Olympus Camedia C-2040 Zoom

WHAT'S HOT: A fast f1.8 lens and elegant styling highlight the Camedia C-2040 Zoom. Like its near-twin, the 3.34-megapixel C-3040, the C-2040 has a brick-like shape that gives you a solid, comfortable grip.

The C-2040 also has the same long list of exposure controls--including aperture priority, shutter priority, and full manual--and the same bright 1.8-inch LCD viewfinder that's easier to see in strong sunlight than the displays of most digital cameras we've reviewed. The camera's thumb-pad buttons make scrolling through and deleting shots quick and easy. Olympus also did a nice job of incorporating review controls into the camera's zoom switch. You can rapidly toggle from a nine-shot thumbnail view up to a 3X magnification of a single shot.

The only visible difference between the two cameras is case color: The C-3040 has an all-black scheme while the C-2040 has an equally attractive silver-and-black case.

WHAT'S NOT: The C-2040 has the same control shortcomings as the C-3040. Few buttons control basic exposure; they're primarily limited to the flash modes and a dual-function button that lets you switch on the spot meter or use the macro function. If you like to change a variety of settings from shot to shot, you may get a bit frustrated with having to constantly dive into the C-2040's menu system. For example, you must use the menus to change image resolution or switch between shutter-priority, aperture-priority, and manual modes.

Some functions are buried deep in the menus and can be difficult to find--for example, the switch that determines whether the camera remembers your last-used settings or whether it reverts to the default settings.

Other irritating features include the lens cap: Though the cap is tethered, it can protect your lens only when the camera is turned off and the lens retracted. And like its cousin the C-3040, the C-2040 seemed relatively noisy when zooming.

WHAT ELSE: The color and contrast of the C-2040's images were nearly identical to the results produced by the higher-resolution C-3040. Overall, our test samples showed fine details, bright colors, and accurate exposures--especially when we used the camera's highest resolution. However, on our low-resolution 640-by-480 shots, we found heavy distortion from moire patterns and jagged diagonal lines.

High-resolution 8.5-by-11-inch prints made from the C-2040's images were also not as sharp as prints made from the C-3040--not surprising, given the C-2040's lower pixel count. Another area in which these two cameras part ways is video recording. Although both have a video mode, the C-2040 cannot capture sound. It does, however, have a slightly wider zoom range--you get a little less on the wide-angle side, but you also get up to 120mm telephoto versus the C-3040's 105mm (specs expressed in their 35mm equivalents).

This camera offers a host of custom controls, providing you are willing to work through the menus--they're not complicated, just slow compared with buttons. Refinements include auto-bracketing, manual focus, sequence shooting, preset white-balance options, and an auto-exposure lock, which is useful when you want to combine shots into a panorama.

UPSHOT: The C-2040 is a solid, general-purpose digital camera that lets you go fully automatic or be manual and creative. If you like enlargements and are picky about fine details, opt for the C-3040.

SUMMARY

Olympus Camedia C-2040 Zoom 2.11 megapixels, 1600 by 1200 maximum resolution, 40mm to 120mm focal range (35mm equivalent), f1.8 to f10 aperture range, shutter speeds from 16 seconds to 1/800 second, optical and LCD viewfinders, USB and video connections, bundled 8MB SmartMedia card, two 3-volt disposable lithium batteries (can also use four AAs), 13.7 ounces with batteries; Camedia Master 2.5 software. One-year parts and labor warranty, toll-free support for 13 hours on weekdays. $499 800/622-6372 www.olympus.com