Wide Zoom Digital Camera Review

Do you prefer total control over your photographic subjects or do you sometimes shoot natural non-studio images? “I don’t have a preference. I am so passionate about photography and there are so many different aspects that I find it impossible to hold favoritism. I have to separate photography into genres and I take a different approach according to that genre. For example, creative photos are pre-conceived in the mind of the photographer/artist, so it does require the subject to be set up and controlled – to a degree. Although studio controlled images dominate my light painted portfolio, I often leave people as subjects to position themselves. The picture aims to portray a little essence of their natural character. I do help them with ideas if they are stuck though, usually by distracting them with conversation and saying “hold it there” when I think a particular posture, expression or mannerism would work well for the picture.

Your best advice for budding digital photographers? “Experiment, and then experiment some more! Make full use of manual controls instead of sticking with the safe Auto mode. Don’t just refer to the manual when you are stuck on how to operate a basic control, but read it all from front to back and then test out each and every advanced control. That way you get to know your camera thoroughly, and you may happen upon some interesting effects. Try different levels of fill flash, use the white balance, and test the effects of speed/aperture on depth of field. Oh, and look at possible uses for any mistakes! I have been known to use prior unintentional mistakes, as deliberate controlled effects at a later date.”
What kind of digital camera gear do you favor? “Predominantly, I am a digital SLR user of the Canon variety. I just like the look, the feel and the performance of Canon. A Canon feels right in my hand so what more can I say?
Currently I am shooting with a Canon D60, which I was very happy to own when they were first released. Unfortunately 6 months down the line the 10D was released with a substantial drop in price to boot. Now of course there is the 20D too! Such are the agonies of being a die-hard techie fiend. I use only fixed focal length lenses, having found the ‘ever-practical’ zoom to let me down with zoom creep on long exposures.”
Post shoot editing of course requires a digital darkroom. I use a fast processor Dell PC with tons of RAM, a Mac Powerbook G4, an Olympus Camedia Dye Sub printer, a Canon S9000 inkjet, and an Epson Perfection 4870 scanner for my 4×5 film. Let’s also not forget that king of king piece of software – Adobe Photoshop. I just upgraded to CS and I’m not disappointed. ooops… I forgot to mention my trusty set of three halogen torches for light painting…. nothing special or expensive, just normal household torches of various strength.” Says Ms Allen.

Looking for a good enthusiast camera? The Olympus Camedia C-8080 is a very flexible digital camera at a reasonable price. The 8.0 megapixel resolution, 5x optical zoom, coupled with excellent features and optics, make this camera a hot seller in the market.
The Olympus Camedia C-8080 has a couple of outstanding features. For one thing, it has support for both CompactFlash and xD memory cards and has a good and wide variety of professional-quality features.

The 1.8 inch LCD screen is also easy to view, and provides a intuitive navigation system for accessing the various functions. This digital camera comes with a very functional movie mode. I enjoyed taking many small video clips using this feature.

As for a visual angle, the lens is equivalent to a 35mm one for a camera for 35mm films. In my opinion, it is too wide-angle lens. It should be noted that a rated lens for the given camera is that with a focal length meeting the conditions of a natural prospect. Photos are perceived naturally only if an eye sees an image at the same angle as the object. But on the other hand, tastes change, and today a lot of simple auto cameras have short-length lenses. New criteria for choosing the definite lens must be backed by weighty arguments, which are absent in case of digital cameras, since a 1.3 Mpixel matrix gives a low resolution as compared with a film, and the camera is virtually intended for shooting close-ups and not for a great deal of tiny objects, which get in the field of vision of a wide-angle lens.

No tags

This is the first in a series of profiles of photographers from various parts of the imaging spectrum. In the future we will shine the light on news photographers, commercial photographers, nature photographers and so on in order to give you the digital photographer some valuable insights to help make your images better.
For nature pictures I rarely control anything except perhaps using a little fill flash or a reflector in conjunction with the available light. I make a conscious effort not to interfere with a natural scene as I wish to document it as real and naturally as possible. Having said that I must confess I can’t help moving obtrusive litter, sticks or stones from the frame.”

