The
Olympus C-5050Z has been awaited with interest since it was announced
last October. 5 megapixel, a 3X optical zoom and compatible with xD, SmartMedia,
CompactFlash Type 1 and Microdrives, the C-5050 offers great versatility.
Although a new design, the C-5050 continues some of the design cues that
give a family resemblance to the C-series cameras.
The
C-5050 is clad in magnesium alloy with a black texture finish, front and
back. It has a rubberized grip, and most notably, a flip out, articulated,
LCD screen.
The
1.8 inch LCD monitor is first pulled out by its upper part, making it
point down, a perfect position for overhead shots, such as required to
shoot in a crowd. Next, the lower portion can be pulled out gradually,
providing 3 intermediate positions on the way to becoming totally horizontal
— perfect for ground level shots such as macros.
The
upper portion of the C-5050's right side features redesigned controls.
First, the Power switch is set immediately below the Mode Dial and is
a separate control. Below is a new — new for a C-series camera to
be precise — Jog Dial, a wheel control similar to the one
used on the back of the E-20. The Jog Dial provides a simple way to change
settings with the thumb, while pressing one of the many external controls
of the camera.
The
top right of the C-5050, with a chrome shutter release wrapped by the
zoom control, is more traditional "C". However, between it and
the Mode Dial, the C-5050 adds 2 more buttons.
Each button calls up a special menu presenting its options, which are
cycled through using the Jog Dial. Starting on the left, in the recording
mode, the buttons provide for:
Controls
the Self Timer (12 seconds), and the Remote Control.
The
infrared remote control is included with the camera.
The
Custom Button is set to control the Drive mode (Single Frame,
High Speed Sequential Shooting, Sequential Shooting, and Auto Bracketing).
The button can be reconfigured for a number of other functions.
While
in playback these same buttons serve to:
Rotate:
allows rotating a photo in 90° increments.
All
Frames Reservation: is used to print all the photos on a memory
card, or select which specific photo will be printed. The number
of prints to make of each, and whether or not the time and date
will be imprinted on the image can be selected individually or globally.
Between
these controls and the flash hotshoe, the C-5050 provides a status display
which indicates most camera settings and decreases the reliance on the
LCD monitor. The display not only shows critical photographic settings
such as aperture and shutter speed, it also shows most other settings,
covering metering, file format, bracketing, memory card in use, sound
recording, etc.
The
Mode Dial provides 12 positions, ranging from the standard shooting
modes, to scene modes, a movie mode and playback:
Program
Mode: the camera sets the aperture and shutter speed. Other
functions such as flash and drive modes can be adjusted.
Aperture
Priority: lets the user set the aperture while the camera handles
the shutter speed.
Shutter
Priority: lets the user set the shutter speed while the camera
selects the aperture.
Manual
Mode: provides complete control over all camera settings.
My
Mode: provides 8 "my mode" memories , each of which
can be used to recall presets for every setting available on the
C-5050.
Moreover, 5 situation-related modes (scene modes) can be selected:
Night
Scene Shooting: allows fuss-free night shots. The C-5050 selects
an appropriate shutter speed for the scene, noise reduction, and
sets the white balance appropriately.
Landscape
Shooting: is to record both foreground and a distant background
in focus. Blues and greens are slightly emphasized.
Landscape
+ Portrait Shooting: similar to the Landscape mode, both foreground
and background are maintained in focus through the use of a smaller
aperture, but without the extra emphasis of blues and greens.
Sports
Shooting: automatically selects a high shutter speed to capture
fast moving action.
Portrait
Shooting: uses a wide aperture to achieve a sharp subject and
a blurred background.
Movie
Mode: serves to record videos with, or without, sound. Focusing
is automatically set to continuous mode, but if sound is recorded
the optical zoom is disabled during the recording. However, if the
digital zoom is enabled, it can be used. Two frame sizes are offered,
HQ (320 x 240 pixels) and SQ (160 x 120 pixels), and the recording
time is as long as there is space on the memory card.
Playback
Mode: plays photos and videos recorded and provides editing
controls. (See the Characteristics section of the review).
As part of the extra external controls available on the C-5050, the left
side of the C-5050's top offers:
Controls
the Auto focus mode when used in conjunction with the OK button
at the centre of the 4-direction control on the back of the camera.
The up and down arrows are then used to select from iESP, or Spot
AF. When used in combination with the Jog Dial, the button calls
up a screen (see below) that offers a selection for Macro Mode,
Super Macro Mode, Super Macro Mode with Manual focus, or Manual
Focus.
Directly
behind the AF button, another button serves to select the metering pattern:
Digital
ESP metering evaluates the centre of the subject and the surrounding
area separately. Spot metering bases the exposure on the
AF target area. Multi-metering allows memorizing the readings
for up to 8 different points from which an average is then determined.
While in
playback:
the
button can be used to protect images.
The
upper left side of the C-5050 supports 2 other buttons, placed near the
diopter adjustment of the viewfinder:
Exposure
Compensation: provides for ± 2EV in 1/3 EV increments when
used with the Jog Dial. In the Manual Mode, the exposure
compensation button and the Jog Dial control apertures, while the
Jog Dial by itself controls the shutter speed.
Flash
Modes: are also selected by turning the Jog Dial. The modes provided
are Auto, Red-eye Reduction, Forced On, Forced Off, Slow Synch.
Furthermore, when Slow Synchronization is selected, pressing the
OK button presents another menu which offers 3 possible slow synch
modes: Slow 1 which has a front curtain synch, Slow 2 which is a
rear curtain synch, and Slow 1 with red-eye reduction.
Finally, when both the exposure compensation and the flash buttons are
pressed simultaneously, flash compensation can be set:
Flash
Compensation: adjustable over ± 2EV in 1/3 EV increments.
The remainder of the external controls on the C-5050 are traditionally
placed on the right side of the LCD monitor:
Auto
Exposure Lock: lock the exposure temporarily, avoiding the need
to hold and maintain the shutter release halfway down. The AEL button
is also used when doing Multi-metering.
Single
Frame Delete for an image displayed on the screen in playback.
Monitor:
turns on or off the monitor; and if pressed twice in quick succession,
enters the playback mode.
OK
and Menu: placed at the centre of the arrow pad, the button calls
up a shortcut screen, and the options specific to the mode in use;
and is used to confirm selections.
Serves
to switch between memory cards.
The C-5050
is an important redesign of Olympus' C camera series. The most
notable improvement is the addition of function-specific external controls,
replacing the often time-consuming process of accessing the menu, finding
the needed option and changing its setting.
Still,
although the external buttons are easy to use, the occasional use of dual
functions for a single button — for example changing the position
of the AF point — has replaced one complex procedure by another.
Single uses for each of the new buttons in the recording mode might have
been preferable.
The
infrared remote control is included with the camera.
