable from -2 to +2 exposure equivalents (EV) in one-third step increments. If you aren't' sure about the exposure, an Auto Exposure Bracketing mode (accessed through the "Drive" option of the Camera menu) takes a short series of images, each at a different exposure setting. Through the settings menu, you can specify whether the bracketing series takes three or five exposures, as well as the EV step size that each successive shot will vary by. An AE Lock button on the back panel allows you to lock the exposure setting for a specific portion of the image, useful when shooting high-contrast or off-center subjects. Once pressed, the AE Lock button locks the exposure setting until either the Shutter button is fully pressed or the AE Lock button is pressed again. The AE Lock button can also be customized to change any other exposure variable, assigned through the settings menu.
The C-3020 offers an Auto ISO setting, as well as 100, 200, and 400 ISO equivalent settings. A Noise Reduction mode reduces the noise level when shooting longer exposures or with higher ISO settings. I found this setting quite effective during our testing, as it almost entirely removed the "hot pixel" noise in images shot at very low light levels. This mode doubles the time of the exposure because the camera actually takes two exposures. The first captures the image, while the second is shot with the shutter closed, producing an all-black frame. This lets the camera subtract the CCD noise from the first image.
White Balance on the C-3020 is adjustable to one of six settings, including Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, and Manual. The Manual setting bases the color balance on a white card placed in front of the camera. An adjustment setting allows you to manually "tweak" the color balance by adding either blue or red, an option I found helpful when working with the Manual white balance mode (which tended to leave the images with just a slight greenish tinge to them). For more creative color adjustment, the C-3020 offers an Image Effects menu (labeled "Function" in the camera menu) with options of Sepia, Black and White, Blackboard, and Whiteboard. Sepia and Black and White modes capture images in monotones, with the Sepia setting adding a brownish tint. Blackboard and Whiteboard modes are best for capturing text, either on a white or black background. You can also adjust sharpness and contrast through the settings menu, both in arbitrary units from -5 to +5.
For self-portraits, the C-3020 has a roughly 10-second Self-Timer option, accessed through the Drive selection on the Camera menu.
Flash
A built-in flash on the C-3020 operates in one of seven modes, including Auto, Red-Eye Reduction, Off, Fill-In Flash, First Curtain "Night Scene" Flash, First Curtain with Red-Eye Reduction, and Second Curtain "Night Scene." The Flash button on the back of the camera cycles through the Auto, Red-Eye Reduction, Off, Fill-In, and Slow Sync flash modes. In Auto mode, the camera decides when to fire the flash based on existing light levels and whether or not the subject is backlit. Red-Eye Reduction mode works in the same manner, but fires a small pre-flash before the main exposure to make people's eyes contract, reducing the occurrence of the Red-Eye Effect. Off mode simply turns the flash off, and Fill-In Flash fires the flash with every exposure, regardless of ambient light levels. The three slow sync modes work with slower shutter speeds and with the Night Scene mode, combining the flash with a longer shutter time. When working in slow sync mode, you can choose whether you want the flash to fire at the beginning or end of the exposure, or if you want to use Red-Eye Reduction for night portraits. You can also adjust the flash power through the settings menu, from -2 to +2 exposure equivalents (EV) in one-third step increments. In my testing, I found that the C-3020's flash maintained good intensity at the default flash power setting as far as 14 feet from our test target.
Continuous Shooting
Two Continuous Shooting modes are available through the Drive setting of the Camera menu. The first captures a rapid series of images as long as the Shutter button is held down. Actual frame rates and the number of consecutive images vary depending on image size and quality settings, as well as the amount of available SmartMedia space. The second mode, called AF Sequential Shooting, adjusts the focus and exposure for each consecutive shot. This lengthens the shot-to-shot cycle time because the camera is constantly readjusting the focus, but is good for situations where the subject is approaching or retreating from the camera during the exposure series. The same rules apply as in standard Continuous Shooting, in that the image size and quality settings will determine the speed of intervals as well as the total number of images captured in a series.
Movie Mode
As one of the Scene Program modes, Movie mode captures moving images without sound. Movies are recorded at the 320 x 240 resolution size, and shutter speeds range from 1/30 to 1/10,000-second. Quality options include High Quality and Standard Quality, selectable through the settings menu. Movies are saved in the Motion JPEG format, and Apple QuickTime accompanies the camera for movie playback. A limited shooting menu is available, allowing you to adjust contrast and sharpness.
Panorama
A panoramic shooting mode is available only when using Olympus brand SmartMedia cards, and allows you to capture a series of images to be "stitched" together into one large image, on a computer. The mode offers framing guidelines to help you line up each successive shot, and all exposure settings are locked with the first shot. (All other shooting modes of the camera are available with any brand of SmartMedia cards. The Panorama mode requires firmware instructions only available on Olympus-branded cards though.)
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