Geraldine says “I have never had much desire to shoot very long distance. I tried a 300mm ‘L’ glass once, but sold it within a fortnight. The thing was a monster, and at f5.6 widest aperture, it was just not fast enough coupled with the focal length and weight of the thing. I simply could not achieve sharp enough pictures. Rather than bring faraway subjects close to me, I prefer bringing tiny things into my visual plane, so that I can study each tiny little detail. I therefore have a natural affinity for Macro photography and Photomicrography. I use an IMXZ Microscope with a zoom factor from x10 – x40 for real tiny subjects, or when I want to reveal what the eye cannot normally see, but with an aperture of f0, I am inevitably dissatisfied with the lack of sharpness throughout. Quite often I will just use the ’sweet spot’ area and crop down afterward. I also have a bellows for an FD lens but I rarely achieve a satisfactory result owing to the lack of mobility and adaptability. I would really enjoy the more mobile MP-E65 but unfortunately it’s not within the budget at the present time.

If you visit her site you will see some of the wonderful macro photography Geraldine captures. Many of those are floral based subject matter. She says “for floral macros, I like to use extremely limited depth of field. This means I inevitably make use of a longer focal length [100mm], the closest shooting distance possible and a wide aperture [often f2]. This usually means the shutter speed is quite fast because there is plenty of light entering the lens. But, that does not mean I do not need a tripod in a natural setting. Often I like to have only the tiniest element in focus, which means handheld shooting is a definite no-no, as the plane of focus can slip at the slightest movement [in the camera or subject]. If the element to be focused on is flat, then generally it is easier to achieve sharpness where I want it. However if it is curved or rounded I try to make sure the camera is positioned at such an angle as to allow the element to be parallel with the back of the camera so that as much of the element as possible is on the same plane as the sensor or film back.”

Design and Construction
The dimensions of the Olympus Camedia C-8080 are approximately 4.9″ by 3.3″ by 3.9″ (WHD). It weighs about 1.46 pounds and has a nice black colored body. Handling this digital camera, I found that it has a sturdy, big body size, is pretty well-built and of an ergonomic design.

The 1.8 inch LCD screen is also easy to view, and provides a intuitive navigation system for accessing the various functions. This digital camera comes with a very functional movie mode. I enjoyed taking many small video clips using this feature.

The camera is equipped with a lens with a constant focal length equal to 4.5 mm and 1/ 2.8 aperture ratio. It also has an optical viewfinder and an LCD display. The latter is immovable, and it is hard to distinguish anything on it when sun rays get on it. The camera is connected to a computer via a USB port. There is a video-out and a connector for an external power supply unit. The camera is powered by two AA rechargeable batteries or alkaline cells, or from a proprietary Li battery OLYMPUS CR-V3.

No tags

Wide Zoom Digital Camera Review

Geraldine Allen is our first subject artist in the spot light. Initially trained in art history and graphic design in the UK; Geraldine gained valuable experience in aesthetics and design principles. Later in life she undertook study of Psychology and graduated with a Bachelor of Science Honors degree. However, Geraldine’s long time interest and passion for photography drew her back. Enthused by the possibilities brought about by Adobe Photoshop in its early days of development, she was soon absorbed by experimenting with digitized photographic collages. It was then she decided to return to Salisbury College in the UK to formalize her experience and update her knowledge of the visual media industry.
For nature pictures I rarely control anything except perhaps using a little fill flash or a reflector in conjunction with the available light. I make a conscious effort not to interfere with a natural scene as I wish to document it as real and naturally as possible. Having said that I must confess I can’t help moving obtrusive litter, sticks or stones from the frame.”

Geraldine says “I have never had much desire to shoot very long distance. I tried a 300mm ‘L’ glass once, but sold it within a fortnight. The thing was a monster, and at f5.6 widest aperture, it was just not fast enough coupled with the focal length and weight of the thing. I simply could not achieve sharp enough pictures. Rather than bring faraway subjects close to me, I prefer bringing tiny things into my visual plane, so that I can study each tiny little detail. I therefore have a natural affinity for Macro photography and Photomicrography. I use an IMXZ Microscope with a zoom factor from x10 – x40 for real tiny subjects, or when I want to reveal what the eye cannot normally see, but with an aperture of f0, I am inevitably dissatisfied with the lack of sharpness throughout. Quite often I will just use the ’sweet spot’ area and crop down afterward. I also have a bellows for an FD lens but I rarely achieve a satisfactory result owing to the lack of mobility and adaptability. I would really enjoy the more mobile MP-E65 but unfortunately it’s not within the budget at the present time.
Post shoot editing of course requires a digital darkroom. I use a fast processor Dell PC with tons of RAM, a Mac Powerbook G4, an Olympus Camedia Dye Sub printer, a Canon S9000 inkjet, and an Epson Perfection 4870 scanner for my 4×5 film. Let’s also not forget that king of king piece of software – Adobe Photoshop. I just upgraded to CS and I’m not disappointed. ooops… I forgot to mention my trusty set of three halogen torches for light painting…. nothing special or expensive, just normal household torches of various strength.” Says Ms Allen.

