Olympus C-5050 ZoomTheir best camera yet? - Olympus introduces a top-of-the-line five-megapixel model with noise reduction technology, optimum image enlargement, an improved interface, and support for three memory formats.<<Viewfinder :(Previous) | (Next): Exposure & Flash>> Page 5:OpticsReview First Posted: 01/09/2003 |
Optics
| Free Photo Lessons | |
|
Focusing distances range from 2.6 feet (0.8 meters) to infinity in Normal mode, and 7.8 inches to 2.6 feet (0.2 to 0.8 meters) in Macro mode. A Super Macro mode lets you get even closer to your subject, as close as 1.2 inches (3.0 centimeters), an impressive performance. Autofocus is determined through the lens, using a contrast detection method. This means that the autofocus will work properly with auxiliary lenses, such as the excellent wide- and telephoto adapters offered by Olympus themselves. The green LED next to the optical viewfinder glows solid as soon as the subject is in focus (flashing means there's a problem focusing and you may need to switch to Manual Focus or Macro mode). Though the C-5050 Zoom doesn't feature an automatic focus lock, you can manually lock it by centering the target portion of the subject in the frame, pressing the Shutter button halfway, and then recomposing the image while continuing to hold the Shutter button halfway down. An AF assist lamp helps the camera focus in dark shooting conditions, and I found it to be extremely accurate in my low-light shooting test. (The Olympus C-2100 UltraZoom and C-2500 Zoom had AF assist lamps, but the feature has been missing from the Olympus lineup for a long time now. Its return on the C-5050 is very welcome!)
The
Focus button on the top panel of the camera accesses the normal AF mode, as
well as both macro modes and the manual focus settings. (Pressing the button
and turning the Command dial rotates the available focus options across the
LCD screen.) In manual focus mode, a distance scale appears on the LCD monitor,
showing distances in meters or feet. Pressing the up and down arrow buttons
adjusts focus when manual focus is enabled. As you focus, the image is automatically
enlarged in the LCD monitor to better see small details. The manual focus
option includes two modes, a normal one, with the focus range extending from
infinity down to 8 inches, and a super-macro manual focus mode, which extends
the focusing range down to 1.2 inches, while still permitting focusing all
the way out to infinity. Once the focus is set manually, you can save the
focus setting by pressing the Menu / OK button.
A Full-Time AF mode, selected through the Shooting menu, keeps the autofocus
constantly engaged as you move the camera from subject to subject, instead
of waiting for the Shutter button to be depressed halfway. This might be useful
for action photography like fast-paced sports or children playing, but it
is an additional drain on the battery because the focusing mechanism is constantly
at work. (Then too, practically speaking, the AF speed isn't really sufficient
to track any rapidly-moving object, leading me to question the actual utility
of the Full-Time AF option.) You can also designate whether the camera determines
focus from the center of the image (Spot) or the entire image area (iESP),
by choosing the appropriate AF Mode option in the Shooting menu. Once in Spot
AF mode, you can move the AF target by holding down the Focus button and using
the arrow keys to move the target around on the LCD monitor. (To reset the
AF mark to center, press the Menu / OK and Focus buttons simultaneously.)
The C-5050 Zoom's exterior lens barrel has a set of 41mm filter accessory
threads that couple to Olympus' lens adapter tube, the CLA-1. This optional
adapter extends the threads outward (and increases their diameter to 43mm),
so they are flush with the front of the lens when it's fully extended. It's
important to note though, that this adapter is made to work with Olympus'
own accessory lenses, all of which use an additional adapter ring to step
up the threads to the diameter needed by the auxiliary lenses. The consequence
of this is that the CLA-1 design requires another threaded adapter ring, because
it doesn't extend far enough for 43mm filters to clear the lens barrel. The
43mm filters will interfere with proper lens operation, and could damage the
lens mechanism itself. Therefore, if you buy a CLA-1 adapter unit, be sure
to also buy a step-up ring to whatever filter size you use, just to give you
the extra millimeter or two necessary for the glass of the filter (or accessory
lens) to clear the front of the lens barrel.
The C-5050 Zoom also provides up to 3.4x digital zoom, which can be enabled
via the Shooting menu. Once activated, the Zoom scale on the right side of
the monitor changes to accommodate the expanded range for the digital zoom.
The bottom half of the scale (colored white) indicates the optical zoom range,
while the top half (colored red) specifies the digital zoom. The digital zoom
is only accessible when the LCD monitor is engaged; when the LCD is turned
off, the digital zoom returns to the 1x setting. It also cannot be used with
the uncompressed TIFF or RAW modes.
Optical distortion on the C-5050 Zoom was fairly high at the wide-angle end,
where I measured an approximate 1.0 percent barrel distortion. The telephoto
end fared much better, as I measured only a 0.1 percent pincushion distortion.
Chromatic aberration was also rather high, showing about seven or eight pixels
of coloration on either side of the res target details in the corners of the
frame, and emphasized by some slight corner softness. (This distortion is
visible as a slight colored fringe around the objects at the edges of the
field of view on the resolution target.)
Reader Comments! --> Visit our discussion forum for the Olympus C-5050 Zoom!
Follow Imaging Resource: