Olympus c-5500 software

For example, using the Autofocus AF Target Selection function, users can choose from AF target zones to focus on virtually any area of their composition without reframing the shot.

The large, bright and viewable 2-inch LCD monitor with , pixels of resolution provides easy viewing when composing or reviewing images. This large monitor comes in handy when using the camera's Direct Histogram function that provides real-time access to exposure information so users can confirm exposure before snapping the picture. A histogram displayed on the LCD with red and blue highlighting to indicate over- and under-exposed areas makes detection of overly white and blacked-out areas simple.

And a Slideshow function makes reviewing photos with friends fun and effortless, complete with slide transitions such as Slide, Fade, and Zoom. With the Full Auto mode, even beginners can take perfect photos without worrying about complex settings. More experienced digital photographers will appreciate being able to have control over basic settings such as exposure, aperture and shutter speed with the Program Auto, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, and Manual Exposure modes.

For taking quick and precise photos in a range of different lighting situations - such as at night, in candlelight, at the beach, or at sporting events - with optimal aperture, shutter speed, white balance, color saturation and flash setting, users can select from 15 fully automatic shooting modes. In continuous shooting mode, the C can manage 1. The Olympus C Zoom uses a four AA batteries for power, and ordinary alkaline batteries are included with the camera. The table below shows the power drain I measured in various operating modes, and the corresponding run times to be expected from a standard set of mAh NiMH cells.

Really excellent battery life. Camera makers have generally made great progress at trimming the power requirements of digital cameras, but the Olympus C still does a lot better than most, with a worst-case run time of over six hours with a set of "standard" mAh NiMH rechargeable batteries. Modern cells with true capacities higher than mAh would of course do proportionately better.

In playback mode, run time stretches to an incredible I strongly recommend buying at least a MB card, preferably a MB one, to give yourself extra space for extended outings. Compression x Images Avg size 16 2. Compression x Images Avg size 6 2.

Compression x Images Avg size 11 1. Compression Download Speed. Cameras with USB v2. Still, most users of the C shouldn't find any need for a separate card reader. Pretty fast for a camera with a telescoping lens. The Olympus C features both an optical, real-image viewfinder and a rear panel, 2.

The zoom bar appears as soon as you start to vary the zoom position, and disappears after a second or so of inactivity. In addition to the histogram display, the Olympus Sport Zoom offers a "Direct" histogram option, which displays the white and black areas of the frame in red and blue respectively, showing you directly which parts of the image may be under or overexposed.

I actually found this much more useful than the histogram feature, as I could instantly tell which parts of the image were in danger. The blue and red only appear while you are framing the shot, and disappear when you press the shutter halfway.

The 7. In addition to the Olympus C's 5x optical zoom, images can be enlarged up to 4x with the digital zoom function, which Olympus refers to as being "seamless. I always remind users that digital zoom is not the same as optical zoom though.

Since the digital zoom merely enlarges the center portion of the CCD, digitally enlarged images are invariably "softer" than ones enlarged via a zoom lens. Focus can be set manually or automatically, with a choice of iESP, Spot or Area manual AF area adjustment modes, the latter only being available when the metering mode is set to the ESP or Spot options. The Olympus 's image file sizes include: 2, x 1,; 2, x 1, ; 2, x 1,; 2, x 1,; 1, x 1,; x ; x ; and x pixels.

Image quality options include two JPEG compression ratios at each resolution. Program mode controls both aperture and shutter speed, with exposure times as long as one second. Aperture and Shutter Priority modes give you control over aperture or shutter speed, while the camera chooses the best corresponding settings.

The Manual exposure mode provides the same aperture range, but offers shutter times as long as 15 seconds. There's also a selection of preset Scene modes, to make it easy to snap good-looking photos in what might otherwise be challenging conditions. Although the Scene Mode option itself is accessed by a dial, changing between the various Scene modes is done in the menu, requiring anywhere from four to eight button presses to change.

A little awkward, in my opinion. Finally, the My Mode feature provides a custom setup for the camera, letting you select complex combinations of settings with a single menu choice. White balance can be set to Auto, Daylight, Overcast, Tungsten, Daylight Fluorescent, Neutral Fluorescent, Cool Fluorescent, or Quick Reference aka custom or manual white balance adjustment to accommodate a variety of lighting conditions, while a white balance color adjustment function lets you fine-tune the color balance across a wide step range from red to blue.

There's also a second self-timer option for self-portraits. The Olympus Zoom's Movie mode records QuickTime movies with sound, for maximum times dictated by its internal buffer memory, at x pixels, and either 30 or 15 frames per second. Focus and optical zoom are locked at their positions when the movie starts, the reason for this being that noise from the focusing and zoom mechanisms would be picked up by the camera's microphone.

Hence, you can opt to disable sound recording - in which case the optical zoom becomes available immediately, and a fulltime AF menu option is enabled to allow focusing during movie recording. The movie mode also allows use of digital zoom if enabled, regardless of sound recording. One further option is a little less common; a "camera movement compensation" function attempts to reduce camera shake in movies by varying the portion of the image sensor from which the movie is cropped.

A Drive mode is available for capturing multiple images at up to 1. A Panorama mode allows you to take up to 10 shots with the same exposure and white balance, for subsequent merging with the included Panorama Stitch software in the computer. Pictures in Panorama mode can be captured vertically upwards or downwards, or horizontally left or right from the first shot, and the camera indicates the area that should be overlapped on the LCD display although there is no preview of the overlap against the previous shot, something we've seen on other cameras that makes taking panoramas much easier.

