- 4-megapixel sensor captures 2,272 x 1,704 images for prints at sizes up to 11 x 14 inches
- Bright f1.8 autofocus lens with 3x optical plus 2.5x digital (7.5x total) zoom
- Included 16 MB Smartmedia card holds 20 images at default resolution
- Automatically connects with Macs and PCs via included USB cable
- Uses 2 CR-V3 lithium batteries (included) or 4 AA batteries
Product Description
You’ve read about 4 million pixels. You’ve seen outstanding digital images. You’ve heard about auto-connecting USB. Now you can experience them all in one blockbuster of a digital camera that is the Olympus C-4040 Zoom. This state-of-the-art compact digital camera includes a 4.1-megapixel CCD and couples with Olympus’s newly-developed lens, designed differently than a traditional film lens and allowing every pixel to be properly filled, to help you achieve amazingly detailed and brilliantly colorful photographic results. When you want to repeat these stunning results even in low-light situations, simply take advantage of the C-4040 Zoom’s super bright 3x optical zoom lens and rest – assured your images will come out exceptionally crisp and clear.When it’s time to print or e-mail those great pictures, just hook up the C-4040 Zoom to any computer with a USB port and current operating system and the computer will instantly recognize and connect it automatically for quick and easy downloading of images, without the need for additional software or drivers. It’s easy to use. It takes great pictures. And it’s digital. It’s the CAMEDIA C-4040 Zoom… a camera that definitely lives up to the hype.Amazon.com Product Description
The Olympus C-4040 Zoom succeeds the C-3040, and ushers the C-series into the 4-million pixels category. With a 1/1.8-inch, 4.1-megapixel CCD sensor, the camera produces images at up to 2,272 x 1,704, for a printed size of 11-by-14 inches. For further pixel depth, Optimum Image Enlargement mode (OIE) digitally interpolates JPEG images up to 3,200 x 2,400 pixels. Images can also be recorded in uncompressed TIFF format. The included removable 16 MB SmartMedia card stores 20 images at 2,048 x 1,536. You can record movies with sound in QuickTime movie mode; the highest quality clip captures at 320 x 240 pixels and 15 frames per second. For added personalization, you can attach four-second audio memos to still images in-camera, and rerecord audio over images with the included Camedia Master software.
The superbright and ultrafast f1.8 Olympus aspherical zoom lens offers a 35-105mm range (35mm equivalent) with a 3x optical zoom and an additional 2.5x digital zoom. Along with manual focus, the lens features TTL iESP contrast-detection autofocus with a normal focus ranging from 0.8-meters to infinity, and macro from 0.2 to 0.8 meters. Information is displayed on the main color LCD and top-positioned LCD screen. The color LCD screen measures 1.8 inches diagonally with a 114,000-pixel capacity and includes a brightness adjustment. You can use either the color viewfinder or optical, real-image viewfinder for shooting.
The camera offers complete control and versatility, a key point coveted by the advanced photographer. You set exposure to automatic or manual with three modes: programmed autoexposure, aperture priority auto, and shutter priority auto. ISO sensitivity adjusts to automatic or manual with selectable equivalent ISO ratings: 100, 200, and 400. This camera also features ESP, spot, and multispot light metering; burst-mode at two frames per second for up to eight frames; and in-camera sharpness settings.
The all-black camera body includes a rubberized lens barrel and a grip for all-weather durability. The rubber lens barrel protects the lens when the lens cap is off, while a tethered line ensures the lens cap never gets lost. The built-in flash includes six modes: automatic, low, and backlight; red-eye reduction; fill-in; forced off; slow shutter synchronization, first curtain and second curtain; and red-eye reduction with slow shutter synch. The external flash terminal permits automatic, forced on, forced off, and a variety of optional extension cables for PC sync flash.
The camera requires power from one of three choices: two included 3V lithium-battery packs; four AA batteries, not included; or continuous power via AC adapter, not included. The AutoConnect USB port allows for easy connectivity to any computer without the need to install drivers (except for Windows 98). Since the camera is recognized as a storage drive, you use the familiar drag-and-drop functionality, too.
