Olympus Camedia D-40 ZoomSuper-compact 4 megapixel model takes great pictures!<<Optics :(Previous) | (Next): Shutter Lag & Cycle Time Tests>> Page 6:Exposure & FlashReview First Posted: 10/8/2001 |
Exposure
The D-40 Zoom offers extensive exposure control, including Auto, Program, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, and Manual exposure modes, plus five Program Scene modes optimized for specific shooting situations: Portrait, Landscape-Portrait, Landscape-Scene, Night Scene, and Self Portrait. All of these Shooting modes are accessed via the Mode dial on the camera's back panel, as well as a new Shooting mode that has been added for users who want to program their own default settings. "My Image" mode allows you to choose from a full set of menu options, including available exposure settings, and then automatically saves them to memory for the next time you return to the My Image setting, even after powering off the camera.
Exposure control varies depending on the Shooting mode you choose. For example, in Auto mode, you have access only to the flash settings and limited resolution settings. The camera controls all other exposure options. In Program mode, the camera selects aperture and shutter speed, while you control the remaining exposure options such as ISO, Exposure Compensation, White Balance, and metering modes. Aperture Priority lets you set the aperture from f/2.8 to f/8.0 and the camera chooses the best corresponding shutter speed. In Shutter Priority, you can select shutter speeds from 1/1,000 to four seconds, and the camera selects the best corresponding aperture setting.
In Manual mode, you control both aperture and shutter speed with the addition of much longer shutter speed times (as long as 16 seconds). A helpful feature of the Manual mode is that, as you scroll through the various selections, the camera indicates whether or not the setting will give you a correct exposure. It does this by showing the f/stop, shutter speed, and the exposure differential (the difference between your settings and what the camera meters as correct) in white when everything is OK. If it disagrees with your choice, the exposure differential shows the amount of under- or overexposure in red. The exposure differential is given in exposure values (EV), within a range of +3 to -3 EV.
In situations where exposure compensation is necessary, simply press either the Right or Left Arrow buttons (in all exposure modes except Auto, Manual, and some Scene modes) to increase or decrease the exposure values (EV) in one-third-step increments, up to +/- 2 EV. Values are displayed in the upper right corner of the LCD. (The LCD viewfinder must be enabled to adjust this setting, but once it is set, you can turn the LCD off to conserve power, and the setting will remain in effect.) We applaud the accessibility of this important exposure adjustment in Olympus' user interface design. Some manufacturers bury this control in a menu interface, making it much less convenient. If exposure compensation is currently activated, a small +/- icon also appears in the top status display panel, to let you know there's an adjustment in force.
In addition to the basic exposure modes, there are the five preset shooting modes (listed above). In Portrait mode, the camera uses a smaller aperture setting to decrease the depth of field, capturing the subject in sharp focus in front of a blurred background. Landscape-Portrait uses a smaller aperture setting to increase the depth of field, so both the foreground subject and background are in sharp focus, sets the flash on Fill-In mode, and optimizes colors for skin tones. Landscape-Scene mode focuses on distant subjects, such as trees or mountains, so they remain clear. It also sets up the color balance to enhance blues and greens. Night Scene mode is optimized for nighttime shooting, using a slow shutter speed to take in as much ambient light as possible and activating the Noise Reduction mode to reduce artifacts commonly found in long exposures. Self-Portrait shooting allows you to handhold the camera while aiming it toward your face. Focus is automatically fixed on you (the shooter) and color is optimized for skin tones. In all Scene modes, exposure settings are limited to the basics -- Quality, Exposure Compensation, and Flash -- depending on the subject.
Additional exposure options include four ISO settings (Auto, 100, 200 and 400), Exposure Compensation, Auto Bracketing (BKT), two metering modes --Spot and ESP multi-pattern -- and six White Balance settings. The more sensitive ISO settings (those with the higher numbers) are often useful for working in limited light conditions, but they can result in noisier images. In extremely low light, you can mix faster shutter speeds or larger lens openings with the higher ISOs to let in more light, or you can create slow shutter effects (like a motion blur) by using a lower ISO setting. (Note: When ISO is set to Auto in Program exposure mode, it automatically resets to 100 when you switch to Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, or Manual exposure modes.) Exposure Compensation can be used to adjust image brightness from +2 to -2 exposure values (EV) in one-third-step increments.
