This will in no way be a technical article, any data shown will be credited to the original source.
Over the past few years, Olympus has been one of the dominant players in the digicam marketplace. The company has one of the broadest digital camera lineups in the industry, with numerous models ranging from pure entry-level, point-and-shoot digicams to the incredible "professional" E1 SLR. With the Camedia C-5050 Zoom, Olympus improved upon the Camedia C-4040 model (an outstanding digicam in its own right), by increasing CCD resolution to five million pixels, increasing exposure options, adding a tilting LCD and external flash hot shoe, and significantly refining the user interface. Not the least among its accomplishments, the C-5050 Zoom supports no less than three recording media formats, including SmartMedia, CompactFlash, and xD-Picture Card. The C-5050 Zoom also features a Raw data mode, and the ability to extract JPEG images with adjusted image parameters from RAW files in the camera.
Manufacturer's spec
5.0-megapixel CCD delivering up to 2,560 x 1,920-pixel resolution images (3,200 x 2,400 pixels with Optimum Image Enlargement).
1.8-inch, color LCD display that tilts 90 degrees upward.
Super Bright 3x, 7.1 - 21.3mm, f1.8 - f/8.0 zoom lens (equivalent to a 35-105mm lens on a 35mm camera).
3.4x Digital Zoom.
Manual, Auto (iESP), and Spot Auto Focus control, with AF assist light for low-light shooting.
Shutter speeds from 1/2,000 to 16 seconds for still images; 1/10,000 to 1/30 second for movies.
Program AE, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, and Manual exposure modes, plus five preset Scene modes.
My Mode for saving custom user settings.
Spot, Multi-Spot, or ESP multi-patterned metering systems.
Auto Bracketing, Sequence Shooting, Panoramic, and "2-in-1" capture modes.
Adjustable White Balance with nine settings, plus a WB color adjustment function.
Built-in flash with four operating modes, two Slow Sync modes, and extended working range to 18 feet.
External flash hot-shoe accepts generic strobes as well as dedicated Olympus units.
Optional "single-pop" flash mode for use with external slave flash units.
Noise Reduction for improved image quality on long exposures.
Optional autofocus-assist illuminator.
Live histogram display option.
Image sharpness, saturation, and contrast adjustments.
Black-and-White, Sepia, White Board, and Black Board capture modes.
QuickTime Movie mode with sound, and Voice Caption mode.
Infrared remote control included.
JPEG, uncompressed TIFF, and RAW file formats.
Images saved to either SmartMedia, CompactFlash, or xD-Picture Card memory cards (32MB xD-Picture Card included).
USB Auto-Connect for fast image download.
Video cable for connecting to a television set.
Software CD with Olympus' Camedia Master 4.0 utility software (includes QuickTime and USB drivers).
DPOF (Digital Print Order Format) compatibility and print settings.
Power from four AA batteries, two CR-V3 battery packs, or optional AC adapter (set of NiMH rechargeable batteries and charger included.
Not made since 2004 this little beauty still commands a s/h price, on ebay, of up to £130.
Take a look at the following photo to see why I say "this little beauty"
Taken on Sunday 7 October 2007
1/30 @ f3.6 iso 64 tripod remote release CS3.
This is the place to find everything you will need to know about the C5050 or most things Olympus, Wrotniak.net, all written by an ex pat Polish American, born and raised in Poland, a physicist by education. Andrzej has been running the site since 1995 just for the fun of it, and for the pleasure .He admits to being a little biased towards Olympus but is still sensible.
The example I am using was purchased via ebay from Luton Camera Repairs for £150 and is an Olympus refurbished unit with a 12 month guarantee from themselves.
They have all models and offer some really good deals and a good delivery service.
The macro modes offered will allow you to get as close as 1.5---2 centimeters from the lens front element using manual focus and give 1st class results.
The amount of override available makes this a very useful compact.
No parallax adjustment is shown by the viewfinder so when working within a few feet it is recommended that the LCD screen is used, when working in macro/manual mode the center of LCD is enlarged as an aid to focusing.
This works quite well as long as it is light enough, when the light falls the screen does try to break up.
The remote infra red release is very good when using a tripod as it saves any contact at the time of tripping the shutter.
For a 4 year old 5meg camera it holds up very well against more modern equipment, with a good colour rendition and image quality.
The metal body gives a feeling of build quality that even modern plastics cannot re-produce. I am using 4 x 2,500 milli amp AA re-chargeable batteries and they give an excellent battery life, All in all I can only say that I am very pleased with the results produced and will continue to use this compact as well as my SLR.
4 new images 7-11-07
All taken at Trentham park 4-11- 2007
More practice and a couple of more images ( the more I take the more impressed I become ) taken on 11-12-2007
at Bedford lock on the Cauldon canal.
The 5050 is not the quickest compact to shoot with, modern compacts may focus quicker, start up quicker and generally operate
faster but the slower pace makes you think a bit more and that is sometimes not a bad thing!
Both images show good detail but I am impressed by the amount of shadow detail retained in the shot into the light under the bridge.
As you can see, looking at these examples the 5050 is equally at home with close up detail as it is with general shots.