The camera package includes a 16 MB SmartMedia card, (2) LB-01 CR-V3 lithium battery pack, RM-1 wireless remote control, A/V output cable, USB cable, shoulder strap, and lens cap with retaining cord. The bundled software is Camedia Master Software and Adobe Photoshop LE. Olympus covers the camera for one year on parts and labor.
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Olympus Camedia C-4040 4MP Digital Camera w/ 3x Optical Zoom
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This makes the third camera in the Camedia series that I’ve purchased. (I had the 2000Z and the 3030Z too.) I’ve found that I can sell my older models (about 16 months) after I purchased them, to family and friends for just over 50% of the original purchase price… making the net cost of the new upgrade about ….
Although the older models took good pictures, each upgrade was easier to use and took sharper pictures. (I have about 6 gig of pictures over the last 3 years.) The model 4040 is again, a giant leap forward in ease of use and picture clarity. For example: at normal portrait distances 5 to 7 feet, without any zoom… after you download the pic into the computer, you can zoom in and literally count the number of eyelashes on the person. This is a result of the high number megapixels AND the Olympus quality lens that has been specifically designed for their digital CCDs.
When choosing a digital camera there is a trade-off. On one side you can get cameras with as much as a 20x optical zoom (but it adds considerable size and weight). On the other side of the trade-off is that you can get something small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, like the 4040 (but only have a 3x optical zoom). I think the best compromise is to get a small digital camera with the most megapixels, then take the pictures with the 3x optical zoom, download the image to the computer and zoom/crop the picture (on the computer) without concern of loosing detail (because of the high megapixels). The Olympus 4040 fits this alternative.
Although I think it is one of the best digital cameras on the market, there is always room for improvement. To make this camera better I’d:
1. Include removable NiMH batteries with an in-camera charger adapter. (My purchased add on NiMH batteries that last for around 70 pics per charge.)
2. Although the CCD is rated at 4.1 megapixels, the camera records about 3.8 megapixels…. Why? Where did the other 0.3 megapixles go?
3. Included is a 16meg smartmedia card. This is only enough for about 20 pics. A 128meg card runs about … and can store more than 160 pics per card. Add a few bucks to the camera and give us a usable card.
4. Since the user manual is about ½ inch thick, you think you have plenty of detailed instructions. Then you realize only 1/8 inch of the manual is in English (the rest is in five or six other languages). And, what is in the manual, does not give sufficient detail about many of the various options. (You have to read/study the instructions on the included CD to get an idea of what many of these functions mean/do.)
Rating: 5 / 5
I admit to buying each of the Olympus cameras in this series, starting with the C2000. And just about the time I discover what features I really want, Olympus brings out a new model with just those features. Fortunately, I have a hand-me-down system that puts the previous models into good hands.
And the models in this series do get better and better. This latest model has some significant improvements, not the least being a greatly improved menu system.
To start, this is nominally a 4.1MP camera, though I believe the effective pixel count is on the order of 3.87. No matter, it’s now at the point where you can make truly superb 8×10 prints with todays’s best inkjet photo printers or Oly’s own dye sub printer, which is probably the best you can do at home. And as if that were not enough, Olympus supplies this camera with an interpolated mode that creates a gaint 7,680,000 pixel file. I haven’t had time to try that yet, since I am wary of these interpolated modes.
The extra pixels are welcome, as is the very fast F1.8 lens. This is probably the same lens that was introduced on the C3040, one of the few cameras in this series I didn’t get. Glad to have waited until there was a bit more on offer than just a fast lens. The extra speed lets you shoot more often at 100 ISO, and also give you more selective focus when you need it. It’s a worthy improvement.
Perhaps the most welcome improvement is the new menu system, which lets you use configurable top-level short cuts to get to the most used settings. I used to fumble when I wanted to change from one picture size or quality to another. Fumble again when I wanted to tone down the flash power. Now I can put these settings at the top level, where I can find and set them easily. You can also change the function of a new button marked AEL, which comes preset to lock an exposure when you want to expose for something that would ordinarily be overwhelmed by other contrasting elements. Since this function is so useful, I decided not to change its setting, but you could configure it to do something you do more often.
