Olympus Camedia C-770 Zoom4.0 megapixels, a sharp 10x zoom lens, a unique flash head, and loads more features!<<Shutter Lag & Cycle Time Tests :(Previous) | (Next): Camera Modes & Menus>> Page 8:Operation & User InterfaceReview First Posted: 07/06/2004 |
Operation and User Interface
The C-770's user interface is very similar to that of the preceding C-750 model, as well as other recent Olympus C-series digicams. An intuitive set of menu options is easy to navigate, and many common exposure options are controlled externally. Even for users new to the interface, menu layouts are quite straightforward. Because the EVF displays the same information as the larger LCD monitor, you can quickly verify basic camera settings while aligning a shot, without having to activate the larger LCD display. A Mode dial on top of the camera changes capture modes quickly, and the AE Lock button can be customized to activate any one of a wide variety of settings. When you do have to call up the LCD menu, a shortcut screen appears first, with quick links to the image quality, white balance, and ISO settings. (You can also edit these shortcuts through the Setup menu, to select different camera functions for each.) Once you get into the actual Record menu, options are organized by function, accessed by a series of tabs along the left side of the screen. This layout lets you quickly skip to the options you need without sifting through pages of menu items. In any of the manual exposure modes, aperture and/or shutter speed is adjusted externally, as is exposure compensation. Once you get the hang of things, the control layout is quite intuitive and efficient.
Control Enumeration
Mode Dial: On the top of the camera is the Mode Dial, which controls the camera's main operating mode. Choices are Playback, Auto, Portrait, Sports, Landscape, Night Scene, Movie, My Mode, Aperture / Shutter Speed / Manual (A/S/M), and Program modes.
Zoom Lever: On top of the camera, in front of the Mode Dial and surrounding the shutter release, the Zoom Lever controls the optical zoom in all exposure modes, and the Digital Zoom when enabled through the Record menu.
In Playback mode, the zoom lever switches between Index view, normal image display, and playback zoom, and controls the amount of playback zoom applied.
Shutter Button: Located in the center of the Zoom control, the Shutter button sets focus and exposure settings when pressed halfway and triggers the shutter when fully pressed.
Flash / Protect Button: Located on the top, right portion of the camera's back panel, this button controls the Flash mode in all still capture modes. Pressing it cycles through Auto, Red-Eye Reduction, Fill-in Flash, Flash Off, Slow Sync, and Slow Sync with Red-Eye Reduction modes.
In Playback mode, this button marks the displayed image for write-protection, or removes protection. Once protected, files cannot be erased or manipulated in any way, but will still be deleted if the memory card is reformatted.
Flash Release Button: Just to the right of the Flash / Protect button,
this button releases the pop-up flash from its compartment.
Self-Timer / IR Remote / Erase Button: Adjacent to the viewfinder eyepiece, on the right side, this button controls the camera's Self-Timer mode, and also enables or disables the remote-control interface. When remote control is enabled, the included IR remote controller can be used to fire the camera's shutter.
In Playback mode, this button lets you erase the current image. The camera presents a confirmation screen after the Erase button is pressed, to make sure you really meant to delete the image.
AE Lock / Custom / Rotation Button: To the left of the self timer button, this button locks the exposure setting in any record mode. Through the Setup menu, it can be customized to control a number of other menu functions.
In Playback mode, this button rotates the image display clockwise in increments of 90 degrees.
Diopter Adjustment Dial: To the right of the viewfinder eyepiece, this dial adjusts the electronic viewfinder's optics to accommodate eyeglass wearers. I don't have any way of measuring these adjustments, but the C-770's seems to cover a fairly wide range, almost accommodating even my 20/180 (very nearsighted) uncorrected vision.
Power/Main Mode Switch: Directly above the top right corner of the LCD monitor, this slide switch turns the camera on and off, and also selects the main operating mode. Options are Playback, Still-Image Capture, and Movie Capture.
Four-Way Arrow Pad and OK / Menu Button: Made up of four buttons arranged in a circle around a central "OK" button, the Arrow Pad controls many of the camera's operations. In all capture modes except Manual, the left and right arrow buttons increase or decrease the exposure compensation setting. In Aperture or Shutter Priority exposure modes, the up and down Arrow buttons adjust the lens aperture or shutter speed settings, depending on which mode you've selected. In Manual mode, the up and down Arrows control shutter speed, while the left and right Arrows control aperture.
In Playback mode, the left and right Arrows move forward or backward through the pictures stored on the card. Up and down arrows jump through the images 10 frames at a time. All four are used to scroll around portions of the zoomed image in Zoom Playback mode.
In the LCD menu system, the Arrow buttons navigate through menu screens and select settings. The OK / Menu button in the center of the pad displays the settings menu in any camera mode, and also confirms menu selections.
In any capture mode, pressing and holding the OK button for a few seconds activates the camera's manual focus option. Press the left arrow key to enter manual focus mode, and then use the up and down arrow keys to adjust the focus.
Display Button: Just off the lower right corner of the LCD monitor, this button toggles the viewfinder display back and forth between the EVF and LCD monitors.
Quickview Button: Calls up the previously-captured image on the screen and
enables most playback-mode functions.
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