I recently returned from a trip to the British Virgin Islands - Virgin
Gorda. This time I took a new Olympus C-5050. Here are some of my
initial observations of actually using one along side an OM-4t.
I admit I'm starting to like this compact camera and what it has to
offer. It is a very controllable camera and a nice compact unit. The
two most frustrating features compared to my OM-4t were the response
time followed by inadequate preview of the shot to be taken. But
otherwise it was a great travel companion. I was very impressed with
the battery life. It give me the feeling that Olympus is still making
good engineering tradeoffs. I hope they keep it up.
A number of things people say about digital I did not find completely
true, such as viewing the shot immediately after. The LCD display does
not show the full dynamic range of the actual image taken, especially
if you are out in bright daylight. Rather, reviewing later on a laptop
was more realistic, so if you have a chance to go repeat the shot the
next day great, but otherwise, my percentage of great shots was higher
with the OM. For instance, it is hard to detect small amounts of motion
blur, out of focus area control (bokeh) and critical sharpness control
with the camera LCD display. To me, a view through an OM-4t viewfinder
was much more informative than any view through this camera in
predicting the resultant photograph I would get. It's amazing how much
that informative view can affect composition. The digital camera seems
to pay attention to getting everything in total focus rather than what
is critical to be in focus and what should not. That was hard to
control. Perhaps a rangfinder shooter is more experienced at predicting
depth of field and such?
Being able to review the day's activities with one's partner at the end
of the day was a nice sharing. Especially if I went out on my own hike
while she went to the spa. It was like a mini recap of the day, each
sharing what they experienced. (Relationships take note.)
One use I made with the digital camera was to document shots taken with
the OM (or Xpan). I would take similar shots with the digital to record
time, place, sequence, etc. You can also record a short voice memo.
I just got back my film from the OM. Mostly Provia 100F. In my initial
preview, it is very clear to me that the film shots are much better,
both in composition, exposure, framing, control of dof, etc. I'm in the
process of scanning now and will do a more detailed comparison. Simply
having the range of optics available with the OM... But there are some
nice digitals also.
With a 512mb CF card (and 3 more in the bag) plus a 256mb xD card in
the C5050 camera, I was never close to running out of storage (210
shots total in SHQ mode, half that in raw mode). I recommend getting
the pcmcia card adapter for faster data transfer to the laptop, beats
the 1.1 USB. With near infinite storage the digital camera seems to
promote camera diarrhea. Shooting anything and everything, because you
can, hardly ever exceeding the memory I had available. It takes
discipline to still think photographically rather than just clicking
away indiscriminately.
I also much prefer the OM SLR viewfinder, where it is easier to see
what my end result would be before the shot is taken. With the 5050 I
had to visualize in my mind more for those great shots. Depth of field,
what is in exact focus, etc. were all easier with the OM. With the
5050, you have to trust the camera's electronics more and check the
results later. That seems counter intuitive from what the prevailing
notions are of digital, but I could just not see anything critically
significant with the LCD display on the camera.
Aperture settings took some getting used to, F4 on the 5050 is probably
more like f8-f11 in 35mm. The optical viewfinder feels cheap and no
exposure info, so you have to check the display, which means changing
eye focus from far to near, not so easy for older eyes. Battery life
with the LCD off is extremely good, so you tend to keep the display
off.
Close up and macro shots of moving objects were difficult due to the
lag in the autofocus system. You are never sure just where the camera
is focused by the time the shot is taken. Macro shots require use of
the LCD display due to parallax, and that was sometimes difficult in
bright daylight. However, angling the viewscreen can be a benefit.
Snorkeling with the 5050 in its PT-015 underwater housing was also
nice, but again close shots of moving fish were difficult do to the lag
time. But then, there is no way to use an OM underwater, and the
results compared to a Canon Sureshot underwater camera were much
better. The Canon has fixed focus underwater compared to autofocus with
the 5050. That makes quite a difference. Flash is important underwater,
and I will have to learn more next time around. I did my first scuba
diving on this trip and loved it, except they said "no camera for the
first dive."
The teleconverter for the 5050 did not seem that sharp. It was tricky
keeping it tight, since the converter attachs like a lens cap. It can
be jarred loose easily.
Overall I was very impressed with the camera, but reviewing my slides,
I'm even more impressed with the results of the OM system. The 5050
will become a permanent addition to my gear. Candid shots are less
intrusive (but you have to turn off the flash and autofocus assist
light) and it has a great deal of user control. When I get the chance,
I will post some pictures.
Ergonomically this is a fine camera. It has performed much better than
I was anticipating. But so far my best photos are still being produced
with an OM-4t, telephoto and 28mm and below especially. Where is that
true Olympus digital system camera? In the end, the real comparison is
going to be with the 1-2% real keepers. The 5050 adds a new dimension
to photography which I recommend people explore, and the 5050 has
capabilities missing in the OM system, like slow sync flash, candid
street style photography... an impressive little camera, but it is not
a system camera, and when you want that 28-16mm shot (which I did) or
that well timed shot, for me the OM-4t still can't be beat.
Wayne
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