CES 2001: Here's a piece of news we published back on the 21st November, Olympus America today announced the C-3040Z and C-2040Z, if you're a regular reader of the site you'll already know just about all there is to know but here's the official US press release for your perusal.

Click here for our original article on the C-2040Z / C-3040Z (21/Nov/2000)

Two press releases (C-3040Z, C-2040Z):

OLYMPUS ANNOUNCES ANOTHER FIRST IN DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY THE C-3040 ZOOM DIGITAL CAMERA

The World’s First Large-Aperture F1.8, Super Bright, High-Performance 3X Zoom Lens for Digital Cameras

January 5, 2001, Melville, NY — Olympus America Inc., the world leader in film and filmless photography, today announced the CAMEDIA C-3040 ZOOM 3.34 Megapixel (2048 x 1536) super bright 3X zoom compact digital camera. Based on the award-winning Olympus C-3030 digital camera, the C-3040 ZOOM now offers the world’s first super bright F1.8 aperture high-performance digital zoom lens with an extended flash working range and better low-light shooting and new USB Storage Class plug n’ play capability for easy and quick mounting of the camera to a USB computer -- all for only $999.

The C-3040 ZOOM uses a 3.34 Megapixel, 1/1.8 inch CCD matched to the Olympus digital optical zoom. To maximize the performance of this high resolution CCD, the camera features a newly designed super-bright F1.8 multi-element aspherical glass 3X zoom lens. As a result, the resolution and image quality deliver the highest level of picture quality available in a 3 Megapixel camera.

The camera offers the same compact design and features of the best-selling C-3030 ZOOM, such as Auto and Manual White balance and exposure for many light sources or conditions. For easy viewing, the improved Wide-View LCD display and the optical viewfinder are available. Other features include 3.3 frame per second sequence shooting, QuickTime movie, black and white or sepia shooting modes, Auto Exposure Bracketing (AEB), and more compression settings.

The C-3040 ZOOM also incorporates the heritage of over 80 years of outstanding photographic technologies such as Aperture-Priority and Shutter-Priority modes, manual exposure, auto bracketing and Slow Synchro flash, as well as a range of quality modes and ISO sensitivity settings that allow the photographer more creativity.

New Features of the C-3040 ZOOM

New Super Bright Lens

From wide-angle to telephoto settings, the new super-bright 7.1-21.3mm 3X zoom (35-105mm equivalency) captures digital images of unrivaled precision. The F1.8-2.6 aperture range allows the photographer greater freedom in low-light photography and extends the flash range.

USB Storage Class Connectivity

The camera’s ability to connect to any USB Macintosh or Windows computer running MacOS 8.6+ or Windows Me and 2000 make it easy to download the photos to the computer. A Windows 98 rev 2 driver is also include for direct connection. The USB capability also means rapid downloading of the files from the camera to the computer without installing any extra software.

Many Metering Modes

Like the C-3030 ZOOM, the C-3040 ZOOM offers the choice of ESP multi-patterned metering and spot metering for easy accurate exposure or advanced exposure control. The ESP multi-pattern meter looks at a variety of areas in the photo, for accurate automatic exposure. Spot metering allows for fine accurate exposure of the subject using only the very center of the image area. The C-3040 ZOOM also includes the new Multi-Spot metering mode combining up to eight spot readings to be averaged for complete user control over the subject. The combination of the metering systems in the C-3040 ZOOM gives it the distinction of being one of the most advanced in it the growing field of 3 megapixel cameras.

White Balance

New to the C-3040 ZOOM is the one-touch white balance function allowing exact white balance under most light sources for the correct color reproduction. The new iESP multi-pattern white balance system will automatically adjust the light when ease of use is required, or the four manual preset white balance settings. In addition, a new +/-3 step white balance correction function enables minor adjustments in color tones.

Spot AF Function

A newly featured Spot AF function allows focus on points intentionally selected by photographer.

Sharpness and Contrast Settings

Like many more advanced cameras, the C-3040 ZOOM offers control for both contrast and sharpness. Setting sharpness at soft, normal or hard allows the user to control the sharpening of the image to meet his own uses. Complimenting the sharpness is the Contrast mode which adjust from low to high contrast. With these controls, the photographer now takes control of final output quality, or they can be left in normal mode for the ease of point and shoot.

QuickTime Movie with Sound

The C-3040 ZOOM includes the QuickTime movie capture mode with sound allowing up to 5 min with sound. The sound is recorded simultaneously in the QuickTime movie and a 4-second audio attachment can be added to a still image. Ideal for voice memos, notes may be re-recorded over images and are supported in the included Camedia Master software.

Tethered Lens Cap

The lens cap is now tethered to the camera to avoid the irritation of losing the cap or not knowing where to put it.

Accessories

Olympus provides a whole line up of new optional accessories for the C-3040 ZOOM: camera case; FL-40 external flash for synchronized shooting with TTL cable and bracket; an assortment of lenses from 28mm equivalent to 152mm; RM-1 remote control; NiMH batteries and charger, and C7AU AC adapter.