The Olympus Camedia C-8080 digital camera
However, I also found that the it has very crowded buttons on the top right of the camera and has poor layout of control buttons, which places it at a disadvantage compared to other competing devices.
In any case, lets now have a look at the features of the Olympus Camedia C-8080 in this article.

Battery Life
The Olympus Camedia C-8080 makes use of proprietary lithium batteries and has a pretty decent battery life. The advertised battery life is about 350 images – a fact which I verified in various offline tests of my own. Don’t overlook battery life – its one of the most important factors when purchasing a digital camera.

As for a visual angle, the lens is equivalent to a 35mm one for a camera for 35mm films. In my opinion, it is too wide-angle lens. It should be noted that a rated lens for the given camera is that with a focal length meeting the conditions of a natural prospect. Photos are perceived naturally only if an eye sees an image at the same angle as the object. But on the other hand, tastes change, and today a lot of simple auto cameras have short-length lenses. New criteria for choosing the definite lens must be backed by weighty arguments, which are absent in case of digital cameras, since a 1.3 Mpixel matrix gives a low resolution as compared with a film, and the camera is virtually intended for shooting close-ups and not for a great deal of tiny objects, which get in the field of vision of a wide-angle lens.

No tags

Geraldine studied Creative Digital Arts to familiarize herself with industry standard multimedia software, and wishing to focus on still imaging, then chose to complete her BA (Honors) in PhotoMedia (Photography). Whilst computer manipulation was becoming increasingly popular, she chose to experiment [and now favors] “in camera” effects.

Your best advice for budding digital photographers? “Experiment, and then experiment some more! Make full use of manual controls instead of sticking with the safe Auto mode. Don’t just refer to the manual when you are stuck on how to operate a basic control, but read it all from front to back and then test out each and every advanced control. That way you get to know your camera thoroughly, and you may happen upon some interesting effects. Try different levels of fill flash, use the white balance, and test the effects of speed/aperture on depth of field. Oh, and look at possible uses for any mistakes! I have been known to use prior unintentional mistakes, as deliberate controlled effects at a later date.”

I missed the medium format experience altogether, but what a great discovery it was to find out I could afford a large format system! I ended up with a 4×5 Toyo View camera with a monorail extension, dark cloth, lots of double dark slides, an Schneider Symmar-S 150mm f5.6, and two boxes of Fuji Provia RDP II, all for ?400!!! The film and processing costs have been adding up since, and the results still look plainly ‘LF novice’. ”

If you visit her site you will see some of the wonderful macro photography Geraldine captures. Many of those are floral based subject matter. She says “for floral macros, I like to use extremely limited depth of field. This means I inevitably make use of a longer focal length [100mm], the closest shooting distance possible and a wide aperture [often f2]. This usually means the shutter speed is quite fast because there is plenty of light entering the lens. But, that does not mean I do not need a tripod in a natural setting. Often I like to have only the tiniest element in focus, which means handheld shooting is a definite no-no, as the plane of focus can slip at the slightest movement [in the camera or subject]. If the element to be focused on is flat, then generally it is easier to achieve sharpness where I want it. However if it is curved or rounded I try to make sure the camera is positioned at such an angle as to allow the element to be parallel with the back of the camera so that as much of the element as possible is on the same plane as the sensor or film back.”

Looking for a good enthusiast camera? The Olympus Camedia C-8080 is a very flexible digital camera at a reasonable price. The 8.0 megapixel resolution, 5x optical zoom, coupled with excellent features and optics, make this camera a hot seller in the market.
The Olympus Camedia C-8080 has a couple of outstanding features. For one thing, it has support for both CompactFlash and xD memory cards and has a good and wide variety of professional-quality features.

