szekiat
Well-known
Recently picked up this ancient legend having been amazed by the works of alex majoli when he was using one (namely his iraq and china photos) and its amazing. Anyhow, just thought i'd share some from my first day with the camera. Would love to see some from you guys as well..... I have no intention to ever enlarge these photos but just use them for web work. This camera sure makes a good walk around cam for under £100.....
clintock
Galleryless Gearhead
Is that the 4 mp old one with the magnesium body and the 1.8 lens or something like that?
If so I've got an assessory cap for it. The lens on mine quit coming out on it's own, and olympus does not honor their warranty, so I had to return it to the store and get a canon. I liked that thing, shame about the warranty station in NY..
With some presets programed for the wheel, it speeds up a lot..
If so I've got an assessory cap for it. The lens on mine quit coming out on it's own, and olympus does not honor their warranty, so I had to return it to the store and get a canon. I liked that thing, shame about the warranty station in NY..
With some presets programed for the wheel, it speeds up a lot..
Trius
Waiting on Maitani
Clint: That was the 5000. The 5050 was 27mm (equivalent) f2.8 at the wide end. The lens cap may also fit the 5050, though. Olympus does keep archived specs on their website.
Issy
Well-known
Trius said:
No. The 5050 is 35mm equiv on the lower end and has a f1.8 lens. The 5060 was the wide.
They have their quirks. The button layout is all over the camera.... takes a bit to get used too. The "mode" dial is delicate... often breaks. Likewise with the battery door. Not to bad to repair yourself (I've done the job on a couple. I have some reference links if you want them (can post them later))
The c-5050 also has less noise at 400ISO than at 200ISO, due to a algorithm that kicks in at what, at the time, was considered high ISO. It is actually less noisy than my Canon G6 at 400.
Also, the 5050 was one of the camera's that had the bad Sony CCD. Call Olympus and have them check the Serial number. If it falls in the range, they will replace it for free (at least they did so in the US).
It takes compact flash and/or xD, shoots RAW (Picasa loses some of the EXIF data, but I think everything else reads it fine), and it takes 4 standard AA's (the biggest NiMH you can afford).
(Can you tell I own several of these lovely beasts?
) .... great camera.
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Trius
Waiting on Maitani
Damn, you're right! Sheesh, I got my 50x0s confused!
I think the mode button was one of the things that kept me away from this camera. I was really attracted to the speed of the lens, and I remember some seeing some sample shots with the 5050 that I thought were wonderful, not to mention Majoli's work, of course.
I think the mode button was one of the things that kept me away from this camera. I was really attracted to the speed of the lens, and I remember some seeing some sample shots with the 5050 that I thought were wonderful, not to mention Majoli's work, of course.
sheepdog
Available darkness.
The 4MP one probably would have been the C4040? I had one of those - my first digicam - and it was great. Went to a Minolta Dimage 7Hi for more zoom versatility, but I'm sure I would have been at least as happy with a C5050, 5060 or 8080.. Those were some serious pieces of work!
szekiat
Well-known
i'm rather worried about all this talk of mode dial problems etc.... my cam apparently went back to oly for some sort of servicing 2mths ago and it is supposed to be warranteed till june this year. Hope it works out fine....
IGMeanwell
Well-known
I know I have pointed this out before .. but the 5050 has a great reputation
in fact was the camera of choice for Alex Majoli when shooting in Africa and Afghanistan
http://www.magnumphotos.com/Archive...il_VPage&l1=0&pid=2K7O3R13S3S3&nm=Alex Majoli
It would be nice of Oly reintroduced the original formula with an updated image engine, better battery life, and possibly their new image stabilization
of course keeping with the sealed magnesium body
in fact was the camera of choice for Alex Majoli when shooting in Africa and Afghanistan
http://www.magnumphotos.com/Archive...il_VPage&l1=0&pid=2K7O3R13S3S3&nm=Alex Majoli
It would be nice of Oly reintroduced the original formula with an updated image engine, better battery life, and possibly their new image stabilization
of course keeping with the sealed magnesium body
clintock
Galleryless Gearhead
I really liked the 5050z I had. One day, after about two months of owning it, never any abuse of any kind, I turned it on and the lens did not come out.
I sent it in like the paperwork said to the warranty center in NY and a few days later they sent a card with an estimate of 170 dollars for the repair, and a check box to select if I wanted to pay for the repair to proceed.
I called to tell them it was under warranty, but they said it had been dropped, so I had to pay.
I had never dropped it, never even bumped it, it was treated like a Fabrege Egg since the day I got it.
