Product Reviews

Until last month, the Olympus Camedia C-840L's (reviewed issue 47, p167) position of best-of-class in the mega-pixel digital camera market appeared to be secure. Its credentials include a raft of excellent features, ease of use, great picture quality and, above all, excellent value for money. Last month, however, Minolta, a heavyweight in the traditional photography market, threw down a serious challenge with the launch of its DimÅge EX Zoom 1500 (reviewed issue 53, p177), which at the time mustered the best image quality I'd seen from a digital camera. What let it down was its price - almost twice that of a Camedia C-840L. Not wishing to rest on its laurels, Olympus has launched the C-900 Zoom, a camera that is similar in appearance to the C-840L but boasts a true 2x optical zoom as opposed to its older sibling's purely digital one.

Ergonomically, my initial reaction to the C-900 Zoom was very positive. Its compact form factor is comfortable to both hold and operate. The zoom control in particular - a thumb-operated rocker switch on the top-right of the camera body - provides an excellent means of varying the optical setup of the lens. As with the rest of Olympus' digital compacts, switching the camera on entails sliding a protective lens cover to the right. For the absent-minded, this integral lens cover is a great idea.

What I wasn't too fond of, however, was the fact that you need to slide the cover back to switch the camera off, as it's only too easy to hit the lens as it retracts. Another minor gripe concerns the flash: when not in use it folds down, neatly out of the way, then when you want to use it you just flip it up and off you go. However, I found that when holding the Camedia, I inadvertently blocked the flash with my left finger.

Like most of today's digital cameras, the C-900 Zoom is equipped with a rear-facing LCD for framing and managing stored images. Tasks such as setting image quality, formatting the camera's SmartMedia, and reviewing pictures is a doddle thanks to a clear GUI with sharp icons that are easily navigable via buttons on the camera's rear. For close analysis of stored images, the Camedia boasts a handy Magnification mode. In Capture mode, the screen's high refresh rate makes framing shots much easier than with the Casio QV-7000SX (reviewed issue 52, p180), for example, which produced a psychedelic blurring effect when moved rapidly.

Technically, the Camedia C-900 Zoom and the C-840L both pack CCDs with the same number of pixels, namely 1,280 « 960. Perhaps predictably then, both delivered similar test results. Although the C-900 Zoom is a solid performer capable of crisp, sharp and well-coloured images, I found it difficult to detect any major improvement in picture quality between it and the C-840L, as at close-up range

ADVERTISEMENT

and at shorter distances image quality proved virtually identical. Of course, when it comes to longer distance photography, the zoom does make a difference and maintains a noticeably sharper image.

Comparing the same images to similar ones taken with the Minolta DimÅge and the remarkable Canon PowerShot Pro 70 was a more telling test. Close examination using Photoshop to zoom into a given area revealed that both the Minolta and the Canon were the stronger performers, capturing a greater breadth of detail more crisply than the C-900. But then you have to remember that you do pay through the nose for this extra quality as they both cost almost £450 more than the C-900 Zoom.

Once you've taken all your images, they can be transferred using the supplied serial cable and software. All you have to do is install the application, connect the camera and all the captured images are thumbnailed and ready to download. The whole process is gratifyingly straightforward.

The Olympus Camedia C-900 Zoom builds well on the strengths of the C840-L and, although it isn't revolutionary, it marks a solid evolution in terms of functionality. Technology moves on quickly, however, and even though the C-900 Zoom is much cheaper than its rivals from Canon and Minolta, it has been left behind in the quality stakes.

Once you've taken your pictures, it's fair to assume that you'll want to print them out. There are plenty of inkjet printers claiming photographic quality capabilities, but they're not the only solution as there are also several specialist printers aimed specifically at producing hard copy directly from digital cameras.

The Camedia P330-E, a dye-sublimation printer, is one of the most recent offerings in this area and is intended as a companion product to Olympus' similarly-named range of cameras. Unlike most inkjets, the printer doesn't demand that you own a PC; instead, you insert your SmartMedia card into a slot in the front, connect the printer's video-out feed from your TV or video, select the image you want, hit the print button - and away you go.

The process is clearly simpler than going via a PC first, but what of the print quality? It is generally believed that the dye-sublimation process used by the Olympus P-330E is capable of producing photographic quality that is better than anything inkjet technology can muster. To investigate this, I pitted it against the Epson Stylus Photo 750 (reviewed p165).

Comparing the same grassy park scene showed that the Olympus had the upper hand in that the greens, browns and stone colours were more natural looking. The Epson, although impressive, looked a little washed out and pale by comparison. Detail, too, was sharper on the Olympus, and very close examination revealed that the Epson possessed a slightly grainy quality.

However, the Olympus did miss some of the tonal variation in the clouds and could only produce very small images, just 113 « 84mm in size. The Epson is also far more flexible. Furthermore, at £340 compared to £232 for the 750, the Olympus P-330E is more expensive to both buy and run, with costs of 57p per print compared to the Epson's quoted bottom line of 33p.

From a purely practical point of view, the Epson generally represents the better option. It's both a capable office workhorse and an excellent printer. More pertinently, it also costs less than the Olympus.