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Jumping
from a 5 megapixel to a 7 megapixel, the Olympus Camedia
C-7070 Wide Zoom is the next incarnation of the C-5060,
a camera that was very well-received at the beginning of
2004.
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The
monitor is designed with a double-jointed hinge that allows
it to arc up or down through 180°, and which allows the
screen to rotate around its hinge point by up to 270°.
This rotation allows the screen to be positioned either facing
in, or facing out on the back of the camera, or when the
hinge is used to raise the monitor above the camera, have
it face back or front.
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As
noted above, the other two chromed buttons serve for the
Self-timer and remote control function, and to select a drive
mode. Control Dial, a wheel control embedded
below the Mode dial, which also serves to select a number
of other settings.
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 Controls
the Self Timer (12 seconds), or allows for the
use of the optional Remote Control. |
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In
Playback the button serves to rotate an image in 90° increments. |
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By
default this button controls the Drive mode which
serves to select:
- Single
shot mode: the default.
- High
Speed Sequential shooting, which captures up to
2 frames at 2.5 frames per second.
- Sequential
Shooting, which captures up to 11 frames at 1.1
frames per second.
- AF
sequential shooting, which adjusts the focus from
each frame (slower than the other modes).
- Auto
Bracketing which can be used to bracket exposure
over 3 or 5 frames and ±2EV in 1/3 EV increments.
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In
Playback, the button calls up the Print Reservation screen,
used to select the photos that will be printed. The number
of prints to make of any one image, and whether or not
the time and date will be imprinted on the image can
be selected. Moreover, photos can be cropped so that
only the selected portion is printed. The C7070 is PictBridge
compatible, and can be used to print directly to a PictBridge
enabled printer via USB. In addition, the camera supports
the standard DPOF tags and is Print Image Matching II
compliant. |
Finally,
if these two buttons are pressed for more than 3 seconds
when the camera is on, they act as a Reset returning
all camera settings to their defaults. In
addition, the Custom button can be configured to
access any one of 19 other functions through an option
of the Setup menu.
The Mode
Dial of the C-7070 provides 8 positions, fewer than
were available with the C5060, as it combines the Scene
modes into a single dial position:
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Program
Mode: lets the C-7070 choose both aperture
and shutter speed, while all other functions remain
available to the user.
Program
Shift is engaged by using the up arrow of
the 4-direction controller on the back of the
camera. The Program Shift mode allows the user
to select alternative combinations of aperture
and shutter speeds that would also result in
a correctly exposed image, but which would exhibit
either greater depth of field, or control over
the way movement is captured.
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Aperture
Priority: lets the user set the aperture while
the camera handles the shutter speed. An aperture range
starting at f2.8 when the lens is at the wide angle
setting and f4.8 at the telephoto end extends for both
to f11. |
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Shutter
Priority: lets the user set the shutter speed while
the camera selects the aperture. A shutter speed range
that covers from 1/2000 second down to 4 seconds is
available. |
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Manual
Mode: provides complete control over all camera
settings; with an aperture range from f2.8 through
to f11, and a shutter speed range from 1/4000 second
to 15 seconds. In addition, the Manual mode offers
a Bulb mode with a maximum exposure time of 120 seconds,
which requires the use of the optional wired remote
control (RM-CB1 and of the Power Battery Holder (B-HLD20)
or a very steady pressure on the shutter release to
be used. |
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My
Mode: provides 4 memory locations which
store complete sets of shooting mode and setting preferences.
Turning the Mode Dial to the My Mode position immediately
displays a screen from which any 1 of the 4 memory
locations can be selected. |
The
C-7070 can be used to capture video clips using the Movie mode:
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Four
frame sizes are offered on the c-7070:
- SHQ:
640 x 480 pixels at 30 frames per second, limited
to a 20 second-long clip.
- HQ:
640 x 480 pixels at 15 frames per second, limited
only by the capacity of the card in use.
- SQ1:
320 x 240 pixels at 30 frames per second, limited
only by the capacity of the card in use.
- SQ2:
320 x 240 pixels at 15 frames per second, limited
only by the capacity of the memory card in use.
Videos
can be captured with or without sound. If sound
is recorded the optical zoom and continuous focusing
are disabled, but the digital zoom can be used.
If sound is not recorded, then the optical zoom
can be used, and the autofocus can be set to be
continuous.
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Set
to the Scene position, the default setting for the
camera is that it automatically displays the Scene selection
option of the main menu, a setting which can be changed
in the Setup section of the menu. A total of 7
Scene modes are offered:
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Portrait:
uses a wide aperture to achieve a sharp subject and
a blurred background, an effect which is emphasized
if the zoom is used. |
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Sports:
automatically selects a high shutter speed to capture
fast moving action. |
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Landscape
+ Portrait: 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. |
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Landscape:
is to record both foreground and a distant background
in focus. Blues and greens are slightly emphasized. |
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Night
Scene: requires the use of a tripod, and allows
an exposure time of up to 4 seconds to capture night
scenery. The flash remains useable. |
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Underwater
Wide: intended for use with the optional underwater
housing (PT-027), the mode compensates for the shift
in colour with photos captured underwater. |
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Underwater
Macro: also intended for use with the optional
underwater housing (PT-027), the mode is designed to
record close-ups of fish or other marine life. |
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The
last mode that can be selected on the dial is the Playback
mode  .
On
the left side of the C-7070's top, 2 buttons are positioned
near the external flash shoe. As with the buttons near
the shutter release, these two also display a short menu
on the LCD monitor, and the desired setting is selected
using the Control Dial:
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Selects
the Focus Mode:
AF is
the normal auto focus mode.