They said the only way the tiny plastic gear in the lens retract servo can get a broken tooth is by dropping it. I said that's clearly wrong, because this one has not been dropped.
There was no way I knew of over the telephone to convince the phone answering girl that I had not done something..
So I told them I'll just return it to Costco, tell the story of how Olympus of America fails to honor their warranty, and on top of that are lying cowards (the service tech was afraid to speak to me).
Had I done anything at all to harm the camera, I'd have paid, I really liked that camera, and until then, I liked Olympus- I have over 20 olympus cameras.
I have a friend with the 4040 model who twice had to send it back and pay over 120 each time because he unplugged the USB cable in the wrong sequence while connected to his laptop. The 4040 had some little mention in the owners manual about the sequence, so it was the customer's fault- no warranty coverage.
The images from that 5050 seem better than the ones from the canon G5 I bought out of spite to replace it..
I know that warranty service is tough all over, and I'm not the first to encounter the 'shame of olympus' - the New York service center. I'll never buy a new Olympus product of any type again. I read during my ordeal that the sensor failure was a blood letting for owners too, and it took the concerted efforts of many owners to force Olympus to honor their warranty and finally fix the problem. It seems Olympus was originally blaming customers for improper storage conditions, and refusing warranty.
BUT forget all that- If you 5050 is alive now, then all those problems are behind it..
I may even buy one again someday if I find a nice one for cheap..
But I'll never let olympus get a dime from me.
I sent it in like the paperwork said to the warranty center in NY and a few days later they sent a card with an estimate of 170 dollars for the repair, and a check box to select if I wanted to pay for the repair to proceed.
I called to tell them it was under warranty, but they said it had been dropped, so I had to pay.
I had never dropped it, never even bumped it, it was treated like a Fabrege Egg since the day I got it.
They said the only way the tiny plastic gear in the lens retract servo can get a broken tooth is by dropping it. I said that's clearly wrong, because this one has not been dropped.
There was no way I knew of over the telephone to convince the phone answering girl that I had not done something..
So I told them I'll just return it to Costco, tell the story of how Olympus of America fails to honor their warranty, and on top of that are lying cowards (the service tech was afraid to speak to me).
Had I done anything at all to harm the camera, I'd have paid, I really liked that camera, and until then, I liked Olympus- I have over 20 olympus cameras.
I have a friend with the 4040 model who twice had to send it back and pay over 120 each time because he unplugged the USB cable in the wrong sequence while connected to his laptop. The 4040 had some little mention in the owners manual about the sequence, so it was the customer's fault- no warranty coverage.
The images from that 5050 seem better than the ones from the canon G5 I bought out of spite to replace it..
I know that warranty service is tough all over, and I'm not the first to encounter the 'shame of olympus' - the New York service center. I'll never buy a new Olympus product of any type again. I read during my ordeal that the sensor failure was a blood letting for owners too, and it took the concerted efforts of many owners to force Olympus to honor their warranty and finally fix the problem. It seems Olympus was originally blaming customers for improper storage conditions, and refusing warranty.
BUT forget all that- If you 5050 is alive now, then all those problems are behind it..
I may even buy one again someday if I find a nice one for cheap..
But I'll never let olympus get a dime from me.
N
Nikon Bob
Guest
Yes the Oly C5050 is a great camera and the first digital that I owned. I still have it and the sensor was replaced under warranty last fall here in Canada even though it had never given any trouble. If my Panasonic FZ50 was built the same and had the Oly's 5 mp sensor I could have my cake and eat it too. I much prefer the way the controls are on the Pana. Funny that nobody gets exactly what they want in a camera.
Bob
Bob
Trius
Waiting on Maitani
Clint: Not to turn this thread, and respectfully, but I would have gone up the ladder. I understand the frustration of the time, but the only way an organization can change in matters like this is if customers are dogged in their determination to get things set straight. I would have also used John Hermanson or Clint Rumbo as a resources if neceesary. You may not have known them or of them at the time, but as former Oly techs and (John was a supervisor or manager, I'm pretty sure), they would know the ins and outs and probably have been able to get the issue resolved at Olympus service.
I'm not trying to defend Olympus here, and certainly not their actions at the time. It's pretty incredible to state that a part can only fail because of severe impact.
I'm not trying to defend Olympus here, and certainly not their actions at the time. It's pretty incredible to state that a part can only fail because of severe impact.
clintock
Galleryless Gearhead
I think my gear failure was nothing compared to the sensor problems that finally got Olympus' attention. That and possibly the selector wheel issue.
