Olympus C-5050 Zoom Review
Review based on a production C-5050 Zoom
On August 19th (approximately a month before Photokina 2002) Olympus announced their new five megapixel, three times optical zoom prosumer level digital camera the C-5050 Zoom. This camera is one of the first to utilize a 1/1.8" (7.18 x 5.32 mm) 5 megapixel CCD sensor. Previous 5 megapixel sensors had been 2/3" (8.8 x 6.6 mm) in size. The advantage of the 1/1.8" size is that it is identical to previous three and four megapixel sensors and so certain components such as the lens system can be re-used without requiring any redesign. In the case of the C-5050 Zoom it uses the same three times F1.8 - F2.6 lens seen in the two megapixel C-2040 Zoom*, three megapixel C-3040 Zoom* and four megapixel C-4040 Zoom. For more information about sensor sizes click here.
* Now discontinued models
Olympus C-5050 Zoom vs. Olympus C-4040 Zoom (differences only)
 Olympus C-5050 Zoom |
 Olympus C-4040 Zoom |
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| Sensor | 1/1.8" 5.2 million pixels total | 1/1.8" 4.1 million pixels total |
| Effective pixels | 5.0 million | 4.0 million |
| Image formats | RAW, TIFF, JPEG (EXIF 2.2) | TIFF, JPEG (EXIF 1.1) |
| Image sizes | 2560 x 1920, 2288 x 1712, 2048 x 1536, 1600 x 1200, 1280 x 960, 1024 x 768, 640 x 480 | 2272 x 1704, 2048 x 1536, 1600 x 1200, 1280 x 960, 1024 x 768, 640 x 480 |
| Interpolated sizes | 3200 x 2400 | 3200 x 2400 |
| Digital zoom | Up to 3.4x | Up to 2.5x |
| Focus modes | Normal, Macro, Super-macro | Normal, Macro |
| Sensitivity | Auto, ISO 64, 100, 200, 400 | Auto, ISO 100, 200, 400 |
| Scene modes | Portrait, Sports, Landscape portrait, Landscape, Night | None |
| My mode | Eight memories | None |
| Shutter speed | 16 - 1/2000 sec | 16 - 1/800 sec |
| Aperture range | F1.8 - F8 / F2.6 - F8 | F1.8 - F10 / F2.6 - F10 |
| Histogram in record | Yes | No |
| White balance | Auto, Fine, Cloudy, Shade, Evening Sun, Incandescent, Fluorescent (4 types), Custom (4 memories) | Auto, Fine, Cloudy, Incandescent, Fluorescent, Custom |
| HQ Drive mode | 1.7/3.3 fps up to 11/4 frames | 2 fps up to 8 frames |
| External flash | Hot-shoe | Five pin sync terminal |
| Movie clips | 320 x 240 - 15 fps, max 96 secs | |
| Audio | Record / Playback | Record only |
| LCD monitor | 1.8" 114,000 pixels tilting | 1.8" 114,000 pixels fixed |
| Storage | SmartMedia, CompactFlash, xD | SmartMedia |
| Jog dial | Yes | No |
| Custom button | Yes | No |
| Video output | NTSC / PAL switchable | Fixed by region |
| Dimensions | 115 x 70 x 80 mm (4.5 x 2.7 x 3.2 in) |
110 x 76 x 70 mm (4.33 x 2.99 x 2.75 in) |
| Weight (no batt) | 380 g (13.4 oz) | 320 g (11.3 oz) |
If you're new to digital photography you may wish to read the Digital
Photography Glossary before diving into this review (it may help you
understand some of the terms used).
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This review is Copyright 2003 Phil Askey and the review in part or in whole may NOT be reproduced in any electronic or printed medium without prior permission from the author. For information on reproducing any part of this review (or any images) please contact: Phil Askey.