Macro
Focus ( ):
allows the camera to focus on a subject 20 cm (7.8
in.) from the front of the lens.
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AF: is a new feature, which maintains focus
by calculating the distance towards or away from
the camera that a moving subject is traveling,
and adjusts the focus accordingly.
Manual
Focus: allows adjusting the focus from 20 cm
(7.8 in.) to infinity. A distance scale is shown
on the monitor, and focus is adjusted using the
up/down arrows of the arrow pad while the focus
point is magnified on the monitor.
Super
Macro mode ( ):
sets the zoom to a precise position and locks it.
The Super Macro mode provides a focusing distance
of 3cm (1.17 in.) to infinity.
Super
Macro mode with Manual focus ( ):
offers the Super Macro range, but with manual focusing.
Beyond
these settings, pressing the OK button while
the AF mode selection is on the screen displays additional
settings for: Focus Mode, which repeats the
options listed above; AF Mode, which offers iESP or Spot,
the latter allowing the focus point to be moved anywhere
in the frame by holding in the button
while moving the focus point with the 4-direction
control; and Full Time AF which provides the
choice of On or Off.
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The
other button, closer to the C-7070's back, controls the
metering:
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ESP is
an averaging pattern that meters the centre of the
subject and the surrounding area separately.
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Spot
metering meters the AF target area.
Multi-metering allows
memorizing the readings for up to 8 different points
from which an average is then determined.
Centre-weighted
metering meters the entire frame with emphasis
on the centre.
In
playback the metering button can be used to protect
images  so
they cannot be accidentally erased.
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Two
other buttons are aligned vertically on the edge of the
camera's left side:
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 Exposure
Compensation provides for ± 2EV in 1/3
EV or 1/2EV increments, and the increment itself,
1/3 or 1/2 EV, is selected in the Setup menu.
In
addition, in the Manual shooting mode, the button
serves to set the aperture when used in combination
with the Control Dial, while the shutter speed
is set using the Control Dial exclusively.
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The
other button is dedicated to the flash  modes
and it too displays a short menu and the choice is made
using the Control Dial.
Five
flash settings are available:
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Auto;
Red-eye Reduction; Forced On; Forced Off; Slow Synch.
And, with the Slow Synch mode, there are three possible
settings: Slow 1 which has a front curtain synch, Slow
1 with red-eye reduction, and Slow 2 which is a rear
curtain synch.
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Moreover,
pressing these two buttons ( and )
while turning the Control Dial allows setting Flash
Compensation:
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Flash
Compensation has a range of ± 2EV in
1/3 EV increments and the Control Dial is used
to select the level of compensation from the on-screen
display.
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On
the right side of the monitor, and near the right side
of the viewfinder, the C-7070 provides two controls for:
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Auto
Exposure Lock: locks the exposure temporarily, avoiding
the need to hold and maintain the shutter release halfway
down. The AEL button also serves to perform Multi
Metering (see above), memorizing each of the 8
readings that can be done.
And,
with the camera in the Playback mode, the
button serves to delete or erase ( )
unwanted photos.
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The
next button is labeledQuick View, and it serves to
provide an instant access to the playback mode, and show
the last captured image on the monitor. With the camera in
the QUick View mode, all the functions of the full Playback
mode are accessible, but the user can return to the shooting
mode instantly by either pressing the Quick View button a
second time, or touching the Shutter release.
Below
the Quick View button is the Display/Info button, which has
a function in both the Recording and Playback modes:
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The
Monitor button controls the information overlaid on the
screen. In addition, if enabled in the menu, the monitor
button can be used to display a screen that shows all
current camera settings, if the function is enabled in
the Setup menu (see the Interface and Software section
of the review for more information). |
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In
playback, the button controls the level of information
about an image that is shown on the monitor. Four distinct
steps are available, each selected as part of a cycle
incremented each time the button is pressed. To start
with, the camera superimposes basic information about
the shot: storage media, file name, resolution, shooting
date and time and image number within the images on
the card.
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Pressing
the button changes the information, adding the image
size, aperture, shutter speed, exposure compensation,
white balance and ISO, in addition to the aforementioned
data.
Pressing
the button once more changes the display so that
it shows a thumbnail of the photo with a histogram
below, and the most pertinent shooting data on the
right.
Finally,
pressing the button once more clears all superimposed
information from the image.
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OK,
the button at the centre of the arrow pad that is used
to navigate the menus and images when the camera is in
Playback mode, starts by presenting a set of four shortcuts,
one of which is an access to the full menu. Moreover,
the button also serves to confirm some settings or choices,
such as formatting a memory card. (See the Characteristics
section for more information about the C-7070's menu
system.) |
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The
last external control of the C-7070 is the CF/xD button:
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Selects
the memory card to use. The C-7070 Wide Zoom is compatible
with both CompactFlash memory cards, and Olympus' own xD
Picture Card format. (See the Characteristics
section of the review for more details.) |
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The
C-7070 is equipped with a flash shoe that is fully compatible
with Olympus FL series flash units such as the FL-50
or FL-36 which is shown below. The flash shoe can also be
used with third party flash units when the camera is used
in Manual mode.
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The
ergonomic design of the C-7070 is quite good. Controls are
generally well-positioned, and easily reached. In addition,
the manufacturer has provided for an optical viewfinder — with
a rubber eyepiece to prevent scratching glasses — and
equipped it with a diopter correction, making it possible
to adjust its image to one's eyesight.
The
ergonomic design of the C-7070, just like that of the C-5060
before it, works.
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Introduction
side;
or reveal other photos captured by the camera when pushed
to the 
side,
which presents either 4, 9 or 16 thumbnails of the photos,
as determined by a setting in the Setup menu.
