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"Picky Details" for the Olympus D-560 Zoom digital camera
(Timing, Power, and Storage Info)

Timing
I measure both cycle times and shutter delay times, using a test system I designed and built for the purpose. (crystal-controlled, with a resolution of 0.001 second.) Here are the numbers I collected for the Olympus D-560 Zoom:

NOTE: My qualitative characterizations of camera performance below (that is, "reasonably fast," "about average," etc.) are meant to be relative to other cameras of similar price and general capabilities. Thus, the same shutter lag that's "very fast" for a low-end consumer camera might be characterized as "quite slow" if I encountered it on a professional model. The comments are also intended as only a quick reference: If performance specs are critical for you, rely on the absolute numbers to compare cameras, rather than my purely qualitative comments.

Olympus D-560 Zoom Timings
Operation	Time (secs)	Notes
Power On -> First shot	3.79	Lens extends. About average.
Shutdown	2.96	Lens retracts. About average.
Play to Record, first shot	1.67	Time until first shot is captured. Pretty fast.
Record to play	2.27	Time to display a large/fine file after capture. Average.
Shutter lag, full autofocus	0.925/1.137	First time is at full wide-angle, second is full telephoto. (Average is 1.0 to a bit lower.)
Shutter lag, prefocus	0.113	Time to capture, after half-pressing shutter button. Faster than average. (Average is about 0.3)
Cycle Time, max/min resolution	2.15 / 2.17	First numbers are for large/fine files, second number is time for small/basic images. Times are averages. The D-560 seems to have about a 6-frame buffer memory in its highest resolution/image quality mode. After that number of shots, the cycle time stretches to about 4 seconds. In the lowest resolution mode, all shots have the same cycle time.
Cycle Time, continuous mode, max/min resolution	0.70 / 0.67 (1.42 / 1.48 fps)	First number is for large/fine, second is for small/basic files. Numbers beneath are corresponding frames per second. Fairly fast for an entry-level camera. Buffer holds 6 shots at highest resolution, 70 shots at lowest before you must wait for the memory card to catch up. Interval between first two shots is slower, about 0.97 seconds at high resolution, 0.83 for low.

Power
The D-560 Zoom uses two AA batteries, one Li-Ion non-rechargeable battery or an AC adapter for power. The most cost-effective solution is clearly a pair of high-capacity rechargeable NiMH AA cells. As always, I highly recommend that you pick up a couple of sets of these cells and a good-quality charger. Click here to read my "battery shootout" page to see which batteries currently on the market are best, or here for my review of the Maha C-204F charger, my longtime favorite.

The table below shows the power drain I measured in various operating modes, and the projected run times with a pair of 1600 mAh (true, not advertised) capacity NiMH AA cells. (1600 mAh cells have been the standard I've used for years now for comparing camera power consumption, but the best current cells now show true capacities of more than 2000 mAh. - You could thus easily experience run times as much as 25% longer than those shown.)

Operating Mode	Power (@3.4 volts on the external power terminal)	Est. Minutes (Two 1600 mAh NiMH cells)
Capture Mode, w/LCD	649 mA	104
Capture Mode, no LCD	5.9 mA	190 hours (!)
Half-pressed shutter w/LCD	656 mA	103
Half-pressed w/o LCD	506 mA	134
Memory Write (transient)	698 mA	n/a
Flash Recharge (transient)	1545 mA	n/a
Image Playback	348 mA	195

 

Storage Capacity
The D-560 Zoom stores its photos on CompactFlash memory cards, and a 16MB card is included with the camera. (I strongly recommend buying at least a 64MB card, preferably a 128MB one, to give yourself extra space for extended outings.) The chart below shows how many images can be stored on the included 16MB card at each size/quality setting.

 

Image Capacity vs Resolution/Quality 16MB Memory Card		Fine	Normal
2,048 x 1,536	Images (Avg size)	6 2,462 KB	20 800 KB
	Approx. Compression	4:1	12:1
1,024 x 768	Images (Avg size)	-	76 209 KB
	Approx. Compression	-	11:1
640 x 480	Images (Avg size)	-	165 97 KB
	Approx. Compression	-	10:1

 

D-560 Review
D-560 Test Images
D-560 Specifications
D-560 "Picky Details"
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