Let me start off by saying that I am not all that impressed by this camera. I expected better quality pictures for $700.00 I have seen pictures from cameras that are half the cost, and they are either equal to or better than the pictures this camera produces. I will be sending it in for service this weekend. Lately almost all of my pictures end up with a black squiggly line down the center. Looks like a hair, but it's not.
Strengths:
The body is attractive and sturdy and is easy to travel with. Takes good pictures at night or in low light situations. Menu is straight forward and easy to navigate. USB connectivity.
Weaknesses:
The screen on th back of the camera is vulnerable. Olympus should have installed some sort of hinged cover to protect it. The 16mb card is too small. The Camedia software is a little weak. Battery life is short. Very noisy when turned on, almost sounds like something is broken.
Rating Reviewed by: Gary Unruh(Unregistered User)
(Intermediate)
Review Date November 1, 2002
Overall Rating 3 of 5
Value Rating 4 of 5
Used product for 0-1 years
Visitors rate this review 3.67 of 5,
3 votes
Review 2 of 19
Price Paid:
$899.00
from Local Camera Store
Summary:
The best camera I've owned in 20 years. Very impressive, Small enough to fit in a pocket or purse and EXCELLENT quality. I've had a 12 X 18 print and it is better than any 35 I've taken.
Rating Reviewed by: Stephen Scharf(Unregistered User)
(Intermediate)
Review Date October 27, 2002
Overall Rating 4 of 5
Value Rating 4 of 5
Used product for 0-1 years
Visitors rate this review 5.00 of 5,
1 votes
Review 3 of 19
Price Paid:
$799.00
from CompUsa
Summary:
A very good digital camera with excellent image qualities. I have taken some very nice photos with this camera. I wrote the very first review of this camera here almost a year ago and thought I would update this section with a newer review based on almost a year's worth of use. Overall, I found the C4040Z to be a very good quality digital camera that produced images of excellent quality. The construction and build quality are typical Olympus, that is, first rate.
There were some things that I felt detracted from the camera to some extent. One is that I found it to be too bulky to carry with me as much as I would have liked. The all-metal chassis is nice to use, but difficult to pack or carry (e.g. on a motorcycle tank bag or bicycle backpack (e.g. a CamelBak). I would have preferred the viewfinder to be more centrally located on the camera, more like the G2.
Strengths:
Image quality and build quality. Reasonably good value for the money.Very fast and bright lens. Nice diopter control for the viewfinder. Very good color and white balance, incredible amount of control of the camera for the photographer, e.g. white balance, spot autofocus, sharpening and color balance.
Weaknesses:
Slow (at least to me) boot and shutdown times, sometimes it really exasperated me the time it took to start up or shut down. As this was my first digital camera, maybe this is more common than I am aware of. Body is more bulky than I would prefer, makes it difficult to take with you as much as you'd like.
Some chromatic aberration observed with the camera set a wide angle. I would have preferred the viewfinder to be more centrally located on the camera, more like the G2.
I bought this camera to replace a Olympus C-2020 thatr I felt was a very good Camera. The C-4040 faster lens makes it a great low light camera. I can really appreciate the diffence i between the serial port hook up and the USB. The sutter lag is more than acceptable, the C-2020 was a little on the long side. The higher megapixels gives a much sharper image and makes using the digital zoom acceptable for picture taking.
Strengths:
Geat images, with the purcahse of this camera, my Canon T-90 is now for sale.
Weaknesses:
Should have come with rechargable batteries and a larger SmartMedia card 16 MG does not go too far. Menu is a little more complex than it needs to be, just adds some time to the learning curve.
Similar Products Used:
Olympus C-2020
Customer Service:
From what I've read, I'm glad I haven't had to use it!
I love this camera! It is not too bulky nor is it too small, the battery life is good, and the pictures are beautiful. I did alot of research prior to purchasing and have compared the pics to other digital cameras, and I have no regrets, I have stopped using my Nikon FE.
Strengths:
Picture quality is fantastic, ease of use,
great features
Weaknesses:
Loud noise when camera starts, software is idiotic- you have to name every single picture you download, in sunlight, the screen is "streaked"
Similar Products Used:
kodak, canon, fuji
Customer Service:
Terrible. sent in to fix the streaking screen in sunlight problem, and they claimed that the problem didn't exist. If you want real customer service, go elsewhere.
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