Olympus C-3030 Zoom Camera

[fos]

I purchased the Olympus C-3030 Camera eight or nine years ago. With 3.3 megapixel resolution, it was cutting edge at the time but a little dated now. It has a number of quality features that many newer cameras lack. t has been very difficult to configure with Linux since it stores the pictures within the camera / memory chip combination in an old obsolete method.

I recently installed Debian 4.0 r1. I have been very impressed with the ease of installation and post install configuration. I have iceweasel installed with fairly decent fonts, the Brother HL-2070N B&W laser printer is functioning well, audio along iwth emacspeak, yasr, and eflite were an easy install and configure.

That all went so well, I decided to install digikam through synaptic and give the old Olympus a try. After installing digikam, I plugged the camera into the usb port. It was recognized though not identified by the computer. Under the camera menu in digicam, I selected "add camera". After choosing the auto detection option, it scanned for several seconds and then provided a selection of a cz2100 camera. That isn't the correct model number but what the heck. I selected the download all photo options - several minutes later all 50 1.2 mb images had been downloaded to the photo folder, ready to manage and manipulate.

The more I use the new Debian, the more impressed I become.

fos

[Leon]

I have been thinking of buying a digital camera for some time. After doing due diligence and making up my mind, I always find the model I want has been superceded by a new model.

While my old Olympus Stylus film camera still produces excellent prints, I am ready to jump into digital.

Recommendations? Obviously I'm looking for excellent optical quality as well as Linux friendliness. I prefer a small pocket camera to a professional type.

[fos]

At one time, I was very serious about photography. I had professional grade cameras from Nikon, Canon, and Olympus. The Olympus was a format camera that produced excellent quality photos due to superior optics and large negative size.

Over many years, I have come to appreciate Nikon more than the other brands due to their loyalty to customers. They almost never orphan their equipment. If at all possible, their new equipment is compatible with old equipment. Even late model auto-focus cameras can use old glass, of course it doesn't support auto-focus but they will work. That is not an issue with point and shoot equipment but if they care that much about their customers, it is worth buying their equipment.

My Olympus is 8 or 9 years old. As I mentioned before, the file format is out of date but the digikam included with Debian 4 picked it right up. I have shot several thousand pictures with this camera. It is a high end amateur camera. It is not an SLR but all exposure modes from fully compensated auto to manual are available. It even has manual focus but it is cumbersome to use. If I could afford a new SLR, I would buy one from Nikon.

I don't think you can go wrong with a name brand such as Nikon, Canon, or Olympus. Visit one of the super stores like Circuit City, Best Buy, or Fryes and try them out until you find one you like.

It might be a good idea to check with digikam's camera list and pick something that matches up.

There are also very inexpensive cameras available. You can purchase semi-disposable cameras at Walmart that have better resolution than my camera for a lot less than $100 dollar. They have usb cables and would probably do a good just with less convenience features. Once you get the image on your computer, software such as Photoshop and Gimp can work magic.

You will really like digital once you try it.

Jeff

[jpaulb]

I have 2 digital cameras a Canon Powershot G1 which many of the feature can be controlled from the desktop and a Pentax ist LSR.
This Canon although good for its time is extremely useless when it comes to action shots. I went Whale watching last summer and photographed dozens of after the jump water disturbances. Realy, a ripple in the water where the subject use to be, not that interesting. My old Pentax 35 mm with a 400 mm lens save the trip.

Shortly after that I bought the Pentax digital SLR, my old lens are interchangeable and batteries are 4 AA cells. This may sound like a mute point, however I can buy a lot of AA cell for the price of one Canon power pack.

Paul

[Leon]

I used to have a Nikon system, having started with an FTN then progressing to F2 and F3. I had my lenses upgraded to AI which was simple and relatively inexpensive. I sold all of my Nikon stuff five years ago because I was not using it. I find my little Olympus Stylus more useful because I can take it along in a pocket. I also have a Minox B and would use it more if film and processing were more accessible.

One big factor for me is a viewfinder with long eye relief. I wear glasses, and most non-SLR digicams have viewfinders that do not show the full picture area unless your eye is right up to the viewfinder. The Olympus cameras, on the other hand, seem to have been designed for glass wearers, not surprising if you have ever seen a photo of Olympus' designer Maitani.

Anyhow, I have resolved to get a digital camera as soon as the Silly Season is over and the sales begin.

[fos]

The delay time when taking the photo is a major factor. The newer digital cameras have much faster reaction times. My Olympus is terrible for any kind of dynamic situation.

My old Nikon F4 and Cannon F1n were both excellent for action shots with an attached motor drive.

I would like the new digital Nikon SLR but it's $5K+ price is well beyond anything short of fantasy.

fos

[morgoth]

Consult the gphoto2 camera dbase before buying, so you have an idea of what is, and what isn't supported.

If you are going to shoot anything sport related, or action related, forget crappy digital compacts. The AF and memory buffer are just NOT up to it.

Hell, forget digital compacts altogether, since you get a very limited ISO range as a rule, and noise is far higher with a digital compact sensor than with a DSLR (noise is related to pixel/sensor size and something call diffraction). The only thing digital compacts do better is DOF (depth of field) when it comes to macro photography shots.

There are many fine DSLRs available, at decent price points. The Pentax K1** series offers excellent value for money, although AF is lacking for anything seriously sports related imho. Nikon's D300 is nice, but high ISO performance leaves a lot to be desired (lots of noise still and severe softening of the image to try and make noise look better). The D3 is kicka$$ but more than most would be prepared to pay (and uses a different sensor to the D300 I might add). Canon's 40D is an excellent camera - very good buffer and AF performance, my pick of the bunch in all honesty. Oh, and the Olympus E-410 and E-510 are both very nice cameras, other than AF is again lacking. Only Nikon and Canon (with Canon leading) are able to offer serious AF performance these days, with other brands trailing in the dust.

Of course, if you shoot still life shots, people portraits, landscapes, AF is not an issue, nor is the memory buffer. I would generally recommend sticking to Canon or Nikon, only because they have the best quality lenses imho, and the widest range of accessories and lenses, but because there is the least chance of them going bust - remember Minolta?.

Oh, and digital compacts usually have shocking shutter delay...press the shutter and wait a second or two for something to happen...no thanks. True, digital compact shutter lag is generally much better these days, but I'm an SLR kinda guy, I'm happy to take a bit of extra weight and size for the improved performance and image quality that they offer over digital compacts.

If anyone has any specific questions, feel free to pm me and I'll do my best to answer. I know more about photography than I do Linux ;-)

Dave

PS I have a Canon eos1n (film), D60 (digital), 1D (digital) and 1D Mark IIn (digital) in my arsenal, although the Mark IIn really only gets used these days. My website is due to be updated in the coming 2 months or so as well, will feature around 450 odd images, a blog, a guestbook, ability to purchase images and maybe even a photography wiki If I get the chance. I'm in the process of branching out into modelling photograhy as well :-)