Shortcomings
Two shortcomings of the Olympus Camedia C-8080 should be mentioned here. The first problem is that this digital camera has very crowded buttons on the top right of the camera In addition, the Olympus Camedia C-8080 also has poor layout of control buttons Not really big problems if you look at it – on the whole, I’d still say this digital camera is a good buy.

The camera is equipped with a lens with a constant focal length equal to 4.5 mm and 1/ 2.8 aperture ratio. It also has an optical viewfinder and an LCD display. The latter is immovable, and it is hard to distinguish anything on it when sun rays get on it. The camera is connected to a computer via a USB port. There is a video-out and a connector for an external power supply unit. The camera is powered by two AA rechargeable batteries or alkaline cells, or from a proprietary Li battery OLYMPUS CR-V3.

No tags

This is the first in a series of profiles of photographers from various parts of the imaging spectrum. In the future we will shine the light on news photographers, commercial photographers, nature photographers and so on in order to give you the digital photographer some valuable insights to help make your images better.

I was also privileged enough to work with landscape photographer Charlie Waite in his studio for some months. Although practicalities of work and business dominated our concerns, I observed his attitudes toward his projects and indeed within his natural day-to-day practicalities. If I had to choose one primary point that I will always remember, it would be how he would look at the sky and all around whenever he stepped outdoors. He would immediately and instinctively study the light and how it fell upon subjects in his immediate surroundings, no matter where he was or what he was doing. You could say he was obsessed with light! So, he taught me the most valuable lesson of all; to study the natural laws of light, how it naturally affected the world around and how different it looked according to the various conditions.”

Currently Geraldine is using four lenses: a 15mm f/2.8 fisheye, a 35mm f/2, a 100m f/2.8 Macro, and a 200mm f/2.8 L – all Canon EF. Of course using these lenses on a DSLR mean the focal length is longer than using on a film SLR due to the size of the sensor, which is why the fisheye is not truly ‘fisheye’ but just very wide, and the 35mm is used as the standard workhorse lens – the equivalent of a 50mm. Shooting an awful lot of nature pictures, her 100mm macro lens has proved a wise investment, allowing her to gain that extra close distance both for macro work and longer distance shots.

If you visit her site you will see some of the wonderful macro photography Geraldine captures. Many of those are floral based subject matter. She says “for floral macros, I like to use extremely limited depth of field. This means I inevitably make use of a longer focal length [100mm], the closest shooting distance possible and a wide aperture [often f2]. This usually means the shutter speed is quite fast because there is plenty of light entering the lens. But, that does not mean I do not need a tripod in a natural setting. Often I like to have only the tiniest element in focus, which means handheld shooting is a definite no-no, as the plane of focus can slip at the slightest movement [in the camera or subject]. If the element to be focused on is flat, then generally it is easier to achieve sharpness where I want it. However if it is curved or rounded I try to make sure the camera is positioned at such an angle as to allow the element to be parallel with the back of the camera so that as much of the element as possible is on the same plane as the sensor or film back.”

The Olympus Camedia C-8080 digital camera
However, I also found that the it has very crowded buttons on the top right of the camera and has poor layout of control buttons, which places it at a disadvantage compared to other competing devices.
In any case, lets now have a look at the features of the Olympus Camedia C-8080 in this article.

Storage and Transfer
The Olympus Camedia C-8080 stores your beautiful pictures in CompactFlash Type I/II and xD memory cards cards. Given the 8.0 megapixel resolution, my advice is to get pretty large memory cards – at least 128MB. This will allow you to take pictures without worrying about capacity. In terms of photo transfer, the Olympus Camedia C-8080 uses a USB interface. This enables you to make speedy uploads of pictures to the PC as and when you need to do so.

The DC-120 has significantly more possibilities, and the quality is the same as of the simple C-1.
The camera is completely automatic, but it handles special shooting modes quite good, including the macro, as you can see on the photos.
On the whole, the camera is a classical sample of a digital auto camera class. And it is hard to expect something more of such a compact device. It is possible that cameras of this class won’t anymore undergo severe changes since a 1.3- Mpixel matrix is more than enough for the most of purposes. And compactness and a possibility not to think while shooting are the right things a consumer wants.

