C-2040 vs A20 vs cp775

I have a cp995 but would like to purchase a 2 mp camera as a gift for a family member. The Nikon cp775 appears to have image and shutter lag problems. The Cannon A20 reviews show it to have a good image quality, but limited in other ways. The c-2040 appears to be a good compromise. Is the shutter lag acceptable? What about image quality? Reviews mention poor battery life. I would really like to buy the c-2040, especially for the manual settings that would allow a novice to expand their knolwedge as they learn more. Does anyone have any positive or negative comments on the C-2040?

Chuck

Chuck58341 said:

I have a cp995 but would like to purchase a 2 mp camera as a gift
for a family member. The Nikon cp775 appears to have image and
shutter lag problems. The Cannon A20 reviews show it to have a good
image quality, but limited in other ways. The c-2040 appears to be
a good compromise. Is the shutter lag acceptable? What about image
quality? Reviews mention poor battery life. I would really like to
buy the c-2040, especially for the manual settings that would allow
a novice to expand their knolwedge as they learn more. Does anyone
have any positive or negative comments on the C-2040?

Click to expand...

Olympus people like the 2040 for it's manual and semi-manual controls, and for it's "super-bright" f/1.8 lens ... with a $30 tripod, you should be able to take some great night pictures. I don't know about the battery life, but it takes standard AAs ( alkalines will get you that shot in a pinch ... but not much more than that one shot ) and rechargable NiMH AA batteries are a great value on the open market, and good for the planet with no heavy metals like NiCads.

A friend of mine wanted advice on his first digital camera. He was looking at the Coolpix line, and specifically the 775. I told him the basics, tried to get him to think about what he does/doesn't need from a camera, and showed him the review on this site. He just bought an 885 because the image quality is much better than the 775, and there are some creative modes in that camera, so he'll be able to grow with it for a while.

Chuck,

I've owned a C-2040Z since May, and I am thoroughly pleased with its overall performance. I would recommend it without reservation, particularly if it can be had for the $400 price I paid! The Canon A20 is pretty much a straight point and shoot, without the wealth of user controls that the 2040 affords. It would, however, be more "pocketable" than the Olympus. The CP775 would probably have an edge in macro performance, as would most Nikons over most other digicams. Apart from this one advantage, however, I personally think the CP775 is kind of small and dinky, and once again it would take a backseat to the Olympus with regard to user controls.

In general I think that the Olympus digicams are very user friendly and yield very good images that are characterized by very natural color. The 2040 feels great in the hand, either when shooting horizontally or vertically. Using the camera in Program mode more often than not will yield very good results. The user has the option, however, of shooting in aperture preferred or shutter speed preferred modes. The camera also allows you to shoot in sequence, macro, or panorama modes. In addition to the default metering, you can select spot or multi spot metering. In addition to the default autofocus, the user can select full time autofocus, spot autofocus, or manual focus, which is achieved via the menus with a sliding distance gauge. Most importantly, the camera has a very fast lens (f 1.8), which allows you to shoot in a wide range of ambient lighting situations. The onboard flash includes the usual complement of flash modes, but I very seldom choose to use flash. The Smartmedia card included is only 8 MB, so I would recommend the purchase of a 64MB card. I've seen these 64MB cards on sale for as low as $30. I can usually fit about 140 2-megapixel shots on a 64 MB card if I use the highest jpeg compression level. The 2040 will accept cards as large as 128MB! The camera comes with a sturdy neck strap, which will prevent it from being dropped on the ground. The camera also comes with a set of single-use or disposal lithium batteries. I still have mine. They are supposed to have a very long shelf life, so I keep them as emergency backup! I use rechargeable NiMH (nickel metal hydride) batteries rated at 1700 mah, and I use the Maha C-204F charger. The charger and batteries (I recommend 2 sets) can be purchased at very reasonable prices online at Thomas Distributing. This particular charger is wonderful, and I would encourage you to read reviews of it at Steves Digicams and Imaging Resource. I think that being able to use these extremely inexpensive and wonderful batteries is a distinct advantage that most Olympus digicams has over most digicams sold by Nikon, Sony, and Canon!

