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Olympus C-3000 Zoom


Posted 5/21/2000


  


Click to take 360-degree QTVR tour of the Olympus Camedia C-3000 Zoom
Click to take a 360-degree QTVR tour of the C-3000 Zoom


The new Olympus C-3000 ZOOM is a 3.34 megapixel digital camera with 15 different still image capture modes in five different image sizes (2048 x 1536, 1600 x 1200, 1280 x 960, 1024 x 768 and 640 x 480.)   It also offers QuickTime Movie capture at 15fps with sound. Sound can be recorded during video filming or a 4 second sound byte can be recorded for play with a single image. If you look at the photo above you will see five small holes just above the lens on the right, this is the microphone.

The builtin 6-mode flash has a new slow syncro mode plus red-eye reduction plus a connector that provides true TTL control of the Olympus FL-40 external speedlight. Shutter speeds from 1/30 to 1/10,000 second plus longer shutter speeds of up to 16 seconds in Manual mode. The Manual exposure mode allows both the shutter speed and apertures to be selected independently.

Jump to the C-3000 Zoom specifications



Olympus Camedia C-3000 Zoom

On the back is a 1.8-inch "Wide-View" active-matrix color LCD first implemented on the C-2020. It is much easier to view in all but the extremes of direct sunlight. The LCD is used to access the menus (see next page) and as a real-time viewfinder. It can be switched off to conserve battery power when using the conventional eyelevel viewfinder.


Olympus C-3000
The C-3000 sports a large and bright optical finder complete with a diopter control adjustment knob on the side.

The green LED indicates a focus lock and the amber LED tells you the status of the flash.



Olympus Camedia C-3000 Zoom

I'm happy to report that Olympus has finally done away with that battery door that required two hands and twelve fingers to close. The new door easily closes and latches securely shut with little to no effort. The bottom of the C-3000 is nice and flat and lends itself well to being mounted on a tripod.



Olympus Camedia C-3000 Zoom

The 3X zoom (32-96mm equivalent) is an 8-element, all-glass aspherical lens with continuous 2.5X digital telephoto. It's not as fast as the F2 lens on the C-2020 but it's still performs well in low light.

Aperture settings of F2.8 - F11 are selectable in 1/3 step increments. Autofocus or manual focus range is from 8" to infinity.

The lens base is threaded and accepts the optional Olympus CLA-1 lens adapter to attach filters or add-on lenses.



Olympus Camedia C-3000 Zoom

The mode dial is also the main power switch.   Recording modes include "P"rogram automatic, a choice of "A"perture priority, "S"hutter priority or full "M"anual operation (depends on how you set it up in the menu). And the QuickTime movie mode that also captures sound.

The shutter button has the zoom lens control built around it. It also functions as the zoomed playback and thumbnail control when in play mode.



Olympus Camedia C-3000 Zoom


Access to the SmartMedia memory card slot is via a door on the side.

The tiny cards are easily removed by means of a "push in and pop out" type of ejector mechanism.

The red LED illuminates when the card is being accessed and lets you know when it is unsafe to remove the card.

The C-3000Z accomodates any capacity 3.3v SmartMedia card and comes with an 8MB card.



Olympus Camedia C-3000 Zoom

The C-3000's I/O ports are neatly hidden behind an easy to access door on the side.

On the top is the DC input jack for the optional AC power adapter.

Next is the combination Video Out and Audio Out port for playback on a TV set.

New on the C-3000 is a high speed USB port for speedy download of those large, three megapixel images.

And last but not least, the RS-232 serial port for PC and Mac.



Olympus Camedia C-3000 Zoom




The C-3000 is equipped with a 5-pin sync port that allows connection to the high power Olympus FL-40 speedlight.

The benefits are longer range, bounce/tilt flash head and true TTL-controlled flash illumination.



Olympus Camedia C-3000 Zoom

A newly designed door makes changing the batteries a snap now compared to the tug of war we had with the C-2020 and C-2000 models. Flexible power options include four 1.5v alkaline or lithium AA cells, four 1.2v NiMH and NiCD rechargeable AA cells or two of the new CR-V3, long-life lithium cells.


What's in the box (N. America)?

The C-3000 ZOOM camera, a 8MB Olympus brand panorama SmartMedia card, remote control, 2 CR-3V Lithium batteries, lens cap, strap, USB cable for PC and Mac, video connection cable for TV or VCR, Olympus Camedia Master Utility Software, and instruction manuals.



Olympus Camedia C-3000 Zoom

Still my favorite "included" accessory, the infrared remote control. It not only controls the camera during playback, you can also use it to trip the shutter and work the zoom lens in record mode too.