Auto Bracketing (BKT) function is selected through the Shooting Mode Menu (Drive sub-menu), setting the camera to automatically bracket each exposure by as much as +/- 2 EV in either three- or five-step increments (0.5 or 1.0 EV units each). The bracketing function centers its efforts around whatever exposure you've chosen as the starting point, including any exposure compensation adjustments you've made. Spot and ESP metering modes are accessed by pressing the Macro / Spot button on the camera's back panel. Under the default ESP multi-patterned setting, the camera takes readings from a variety of areas in the viewfinder for proper overall exposure. Spot metering reads the exposure from the very center of the image, so you can pinpoint the specific area of the photograph you want properly exposed and lock in on that exposure by depressing the shutter button halfway and holding it down until you recompose the scene.
White Balance is also set in the Mode Menu, with Auto, One Touch (Manual), or one of four Preset options: Daylight, Overcast, Tungsten, or Fluorescent, to accommodate a variety of lighting situations. In One Touch mode, white balance is calculated by placing a white card in front of the lens and pressing the OK button. You can also fine-tune the white balance setting with the "WB+/-" setting under the Picture sub-menu. An adjustment bar appears on the LCD screen, with options to increase or decrease the red or blue tones. (We really like this idea of fine-tuning the white balance. Most digicams tend to have slight biases in their white balance systems under various lighting conditions. Once you get used to how a particular camera shoots, it can be very helpful to have this sort of "tweaking" adjustment available to modify the color to suit your own preferences.)
A Record View function, which is enabled through the Shooting menu (Setup sub-menu), displays the most recently captured image on the LCD screen while the image is being recorded to the memory card. This feature gives you the option of deleting an image instantly by pressing the Flash / Erase button while the review image is still on-screen. It's a great way to check your images without wasting time switching back and forth between Playback and Shooting modes. The camera's Quick View function also allows you to check previously captured images in Shooting mode, by pressing the Monitor button twice, very quickly. You can review the most recent image or scroll back through other stored files until you return to the Shooting mode (by pressing the Monitor button a second time).
The D-40 Zoom has a 12-second Self-Timer (which can be used with the infrared remote) for self-portraits or those occasions when you don't want to risk camera shake by pressing the shutter button to make the exposure. You can also use the IR remote control to trigger the shutter without the Self-Timer, which gives you a three-second delay after pressing the remote's Shutter button, before the shutter is fired. The remote control works as far as 16.4 feet directly in front of the camera, or as far as 9.8 feet when at a 15-degree angle from the sensor window.
The Function menu option enables you to capture images in Black & White or Sepia modes, or to use the White and Black Board settings for capturing text on white or black backgrounds respectively. (These modes appear to adjust image contrast and default exposure levels to maximize contrast and force the background toward the appropriate tonal value.) The D-40Z also features Sharpness, Contrast, and Color Saturation adjustments, accessed via the Picture sub-menu in the Shooting Mode menu.
Flash
The D-40 Zoom has a fairly standard built-in flash unit, with four basic operating modes: Auto, Redeye Reduction, Fill-in Flash, and Flash Off modes. The D-40Z's flash power extends from 2.6 to 9.8 feet (0.8 to 3 meters) in wide-angle mode and from 9.8 to 5.9 feet (0.25 to 1.8 meters) in telephoto mode. Any of the flash modes can be combined with the Slow Synchro mode (set through the Shooting menu) to increase exposure. The Slow Synchro setting uses a slow shutter speed with flash to let more ambient light into the background, producing more natural lighting behind a flash-illuminated subject. When photographing moving subjects, Slow Synchro will record some motion blur because of the longer exposure time, with the initial or final image frozen by the flash exposure. We say "initial or final," because Slow 1 fires the flash at the beginning of the exposure (producing a blur behind the subject), and Slow 2 fires the flash at the end of the exposure (producing a blur in front of the subject). A Slow Synchro with Redeye Reduction introduces a brief pre-flash to reduce the effect of redeye in people pictures.
Another nice feature of the D-40 Zoom's internal flash system is its Flash Brightness adjustment, which allows you to change the flash brightness from +2 to -2 EV in one-third-step increments. This option is accessed through the on-screen Shooting menu.
