----- Original Message -----
From: Garth Wood <garth@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, September 28, 1999 4:02 AM
Subject: Re: [OM] Olympus Centurion APS any good?
> At 11:00 PM 9/27/99 +0200, Per Nordenberg wrote:
> >Hi everyone
> >
> >No, I'm not thinking of buying this camera myself, but maybe for my
mother
> >who wants to replace her old Olympus AFL-T compact camera (unfortunately
> >already sold if someone was interested :-). Centurion is an APS model
and
> >I know this means a slightly smaller negative format, but otherwise is it
as
> >good as the smaller IS-series? With a rather similar body and an
aspherical
> >zoom lens it at least appears to be the "IS" or "ZLR" variant of the APS
> >compact cameras. What's the difference between a Centurion and a
Centurion
> >S? TIA.
>
>
> Per:
>
> The difference is that, with the Centurion-S, you can change film in
mid-roll (say you were shooting indoors with 400 ASA, and then went outdoors
and found the 400 ASA was too fast -- you could then hit the "change
midroll" control, take out the 400, put in the 100, shoot to your heart's
content, and then go back indoors and put the 400 back in -- the camera will
"remember" the precise number of exposures and re-set your 400 to the next
available frame).
>
> Also, the "S" model is silver (I believe the older Centurion was black).
This keeps its innards cooler in the sun (for example).
>
> I own the Centurion-S. It's a fabulous little camera, and as long as you
understand its limitations, you can do great things with it. There are some
examples of photos from the Centurion-S on the Olympus Gallery in my
section. Be warned: you'll probably never be able to use this camera for
transparencies, even though I've heard rumblings about E6-type APS film
supposedly being available in some places (I've never seen it here in
Canada, but then, we're always treated as a high-tech backwater by the ROW
[Rest Of the World]). The reason is that you don't have adequate ability to
adjust exposures -- the Centurion mostly integrates to 18 0rey (although
there is a compensation feature for backlit subjects). Thus, if you wanted
to capture the cool serenity of a shady grove of trees in summertime, it'll
come out overexposed (I know, I tried). But for the vast majority of
subjects, it oughta be quite good. Check out the Oly Gallery and see what
you think.
>
> Bottom line: for sophisticated snapping, it's an excellent camera, but it
does not have the flexibility (or the wide range of available film types) of
35mm format. And it still requires some intelligence on the part of the
user. My wife uses the Centurion all the time, but she first had to be
instructed in how to use the different modes to maximize the number of good
shots she could get. She's starting to get really good with it!
>
> One final thing: it's more expensive to develop APS film than regular
35mm.
>
> Garth
Thanks a million Garth. Those photos look really nice. I especially liked
the one of the purplebug. How close to the real colour of the car is Fuji,
and would a Kodak film have been better or worse? The only real drawback
with this camera seems to be (as you mention) the inability to adjust
exposures enough (no spot meter and no exposure compensation). In this
respect it is somewhat limited in comparison with the smaller IS series
which have a spot meter, a long time mode and in the case of IS-30(0) also
exposure compensation. But then again it is smaller and considerably
lighter, the zoom range is somewhat wider (comparable to 31-125 mm in a
conventional 35 mm camera) and at least here in Sweden it is also much
cheaper. The price for the Centurion S seems to have dropped in the last few
months, and it is now sold for 2,495 SEK (about 306 USD) on mail order. In
comparison the QD version of the new IS-300 is sold for 3,195 SEK (about 392
USD).
I've just recieved a broschure on all Oly AF ESR and compact cameras from
Olympus Sweden (they didn't have one specifically for Centurion). I presume
that the compensation feature for backlit subjects that you mention is the
ESP light metering. Is it available only in Full Auto like on IS-3(000) or
in all exposure programs? Unfortunately there are only pictures of the
camera from the front in the broschure. Are the function buttons and the
small LCD display located at the back of the camera? What is that thing on
the top left? Have you tested the Super FP flash in portrait mode? The
built-in flash doesn't seem that powerful (comparable to one in IS-10 I
think). I do believe there is a tele conversion lens available, although it
is not mentioned in my broschure.
All in all I think it is a good choice of camera for my mother. She never
uses slides and wouldn't probably have used a spot meter even if it had been
available. The quality of this aspherical hybrid zoom lens should be at
least comparable to the aspherical zoom lens on the smaller IS, i.e.
outstanding if Pop Photo July '99 is to be believed. My mother is rather old
and she probably will appreciate the TTL viewing of the Centurion (as well
as all the APS film features). The only thing I'm worried about is that
she'll find it too large. If she could only try one first...
Sorry Garth, this was a lot of questions. Really appreciate your help. TIA.
Per Nordenberg
--
"To look into the eyes of the wolf is to look into ones' soul."
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