flima
when i was looking at a camera at first i was looking at something that would be point and shoot but then i thought that i would like to have a camera that i can have as much creative control over as i do with my SLR and my other digital (fuji 602Z, but unfortuantely there is no housing available for it, and now that it has been replaced(even though the replacement is a step in the wrong direction) the odds of that happening are slim).
when i orginally started looking at the c5050 it was still in production but as we learned recently that it was discontinued for the new model was comming but after i looked at the specs of new model and wasnt impressed( ie going to a slower lens) and the features it did add (full frame movie clips) didnt appeal to me because if i wanted to do video i would use a dedicated camera for that. thats why i stuck with the 5050, and then it became a race against time before all inventory had been exhusted and i would be out of luck as i really didnt want a 5060.
my next step was to look at all the online reviews and information as possible, and i first started with my favorite online digital camera site
www.dpreview.com
if you want to read a detailed review of the C5050 here it is
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/olympusc5050z/
from reading the review and learning how much i could about the camera and its features i learned a great number of things that the c5050 did such as
manipulate the settings(these would be in compression of SHQ or HQ, contrast,saturation,etc) in my camera to lessen the post shot work was very good to me.
also the fact that i can store camera settings in the camera (8 of them) makes it a whole lot easier from going from shooting on land to the water.
next would be the optics, the fact that the c5050 has a f1.8 lens on it makes that i can shot in lower light without the need for a flash or external light source.
another thing that is in consideration for me is that i have larger hands then the average person so that if a camera is too small i will end up wrapping my hands around it and not making it very useful, the c5050 is
after looking through the review to find out more about it i went to the local compusa near school to try it out and found out it fit my hand perfectly.
what else contributed to my choice of the c5050
1. use of Compact Flash cards: this is a good plus because CF cards are basically the standard in the professional level cameras which is what eventually(for me this is 2 years or more out, since im still in college) i will go to (DSLR). also in that i have around 3 GB of CF cards at the house
2. a large users group on here and online, as from what i have read in the past is that there are many sites dedicated to the this series of cameras.
3. Dee would have been a big influence on me with her help and experince with this camera as well as previous generations.
as comparing it to the canon A80, i didnt have to go anywhere becuase my dad has one at home that he got as a pocket camera. After a little bit of playing with it i had drawn several conclusions.
1. the flip-twist LCD screen was very small and low resoultion and made images hard to see. inaddition to this LCD screen was very dark and hard to see the details in the image. also the mount for the screen seems a litte weak
2. even in the non auto modes you dont have alot of control over the camera, you could change apetures or shutter speeds but not much else(and even those were limited). and when you did control some of the settings it would choose the results would be inconsistent(same scence would produce vastly different settings
3. a slow lense the lense at wide was a 2.8 but only there out side of full wide you only had 3.2 min apeture and at full tele its almost a f4 which in low light is going to bring some really slow shutter speed times
4. the 4way controller is in a bad location(would be right under your palm) as you have a tendency to hit it accidently and change settings(flash, etc) that you dont want changed
5. the casing of the camera doesnt feel as solid as the 5050 does, the a80 has more of a plasticky feel to it then the metal of the 5050
enough of the negatives the a80 has its good sides to
1. the shutter lag isnt as bad as most PS cameras, it came in a alittle more then a .2 sec slower then my 602, which would put the shutter lag (at 1.2 seconds, this would be from time you push the shutter all the way down from not having you finger on the shutter to all the way down, and from have press its around .8 of a second)
2.small and compact- it can fit into the palm of my hand and will easly fit into a jacket pocket or a purse
3. uses compact flash cards: which means you can get cards from 8mb -4gb so you could shot for ever and not need to stop
4. for its price and size it is very competitive and it is the first 4mp camera on the market that comes in under 400 dollars
if you would like me to do a side by side comparison i would be more then happy to do that for you
for my dad his A80 will be fine as he only is using this camera as a P&S for normal everyday events and eventually underwater but he still prefers his SLR. He has said to me that he knows the limitations of the a80 and that they dont bother him at all, but for a pocket camera its good for him
as for the cost factor there was only a litte over a 200 spread between the 80(399) and 5050(599)
hope this helps
and Reyer you can bet i will be posting pictures
well its been a long day and i hope im not rambling much, but in the morning i will look this over to see if i missed anything and i will post it
Scubatooth