No tags

Geraldine Allen is our first subject artist in the spot light. Initially trained in art history and graphic design in the UK; Geraldine gained valuable experience in aesthetics and design principles. Later in life she undertook study of Psychology and graduated with a Bachelor of Science Honors degree. However, Geraldine’s long time interest and passion for photography drew her back. Enthused by the possibilities brought about by Adobe Photoshop in its early days of development, she was soon absorbed by experimenting with digitized photographic collages. It was then she decided to return to Salisbury College in the UK to formalize her experience and update her knowledge of the visual media industry.

Have you ever had a mentor who had an impact on your style and art? “I received an awful lot of support from a wonderful tutor called Ian Smith at Salisbury College in the UK. Whilst I was given endless encouragement to experiment in whichever way I liked, I was also taught to question everything and to give that experimentation some decisive direction. I was to ask myself what my pictures were trying to communicate, and to plan them with specific intention and aims. In the final year at Salisbury College I reached the dreaded stage where I was forced to choose one field of specialization. God forbid, how was I to make a single choice when I loved all and sundry from traditional to completely abstract and contemporary? I remember actually struggling to hold back tears when it came to the point of my having to drop some genres. I was a cop-out really because I chose to stick with two fields instead of one; fine art and nature, and then I used a unifying concept to put them both in my final portfolio!

Geraldine says “I have never had much desire to shoot very long distance. I tried a 300mm ‘L’ glass once, but sold it within a fortnight. The thing was a monster, and at f5.6 widest aperture, it was just not fast enough coupled with the focal length and weight of the thing. I simply could not achieve sharp enough pictures. Rather than bring faraway subjects close to me, I prefer bringing tiny things into my visual plane, so that I can study each tiny little detail. I therefore have a natural affinity for Macro photography and Photomicrography. I use an IMXZ Microscope with a zoom factor from x10 – x40 for real tiny subjects, or when I want to reveal what the eye cannot normally see, but with an aperture of f0, I am inevitably dissatisfied with the lack of sharpness throughout. Quite often I will just use the ’sweet spot’ area and crop down afterward. I also have a bellows for an FD lens but I rarely achieve a satisfactory result owing to the lack of mobility and adaptability. I would really enjoy the more mobile MP-E65 but unfortunately it’s not within the budget at the present time.

If you visit her site you will see some of the wonderful macro photography Geraldine captures. Many of those are floral based subject matter. She says “for floral macros, I like to use extremely limited depth of field. This means I inevitably make use of a longer focal length [100mm], the closest shooting distance possible and a wide aperture [often f2]. This usually means the shutter speed is quite fast because there is plenty of light entering the lens. But, that does not mean I do not need a tripod in a natural setting. Often I like to have only the tiniest element in focus, which means handheld shooting is a definite no-no, as the plane of focus can slip at the slightest movement [in the camera or subject]. If the element to be focused on is flat, then generally it is easier to achieve sharpness where I want it. However if it is curved or rounded I try to make sure the camera is positioned at such an angle as to allow the element to be parallel with the back of the camera so that as much of the element as possible is on the same plane as the sensor or film back.”

Looking for a good enthusiast camera? The Olympus Camedia C-8080 is a very flexible digital camera at a reasonable price. The 8.0 megapixel resolution, 5x optical zoom, coupled with excellent features and optics, make this camera a hot seller in the market.
The Olympus Camedia C-8080 has a couple of outstanding features. For one thing, it has support for both CompactFlash and xD memory cards and has a good and wide variety of professional-quality features.

Battery Life
The Olympus Camedia C-8080 makes use of proprietary lithium batteries and has a pretty decent battery life. The advertised battery life is about 350 images – a fact which I verified in various offline tests of my own. Don’t overlook battery life – its one of the most important factors when purchasing a digital camera.

The camera is perfectly deals with shooting panoramas, and althogh the matrix is not too big, we can get quite large shots by seaming several frames together.
To estimate the progress made by digital cameras during the last several years let’s compare shots of our baby with those made with the advanced camera KODAK DC-120 4 years ago with almost the same matrix.

