Olympus C7070 wide zoom digital camera resource


 Latest additions: November 20th, 2006
Nov. 20th: BLM-1 battery and RAW sections updated
Nov. 3rd:  Card write speed test
Sept. 4th: RAW section updated.
Sept. 3rd: Firmware and Camera control sections updated
Aug. 23rd: RAW section updated
Aug. 7th: RAW and Reviews sections updated
July 20th: Samples section updated
 



Contact & Questions

This online resource is under construction. If you have new information please send me an email or leave a message in the form below. If you have very specific questions about the Olympus 7070, I'd suggest that you put them in the


Olympus 7070 users group





Index


 




Will you help me ?

I can't have my eyes everywhere and if you are aware of any information specific to the Olympus 7070 which isn't yet available here, or if you'd like to leave your own user report, you can send it to me here. Just leave a notice in the message box below (leave name and email adress if you'd like me to reply to you):


Note: if you have questions about the Olympus 7070, please put them in the Olympus 7070 users group.




 
 

Technical data and reference manuals


 


 
 

Reviews


 


 
 
 

Sample images


 
 

 
 

RAW file format


 
 

Memory cards



 
 
  Questions ? Comments ? Put them in the Olympus 7070 user group
 
 
 

Firmware


 



 
 
 

Chromatic aberrations / Purple fringing




 
 

Polariser filter and other filters


 
 
 
 

 
 

Accessories


 

 




BLM-1 battery and cheaper 3rd party alternatives



Questions ? Comments ? Put them in the Olympus 7070 user group





Infrared photography with the Olympus 7070


 
 

 

 

Auxiliary lenses


 
 
 
 
 

External flash


 



 

 
 
 

Controlling the Olympus 7070 with a computer


 
 


 

Travelling and storage


 


 
 

Questions ? Comments ? Put them in the Olympus 7070 user group







Underwater Photography




 
 



 
 

Data recovery


 


 
 
 

Noise reduction







 

Exposure information data (EXIF)


 






 
 

Panorama shots


 
 
 
 

Linux and the 7070


 
 
 
 
 

Astrophotography with the Olympus 7070


 
 
 
 

Links


 



FAQs

What follows is a list of FAQs (frequently asked questions) compiled by Jens Birch, based on questions asked in the Olympus 7070 users group.

Q: Can I use a linear polarizer with my camera?
A: Yes. You can use either linear or circular polarizers. Circular ones are needed for most autofocus SLR cameras (not the Olympus E-10 and E-20 though).



Q: How can I avoid the annoying beeping sound when turning ON by mistake?
A: Turn mode dial to GREEN ARROW...it works every time! You can also use a sufficiently long lens tube (does not work for the 8080 without vignetting).



Q: How can I obtain exposure times longer than 4 seconds (1/2 second for the C8080) or shorter than 1/1000 second?
A: You must have the camera in manual (M) mode. On the C7070, you can use exposure times up to 120 sec. by using the "Bulb" mode.




Q:How can I speed up the time it takes for the camera to take the picture after I press the shutter button?
A: There are many things you can do:
  1. You can be prepared beforehand by 1/2-pressing the shutter button (and keeping it 1/2-pressed) while aiming at the subject before the actual moment when you want to take the picture. The autofocus (AF) and the aperture will be set and the camera will then take the picture with no time lag when you press the last 1/2-way.
  2. By having the LCD switched on, the time to activate the cameras AF and metering will be reduced by about 2 seconds.
  3. Set the camera to manual focus (MF) at the subject distance you intend to take the picture at. This is most easily done by aiming at an object at the distance you want to use and 1/2-pressing the shutter button. While keeping it 1/2-pressed, press the AF/Macro/MF button. That fixes the focus at the desired distance and the camera is set to MF. This will significantly reduce the shutter lag.
  4. Set the camera to manual exposure (M) which further reduces the shutter lag.
  5. When it is tricky to catch the moment, use Hi-drive sequential shooting and start taking pictures just before you think the action starts. Use the optical viewfinder in order to follow the action when the camera's LCD is occupied while taking the pictures.
  6. Turn off the "REC-view in the "SETUP" tab in the "Mode Menu". That will minimize the time that the just taken picture is displayed and you will be ready for the next shot as soon as possible.
  7. Use fully charged batteries if you are using the on-board flash. Otherwise it takes a long time to re-charge.




