Product Name: Olympus D-380
Date: Monday, November 18, 2002
Author: Jeffery Sexton a.k.a.: Jsgolfman
Provided By: Olympus
Page: 2 of 2
Wow! What a long list, heh? I think one could agree that's quite a punch for such an inexpensive camera. Gone are the days when you had to mortgage the family farm in order to enjoy high quality pictures. A few items missing from the feature list that you would find on more expensive models are optical zoom, TV-out and preprogramming availability for different environments. Does this mean the D-380 is an inferior product? Hardly. You can still snap photos with resolutions up to 1600x1208(SHQ), create your own Quicktime™ movies (15-second limit @320x240, silent), generate stunning panoramic views and side by side portraits and black and white or sepia prints.
It has a fixed focus 4.5mm lens, which is equivalent to a 35mm lens in a film camera. As noted above you have four choices I selecting the image resolution/quality. While the specifications list 5 or more pictures using 1600x1208 resolution, with the included 8MB memory card you are limited to the lower end of that scale. Optional Smartmedia cards are available up to 128MB and I recommend you settle for no less than 32MB. Anything less and you will be running back to your PC every five minutes to download.
Operation
Do the words "simplicity itself" mean anything to you? That's the best I can do to describe how easy it is to get started taking great pictures with this camera. As you can tell from the front and rear images, there are few exterior gadgets to confuse you. You simply slide open the lens cover, this turns the camera on, and shoot away. The default image size is 1600x1200, more than enough to produce a pricey looking 8x10, and allows for up to 16 snapshots. In order to utilize the full 5x zoom, though, you need to set it to the lowest resolution. The photos also tend to be of lower quality at the higher enlargements. Another nice feature is the ability to use either the 1.6 in. LCD screen or the optical viewfinder. Depending on your prescription, you might find it easier to plan your shot with the viewfinder rather than the screen. To get the full effect of the zoom, I suggest using the LCD. An added bonus for using the LCD is that you maintain your peripheral vision while taking photos; something those of you with small children will truly appreciate.
The controls for the D-380 are simple and laid out in a fashion that makes operation quick and painless. The lens panel has a nice curvature on the shutter side to allow you to grip the camera, decreasing the chances of it slipping out of your grasp. The shutter button is large and also the only control on the top of the camera. So no worries about accidentally turning on/off the flash or other function. On the rear you will find the LCD, optical viewfinder, menu button, monitor button and 4-button function array.
With the camera off (lens closed), you can view pictures stored in memory by depressing the monitor button. While in view mode you can cycle through the pictures by selecting either the left arrow button or the right. You can zoom in on any picture you have taken by pressing the up arrow and you can view all of the pictures currently in memory by pressing the down arrow button. To erase a picture of your mother-in-law, I mean to erase ANY picture, select the picture desired, press the menu button, hit the down arrow to select erase, select yes or no from the options and press the menu (OK) button again. Done. You can also find information about the selected picture by, again, pressing the menu button and selecting info. Here it lists the image quality (i.e., HQ, SQH, etc.), size, zoom, time, date, light mode and file number.
PC Interaction
Now you have all these snazzy pictures on the camera, what do you do with them? If you have Windows ME/2000 Pro/XP you simply plug one end of the provided USB cable into the available port on the camera (located on the side) and the other end into the USB port of your PC and you are ready to go. Windows will see the camera as a plug-in storage device. Don't worry about connecting the wrong end of the cable to the camera or PC, they are different sizes. The small end goes into your camera and the large into the PC. If you make it a habit of connecting the camera first, there's no way you can force the PC end into the camera. The port for the cable on the camera is covered by a seal which doubles as a cover for the ac jack. It's attached in the center so you won't lose it. It's incredible how many times I've misplaced some tiny part and had to order it. A, sometimes, expensive lesson. At the other end of the unit is a nice little hinged door for insertion of the Smartmedia card. This may be the only issue I have with this camera. If you have the wrist strap attached (included with camera), you will find it difficult to open the card cover fully. This makes it difficult for those of us with fat-finger syndrome to grasp the card for removal and hinders the addition of the card. Those of you who don't suffer this affliction should have no problems.
Open up "My Computer" and you should see an icon that looks similar to the one for your hard drive. It should say removable storage. Open this, then open the next two folders and you should be presented with your pictures. If you have "thumbnails" as the view option, you should see the actual pictures themselves instead of icons. At this point, I would recommend transferring them to your PC. A simple cut and paste operation should suffice. OK, you are now done with the camera. If you are running Windows XP, there will be an icon in the system tray with an arrow above it. Hover your mouse over it, don't click, and it will say "Safely remove Hardware". Double click it and stop the device. It's now safe to remove the cable.
At this point you can either just save the pictures and e-mail Grandma or you can edit and manage them with the included software, Camedia Master. It can be used to actually retrieve the images from the camera, create wallpaper, postcards, calendars, e-photo albums, etc. You can also use it to perform these same functions on any images you have stored on your PC. Like the camera, it is easy to use and a snap to install. Here are some of the many pictures I snapped during the review:
Conclusion
to other cameras in the 2-megapixel category, the Olympus D-380 stacks up well. The quality of the pictures combined with the versatility, ease of use and functionality make this a bargain at $180-$200. No longer do you have to spend $250-$300 to enjoy your digital photographic experience. It was a pleasure putting this camera through its paces and I would recommend it to all but the professionals in the ranks. That's where the E-20N comes into the picture, no pun intended.
Pros
- Inexpensive
- Simple
- Versatile
- Did I mention inexpensive?
Cons
- Small memory card included
- Fat-finger problem
Link to OlympusD-380: Click Here
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