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Wide Zoom Digital Camera Review

When did your “aha” moment arrive; the time when you knew that your affinity for photography could take you further regarding your creative and professional career? “I took a candid shot of my teenage son one day when I just happened to be at an elevated height; the combination of height, the long lens, and the way I had composed his posture in the frame brought an interesting result and I thought then that there are so many variables and I would never get bored if I did this for a living. I had always enjoyed photography but I didn’t really learn much until digital came along. All of a sudden I learned so fast because the results were instant and I could relate which mistakes were associated with which controls.”

Have you ever had a mentor who had an impact on your style and art? “I received an awful lot of support from a wonderful tutor called Ian Smith at Salisbury College in the UK. Whilst I was given endless encouragement to experiment in whichever way I liked, I was also taught to question everything and to give that experimentation some decisive direction. I was to ask myself what my pictures were trying to communicate, and to plan them with specific intention and aims. In the final year at Salisbury College I reached the dreaded stage where I was forced to choose one field of specialization. God forbid, how was I to make a single choice when I loved all and sundry from traditional to completely abstract and contemporary? I remember actually struggling to hold back tears when it came to the point of my having to drop some genres. I was a cop-out really because I chose to stick with two fields instead of one; fine art and nature, and then I used a unifying concept to put them both in my final portfolio!
What kind of digital camera gear do you favor? “Predominantly, I am a digital SLR user of the Canon variety. I just like the look, the feel and the performance of Canon. A Canon feels right in my hand so what more can I say?
Currently I am shooting with a Canon D60, which I was very happy to own when they were first released. Unfortunately 6 months down the line the 10D was released with a substantial drop in price to boot. Now of course there is the 20D too! Such are the agonies of being a die-hard techie fiend. I use only fixed focal length lenses, having found the ‘ever-practical’ zoom to let me down with zoom creep on long exposures.”

If you visit her site you will see some of the wonderful macro photography Geraldine captures. Many of those are floral based subject matter. She says “for floral macros, I like to use extremely limited depth of field. This means I inevitably make use of a longer focal length [100mm], the closest shooting distance possible and a wide aperture [often f2]. This usually means the shutter speed is quite fast because there is plenty of light entering the lens. But, that does not mean I do not need a tripod in a natural setting. Often I like to have only the tiniest element in focus, which means handheld shooting is a definite no-no, as the plane of focus can slip at the slightest movement [in the camera or subject]. If the element to be focused on is flat, then generally it is easier to achieve sharpness where I want it. However if it is curved or rounded I try to make sure the camera is positioned at such an angle as to allow the element to be parallel with the back of the camera so that as much of the element as possible is on the same plane as the sensor or film back.”

Optics and Resolution
The Olympus Camedia C-8080 comes with a 8.0 megapixel CCD and takes very nice pictures. The test pictures which I took for this
digital camera showed great color accuracy and brilliance.
The 5x optical zoom functions very well too – I was able to take distant objects with minimal fuss using the zoom lens.
Also, here are some details of the optical system within the Olympus Camedia C-8080 – it boasts an ISO range of Auto, 50, 64, 100, 125, 160, 200, 250, 320, 400, an aperture range of f8 (wide) – f2.4/f3.5 (wide/tele), as well as shutter speeds from 16 – 1/4000 sec. Setting the camera to auto mode allows these exposure settings to be set automatically. In my test shots, most pictures taken with the auto mode turned out excellent.

Conclusion
Well, that concludes this review of the Olympus Camedia C-8080. You know understand the various characteristics of this digital camera – hopefully this knowledge will assist you in making an intelligent purchase decision. I think this digital camera takes pretty good pictures and on the whole, it ranks high in my books. Do check it out in your local camera store!

The DC-120 has significantly more possibilities, and the quality is the same as of the simple C-1.
The camera is completely automatic, but it handles special shooting modes quite good, including the macro, as you can see on the photos.
On the whole, the camera is a classical sample of a digital auto camera class. And it is hard to expect something more of such a compact device. It is possible that cameras of this class won’t anymore undergo severe changes since a 1.3- Mpixel matrix is more than enough for the most of purposes. And compactness and a possibility not to think while shooting are the right things a consumer wants.

No tags

This is the first in a series of profiles of photographers from various parts of the imaging spectrum. In the future we will shine the light on news photographers, commercial photographers, nature photographers and so on in order to give you the digital photographer some valuable insights to help make your images better.
For nature pictures I rarely control anything except perhaps using a little fill flash or a reflector in conjunction with the available light. I make a conscious effort not to interfere with a natural scene as I wish to document it as real and naturally as possible. Having said that I must confess I can’t help moving obtrusive litter, sticks or stones from the frame.”

