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[OM] Re: C-5060 -- Impressions

Subject: [OM] Re: C-5060 -- Impressions
From: "John Hermanson" <omtech@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: Wed, 4 Aug 2004 08:29:09 -0400
5060 is built on a frame of cast magnesium.  
_________________________________
John Hermanson
Camtech Photo Services, Inc.
21 South Lane, 
Huntington, NY, 11743-4714,  
631-424-2121, www.zuiko.com
_________________________________
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Wilcox, Joel F" <joel-wilcox@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <olympus@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, August 03, 2004 12:06 PM
Subject: [OM] C-5060 -- Impressions


> 
> I should have written "first impressions," though they are something
> more than that.
> 
> This camera is very well-made, quite the little brick of molded
> whatsits.  AGs, it's a silvernose! :)  
> 
> Now then.  I don't know what I was expecting, but the viewfinder is
> useless for anything but landscapey snapshots.  Within the 1:10 range,
> the focus brackets aren't even close to where you think they should be
> for focusing. You simply have to check the monitor.  DOH! It ain't an
> SLR!  Dislike your electronic viewfinder?  Get over it.  The manual says
> you need to use the monitor in macro mode, but you really need to use it
> anywhere you expect WYSIWYG.  I suppose this is made worse by the fact
> that the lens goes so wide.
> 
> So other than the fact that I hate looking through the viewfinder and I
> hate using the monitor, this is going very well.
> 
> It powers up pretty quickly.  Interestingly, on power-up the lens pokes
> out and then drops back to about "normal" or what would be 50mm in 35mm
> terms.  I haven't yet figured out what goes on when you zoom one way or
> the other.  The lens pulsates backwards and forewards.  For supermacro
> focusing it locks into place and you just get physically closer to the
> subject.  Works for me.  Manual focusing of course is completely
> dependent upon what you can make of the image on the monitor.  I must be
> doing OK, because I felt I had to try some focus brackets to make sure I
> was getting the focus right.  But it's not easy or pleasant work.  You
> don't do manual focusing unless there is no other way.  The focus
> brackets can be moved easily from the middle to other parts of the
> screen, which is cool, works well, and extends the usefulness of the AF
> modes.
> 
> I don't have a big enough CF card yet to have experimented much with RAW
> mode, but I tried a couple shots and it takes about 5-7 seconds to write
> to my 32MB dX card.  This would not deter me from shooting in RAW mode
> one bit.  What does deter me is that I have to crank these files through
> the Camedia software to get them saved in a format that PS 5.5 can
> understand.  I'm not interested in upgrading to PS CS at the moment, so
> I will stick to HQ/enlarged jpgs for now. I've been working with WB in
> auto.  Almost everything seems better with exposure compensation at -.3
> stop, sometimes -.7. If you want to carry a white card around, you can
> do a custom WB setup, which is very cool.  I made a corrected setup for
> dim tungsten lighting that looked quite good.
> 
> The lens seems to be fine, nice and sharp with good colors.
> 
> I've worked exclusively with aperture priority mode, although program
> mode seems easy to control to get the same effect of shifting shutter
> speed and aperture to whatever you want with the dial.  I used ESP AF
> uhtil I discovered how easy it is to move the focus brackets around,
> which makes spot AF more useful.
> 
> I'm glad I'm a slide shooter.  As has been mentioned, you have to think
> like one, and keep focused on the highlights at all times.  I had a very
> difficult time with a large white flower in my backyard.  I had
> difficulty getting the camera to focus correctly on it or to get the
> right exposure. 
> 
> Having spent quite a lot of time recently trying to extract the last
> measure of functionality out of the Stylus cameras I have, it's a
> pleasure to have a similarly convenient camera with so much control. The
> controls have a good logical layout.  It's sort of as though there is
> only one way it can fit in the hand, but it's a good way.  I love the
> way the right thumb fits in its own indent and it can easily slide over
> to the right just a bit to engage the AE lock button.  This is analogous
> in my mind to programming the exposure into memory on an OM-4.  Very
> important for spot or CW metering options I prefer.
> 
> I haven't tried an external flash yet but the camera's flash is
> terrific.  I use almost exclusively fill flash with these cameras.  I
> don't understand why Olympus doesn't make fill flash the default mode,
> not just for this but for any of its cameras with build-in flash.
> 
> My first prints through the Epson 1160 were dandy. With WB on auto I
> didn't experience too much oddness of color balance.  I had to do some
> standard correction in PS, almost exclusively curves, and once in while
> a little color balance tweaking. My subjects were mostly flowers in the
> back yard.  A very deeply yellow (verging on orange) lily in direct sun
> was a problem for the camera, but I also have problems recording this
> type of flower/color decently on film.  I think it's a universally
> difficult situation for any medium.  The only thing that seems to work
> is a bit of unexposure and slight desaturation of the yellow in
> post-processing.  
> 
> This will nicely take the place of c-prints, if I can get out of the
> habit of reaching for an OM body.  It's new to me, I'm enjoying the
> experience, although it doesn't quite feel like photography yet.  More
> like an X-box equivalent of photography.  And don't take any of this at
> all seriously, as I am an infant in this medium.
> 
> While it has been a good couple of days with the 5060, I now wish I had
> had the resources to get an E-1 and the 14-55 lens. But I needed this
> experience to get there.  Also, I think the C5060 is going to go more
> places than an E-1 would.  It's strange to have a camera that is so
> powerful and offers so many options but makes you feel so blind.
> Everything about an OM by comparison seems easy and like an extension of
> your body.  But my son thinks it's a very cool camera, and it's because
> of the monitor.  He's half cyborg anyway after all his gaming, but this
> thing is clearly more akin to his world than mine.
> 
> But not for long. ;-)  
> 
> Joel W.
> 
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