C-3040/4040 vs. C-720

OK - I am drawn to the 8x zoom of the C-720 - but am reading better reviews about the picture quality of the 3040 and the 4040. What is the difference between these series of cameras?

Also - I do not forsee blowing up pictures larger than 8 x 10. Will the 4040 be wasted on me (or any other 4 megapixel camera)? Should I just stick with 3 megapixels?

Also - I don't know alot about photography or cameras in general - so please "dumb down" your answers for a novice like me!

Thanks!

Suanne said:

OK - I am drawn to the 8x zoom of the C-720 - but am reading better
reviews about the picture quality of the 3040 and the 4040. What
is the difference between these series of cameras?

Also - I do not forsee blowing up pictures larger than 8 x 10.
Will the 4040 be wasted on me (or any other 4 megapixel camera)?
Should I just stick with 3 megapixels?

Click to expand...

Suanne,

I have both the 3040 and the 720. I like the 720 much better for a variety of reasons:

The picture quality is similar between the two cameras. Both have an excellent picture quality.

The viewfinder (eyepiece) on the 720 is much better than the one on the 3040. On the 3040, you have to use the monitor in the back to compose a picture becasue what you see in the eyepiece is not what you get. On the 720, what you see in the eyepiece is what you get - you never even have to use the monitor. This is much better in my opinion because it's very difficult to see the monitor outdoors and the monitor takes up too much battery power. Also, I like using the eyepiece better than the monitor because it feels more natural to me.

The 8x zoom is great. The 3x zoom on the 3040 is too limiting.

In my opinion (though others would disagree), 3 mp is more than enough for 8x10 photos. My 8x10s come out beautiful. I feel that 4mp is overkill and the files take up to much space on the memory card.

Speaking in general terms about optics, zoom lenses typically are not as sharp as prime (non zoom) lenses. i.e. The picture quality is not as good. Additionally, bigger zooms usually means even worse image quality.

What's more, bigger zooms let in less light than smaller ones. Think of a narrow tunnel vs. a wide cave opening. This means longer shutter speeds and a narrower depth of field.

Lastly, bigger zooms usually have more elements (glass lenses) inside them. This means that the light must pass through more pieces of glass, and this causes more lens flare and reduced contrast (unwanted light artifacts caused by sunlight bouncing off the lenses).

Conclusion: Bigger zooms always work AGAINST image quality in all of the above mentioned ways.

If I had the choice I would prefer a digital camera with a non-zoom lens. But since they are very unpopular with consumers, so there are very few to none available (decent ones). I would take a 3X zoom over an 8X zoom for the better image quality.

Also note that the C4040 has a VERY fast lens, f1.8 (smaller numbers are better).

Suanne said:

OK - I am drawn to the 8x zoom of the C-720 - but am reading better
reviews about the picture quality of the 3040 and the 4040. What
is the difference between these series of cameras?

Also - I do not forsee blowing up pictures larger than 8 x 10.
Will the 4040 be wasted on me (or any other 4 megapixel camera)?
Should I just stick with 3 megapixels?

Also - I don't know alot about photography or cameras in general -
so please "dumb down" your answers for a novice like me!

Thanks!

Click to expand...

Even 2 megapixels can make decent 8 x 10s. My 3040 makes great one, not necessary to have 4 megapixels.

The big difference is the range of the cameras. If you want to take distant subjects like wildlife, the extra zoom is a must.
--
http://www.pbase.com/julivalley/galleries
21oo, B-3oo
3o4o
Juli

I don't agree that the extra focal length makes for deteriorated shots. Perhaps technically yes, but most people really enjoy the extra reach of the 8x and 10x lenses. Zoom is addictive, btw. I love my 2100UZ.
http://www.pbase.com/julivalley/galleries
21oo, B-3oo
3o4o
Juli

I have the 3040 also and have been pleased with the 8X10's that I have printed. I even had a shot of a 3 year old and it was taken with HQ compression. But the picture came out great. I really could not believe it.

I find now that the 3x zoom is ok for shotting family pictures. We had an outside birthday party for my father in-law and the pictures came out good. People were in the shade and everything, I think this is where the faster lense helped. If you are going to take wildlife shots then you might want more zoom. I wanted to take a picture of a bird in my yard and I just did not have enough zoom to get a close up. Oh well. But I think the 3040 is going to be good for what I wanted.

Matt

Juli Valley said:

Even 2 megapixels can make decent 8 x 10s. My 3040 makes great
one, not necessary to have 4 megapixels.

The big difference is the range of the cameras. If you want to
take distant subjects like wildlife, the extra zoom is a must.
--
http://www.pbase.com/julivalley/galleries
21oo, B-3oo
3o4o
Juli

Click to expand...

Suanne said:

OK - I am drawn to the 8x zoom of the C-720 - but am reading better
reviews about the picture quality of the 3040 and the 4040. What
is the difference between these series of cameras?

Also - I do not forsee blowing up pictures larger than 8 x 10.
Will the 4040 be wasted on me (or any other 4 megapixel camera)?
Should I just stick with 3 megapixels?

Click to expand...

My primary camera, I guess, is my 2 mp C-2100UZ. I have an E-100RS, too, and now shoot lots with it.

I also have a D-40z (4 mp). One advantage of that is, since 2 mp is usually enough for my needs, I can crop half the pixels from a D-40 shot

Cropping is less essential with the cameras using a TTL EVF viewfinder, since you can pretty much compose accurately when shooting. Withe the D-40, I always get more than intended, unless I use the LCD to compose (and that is tough in bright sunligh and east batteries.).

Phil

Suanne said:

OK - I am drawn to the 8x zoom of the C-720 - but am reading better
reviews about the picture quality of the 3040 and the 4040. What
is the difference between these series of cameras?

Click to expand...

Get the 720: Zoom rules!

Phil