Currently Geraldine is using four lenses: a 15mm f/2.8 fisheye, a 35mm f/2, a 100m f/2.8 Macro, and a 200mm f/2.8 L – all Canon EF. Of course using these lenses on a DSLR mean the focal length is longer than using on a film SLR due to the size of the sensor, which is why the fisheye is not truly ‘fisheye’ but just very wide, and the 35mm is used as the standard workhorse lens – the equivalent of a 50mm. Shooting an awful lot of nature pictures, her 100mm macro lens has proved a wise investment, allowing her to gain that extra close distance both for macro work and longer distance shots.

If you visit her site you will see some of the wonderful macro photography Geraldine captures. Many of those are floral based subject matter. She says “for floral macros, I like to use extremely limited depth of field. This means I inevitably make use of a longer focal length [100mm], the closest shooting distance possible and a wide aperture [often f2]. This usually means the shutter speed is quite fast because there is plenty of light entering the lens. But, that does not mean I do not need a tripod in a natural setting. Often I like to have only the tiniest element in focus, which means handheld shooting is a definite no-no, as the plane of focus can slip at the slightest movement [in the camera or subject]. If the element to be focused on is flat, then generally it is easier to achieve sharpness where I want it. However if it is curved or rounded I try to make sure the camera is positioned at such an angle as to allow the element to be parallel with the back of the camera so that as much of the element as possible is on the same plane as the sensor or film back.”

Looking for a good enthusiast camera? The Olympus Camedia C-8080 is a very flexible digital camera at a reasonable price. The 8.0 megapixel resolution, 5x optical zoom, coupled with excellent features and optics, make this camera a hot seller in the market.
The Olympus Camedia C-8080 has a couple of outstanding features. For one thing, it has support for both CompactFlash and xD memory cards and has a good and wide variety of professional-quality features.
User Controls
Most photographers are very concerned about the user controls found in a digital camera. The Olympus Camedia C-8080 has manual controls to allow one to better control the exposure settings. There are comprehensive focusing options available if youre more adventurous and want to play around with advanced manual camera options.

The camera is equipped with a lens with a constant focal length equal to 4.5 mm and 1/ 2.8 aperture ratio. It also has an optical viewfinder and an LCD display. The latter is immovable, and it is hard to distinguish anything on it when sun rays get on it. The camera is connected to a computer via a USB port. There is a video-out and a connector for an external power supply unit. The camera is powered by two AA rechargeable batteries or alkaline cells, or from a proprietary Li battery OLYMPUS CR-V3.

No tags

Wide Zoom Digital Camera Review

Geraldine studied Creative Digital Arts to familiarize herself with industry standard multimedia software, and wishing to focus on still imaging, then chose to complete her BA (Honors) in PhotoMedia (Photography). Whilst computer manipulation was becoming increasingly popular, she chose to experiment [and now favors] “in camera” effects.

I was also privileged enough to work with landscape photographer Charlie Waite in his studio for some months. Although practicalities of work and business dominated our concerns, I observed his attitudes toward his projects and indeed within his natural day-to-day practicalities. If I had to choose one primary point that I will always remember, it would be how he would look at the sky and all around whenever he stepped outdoors. He would immediately and instinctively study the light and how it fell upon subjects in his immediate surroundings, no matter where he was or what he was doing. You could say he was obsessed with light! So, he taught me the most valuable lesson of all; to study the natural laws of light, how it naturally affected the world around and how different it looked according to the various conditions.”
What kind of digital camera gear do you favor? “Predominantly, I am a digital SLR user of the Canon variety. I just like the look, the feel and the performance of Canon. A Canon feels right in my hand so what more can I say?
Currently I am shooting with a Canon D60, which I was very happy to own when they were first released. Unfortunately 6 months down the line the 10D was released with a substantial drop in price to boot. Now of course there is the 20D too! Such are the agonies of being a die-hard techie fiend. I use only fixed focal length lenses, having found the ‘ever-practical’ zoom to let me down with zoom creep on long exposures.”

