Connections

Behind two plastic doors (with rubber hinges) on the rear of the camera are three connection terminals. From left to right: DC input (for the optional AC adapter), USB (2.0) and A/V output.

Lens

As previously mentioned the C-8080's lens is all new and built to the same quality levels as the Zuiko lenses made for the E system (E-1 digital SLR). The lens is the telescoping type although it doesn't have to extend as far as some other lenses, especially if left at wide angle at power off (the camera remembers the last used zoom position). Power up took around 0.9 seconds at wide angle and about 1.9 seconds at telephoto (timed from the moment you press the power button to the moment you can shoot / the live view appears).

The lens provides a wide angle zoom of 28 to 140 mm with a maximum aperture of F2.4 at wide angle and F3.5 at telephoto. Zoom from full wide angle to telephoto takes 1.6 seconds. The camera is supplied with a bayonet fit petal hood. The last image below is a diagram of the difference in barrel length at wide angle and on at telephoto zoom positions.

Lenses compared

Base / Tripod Mount

On the base of the camera is a metal tripod mount, unfortunately it's not located in line with the lens nor centrally in the base of the camera (typical but disappointing all the same). Surrounding the tripod mount is a small rubber foot, four other small feet mean that the camera sits flat on most surfaces.

Remote Control

Supplied with the camera is this Infrared remote control, unlike previous remotes supplied by Olympus this one is fairly basic providing just remote shutter release. That said at least Olympus provide one in the box.

Internal Flash / Auto Focus illuminator

The C-8080's internal flash is a pop-up type and is released by a mechanical button on the side of the camera. The flash has a specified range of 0 .8 - 5.3 m (2.6 - 17.4 ft) at wide angle and 0.8 - 3.6 m (2.6 - 11.8 ft) at telephoto.

Flash Hot-shoe

The C-8080 has a hot-shoe which is designed to be used with dedicated Olympus flash units as well as triggering third party flash units (or studio lights via a PC sync terminal adapter). It's a pity Olympus didn't include a dedicated PC sync terminal.

AF Assist Lamp

The AF assist lamp in the small LED on the left side of this image, the window to the right is the passive AF system which 'estimates' the AF distance for the first step in the AF process. The AF assist lamp emits a bright orange light in low light situations.

Supplied In the Box

The contents of the retail box are:

• Olympus C-8080 Wide Zoom Digital Camera
• 32 MB xD-Picture Card
• Olympus BLM-1 Lithium-Ion battery
• Olympus BCM-2 battery charger
• IR Remote Control
• Lens cap & string
• Lens hood (petal type)
• Shoulder strap
• USB cable
• AV cable
• Software CD-ROM
• User Manual