The CAMEDIA C-3040 ZOOM will be available in March 2001 with an estimated street price of $999. It ships with an 16MB Olympus SmartMedia™ memory card, USB cable, AV cable, two 3V lithium battery packs (CR-3V), Olympus Camedia Master 2.5 Utility Software for image manipulation and creation, instruction manual, QuickStart Guide, lens cap and strap.

OLYMPUS ANNOUNCES ANOTHER FIRST IN DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY THE C-2040 ZOOM DIGITAL CAMERA

The World’s First Large-Aperture F1.8, Super Bright, High-Performance 3X Zoom Lens for Digital Cameras

January 5, 2001, Melville, NY — Olympus America Inc., the world leader in film and filmless photography, today announced the CAMEDIA C-2040 ZOOM 2.11 megapixel (1600 x 1200) bright 3X zoom compact digital camera. Based on the award-winning Olympus C-2020 digital camera, the C-2040 ZOOM offers the world’s first super bright F1.8 high-performance digital zoom lens. The large F1.8 aperture extends the flash working range and is better for low-light photography. The easy to use features and USB Storage Class plug n’ play capability expand the usefulness of the C-2040 ZOOM -- all for only $699.

The C-2040 ZOOM’s 2.11-megapixel, improved 1/2-inch RGB CCD provides better resolution and image quality for the highest level of picture quality available in a 2 megapixel camera. The newly designed bright multi-element 3X zoom lens has a large F1.8 aperture with extended automatic shutter speeds of 1/800th sec. - 4 sec. The new aspherical zoom lens extends between 7.1 mm – 21.3mm for a 40mm – 120mm equivalency in 35mm format with an increased telephoto range.

The camera offers the same compact design and features as the award winning C-3030 ZOOM in a 2.11 megapixel camera, such as auto and manual white balance and improved Wide-View LCD display, sequence shooting, QuickTime movie, B&W shooting modes, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, Programmed Automatic or Manual Exposure. Other advanced features include Auto Exposure Bracketing (AEB), White Balance adjustment +/- 3 steps, built-in flash or TTL flash with the optional FL-40 Flash, and many more compression settings.

The C-2040 ZOOM also offers great expandability with additional accessories for both telephoto and wide angle photography, flash cords for studio flash connectivity, macro and close-up adapters, and cases to meet the needs of the photographer.

C-2040 ZOOM New Features

Super-Bright F1.8 3X Optical Zoom Lens

One of the brightest in its class, the improved Olympus 3X optical zoom lens with a F1.8-2.6 aperture range offers photographers the flexibility to experiment with depth of field. Along with the extended flash working range, photographers can now shoot easily in lower-light conditions.

Improved Telephoto

The need to shoot children at play or from a greater distance is met with the 21.3mm (140mm equivalent) telephoto setting of the super bright zoom lens. If more telephoto is needed, Olympus offers two additional add on lenses, a 1.45X and 1.7X telephoto. The 1.45X provides the equivalent of a 174mm and the 1.7x a 200mm equivalent lens -- great for sports or nature.

USB Storage Class Ease

To speed up connectivity and downloads, the C-2040 ZOOM uses the new "Storage Class" USB design to instantly mount the camera to a USB Power Macintosh or Windows computer with the included USB cable.
USB Storage Class provides USB connectivity without the installation of extra software or drivers on Windows 2000, Me and MacOS 8.6+. A Windows 98 driver is also included along with the Camedia Master software.

Multi-Metering Modes

The C-2040 ZOOM offers a variety of metering systems to meet the needs of any photographic situation. The spot metering mode can be used singularly or as a multi spot meter averaging up to 8 reading for correct exposure. For ease of use, the C-2040 ZOOM provides the Digital ESP multi-pattern metering system, which looks at many areas of the picture to automatically determine the correct exposure; or center weighted metering for general photography. The C-2040 ZOOM enables the exposure to match what the photographer intended with the newest in state of the art technology.

White Balance

White balance is critical for correct color in photographs, and the C-2040 ZOOM excels in this area as well. For exact white balance, it features a one-touch white balance function that records the white tones under any light source, or manual white balance when you know what you want. For the ease of point and shoot photography, the C-2040 ZOOM also uses iESP TTL white balance, a multi-pattern system to find the best color in most lighting conditions.

Accessories

Olympus provides a whole line up of accessories for the C-2040: a fitted camera case, gadget bag, RM-1 remote control, FL-40 external flash for TTL off camera flash photography, Flash Bracket, PC Sync cable, TTL cable and lenses from 32mm equivalent to 200mm telephoto. For power, the C-2040 ZOOM can use the LB-01 (CR-3V) batteries, NiMH batteries, and the C-7AU AC adapter.

The Camedia C-2040 ZOOM will be available in January 2001 with an estimated street price of $699. It ships with an 8MB Olympus SmartMedia™ memory card, two LB-01 3V lithium batteries (CR-3V), Olympus Camedia Master 2.5 Utility Software for editing images from the camera, USB cable, video cable, instruction manual, QuickStart Guide, lens cap and strap.