I've recently put up an online album of over 500 shots taken with my C-2040Z (I was home with the flu, and I have a cable connection). They were all taken in Program mode using available light. If you're interested in checking them out, here's the linK:

http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4292225183

Good luck with your selection and purchase!

--Caseus

I second just about everything Bob said. I am so glad I didn't buy the Coolpix 775, and I was very enamored of it when I first started shopping, until I really began looking at the photos it produced. In the end I decided I didn't want a tiny camera and that ruled out the S110 Canon Elph too. The A20, as Bob said, is strictly point & shoot, tho great picture quality.

The 2040 is my first digital, and I have pretty minimal experience with other types of camera also. If your recipient is willing to work at it a little and learn some new things, he/she can go way beyond just taking it to family gatherings and producing the mediocre kind of shots I took for years. It will do point & shoot but can also do so much more. I love the size and shape and feel. Just made my first prints from it, really ratcheted up my printer and photo edit program to their best, and they look wonderful!--Judy

Like other 2040 users, I'm really pleased with the camera. It's a bargin for the price and does everything I wanted it for.

My galleries are at the following address and just let me know if you want to look at the full images.

http://www.pbase.com/standring

And a sample of images from the site that show what I've been using the camera for.

http://www.pbase.com/image/567859 - Landscape in northern Australia

http://www.pbase.com/image/382442 - Indoor shot with flash

http://www.pbase.com/image/382312 - Night Shot

http://www.pbase.com/image/382456 - Macro of flower

http://www.pbase.com/image/567179 - Macro of kangaroo

So in answer to your question, I get 80 SHQ images on one 64 MB card and can take around 140 images when using the screen before I need to change the rechargable batteries. Images I've printed on photo paper (7*5) have been very good as well.

On the negative side, the lense cap comes off, and we don't have a 10* zoom but I bought the camera to take landscapes and people rather than things flying in the hedgerows and garden.

I also bought the camera because all the camera review sites gave it a good write up. I hope this helps.

Very nice photographs, Russell. Your 2040 is in extremely competent hands!

Russell Standring said:

Like other 2040 users, I'm really pleased with the camera. It's a
bargin for the price and does everything I wanted it for.

My galleries are at the following address and just let me know if
you want to look at the full images.

http://www.pbase.com/standring

And a sample of images from the site that show what I've been using
the camera for.

http://www.pbase.com/image/567859 - Landscape in northern Australia

http://www.pbase.com/image/382442 - Indoor shot with flash

http://www.pbase.com/image/382312 - Night Shot

http://www.pbase.com/image/382456 - Macro of flower

http://www.pbase.com/image/567179 - Macro of kangaroo

So in answer to your question, I get 80 SHQ images on one 64 MB
card and can take around 140 images when using the screen before I
need to change the rechargable batteries. Images I've printed on
photo paper (7*5) have been very good as well.

On the negative side, the lense cap comes off, and we don't have a
10* zoom but I bought the camera to take landscapes and people
rather than things flying in the hedgerows and garden.

I also bought the camera because all the camera review sites gave
it a good write up. I hope this helps.

Click to expand...

--Caseus

I would love to hear more from 2040 users--we tend to be a quiet bunch. Guess I'd better get busy and start posting more myself!
--Judy

Chuck said:

I have a cp995 but would like to purchase a 2 mp camera as a gift
for a family member. The Nikon cp775 appears to have image and
shutter lag problems. The Cannon A20 reviews show it to have a good
image quality, but limited in other ways. The c-2040 appears to be
a good compromise. Is the shutter lag acceptable? What about image
quality? Reviews mention poor battery life. I would really like to
buy the c-2040, especially for the manual settings that would allow
a novice to expand their knolwedge as they learn more. Does anyone
have any positive or negative comments on the C-2040?

Chuck

Click to expand...

Thanks to everyone that reponded to my orig. message. The C2040 (as was strongly suggested) is going to my daughter-in-law. She is presently and single-handedly keeping the film companies in business. I think that she is taking a picture of my grandchildren every hour (Ha, Ha...Ha). Hopefully the C2040 will put an end to film and processing costs for her.

Thanks again,

Chuck