Steve's Digicams

Olympus

D-620L User Review




Review posted 10/21/99

  


Click to see a QuickTime 360-degree of the Olympus D-620L
Click to see a QuickTime VR of the D-620L


The Olympus D-620L (aka C-1400XL) is a true SLR (through the lens) digital camera with a 3X 9.2-28mm (36-110mm equivalent) f2.8-3.9 zoom lens. It features a 2/3-inch 1.4 megapixel CCD that yields brilliant 1280x1024 images. Pictures are stored in one of three JPEG compression levels, sorry there's no uncompressed mode.

It looks exactly like its sibling D-600L (C-1400L) but thanks to a large internal RAM buffer and improved image processing hardware you can now fire off a series of five shots (at any resolution) in less than 2 seconds.

The user can choose either center-weighted (default) metering or a very accurate spot metering mode. New on the D-620 is a standard PC sync connector that allows the use of external flash units.



Olympus D-620L


The rear of the camera sports easy to reach control bottons and the access to the Smartmedia card compartment. The 1.8-inch color LCD can not be used as a viewfinder, it's for image review and accessing the options menu. This camera has no video out feature so there will be none of my usual screen captures of the menus.



Olympus D-620L


On the bottom we find the (plastic) tripod socket and the access to the lithium clock battery. Thankfully, we do not find the main battery compartment here which is good news for tripod users and a common placement error on the part of many manufacturers.



Olympus D-620L


That big snout on the front holds a 3x optical all-glass 9.2-28mm (36-110mm 35mm equivalent) aspherical zoom lens. In wideangle it has a relatively fast F2.8 maximum aperture.



Olympus D-620L


The lens is threaded for 43mm filters and add-on lenses. Here we see the D-620 sporting a Raynox 4X closeup lens.



Olympus D-620L


This eyelevel viewfinder gives you a large and bright view directly through the lens. The angle of coverage is about 95% of the captured image. There's a dioptric adjustment knob on the side and two LED lights to indicate focus and flash status.




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Olympus D-620L Digital Camera Specifications
Image pickup: 1,410,000 pixel, 2/3 in. CCD solid-state image pickup element.
Recording image: 1280 x 1024 pixels (SHQ min. comp.). 1280 x 1024 pixels (HQ/std. comp.). 640 x 512 pixels (SQ/std. comp.).
Number of storable Frames on 8 MB card: 8 shots (SHQ mode). 24 or more (HQ mode). 99 or more (SQ mode).
Image types: Standard JPEG.
Erasing: One-frame erase/All-frame erase.
White balance: Full auto TTL and 6-step manual color balance (3,000K - 6,500K).
Memory: 3.3V SmartMedia 8 MB (2/4/8/16MB - 32MB requires update).
Lens: Olympus aspherical zoom.
Focal length: 9.2 - 28mm (equivalent to 36 - 110 mm on a 35 mm camera).
Aperture: W: f2.8, f5.6. T: f3.9, f7.8.
Construction: 7 elements in 7 groups.
Range: 1 ft. ~ 2 ft.. (macro mode). 2 ft. ~ infinity (standard mode).
Quick focus modes (T=Full Telephoto, W= Full Wide): T: 14.5 in. ~ 17 in., W: 12 in. ~ 26 in.
T: 7 ft. ~ 10 ft., W: 4 ft. ~ infinity.
T: 25 ft. ~ infinity, W: 6 ft. ~ infinity.
Autofocus: Contrast detection TTL autofocus system.
Focus range: 1 ft. - infinity.
Shutter: 1/4 - 1/10,000 sec. (electronic shutter).
Burst shooting mode: 5 shots at 3.3 fps.
Sensitivity: Equivalent to ISO 100.
Exposure control: Program auto exposure with +/- 2-step exposure compensation in 1-step increments for use in both flash and ambient exposure.
Photometric system: TTL average-weighted and spot-metering system.
Electronic flash:  
Working range: W: 1 ft. - 12 ft. T: 1 ft. - 8 ft.
Charging time: Approx. 8 sec. (at normal temperature with new batteries).
Flash modes: Auto-flash (automatic flash activation in lowlight and backlight), Red-Eye Reducing flash, Off (no flash), Fill-in (forced activation), Fill-in flash with extension flash only.
Viewfinder: SLR (single lens reflex) (with AF & spot meter mark) 95% centered view of actual picture field.
Dioptric correction: For viewfinder sharpness.
LCD monitor: 1.8 in. TFT color LCD display.
On-screen display: Date/time, frame number, protect, one/all, print, error code, menu.
Control panel: Indicates recording mode, number of remaining pictures, card error, flash modes, self-timer, battery check, macro mode, spot metering mode, exposure compensation, manual white balance and shooting mode.
Self-timer: Electronic self-timer with 12-sec. delay.
Other connectors: AC adapter, computer/printer connector (RS-222C), video output, PC (external) flash.
Date and time: Record with picture.
Automatic calendar: Up to 2017.
Direct print (opt. with Olympus Personal Photo Printer): Single print, index prints, multi-prints, mirror prints, date stamp print, 16-up prints, selected image print.
Operating environment:  
Temperature: 22 - 104°F/0 - 40°C (operation). -4 - 140°F/-20 - 60°C (storage).
Humidity: 20 - 90% (operation). 10 - 90% (storage).
Power supply: Camera comes with four NiMH batteries and charger and can also use alkaline or NiCd batteries. Manganese and lithium batteries cannot be used.
Low power mode: Fully integrated user selectable.
Dimensions: 4.5(W) x 2.2(H) x 5.1(D) in.
Weight: 16.6oz. (without batteries/card).
Software: Adobe® PhotoDeluxe˜ (Mac/PC). Enroute Quickstitch˜ (Mac/PC). Olympus Camedia Master (Mac/PC).
System requirements: CD-ROM drive. 24 MB RAM or greater. 75 MB free hard drive space. Monitor with 256 colors (millions of colors recommended). 640 x 480 screen resolution.
Windows compatible: Windows 95, 98, NT 4.0
Standard RS-222 Interface (D-SUB 9-pin connector).  
Macintosh®/Mac˜ OS compatible: 68040 CPU or later. Mac OS 7.5 or later.






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