Geraldine has always been intrigued by the magical, unique and otherworldly qualities found in the work of photographers like Robert Damachy, Julia Margaret Cameron, Diane Arbus, and Sarah Moon. Specific influences on her photographic development with her light painting have been Berthold Steinhilber, Jorg Grundler, and Diana Thorneycroft.

The Olympus Camedia C-8080 digital camera
However, I also found that the it has very crowded buttons on the top right of the camera and has poor layout of control buttons, which places it at a disadvantage compared to other competing devices.
In any case, lets now have a look at the features of the Olympus Camedia C-8080 in this article.
User Controls
Most photographers are very concerned about the user controls found in a digital camera. The Olympus Camedia C-8080 has manual controls to allow one to better control the exposure settings. There are comprehensive focusing options available if youre more adventurous and want to play around with advanced manual camera options.

The camera is equipped with a lens with a constant focal length equal to 4.5 mm and 1/ 2.8 aperture ratio. It also has an optical viewfinder and an LCD display. The latter is immovable, and it is hard to distinguish anything on it when sun rays get on it. The camera is connected to a computer via a USB port. There is a video-out and a connector for an external power supply unit. The camera is powered by two AA rechargeable batteries or alkaline cells, or from a proprietary Li battery OLYMPUS CR-V3.

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Geraldine Allen is our first subject artist in the spot light. Initially trained in art history and graphic design in the UK; Geraldine gained valuable experience in aesthetics and design principles. Later in life she undertook study of Psychology and graduated with a Bachelor of Science Honors degree. However, Geraldine’s long time interest and passion for photography drew her back. Enthused by the possibilities brought about by Adobe Photoshop in its early days of development, she was soon absorbed by experimenting with digitized photographic collages. It was then she decided to return to Salisbury College in the UK to formalize her experience and update her knowledge of the visual media industry.
For nature pictures I rarely control anything except perhaps using a little fill flash or a reflector in conjunction with the available light. I make a conscious effort not to interfere with a natural scene as I wish to document it as real and naturally as possible. Having said that I must confess I can’t help moving obtrusive litter, sticks or stones from the frame.”

I missed the medium format experience altogether, but what a great discovery it was to find out I could afford a large format system! I ended up with a 4×5 Toyo View camera with a monorail extension, dark cloth, lots of double dark slides, an Schneider Symmar-S 150mm f5.6, and two boxes of Fuji Provia RDP II, all for ?400!!! The film and processing costs have been adding up since, and the results still look plainly ‘LF novice’. ”

Geraldine has always been intrigued by the magical, unique and otherworldly qualities found in the work of photographers like Robert Damachy, Julia Margaret Cameron, Diane Arbus, and Sarah Moon. Specific influences on her photographic development with her light painting have been Berthold Steinhilber, Jorg Grundler, and Diana Thorneycroft.

Optics and Resolution
The Olympus Camedia C-8080 comes with a 8.0 megapixel CCD and takes very nice pictures. The test pictures which I took for this
digital camera showed great color accuracy and brilliance.
The 5x optical zoom functions very well too – I was able to take distant objects with minimal fuss using the zoom lens.
Also, here are some details of the optical system within the Olympus Camedia C-8080 – it boasts an ISO range of Auto, 50, 64, 100, 125, 160, 200, 250, 320, 400, an aperture range of f8 (wide) – f2.4/f3.5 (wide/tele), as well as shutter speeds from 16 – 1/4000 sec. Setting the camera to auto mode allows these exposure settings to be set automatically. In my test shots, most pictures taken with the auto mode turned out excellent.

Battery Life
The Olympus Camedia C-8080 makes use of proprietary lithium batteries and has a pretty decent battery life. The advertised battery life is about 350 images – a fact which I verified in various offline tests of my own. Don’t overlook battery life – its one of the most important factors when purchasing a digital camera.

This is a quite pretty baby with a 1.31 Megapixel matrix. Its small dimensions allows you to hold it in a pocket or in a dolly-bag. For today this is a rather simple camera which is convenient to be always at hand to fix all interesting events. The camera is switched on by moving off a lid on the lens. Shooting is easily made with one hand. But additional control buttons such as for navigating the menu are located on the left, and, therefore, intended for the other hand. It might have been more convenient to locate them also on the right to release the second hand. But such layout had its own advantages: you will not press them accidentally during the shooting.

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