Olympus Camedia C-360 Zoom

(Also known as the Olympus Camedia D-575 Zoom)

Review Date: July 6th 2004

Image Quality

All of the sample images in this Review were taken using the SHQ 2,048 x 1,536 file quality setting, which gives an image size of between 1.5Mb and 2Mb, allowing around 10 images to be stored on the supplied 16Mb xD-Picture Card memory card.

Noise

As mentioned previously, the ISO range available on the C-360 Zoom is 80-400, but unfortunately you can't choose which ISO speed to use. Instead the camera selects what it thinks is the most appropriate speed for you. This is OK when the ISO is 80, but not so good when it's 400. The camera will always try to keep the subject sharp at the expense of greater image noise.

ISO 80 (100% crop)	ISO 112 (100% crop)
ISO 128 (100% crop)

Sharpening

Here are two 100% crops which have been Saved as Web - Quality 40 in Photoshop. The right-hand image has had some sharpening applied in Photoshop. As you can see, the out-of-the camera images are perfectly acceptable at the default setting.

Original 100% Crop	Sharpened 100% Crop

File Quality

The C-360 Zoom has 4 different JPEG quality settings. Here are some 100% crops which show the various file quality settings.

SHQ (2,048 x 1,536)	HQ (2,048 x 1,536)
SQ1 (1,600 x 1,200)	SQ2 (640 x 480)

Chromatic Aberrations

As with most digital cameras, the C-360 Zoom does suffer from some chromatic aberrations, especially in high-contrast photographs with the sun in the frame or just outside it. The good news is that chromatic aberrations are very well controlled, and only a couple of the sample photographs that I took showed any signs of this problem.

Overall Image Quality

The Olympus C-360 Zoom delivered a set of test images that had strong colours, even in dull overcast conditions. Unfortunately you can't control the ISO speed yourself, although the camera almost always tries to set a slow speed so that noise levels are low. This comes at the expense of aperture, which is usually set to wide-open so that shutter-speeds are fast enough to keep the subject sharp. I was unable to force the camera to use ISO 150 and above, so my only comment on noise is that it is acceptable between ISO 80 and 128 (as it should be really). The images are sharp out of the camera at the default setting and won't require any post-processing in this regard. Chromatic aberrations are apparent in situations where you would expect this problem to arise e.g. high-contrast lighting, but they are well controlled in all other instances. Overall a good performance from the C-360 Zoom that belies its budget price-tag.