Olympus C-2040 Zoom

This was my first digital camera - it was stolen a short while ago. I really am considering buying another (or a 3040) as I became so attached to it. I was very impressed with the pictures, especially the very bright lens. Also, I hardly ever seemed to recharge the batteries.

Otherwise I may buy a smaller newer camera, though I would worry about the low light performance and the amount of manual control.

I loved it until ...

Used/loved it for about 1000 pics over the course of a year. Then the autofocus ground itself into oblivion. When the camera is turned on, the autofocus kicks in. As it is not TTL, you had better remember to take the lens cap off the little beastie, otherwise its (presumably plastic) gearing shreads itself as the lens extender fights with the lens cap for supremacy. In my case, eventually, the lens cap won. Now it doesn't focus at all.

Once you load your computer with one of the many photo programs out there (I have about 4 on mine now), with the USB and drag and drop, unloading the camera is a snap. The software that comes with the camera you can pack up with a hand grenade and mail back to Olympus...very frustrating. Manual settings allow me to do any shot I could otherwise do with my SLR, and auto settings for most shots come out looking very natural. The standard card isn't big enough. 128MB or bigger is the way to go.

I bought this Olympus digital camera eight months ago and I have been extremely happy with both its ease of use and the picture quality. I bought NiMH batteries with the camera and I usually get >50 shots per charge - even when using the LCD backscreen. There are just a few things that I would nit-pick about.

1. The flash fires twice in very quick succession for each shot. As a consequence, you get a lot of people with closed eyes when using flash. Using the red-eye reduction mode does not resolve this 'feature'.

2. The supplied software is next to useless - but at least the USB connection works well.

Once mastered the Menu options are quickly accessed and easy to use.

I dislike the supplied CAMEDIA Master software as the C-2040ZOOM is not listed in the 'Supported Camera Functions' section. The result of this is that the My Camera icon and Camera Menu items report, incorrectly, that it 'Can not connect to the camera.' This is while the camera is displayed as a removable drive, the files listed in the 'Folder Tree View Window' and images are visible in the 'Index View Window.'

Awesome picture quality - thanks to the bright lens, easy to use menu, auto/manual features, great form factor.

I like the camera. well made good heft, have to use the screen when in the macro range though or you miss the target..Wish I could get them on my win. 98...

Excellent image quality. The "multi-metering" mode is superb. You can easily make pro-looking photos with this camera.

I give 10 each to image quality and features.

Ease of use, only 9. It is not so difficult to use, just tedious to go through three or four-level deep menus.

Value for money, I would have thrown in a 10 if Olympus packed it with a 16MB SM card, so I say 9 is more than generous.

Overall, I say 9.5.

The Olympus C2040 is an ideal digital camera if you (as I did) want a point & shoot with full exposure controls as an option. Image quality cannot be faulted; white balance excellent even in difficult situations; exposure & focus all as expected. I can now leave my Olympus SLR in the cupboard!

Flash is powerful, ISO adjustment (up to 400 asa equivalent) coupled with the fast (f1.8) lens allows good control in poor light without flash.

This camera is child's play to use, excellent picture quality can be achieved by using the "point & shoot" auto setting, Camera feels nicely weighted and is well constructed. Accurate instructions as to how to use the camera in conjunction with your pc would have been nice, I could find nowhere in the instructions that implied that the camera assumed a spare drive letter.