There's lots to like about the new Olympus C-7000 camera, including the
size of the image files it puts out and the "seamless" 30X zoom
(5X optical and 6X digital combined) that delivers better quality digital zooms
than many cameras we've worked with in the past. The C-7000 is aimed at
those who like to get involved with their photography, and offers as many options
and modes as you could desire. They certainly make this a camera that allows
you to flex your creative muscles. Granted, you have to delve into the menu
to get at most of the options, something that helps streamline the body but
can hold up spontaneous changes.
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Olympus C7000 camera from file (PMA)
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The C-7000 offers Olympus Raw, TIFF and a host of JPEG options, with the Olympus
SHQ and HQ nomenclature. ISO ranges from 80, for outdoor scenes, to 400, which
delivers great images with virtually no noise, as we saw in our images made
inside the new Modern Museum of Art in New York City. Those Raw and TIFF files
and JPEGs at 3072 x 2304 pixels deliver near 20MB files, good enough to make
gorgeous 8 x 10 in and 11 x 14 in prints. The 38-190mm (equivalent) optical
lens is sharp as a tack, something Olympus is known for and that continues here.
And rumors about the smallish (1x1.8 in.) sensor causing fringing can be put
to rest, as shots of various architectural details we made attest.
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Along with
its 7.8-39.5mm optical zoom (equivalent to 38-190mm) the C-7000
offers a 6X digital zoom, which delivers better image quality
than most we've seen. Shot at full wide (left) and then
at 30X zoom (right) handheld, the detail and sharpness of the
Empire State Building are very good. Shot using a tripod it would
have even been better.
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The camera has a functional design and a nice 2 in. monitor, and at about 7
oz and 4 in wide is certainly portable enough. There's a host of exposure
modes and overrides, metering patterns and two macro modes for close-up fans,
normal macro being in the 3.2-4 ft. range and "super" macro at less
than an inch. You can also shoot movies and sequences at either 1.5 or 2.2 frames
per second. And to aid in capturing good exposures, you can choose a histogram
when shooting as well as red (for highlight overexposure) and blue (for shadow
underexposure) warnings while making the shot. There's also a one-touch
red-eye fix right in the camera.
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As of this writing the Browser for Adobe CS and Elements 3 didn't
work with the .ORF files the C-7000 produced, so we used the supplied
Olympus RAW software. This screen shows the processing options
and while it worked fine, if a bit slow, there was no preview
as sliders were worked before processing.
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This is the original Raw file (left) and while colorful and sharp
enough we added some saturation and changed the white balance
to "cloudy" to add warmth (right). The Olympus Raw
software allows for basic image processing changes and Save As
in a number of different file formats.
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There are also some quirky items that we feel could be improved, like a panorama
mode that only words with Olympus brand xD cards, 11 (count `em) resolution
options that we feel can only lead to confusion, a Raw format converter that
has basic functions but fails to preview changes as you work and the fact that
the camera reverts to HQ resolution (JPEG compression) whenever you drop power
unless you go into a personalized "My Mode" setup. We wish the camera
had a dual slot, as xD cards we can find only go as high as 512MB. The Raw converter
using Adobe Camera Raw (in Elements 3 and CS) wasn't updated at the time
of this writing, although we sure it will be by the time you read this.
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The new MOMA surprises you with its intimate association with
the exterior, and almost every gallery yields amazing views of
the city around it. This shot was made through a plate glass window
and required no "infinity mode" setting, and yielded
every line and shadow of the architecture in a brisk manner.
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This photo of an interior gallery at the new MOMA in New York
was shot on Auto white balance with the camera set at ISO 400.
No flash is allowed inside the museum, but you can photograph
to your heart's content in most galleries with available
light. Most are lit with tungsten, and the AWB handled it well
requiring only a minor blue kick.
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At $599 (suggested list) the Olympus C-7000 Zoom is a great camera for those
who want the larger file sizes a 7MP sensor can deliver without working with
a larger-size digicam or digital SLR. It has all the options for creative image
making you could desire, and its lens, image processor and metering patterns
and modes deliver stunning pictures indoors or out.
Contact: www.olympusamerica.com
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The
7+MP sensor allows you to crop into images and still get great
8x10 and larger prints, a real advantage for getting quality results
for pictures within pictures. These staircases at MOMA can be
seen from various vantage points and make the building a continual
delight. Cropping in to emphasize the vertical thrust didn't
sacrifice large print quality.
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