Specifications

The Olympus C8080 Wide
Zoom camera is a true
piece of art. We've seen a
lot of digital cameras come
through our door but this
particular unit not only
takes superb images but
has a great ergonomic fit to
it as well. A lot of thought
went into the production of
this camera to appeal
to the novice and the
professional pho-
tographer as well.
We award the
Olympus C8080
our Editor's
Choice Award for
functionality and
value.
The C8080 fea-
tures a 5x-optical
and 3x-digital
zoom for an effec-
tive 15x zoom factor. The 8
megapixel capacity of the
camera yields a maximum
resolution of 3264x2448 in
the super-high quality
mode. It's quite likely that
this camera will produce a
higher resolution than most
photo printers on the mar-
ket can handle. We were
extremely pleased with the
results of the photo printers
we tested as well as the
prints we received from a
photo lab using the cam-
era's memory card. The
unit is also capable of
recording video with the
length depending on the
memory card you install. In
both 640x480 and 320x240
resolution modes the frame
rate is 15 FPS and is
saved as a Quicktime
movie.
Color representation of the
Olympus C8080 Wide
Zoom camera in lit or
flashed settings was quite
accurate while loosing
some hue fac-
tors in lower
light. Shutter speeds,
whether manual, automatic
or programmed can range
between f2.4 and f8.0. In
burst mode, we were able
take around six shots in a
five second test and we
found the auto-focus fea-
ture was extremely fast and
accurate in both indoor and
outdoor environments. Start
up time is extremely short
with a maximum 2 second
wait.
Several preset modes are
available with the C8080
including portrait, land-
scape, night scene, sports
and a customizable
MyMode setting. The cam-
era also offers images
effects like black-and-white,
sepia, color phase as well
as sharpness and contrast
effects. An interesting effect
called Resize reduces the
size of the image automati-
cally for use with email or a
web page. For both pre-
view and replay, the
1.8" color TFT LCD
viewfinder was
extremely vivid and
quite viewable
even in outdoor
settings.
The camera uses
two different
types of memory
cards. One slot is
for a CompactFlash
Type I/II card and
the other for the
more xD type mem-
ory. For testing pur-
poses we used a
512MB xD card and were
able to fit around 20 TIFF
formatted pictures on the
card, although company lit-
erature states you can fit a
little over a thousand
images on the same card
with the camera's
1600x1200 resolution set-
ting.
With a perfect fit in your
hands and quality picture
taking, both novice and pro-
fessional photographers will
be pleased with the
Olympus C8080 Wide
Zoom camera. Internet pric-
ing begins around $550
which is an extremely good
deal for an 8 megapixel dig-
ital camera. Specs on the
camera area available at
www.olympusamerica.co
REVIEWS
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VERDICT
BCM
www.olympusamerica.com
MAIN FEATURES
An 8-megapixel camera with
an effective 15x zoom that
takes excellent images.
OTHER INFO
Color representation of this
camera in lit or flashed set-
tings was quite accurate.
PRICE
: $550
Receive excellent
images from this 8-
megapixel camera.
Only a greater zoom
ratio would have made
this camera better.
EASE OF USE
95%
100%
95%
VALUE FOR MONEY
SUPPORT
9977%%
OVERALL PERCENTAGE
Olympus C8080 Camera
Cameras
Business Computing [55] September 2005 www.businesscomputingmagazine.com
Kodak EasyShare LS743
REVIEWS
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VERDICT
BCM
www.kodak.com
MAIN FEATURES
Kodak's 4.3-megapixel digital camera
that includes a Schneider-Kreuznach
C-Variogon 2.8X optical lens.
OTHER INFO
In the burst mode we were able
take 6 shots in two seconds.
PRICE
$250
Excellent lens and
burst mode to pro-
duce great images.
Better low light
images would make
this camera perfect.
EASE OF USE
95%
100%
100%
VALUE FOR MONEY
SUPPORT
9988%%
OVERALL PERCENTAGE
Cameras
[55] Business Computing September 2005www.businesscomputingmagazine.com
If you're in the market
for a nice 4.3-
megapixel digital
camera for under
$250, the Kodak
EasyShare LS743 is
a perfect match.
Known for its reputation in
camera devices and supplies
for many decades, Kodak
continues to offer quality
products with this camera.
Considering all the
features and price of the
LS743, we award it our Best
Buy Award for value and fea-
tures.
The first thing that impressed
us about this camera was its
ability to take quick multiple
shots in burst mode. We were
able take 6 shots in two sec-
onds (our subject was street
traffic) and each shot lacked
any blurring effect. In addi-
tion, we were appreciative of
the clarity and color of each
print. Although our testing did
show slight color variations in
low light-no flash settings, the
LS743 held color true in out-
door environments and when
using a flash. The flash unit
has an effective 10 foot cov-
erage area while offering a
red-eye reduction mode.
While we were quite
satisfied with the
auto focus feature it
is quite easy to over-
ride the option with a
manual mode.
Zoom features of the
EasyShare LS743 include a
Schneider-Kreuznach C-
Variogon 2.8X optical lens
and 3.6X advanced digital
zoom to provide an effective
10x zoom ratio. The
cam-
era's 2408x1758
picture resolution in best
mode was extremely crisp
and defined. We found that
this particular mode produced
excellent 8x10 and 4x6 photo
quality prints. The quality of
your photo prints will hinge on
the DPI rating of the printer
you use.
The 1.8" high resolution LCD
viewfinder accurately pre-
viewed the resultant image
and unlike some cameras
we've reviewed the viewfind-
er's image held up in outdoor
conditions. The display can
also be magnified up to four
times the original size. Modes
available with the LS743
include night & night portrait,
sport, landscape, snow,
beach, party, self portrait,
video and a unique museum
mode.
Although we really like the
still photography that the
camera offers, the high reso-
lution (640x480) MPEG-4
video capture was a bit jumpy
at 13 frames per second.
Going with the lower 320x240
resolution at 20 frames per
second was better, but some
might miss a more effective
30fps output. The
LS743 comes with 16MB of
built in memory and accepts
SD and MMC memory cards,
the total video and still photo
storage will depend on the
amount of additional memory
that you purchase.
The LS series of Kodak digital
cameras are billed as ultra-
compact and feature-rich, the
EasyShare LS743 definitely
fits that category. We find this
camera to be an excellent
choice and a great value for
the amateur photographer
who demands excellent pic-
ture quality. You can view the
entire line of EasyShare cam-
eras at www.kodak.com.