Olympus Camedia C-60 ZoomOlympus packs a 6.1-megapixel CCD into an ultra-compact body, with a host of advanced features too.<<Design :(Previous) | (Next): Optics>> Page 4:ViewfinderReview First Posted: 06/10/2004 |
Viewfinder
The
C-60 Zoom features a real-image optical viewfinder as well as a rear panel,
1.8-inch, TFT color LCD screen for composing images. The optical viewfinder
zooms along with the lens, but doesn't reflect any digital zoom, which requires
the LCD monitor to be active. A set of black cross hairs in the center of the
view marks the autofocus and autoexposure target area. The C-60's optical viewfinder
doesn't have a diopter adjustment dial, and has a somewhat low eyepoint, making
it less than perfectly suited to eyeglass wearers. (I could see the entire frame
while wearing my glasses, but had to press their lenses up against the viewfinder
eyepiece to do so.) Two LED lamps directly to the right of the viewfinder indicate
autofocus and flash status. The C-60's optical viewfinder proved to be a little
tight in my testing, showing between 86 and 89 percent of the final image area.
A
detailed information readout on the LCD highlights a number of exposure settings,
including the currently selected f/stop, shutter speed, and exposure compensation
adjustments across the top of the screen. In Aperture and Shutter Priority modes,
the chosen aperture or shutter speed appears as a constant, while the second,
automatically determined exposure value updates continuously to respond to changes
in the subject or lighting. The Manual mode displays the selected f/stop and
shutter speed values together, while the exposure compensation value reports
when a setting would result in over- or underexposure by glowing red. Unlike
most cameras, the C-60's information overlay can't be disabled to provided a
clearer view of the subject, a feature I'd like to see added. In my testing,
I found the LCD's viewfinder display to be fairly accurate, showing 97-98 percent
of the final image area. (Great performance, since I like to see LCD monitors
as close to 100 percent accuracy as possible.)
When
using the LCD monitor to review captured images, you can zoom in on displayed
images and then scroll around the enlarged image using the arrow buttons. This
is extremely handy for checking focus, small details, or precise framing. There's
also an Index display option, which shows either four, nine, or 16 thumbnail-sized
images at a time, selectable via a setup menu option. The C-60 replaces the
C-50's "quick view" function (which most users never realized was
there) with an explicit "Play" button, which puts the camera into
play mode as soon as it's pressed. The image will remain displayed on the LCD
until you revert back to Record mode by pressing the Play button again, or by
half-pressing the Shutter button. Pressing the OK button then the down arrow
button brings up a histogram display and basic information about each frame,
with a thumbnail of the image in the upper left corner. Once histogram is selected,
it will always appear whenever the full frame view would until it is deselected.
(The histogram display doesn't appear in either index or zoomed playback modes.)
Pressing the OK button and the left-arrow button puts the playback display in
"Info" mode, overlaying detailed exposure information about each image
for a few seconds when it first comes up on the screen.
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