Olympus Camedia C-3000 Zoom

The Olympus C-3000 Zoom and the all-black C-3030 Zoom






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Page Two




C-3000 Zoom Specifications

Model name Olympus Camedia C-3000 Zoom Digital Camera
Product Type Digital camera with 4.5cm/1.8-inch color TFT LCD monitor
Memory 3V (3.3V) SmartMedia (SSFDC) card (2MB, 4MB, 8MB, 16MB, 32MB and 64MB). One 8MB card including Panorama function is supplied with camera
Recording System Still image; JPEG (DCF: Design rule for Camera File system); TIFF (non-compressed); DPOF support (Digital Print Order Form rule); Motion picture; QuickTime movie JPEG with sound, 4 sec. of sound with still image; wave format
Number of storable pictures with 8MB SmartMedia card
  • 0: TIFF 2048x1536 uncompressed
  • 1: TIFF 1600x1200 uncompressed
  • 2: TIFF 1280x960 uncompressed
  • 3: TIFF 1024x768 uncompressed
  • 8: TIFF 640x480 uncompressed
  • 3 or more: SHQ 2048x1536; 2.7:1 JPEG
  • 10 or more: HQ 2048X1536; 8:1 JPEG
  • 5 or more: SQ1 high 1600x1200 low compression
  • 15 or more: SQ1 normal 1600x1200 std. compression
  • 8 or more: SQ1 high 1280x960 low compression
  • 24 or more: SQ1 normal 1280x960 std. compression
  • 13 or more: SQ2 high 1024x768 low compression
  • 38 or more: SQ2 normal 1024x768 std. compression
  • 33 or more: SQ2 high 640x480 low compression
  • 82 or more: SQ2 normal 640x480 std. compression
Image pickup element 1/1.8-inch CCD solid-state image pickup 3.34 million pixel (effective 3.24 million pixel) (Interlaced CCD-Square Pixels-CMYbG)
White balance iESP Multi-pattern full-auto TTL, manual (daylight, overcast, tungsten light, fluorescent light)
Lens Olympus lens 6.5-19.5mm 2.8, 8-elements in 6 groups (equivalent to 32-96mm lens on 35mm camera)
Digital Zoom 1-2.5x (continuous zooming from maximum optical zoom)
Photometric system Digital "ESP" Multi-pattern matrix metering system and spot metering
Exposure control Programmed auto exposure, aperture priority, shutter priority, +/- 2Ev by 1/3EV steps exposure compensation; auto bracketing: selectable from 1/3EV, 2/3EV and 1EV; 3 or 5 images; aperture priority: wide; F2.8-11.0, Tele: F2.8-11.0, 1/3EV steps; shutter priority: still image: 1-1/800sec. (used with mechanical shutter), 1/3EV steps; manual exposure: shutter speed up to 16 sec.; motion JPEG image mode: 1/30-1/10,000 sec.
ISO Auto, user selectable; 100, 200, 400 equivalent ISO
Focusing iESP Multi-pattern TTL system autofocus (contrast detection system) with focusing range: 8"/0.2m-(infinity)
Working range Standard mode: 30"/0.8-(infinity); macro mode: 8"/0.2-30"/0.8 m
Viewfinder Optical real-image viewfinder (close-up correction marks, autofocus mark/backlighting correction mark); LCD monitor
LCD monitor 4.5cm/1.8-inch wide-view color TFT LCD monitor with 114,000 pixels (made from low-temperature poly-silicon); brightness adjustment is possible
Flash modes Built-in flash: auto-flash (low- and back-light), red-eye reducing flash, off, fill-in; External terminal (FL-40): off, auto, foced-fill activation; Slow Synchronization: (first-curtain synchronization effect, second-curtain synchronization effect)
Flash working range Wide; appox. 0.8-5.6m, telephoto; approx. 0.2-3.8m (ISO 100)
Battery charging time for flash Less than 6 seconds (at normal temp. with new battery), LB-01 performs best
Sequence mode 1.2 frames per sec. up to 2 frames; 1.2 second shot to shot at all times (SQ and HQ only); 7 sec. between shots (SHQ-TIFF)
Motion picture mode Format: QuickTime "Movie" Motion JPEG; HQ: 320x240 pixels, 15 frame/sec. up to approx. 15 sec.; SQ: 160x120 pixels, 15 frame/sec. up to approx. 60 sec.
Image effect Sepia mode, B&W, Black board mode, White board mode
Self-timer/remote control 12-second delay/2 sec. with included RM-1 remote controller operation
Setting memorization Possible (hold or reset)
Outer connector DC input terminal, data input/output terminal (RS232C), USB interface; Video/Autio output terminal (NTSC), external flash terminal for FL-40 (optional cable)
Operating environment Operation: 0-40 C, 30-90%; Storage: -20-60 C, 10-90%
Power Supply Main power source: 2x lithium battery CR-V3 (LB-01) or 4 Olympus AA Ni-MH batteries/4 AA lithiium batteries/4 AA alkaline batteries/4 AA Ni-Cd batteries/Optional 7AU-AC adapter (Manganese batteries cannot be used)
Date/Time/Calendar Simultaneous recording onto image data
Automatic calendar system Up to year 2030
Dimensions 4.3-inch/109.5mm (W) x 3-inch/76.4 (H) x 2.6-inch/66.4 (D) (excluding projections)
Weight 10.6 oz./300 grams (without batteries and SmartMedia card)
Price $799.00





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