In our testing, we found the D40's flash effective all the way out to 14 feet from the test target, with good intensity. Intensity is brightest at the eight foot distance, with flash power decreasing only slightly with each additional foot of distance. There was some falloff in the corners when the lens was set to its maximum wide angle position, but uniformity was good through most of the zoom range. Overall the D-40Zoom's flash did better than those on most compact cameras we've tested.
Special Exposure Modes
Movie Mode
The D-40Z's Movie mode is accessed via the Mode dial on the camera's back panel (marked with a small movie camera symbol). Movies can be recorded in either HQ (320 x 240-pixel) or SQ (160 x 120-pixel) resolution modes. Both record at approximately 15 frames per second. Sound recording can be turned On or Off in the Movie menu, as can the infrared remote control option. For HQ resolution movies, memory capacity is approximately 32 seconds (with sound) per movie on the included 16MB SmartMedia card. For SQ resolution movies, memory capacity is about 130 seconds (148 without sound) per movie. The remaining seconds count down in the status display panel (and on the LCD monitor if activated) while you record the movie.
Recording begins by pressing the Shutter button once and releasing it. Pressing the Shutter button again will stop recording. While shooting in Movie mode, you can only use the Digital Zoom option when audio is turned on (default mode). If you turn audio off through the Movie Mode menu, you can use both optical and digital zoom. (Note that digital zoom in Movie mode has the same effect as optical zoom in normal still photography, in that no image degradation should be visible as a result of using the zoom.) Manual focus, Exposure Compensation, Self-Timer, ISO setting, White Balance, and Function (B&W and Sepia) are also available while in Movie mode.
First seen in the Camedia C-3030 (February 2000), the D-40 Zoom again offers in-camera "editing" of movies in Playback mode. This capability is accessed via the Playback menu, Movie Play sub-menu, and Edit option. In this mode, you can scroll forward and backward in the movie, and set cut points at the beginning and end of the sequence. Movie content between the two cut points will be preserved, the rest discarded. In a nice touch though, Olympus allows you to choose whether to modify the original movie file, or just save a new copy of it, reflecting the effect of the edit you've made -- a feature that makes the Movie mode much more useful.
With the D-40 Zoom, Olympus has addressed one of our major complaints about the Movie Playback mode by providing a speaker so you can hear the movies you've recorded while playing them back on the camera. The camera can also output both video and sound to a TV or VCR via the included A/V cable, making that an effective playback mode if you have a TV handy.
Audio Record Mode
The D-40 Zoom's Audio Record mode records up to four seconds of sound to accompany an image. Activated through the Shooting Mode Menu (Camera sub-menu), the audio recording takes place immediately after you make an exposure. A status bar appears on the LCD monitor with the word "Busy" displayed. Green dots light up along the status bar to indicate how much time you have left until the recording is finished. You can also add audio clips after the image is recorded by selecting the Audio option in the Playback menu (Play sub-menu).
Panorama Mode
The D-40 Zoom offers a Panorama exposure mode when used with Olympus brand panorama-enabled SmartMedia memory cards. In this mode, the exposure and white balance for a series of shots are determined by the first exposure. The Panorama function is accessed in the Shooting menu through the Camera sub-menu, in Program mode only. When activated, it provides light blue guide lines at the edges of the pictures to help you align successive shots, leaving enough overlap between them for the stitching software to do its job. Up to 10 shots can be taken in a panoramic series. Images are saved individually and then compiled on a computer after they've been downloaded.
Sequential Shooting Modes
The D-40 Zoom's Sequential and AF Sequential modes mimic the motor drive on a film camera, continually recording images as the Shutter button is held down, or until the memory runs out (this varies with the image quality and subject, as well as available SmartMedia space). Accessed through the Shooting Mode's Drive option (Camera sub-menu) Sequential Shooting sets focus, exposure, and white balance with the first frame, and records subsequent frames at approximately two frames per second (HQ resolution) for a maximum of eight frames. AF Sequential mode sets focus and exposure with each capture, which decreases the recording speed.
One notable limitation of the Sequence mode is that the camera's internal flash cannot be used, nor can the Noise Reduction option be activated. Therefore, since the slowest available shutter speed in Sequence mode is 1/30 second (to prevent blurring from camera movement), low-light scenes are likely to be rather dim and grainy.
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