For next time? I still want the top LCD to be dimly backlit — which it isn’t. I also want the attached lens cap not to cause the camera to hemorrhage internally — which it does. I still want the camera to come with NiMh batteries and charger — which it doesn’t (any more). And I still wish they would supply either no memory card or one of a decent size — which they don’t. A manual that actually explain the advanced functions also wouldn’t hurt. What is pixel mapping? Don’t ask the manual, I still don’t know.
All in all, I believe this is the best compact digital camera you can get. It has plenty of pixel power, lots of manual and semi-manual settings, a great new lens and a quick and intuitive menu system. Unless you need an SLR, with its bulk, complexity and weight, this is the camera to get for best quality results.
Rating: 5 / 5
In the before time, long long ago, I had a Panasonic Coolpix. This horrible [camera] took 640×480 pictures, had no flash, 2 shutter speeds, a light filter, and came with a 2MB compact flash card…after this nightmare, I purchased a then just-released Olympus C2000 zoom — first generation, no USB, and an 8mb smart media card. After 2 long years of service, thousands of really really cool pictures, and much abuse, I sold the camera to a friend and decided to upgrade. The experience with Olympus was quite pleasant; I knew I wanted
one again. After looking at the 3040, I decided to go all-out and get the latest/greatest, and so I have the C4040. 4.1 megapixels of glory. Quicktime video with sound. More pro-photography toys than you can shake a Pentax 35mm at. I LOVE THIS THING. You can take pictures in black & white, sepia, black/white board, you can take panoramas, you can manually adjust the flash to your liking, and you can control the exposure, aperature priority, shutter priority, and even a virtual film speed control (100-400). You can even edit the movies you make on it. (15fps, they look pretty slick) I can’t describe in words how the pictures look out of my HP1315 PhotoSmart printer (another of my reviews here) — it has to be seen to be believed. What you should get:
- a set of NiMH AA’s
- couple 64 mb cards and a 128mb card (you will play with the movie feature…trust me)
- tripod so you can play with extended exposure
Other cool features:
- read/write light for the smart media
- keeps everything off for USB download mode
- finally has a lens cap strap (lost my old camera’s cap about 1 week after I got it)
- uses AA’s or the new photo batteries
- much lighter than older models
Anyway, go BUY THIS CAMERA!!!
Rating: 5 / 5
My first digital camera was the Olympus D340R, a 1.3M pixel “entry” level camera I purchased in 1999. It was (and still is) fantastic, and has me hooked on Olympus since. I wanted to upgrade because I wanted two things the 4040 offers:
1) be able to print super-large prints (like the 16″ x 20″ and the 20″ x 30″ size prints offered by Ofoto)
2) be able to print reasonable size enlargements by digitally zooming into a digital photo.
Well, I just got my first 16″ x 20″ size photo back from Ofoto and it’s gorgeous! On top of that, you can crop and retouch (using Photoshop) to your desire, so you can get everything just right.
I had planned on buying the 3040, but when I saw this camera, I couldn’t resist. I’m not sure if the extra savings can be justified by others, but in my case, it gives me the resolution confidence to do the large size prints that I want.
Also, the extra resolution is perfect for cropping to a small portion of the orginal photo for printing, within losing needed resolution for a quality print.
Some other neat applications with the camera’s features:
- bright lens is great for indoor picture without flash. do this if possible as underexposed images can be resuscitated with Photoshop, but not too much can be done with overexposed photos
- use the manual focus to pre-focus before asking a passerby to help you take a photo of you and your spouse. This way, the inexperienced photo-taker would not out-of-focus photos by framing the picture so that the center of the photo is the infinity that is in between you and your spouse.
Rating: 5 / 5
I started with the C-2000, and now years later, have finally upgraded to the C-4040. I highly recommend it. They fixed everything that i didn’t like about the first camera.
Drawbacks? Takes too long to take a picture (the camera takes the picture nearly two seconds after you pushed the button) so, in action shots, you miss them often. I’m still trying to figure out a way to configure it to take pix immediately.
Rating: 5 / 5