Q: How can I stop the camera from entering sleep mode after 3 minutes?
A: Plug in an external DC power unit or a battery pack. You can also excercise the zoom a little now and then with the remote control.




Q: How do I copy between cards in the camera?
A: Change the Camera to Playback Mode, press OK, press right, go to the Edit menu, press right, go to the Copy button, press right, select "All" if you want to copy all otherwise go to "Select" to copy single pictures. Press OK when you want to copy.




Q: How do I switch between the xD and the CF cards when transferring the images from the camera?
A: The camera uses the card that was selected when it was connected to the USB port. To switch card, you must 1) prepare your computer to safely disconnect the USB drive (camera). 2) pull the USB cable from the camera, 3) press once at the CF/xD button to select the other card, 4) reconnect the camera.



Q: How do I tell what firmware version I have?
A: One way of doing it is to open a picture in a text editor such as Notepad, and search for the string "v756". The number of the firmware version follows right after that; for example, v756-81 means you have version 81. A second method is, when viewing an unedited image in Windows XP, right click on on the image, then click on properties, then metadata, and it should be listed. A third method is to run the firmware update utility but do not update and it will tell your your firmware version in the camera.




Q: How do I use a polarizing filter to best effect?
A: The LCD normally compensates for the brightness of the scene which makes the effect hard to see. To see the effect on the LCD you must circumvent that compensation by locking the automatic exposure temporarily. You can do that in two ways, either by pressing the AEL button once or by keeping the shutter button 1/2-pressed. Now, while the exposure is locked, rotate the filter and observe the effect on the LCD screen, when you are satisfied with the effect you must press AEL again or release the 1/2 half pressed shutter button in order to re-activate the exposure meter (to get a correctly exposed picture). If your polarizing filter feature a little knob or a white dot, you can get maximal effect without looking at the LCD by rotating the filter until the knob/dot points towards the direction where the sun is on the sky (as good as you can). This is useful in sunny days when viewing the LCD is difficult.





Q: How to RESET my camera?
A: A "soft" reset to factory default shooting settings, but without changing date and file-numbering, is done either by simultaneously pressing the "self-timer" and "custom" buttons or by setting the "All Reset" to ON in SETUP in MODE MENU and then restarting the camera. There is also a "hard" reset which basically restarts the "firmware" (the program that runs the camera) and wipes out the on-board memory. NOTE: This reset is intended for technicians to use. This is done by: putting the camera in M mode, opening the memory door, turning the camera on and then hold the "OK" and "Quickview" buttons simultaneaously for 3 seconds. Select "Reset" in the menu that appears and press "OK". A similar reset is obtained by leaving the batteries out of the camera for a long time (12-24 hours).




Q: My camera gives out-of-focus images. What is wrong and how can I avoid it?
A: The camera is by default set iESP focussing which automatically selects what is most important to focus on. Often, the camera decides that a contrast-rich background is more important than the subject. Set the camera to "Spot-autofocus" by pressing the "OK"-button while holding down the "AF/macro/MF"- button and select "spot" with the selection wheel. That will make the camera to focus in the center of the scene. Another possibility is that you set the camera manually according to the distance gauge which isn't accurate at all.




Q: What is a lens tube?
A: A lens tube is the tube you attach to the camera body at the base of the lens; add-on lenses and filters can be attached onto the other end of the tube. For the C7070, which has a 48.5 mm tread on the body, Olympus provides the lens tube CLA-7 which features a bayonet coupling to the Olympus wide angle converter WCON-07C and the teleconverter TCON-17C. On the C7070, filters of size 40.5 mm are screwed directly onto the lens barrel.
Alternatively, you can get third party lens tubes from Raynox, Soligor or Tiffen with standard filter threads that accepts filters as well as third party auxillary lenses. More info is compiled in the document: 'Lens armour_adapter tubes.doc' in the 'Files' section of the Yahoo MyOlympus discussion group.





Q: When is it beneficial to use a polarizing filter on my camera?
A: If a polarizing filter is rotated to the correct angle, it will reduce light reflections from wet surfaces, asphalt, glass etc. or darken the blue sky but leaving the white clouds essentially bright. You also use it to reduce haze and glare in misty or polluted air conditions. You can use it all the time but it will steal about 1-2 f-stops of light and it will not have any noticeable effect in other situations than the above mentioned.





Questions ? Comments ? Put them in the Olympus 7070 users group


 
 


 

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