The Olympus C-180 is a five megapixel digital camera. It is an entry level model and does not have an optical zoom lens. It does have a digital zoom function though. The main strengths of the C-180 are the fact that it offers as many megapixels as it does for the price and the fact it is also easy to operate. The Olympus C-180 is a five megapixel digital camera. It is an entry level model and does not have an optical zoom lens. It does have a digital zoom function though. The main strengths of the C-180 are the fact that it offers as many megapixels as it does for the price and the fact it is also easy to operate. It is likely to appeal to someone who is looking for a no fuss digital camera.
Image Quality
The test shots underline the effect digital zoom has on a photo. The majority of my test shots require zoom to be used and as this camera does not have an optical zoom lens I have been forced to rely on digital zoom. The results prove beyond any doubt that digital zoom does not give you the same picture quality as optical zoom. This is less of an issue if you are planning to take photos primarily for use on your computer and the Internet rather than producing prints. It is in a print that the loss of clarity shows up more clearly.
Running through the test shots starting with the outdoor photos the most striking feature is the colours produced by the C-180. I have no complaints about the colours at all. In fact they stand up very well against other cameras that are similarly priced. Blues in particular are very deep and this should lead to colourful skies in landscape type shots. Not surprisingly the dedicated test for colour also produces a very positive result. Staying with positive points I am also impressed by the level of resolution that the camera is able to bring out in the darker areas of the shots. This is noticeable in shady areas under trees. Overall the camera makes a fair stab at scenes of great contrast as it also manages to cope with extremely bright colours as well. The outdoor portrait produced a shot somewhat darker then I would have liked.
Moving indoors the C-180 makes a fair attempt at the indoor portrait shot. The indoor portrait is not 100% sharp, but is better than the result achieved by a lot of other similar cameras. It also does a good job of controlling red eye. The indoor shot taken in almost complete darkness is not as good with the camera being unable to focus properly in these extreme conditions.
In you are looking for a camera to handle macro and close up shots then this is one to avoid. It's closest focusing distance is 20cms. This is much further away than standard. Even then I struggled to get a decent macro shot.
Shutter Lag and Recycling Times
The C-180 managed to take a single shot in 2.29 seconds. That is an extremely slow time It took 13.98 seconds to take five consecutive shots. This works out at a rate of one photo more or less every 2.79 seconds. This is also a slow time when compared to other digital cameras. If you are planning to use the camera for taking photos of stationary objects then the shutter lag will not prove to be an issue for you. If on the other hand you are looking to take photos of anything that moves such as animals, children and sports then I would advise you to look elsewhere.
You can compare this camera to other models by taking a look at the Shutter Lag Comparison Table.
Features
The lens has a fixed focal length. It is the equivalent of a 36.7mm lens on 35mm format. The closest focusing distance is 20cm. Zoom is provided by a 4x digital zoom feature.
For composing images and accessing the menu system there is a 1.5" LCD screen. Disappointingly there is no viewfinder available.
The built in flash unit offers the following modes: Auto (automatic activation in low and backlight), red-eye reduction, fill-in (forced activation), off (no flash). It has a maximum range of 3m.
As well as a fully automatic mode you can also take advantage of a number of preset scene modes. These help the camera to take the best possible photo in for variety of different photo opportunities. The available scenes are: Portrait, Night Scene, Landscape, Landscape with Portrait, Sport, Self Portrait, Beach & Snow. All you need to do to use a scene mode is to select the most appropriate scene before taking a shot. There is also a Panorama shooting mode. This is only available if you are using xD Picture cards supplied by Olympus.
Short movies can be taken by the C-180. The movies are silent and as there is no sound recording facility. Movies can be shot at a resolution of 320x240 pixels. The top recording speed is thirty frames per second. Movies can be recorded up to the capacity of the memory card.
Among the more advanced features are sensitivity between ISO fifty and two hundred and fifty. Digital ESP metering, exposure compensation (+/- 2 EV in 1/3 EV steps) and shutter speeds between 1/2 - 1/1,500 seconds.
Olympus supplies all the necessary cables and software to connect the C-180 to a computer and PictBridge compatible printer. There is no facility to connect the camera to a television set.
For when you would like to appear in picture yourself there is a self timer with a twelve second delay.
Ease of Use
All the features you are likely to use on a regular basis can be controlled through buttons and dials on the back of the camera. This is good news as it means that you do not need to dip into the menu system very often. You will find the menu system fairly straightforward on the occasions when you do need to access it. It is not the most intuitive menu system you will come across, but it is easy enough to use none the less.
Cost
You can pick up a Olympus C-180 for around £95. This compares to around £125 for a Sony DSC S40, £85 for an Olympus C-370 and £115 for a Panasonic DMC LS1. There is not a lot of choice if you are looking for a digital camera for around £100 or under. The C-180 offers an extra megapixel over the other digital cameras mentioned here. In fact it offers another two megapixels over the C-370. The other three models all offer optical zoom though and in my opinion that gives them the edge unless you have no need for zoom at all.
Style
The C-180 is a typical rectangular digital camera. It has a useful grip on the front of the camera that helps a little when you are trying to keep the camera still. It is a shiny silver model. The body is made out of plastic. The design is pleasantly simple with all the control buttons and dials within easy reach on the back of the camera. The camera has dimensions of 101.5 (W) x 51.5 (H) x 34.5 (D)mm. It is quite a lightweight camera weighing in at 120g.
Batteries and Memory Card
Two AA batteries are required to provide power to the camera. A set of rechargeable batteries and a charger will help to keep running costs to a minimum.
Olympus have built 14mb of storage into the C-180. This means that the camera does not come with a memory card. I was able to take a reasonable fourteen shots with the camera before the memory became full. As you can see from this figure you will also need to pick up an external memory card to go with the camera. The camera is compatible with xD Picture cards.
Click here to save money on xD cards.
Points I like:
Strong colours
Where it is not so hot:
Shutter lag
Macro shots
Summary
There are no real surprises with the Olympus C-180. It is a basic point and shoot digital camera that does the job it sets out to do. If you are on a tight budget and a zoom lens is not important to you then this could be one to consider. I must admit though that I feel there are much better cameras around for a similar price.
Olympus C-180 Front View
Olympus C-180 Back View
Olympus C-180 Top View
Sample Menus
| Olympus C-180 Summary |
| Description: | 5 megapixel digital camera. There is no optical zoom lens. |
| Ease of Use: | 8 |
| Features: | 6 |
| Colour: | 8 |
| Macro: | 5 |
| Indoors: | 7 |
| Value for Money: | 7 |
| Style: | 7 |
| Movie Mode: | 6 |
| Image Quality: | 7 |
| Build Quality: | 7 |
| Total: | 68 |
| Verdict: | There are no real surprises with the Olympus C-180. It is a basic point and shoot digital camera that does the job it sets out to do. It does not have an optical zoom lens and for me this is a big limitation. Although there are not a lot of digital cameras around for under 100 pounds there are better options available. |
| Review Date: | September 2005 |
| Click for: | Specification Sample Images |
Although every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information on this site, please make sure you double check the feature set and specification at the point of purchase.
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