Rating: 
Summary: Top-end Camera with easy to use features
Review: I originally was waiting for the Nikon 950, but when I saw this beauty I snapped it up quick. This camera has it all! If your a novice photographer looking for a nice digital camera that takes profesional quality photos, this is your camera. If your an expert photographer and are looking for a high-end digital camera that you can manipulate the shutter speed, film speed or aperature as well as a wide variety of special effects, this is your camera.The 3030 has a very easy to use menu for selecting all of your options, and you don't need a masters degree to understand and operate it. The camera is also very good on batteries! I personally use rechargable AA batteries and I have never had a problem. another nice feature is the USB port, you can download your photos ultra-fast from your camera to your computer. The manual is very easy to understand, I had no problems interpreting the instructions. My only complaint about the camera is the lens cap. It can be easily lost as it has no retention straps. Also the lens zooms out upon turning on the power, and you have better removed the lens cap first or risk stripping out the gears in the lens. But this is a minor issue. This camera also comes with a 16meg memory card (most cameras come with 8meg) but I would recommend the 32meg card, nothing worse than running out of memory! If you are looking for a high-end camera and don't mind shelling out about $800, I would really consider this camera.
Rating:
Summary: Correction of "Arguably the best 3.3. megapixel..." review
Review: In my earlier review, I stated that one of the minor shortcomings of the Olympus C-3030 is that it lacks an "integrated" optical+digital zoom. This was incorrect -- I simply misread the manual. In fact, the integrated zoom is one of the improvements of this model over its predecessor, the C-2020. So, all the better for the C-3030!
Rating:
Summary: Arguably the best 3.3 megapixel camera on the market
Review: If you're looking for a 3.3 megapixel camera, you'll probably end up choosing from among the Olympus C-3030Z, the Nikon Coolpix 990, Sony DSC-S70 and the Canon PowerShot S70. All are great products. After extensive research, I decided on the Olympus C-3030Z. I suppose the primary thing to look for in any camera, analog or digital, is image quality. In this regard, all of these cameras score very well. People seem to say that the Sony produces the sharpest pictures with the most vivid -- but not necessarily most accurate -- color; the Canon's images are good but tend to be on the "cool" side; and the Nikon and Olympus are said to produce the most balanced and "accurate" images. It is hard to say which camera takes the "best" pictures: some people prefer the razor-sharp look of the Sony images, while others find the Olympus and Nikon images much more pleasing -- it's all a matter of taste. But basically, you are going to get superb pictures from any of these cameras. Personally, I thought the Olympus and Nikon produced the most natural-looking and visually appealing images. Image quality aside, there are basically 3 reasons I chose the Olympus. FIRST, it has a solid, rugged feel and its black aluminum body fits naturally into your hand. (The Coolpix's twist body is, well, cool -- but I found it awkward to hold, and the Olympus is more compact.) SECOND, the Olympus uses the tiny "SmartMedia" flash memory card, which I prefer, simply because I have another device that uses the same format. (The Sony uses its proprietary "Memory Stick"; the Nikon uses CompactFlash Type I; and the Canon takes CompactFlash Type I/II, I think.) THIRD, the Olympus provides a large number of image resolution storage modes -- you can choose any combination of picture size (2048x1536, 1600x1200, 1280x960,1024x768, 640x480) and compression level (uncompressed TIFF, jpeg high quality, jpeg normal), for a total of 15 different combinations. This flexibility enables you to choose the resolution/compression appropriate to your particular intended use of the images. (By the way, you can fit about 20 images at 2048x1536, normal jpeg compression onto the supplied 16MB SmartMedia card.) FOURTH, the Olympus is very fast: quick power-up, very little shutter "lag", and large memory buffer that makes a "burst" or sequence mode possible. FIFTH, the camera allows you to make short (up to 3 minutes) movies, with audio. I've had the camera for about a week now, and I love it. The pictures are astonishingly good, and the camera has an intuitive menu system that makes it easy to use. The USB connection is a snap, although I use a SmartMedia card reader to download pix to my computer. A nice touch: the camera comes with an A/V cable and a little wireless remote so you can hook it up to your TV, gather everyone around and gawk at the pictures you just took! All in all, I feel I made the right choice with the Olympus. My only criticisms: Olympus should package this camera with rechargeable NiMH batteries, not the lithium disposables it comes with; the LCD screen has a bit of a glare problem in the outdoors; and the optical zoom isn't integrated with the digital zoom (i.e., the camera doesn't automatically transition to digital zoom when optical zoom "runs out") -- you have to access a menu to switch from one to the other. But these are very minor gripes. I recommend the Olympus C-3030Z without hesitation!
Rating:
Summary: Question!
Review: With an Olympus C3030 Digital Zoom Camera, I wonder how many pictures can be stored in a 32 MB SmartMedia Card? I'm really interested in buying this camera. Please let me know at wichean2514@hotmail.com
Rating:
Summary: good camera -- good instructions
Review: First -- this is a good camera. The surprise is how fast the manual reads and how simple to follow the instructions are! Who knew? This is my first experience with a digital camera of any kind after 26 years in the darkroom working in cold water -- and what a treat. I can override the shutter speed, the aperture or both and get the same effects as with my old manual Nikon -- and do it in color, sepia, or black and white. What's more, the flash is versitile and easy to switch off for ambient light work -- and even the fully automatic settings turn out some fine exposures. It self corrects for florescent, tungsten, shade or sun -- it zooms tight for close ups without requiring lots of extra lens purchases up front -- it gives me enough flexibility in dpi / resolution that I can shoot 40 or 300 frames on a single disk -- and it's easy to download into my little Mac iBook thanks to the included software -- it does everything I would have on my wish list if I were making up this camera myself.... No problems. Just be sure and get extra Nimh batteries and lots of smartmedia to play with. I'm building a toy store online with mine -- and the teddy bears all love to have their picture made so I'm burning up those little 32mg disks.... fun fun fun!
