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Olympus C-3030 Olympus extends their high-end compact to 3.3 megapixels, adds sound to its movies! Select a topic Reference: Datasheet C-3030 Test Images --------------------------------- 1. Intro and Highlights 2. Executive Overview 3. Design 4. Viewfinder 5. Optics 6. Exposure & Flash 7. Shutter Lag & Cycle Time Tests 8. Operation & User Interface 9. Camera Modes & Menus 10. Image Storage & Interface 11. Video, Power, Software 12. Test Results & Conclusion --------------------------------- Print-Friendly Review Version Additional Resources and Other Links Reader Comments on C-3030 Review --------------------------------- Digital Camera Comparometer (TM) --------------------------------- <-- Digital Cameras (Home) <-- Digital Camera Reviews Index <<Operation & User Interface :(Previous) | (Next): Image Storage & Interface>> Page 9:Camera Modes & Menus Review First Posted: 5/18/2000

Camera Modes and Menus

Movie Mode
Accessed by turning the mode dial to the movie camera symbol, this mode allows you to capture up to 60 second SQ movies and up to 15 second HQ movies with sound. Shutter speed is automatically set anywhere from 1/30 to 1/10,000 seconds.

Aperture Priority: Accessed by turning the mode dial to the A/S/M symbol, and then selecting the "A" option from the A/S/M Mode setup submenu, this mode allows the user to select the desired lens aperture as the camera adjusts the shutter speed to achieve the correct exposure. If the required shutter speed is beyond the camera's capabilities, the aperture status number in the LCD will flash and an arrow will indicate if under or over exposed.

Shutter Priority: Accessed by turning the mode dial to the A/S/M symbol, and then selecting the "S" option from the A/S/M Mode setup submenu, this mode allows the user to select the desired shutter speed while the camera adjusts the aperture to achieve the correct exposure. If the required aperture is beyond the camera's capabilities, the shutter speed status number in the LCD will flash and an arrow will indicate whether it's over or under exposed.

Manual Mode: Also accessed via the A/S/M setting on the mode dial, and then selecting the "M" option from the A/S/M Mode setup submenu, Manual mode allows the user to select both the desired aperture (F/2.8 to F/11) and shutter speed (16 to 1/800 seconds, depending on the ISO setting). As noted earlier, the camera tells you what it thinks of the exposure setting you've chosen, showing not only whether it thinks you're high or low, but by how much. It does this by displaying what it believes the over- or under-exposure to be using the digits on the LCD screen that normally indicate exposure compensation in automatic exposure modes. If you're more than plus or minus 3 EV units away from the correct exposure, the digits light up red, showing just +/- 3EV.

Programmed Exposure: Accessed by turning the mode dial to the P, this mode lets the camera select both shutter speed and lens aperture, but does so in a fairly intelligent manner, opting for faster shutter speeds when the lens is in the telephoto position than when it's working in wide angle mode.

Playback Mode: Accessed by turning the mode dial to the playback symbol, this mode allows the user to view previously captured images. Here, the jog dial advances between successive frames stored in memory. The zoom toggle switches the display to an index mode when moved in the wide angle direction and zooms in on the currently displayed image by 3x when moved in the telephoto direction. When zoomed in on an image, the jog control can be used to move the enlarged view around the full image area, letting you inspect all parts of it.
Capture Mode Menu

• Drive: selects between One-Shot, Sequence, AF Sequence (exposure metered with each frame), Self-Timer/Remote and Auto Bracketing.
• White Balance: selects between Auto, Clear, Cloudy, Tungsten and Fluorescent white balance options.
• ISO: sets the ISO at Auto, 100, 200 or 400.
• Flash +/-: adjusts the flash intensity from -2 to +2 in 1/3 EV increments.
  
• Slow: accesses the camera's slow-sync mode with options for front-curtain sync (Slow 1) or rear curtain sync (Slow 2)
  
  
• External Flash: sets the camera either to use both the internal and external flashes or just the external.
• Digital Zoom: turns the 2.5x digital telephoto feature on or off.
• Function (Picture Effect): allows the user to shoot in Black & White, Sepia, White Board or Black Board modes.
• Sound: activates the sound recording function.
• Panorama: activates the panorama mode (only enabled with Olympus SmartMedia cards).
  
• Card Setup: formats the SmartMedia card.
  
• Mode Setup: pulls up the mode submenu (shown below)
• Quality: sets image quality at TIFF, SHQ, HQ, SQ1 or SQ2.
• A/S/M: sets the exposure mode at Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority or Manual.
  

Mode Setup sub-menu (Capture Modes)

• All Reset: turns the all reset function on or off (on resets all settings to factory default whenever the camera is turned on). A new option on the C-3030 is the "Custom" selection here. This takes you to a five screen (!) sub-menu, letting you select default settings that will be selected whenever the camera is powered up. Settable options include flash mode, macro/spot combinations, lens zoom setting (conveniently expressed in 35mm-equivalent terms), f-stop, shutter speed, exposure compensation, manual/auto focus, LCD on/off, "drive" (single, continuous, remote/self-timer, or bracket modes), white balance, ISO, flash exposure compensation, slow sync flash mode, internal/external flash enable, digital zoom, image functions (black/white, sepia, etc), sound recording, still-mode resolution, A/S/M mode, movie-mode resolution, and info display enable.(Whew! - Basically any function of the camera can be programmed to be automatically set up when the camera powers-on. Note though, that some settings will depend on others: If the camera is set to default to aperture-priority mode, the shutter speed will adjust as required, based on the preprogrammed aperture value. Only if manual mode is preselected will the preprogrammed values for both the shutter speed and aperture be used.)
• Sharpness: sets image sharpness to Hard, Normal or Soft.
• TIFF: sets the TIFF resolution size to 2048 x 1536, 1600 x 1200, 1280 x 960, 1024 x 768 or 640 x 480.
• SQ1: sets the SQ resolution to 1600 x 1200 or 1280 x 960, High or Normal.
• SQ2: sets the SQ resolution size to 1024 x 768 or 640 x 480, High or Normal.
  
• Volume: sets camera volume to Off, Low or High.
• Fulltime AF: turns continuous autofocus on or off. Use in situations requiring slightly faster shutter response. Don't use if battery life is critical. In fast-action situations (sports, etc), use Sequence mode to rapidly shoot multiple frames, then discard unneeded shots.
• Record View: turns the instant image review function on or off.
• File Name: resets file numbers with each new card or continues in sequential order.
  
• LCD Brightness: adjusts the brightness of the LCD.
• Date/Time: sets the camera date and time.
• M/Ft: sets manual focus distance display to meters or feet.
  

Playback Menu

• Play: activates a slide show display for still images or plays back movies.
• Info: turns the image information display on and off.
• Sound: activates the sound recording function.
• Function: for use with Olympus special function cards.
  
• Card Setup: formats the SmartMedia card.
• Mode Setup: brings up the following submenu:
  • All Reset: turns the all reset function on or off (on resets all settings to factory default on power-up), or select a preset group of Custom settings (as described above under the capture-mode setup menu).
  • Volume: sets annunicator beep volume to Off, Low or High.
  • Index Display Adjustment: sets index display to four, nine or 16 images.
  • Brightness: adjusts the LCD brightness.
  • Date/Time: adjusts the camera's date and time setting.