Note also that the panorama option is only available when you're using Olympus-branded xD-Picture Cards. Finally, there's also a Time-lapse mode for capturing a series of two to 99 images over time, at preset intervals from one to 59 minutes perfect for capturing an opening flower, moving clouds, etc.

The Slow Sync flash mode uses a slower shutter speed with the flash, to allow more of the ambient lighting into the photo, and includes the option to fire the flash at either the beginning or end of the exposure, as well as add a Red-Eye Reduction pre-flash.

I'd really like to see Olympus include a larger card, or simply drop the card from the camera bundle and pass the savings onto the consumer to put towards their own card purchase. Larger capacity cards up to MB are available separately, and you'll want to purchase at least a MB card, given the camera's five megapixel resolution.

A video output jack and cable let you play your images back on an external video monitor, which can also be used as a super-sized viewfinder in capture mode. Software shipped with the unit includes the Olympus Master utility package, which provides minor organization and editing tools, in addition to a panorama "stitching" application. Recommendation Relatively compact and easy to use, but still loaded with features given the competitive pricing, Olympus' C Sport Zoom is an excellent point-and-shoot digicam for those just getting their feet wet in digital photography, offering a good degree of potential to keep pace as the user's photographic abilities expand.

With a choice of both fully automatic or manual control over shutter and aperture, the Olympus lets you exercise your creativity, but still proves reasonably approachable for beginners. Ten preset Scene modes simplify common shooting situations, and a range of image adjustment options let you fine-tune the photos to your own tastes. The camera's user interface might seem slightly intimidating to beginners, but quickly becomes second-nature, and makes it fairly easy to quickly set the camera up for a photo although I have to say that choosing scene modes can be rather laborious.

With pricing reasonably competitive for a quality 5. Visually rather reminiscent of the existing C Zoom model, the Olympus C Sport Zoom is a little larger in all dimensions, especially because of the larger hand grip that houses the camera's four AA batteries. With a look that says "camera" rather than the fashion accessory look favored in many digicams these days, the Olympus has mostly smooth body panels with the exception of the handgrip and lens barrel on the front.

The camera is rather too large for a shirt pocket, but suitable for larger purses or coat pockets, measuring 4.

The C Sport Zoom weighs in at The design features structural plastic body panels that likely help keep weight down, but still feel fairly sturdy there's little noticeable creak or flex in the Olympus 's body. A thin wrist strap comes with the camera, providing a little extra security in case the camera should slip out of your hands while shooting. The telescoping lens extends just over seven-eighths of an inch beyond the front of the camera body when powered on in any capture mode. The lens is protected by a shutter-like lens cover that automatically slides open when the lens extends, and likewise closes as the lens retracts.

A small, rubbery strip on the inside of the hand grip provides reasonable real estate for your fingers to grab onto when holding the camera, but the hand grip itself could really use some subtle contouring to help stop the camera sliding down in your hand.

That said though, I like the size of the hand grip on the Olympus It's small enough that women and others with smaller hands can hold it comfortably, but at the same time it's not so small that those with larger hands will find it uncomfortable either. Flexible rubbery flaps protect both connector terminals from dust, and remains attached to the camera when opened.

Also on this side of the camera is the nineteen-hole grille for the playback speaker. On the opposite side of the camera is a door behind which the xD-Picture card slot can be found. The door hinges outwards from the camera's side, and is not spring-loaded, although a catch holds the door securely closed, requiring a slight tug with a fingernail to reopen the door.

The xD-Picture card slot itself has the usual spring-loaded mechanism that allows you to half-pop the card out of the slot with a gentle press, making it easy to pull the card out the rest of the way. The center of the xD-Picture card door hinge doubles as the eyelet for attaching the included wrist strap. The top of the camera holds the Zoom Lever, Shutter button surrounded by the Zoom Lever , Power button, and pop-up flash compartment. The majority of the camera's control buttons are on the rear panel, along with the 2.

The Five-button navigation pad serves multiple functions, and is located at the bottom right of the rear panel, between the xD-Picture card door, and a row of buttons down the right of the LCD display.

Angled down from the top panel on the right side is a small Mode dial in the top right corner controls the camera's operating mode. The dial is slightly recessed compared to the body panels around it, and is easy to reach and use, yet isn't easily turned accidentally in a pocket or bag. Over on the top left side of the panel, also angled down from the top of the camera, is the Flash Release button. The optical viewfinder eyepiece sits slightly left of center, and its view zooms in and out with the lens.

A pair of LED lamps next to the eyepiece report the camera's status. The bottom of the camera holds the battery compartment and a plastic screw-mount tripod socket, which is too close to the battery compartment for quick battery changes when mounted on a tripod. This is something I always pay attention to, given the amount of studio shooting I do with each camera.

The tripod socket is also off-center from the lens, making panorama shots with foreground objects more difficult. On a positive note, the battery compartment door has a lock which prevents it accidentally coming open. The Olympus C Sport Zoom has a reasonably sensible user interface, with a fair amount of external control available to reduce time spent navigating the LCD menu system, although all controls are dependent on the LCD screen to report the current settings.

A large Mode dial on the rear panel controls the camera's operating mode, and multi-functional buttons access a variety of frequently-used camera settings. Like previous Olympus digicams, the C's menu system has an initial menu screen with four shortcut buttons on it that lead to sub-menus for quick access of frequently-used menu items. These shortcuts are displayed on the screen as three or four buttons, each selected using the arrow key that corresponds to its position on the screen.

Although it can take a little getting used to, this dual-level menu system does let you make adjustments to three of the most often used camera settings quite quickly, and imposes only a slight penalty for less-frequently accessed functions.

The C 's external control layout is similar to previous Olympus Camedia digicam setups, although some buttons have been moved around and functions combined.