Rating:
Summary: It's an awesome camera, but maybe it's too awesome for you.
Review: I guess 2,048X1,536 is much more than enough for most of people. To have a reasonable image and file storage, I think 960*1200 is enough. Although you can adjust settings on this camera, you are likely to waste some money if you don't really need the most cutting tech. this camera has. Anyway, I love this terrific camera, even more than the new car I bought recently. : )
Rating:
Summary: One camera that does it all
Review: I had the predecessor to this camera the 2020Z. Great camera but I wanted audio capability. Everything I liked about the 2020Z is here and more. Its still compact (fits in pockets better than most), EASY on batteries, excellent colors, fast lens (2020Z is faster), fast shot recovery, wireless remote and very light weight. The 3030Z expands on the 2020Z with one lever zoom for both optical and digital modes, higher resolution (won't gain you much on average size pictures), more control over power off and on settings. Some things that I do miss about the 2020Z are it's faster lens and the ability to shot 30 frames per second in low resolution movie mode. You do have a large memory buffer on the 3030Z so you can shoot 5 frames in best resolution mode in a little over a second! While no camera can yet do it all this one comes very close. I currently have an Olympus 2500L, 500L, 2020Z and Nikon Coolpix 950 and this is my favorite by far. The only things I would change on the 3030Z are: an incredibly close macro mode like the 950/990 Nikon, standard NiMH batteries and charger like my 2020Z, faster lens of the 2020Z (one of the fastest on a digital), 30 fps in all movie modes as well as optical instead of digital zoom with movies and the nifty little exposure histogram like on the high-end Nikons. Those minor quibbles aside it is an outstanding camera. It doesn't eat batteries, takes great pictures (not just great digital pictures) and is very fast between shots and from the time your press the shutter to the shot is actually taken. If you have used a Kodak 280 or 290 you know how aggravating it is to press the shutter and wait...wait... wait... until you finally lose the once in a lifetime shot you actually wanted to take. It is tough to go wrong if you buy this camera. It is not cheap but it is an excellent value. The "boot up" time of the camera is really quick too. If you are willing to trade off a slightly smaller memory buffer for burst mode and slightly less recording time in movies as well the Olympus 3000Z is a good choice and you will save about $200. One big plus often overlooked is the software that comes bundled with the camera. The software included with the Nikon's is basic at best. If you buy the 3030Z you get Adobe Photoshop 5 LE which is an outstanding program that gives you a lot of control over editing your images. It may be the "light" version of Photoshop but it is still incredibly powerful. This does NOT come with the 3000Z though! I think that is part of the pricing difference between the two. One other big plus about the Olmpus "C" series in general is that you rarely get "red eye" when using the built in flash. I can't seem to avoid it on my Nikon 950 and my friend has the same problem on his Nikon 990. The 3030Z does a great job in low light conditions without the flash too. Buy one, it's a great camera!
Rating:
Summary: Stunning Razor Sharp definition !
Review: I bought a C3030 about a month ago. On both Program and A/S/M mode, the results have been oustanding ! I have printed upto Super A3 Size on an EPSON 1270 Stlylus Photo (Custom mode 1440dpi) and the details are brilliantly enlarged. The Digital photo quality has certainly surpassed the Film --- blue sky and shaded areas, colour and tone of every shot has convinced me that I can now pack up my 35mm SLRs for good. No kidding, you've gotta try and see to believe it. Since I bought mine, four of my colleages bought the same thing. Although the Camera feels light, after two days, one get easily adjusted to the wieght. Perhaps a little more wieght and a bit of metal would have made it feel like a real replacement of a 35mm SLR. If you are looking for the best quality print out, I bet there is hardly anything better than the EPSON Stylus Photo 870 or 1270 -- using 3 picolitres ink droplets, these Printers are also among the highest resolution currently available in the market.
Rating:
Summary: Most Awsome
Review: I've been waiting for this camera for a long time. Small, compact, very easy to use. The manual was a breeze to go through and the pictures, well what can I say. I'm an advanced camera buff who loves to take photos of just about anything and having this little one by my side---well move over my dear old 35mm slr--you've been replaced. I just recently ordered some additional lens to go with this guy. I did a wedding shoot last weekend and the results---well most awsome! And I didn't even use the highest resolution! I take the shots off the smartmedia and put them onto my Click disk for permanent storage and printing. Get this camera now! Was a toss-up between the Coolpix 990 and this one---glad I chose the Olympus 3030Z!
Rating:
Summary: The results are terrific.
Review: It is versatile, definitely. It does so much, it is intimidating for the amatuer/novice (that's me!). Takes awhile to get through the manual, which was easily followed and well illustrated. The quality of the shots has lived up to expectations. Although it allows liberal manual adjustment, my best work has been on the "program/auto" modes, where even then you can "tweak" the results. I tend to like macro shots and portraits, but will taking it to Colorado soon. Can't wait. I am still on the original batteries, although I try and not use the LCD screen too much. Uploading the shots has not been a problem (I have a 450Mhz Pent 3). Takes some getting use to the small size and light weight. I am used to 35mm with some "heft".
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