Despite the nutty length of my post, that was making a long story short.
It was several calls and much discussion, still they simply said I dropped it- period.
They actually agreed that they would prefer to loose a dedicated Olympus customer and cheerleader than to honor the warranty. I 'opened a file' and all that jazz.. but to no avail.
I don't think I have ever been so angry, after being effectively called a liar over and over, I just wanted to stick it to Olympus more than I wanted the camera fixed.
By returning the unit to Costco, I cost Olympus more money than even having them give me a free camera would have cost- the NY station still got stuck with the repair- and had to move a refurb.
Turns out I could possibly have had it fixed by simply sending it to a more competent shop, such as the one in California, who called me while the camera was in NY, as the dispute file wound up there in California, but the camera was not there.
The person from the California repair center sighed and said the NY center was having some problems.
That was three years ago, so it's possible the problems with the NY service center have been cleared up.
By specifications and looks, it seemed the Canon g5 was a step up, but the 5050's lens and lack of noise and blue fringe artifacts (compared to the G5) make me miss the Olympus. It just made great pictures.
(for a digital!)
Despite the nutty length of my post, that was making a long story short.
It was several calls and much discussion, still they simply said I dropped it- period.
They actually agreed that they would prefer to loose a dedicated Olympus customer and cheerleader than to honor the warranty. I 'opened a file' and all that jazz.. but to no avail.
I don't think I have ever been so angry, after being effectively called a liar over and over, I just wanted to stick it to Olympus more than I wanted the camera fixed.
By returning the unit to Costco, I cost Olympus more money than even having them give me a free camera would have cost- the NY station still got stuck with the repair- and had to move a refurb.
Turns out I could possibly have had it fixed by simply sending it to a more competent shop, such as the one in California, who called me while the camera was in NY, as the dispute file wound up there in California, but the camera was not there.
The person from the California repair center sighed and said the NY center was having some problems.
That was three years ago, so it's possible the problems with the NY service center have been cleared up.
By specifications and looks, it seemed the Canon g5 was a step up, but the 5050's lens and lack of noise and blue fringe artifacts (compared to the G5) make me miss the Olympus. It just made great pictures.
(for a digital!)
Trius
Waiting on Maitani
Clint: That's quite a story. I certainly understand. As a result of this thread, I have been on eBay looking for 5050s.
PetarDima
Well-known
shots are fine ... I have said it allready:
I don't know why Oly have stopped with that camera? f: 1.8 - is there any other compact street shooter camera with such speed lenses ...
I don't know why Oly have stopped with that camera? f: 1.8 - is there any other compact street shooter camera with such speed lenses ...
jtzordon
clicking away
Canon G6 and prior had f2.
Issy
Well-known
All of the x040 variants have this lens. C2040, c3040, C4040... except of course, the c5050 naming (which also has this lens). The c5050 hit a sweet spot because it was the first to use CF cards (the previous all used SD cards which top out at 256MB? 512?), still used AA's (versus a proprietary pack), and the last in the line to use this lens. I'm pretty sure the 5060, 7070, and 8080 are not f1.8 (but still high quality lenses).
It also can put up a histogram, has full A, S, and M modes... just a nice, overall camera.
They are not bad to take apart, either. I built a "good" one from two I got cheap on ebay. One had a bad LCD, the other had a broken lens (same issue you described). Frankencamedia.
It also can put up a histogram, has full A, S, and M modes... just a nice, overall camera.
They are not bad to take apart, either. I built a "good" one from two I got cheap on ebay. One had a bad LCD, the other had a broken lens (same issue you described). Frankencamedia.
Pablito
coco frío
They are great cameras, I have the 5060, but it takes some getting used to the shutter lag, even if you pre-focus. The metering on the 5060 is amazing. It can handle with little or no exposure compensation many situations that would fool a dslr or a film slr in any autoexposure mode. In dslr, I use manual spotmetering almost exclusively, with the 5060, aperture priority nails it more often than not. It's also very nice to be able to use the CF cards, which work in many dslrs as well.
edodo
Well-known
Does the oly like the 5050 have an all manual mode?
was it indeed the camera of choice for Alex Majoli, or is the relationship more of the jordan/nike type??
not to drag down the camera at all, but imo a camera has to be quite bad, or broken to be un-able of producing good work. fwiw i have the 7070 and am quite happy with it. it does, like someone already pointed out, take some time to get to know well, but after that it works like a charm. except for the horrible barrel distortion of the lens...
not to drag down the camera at all, but imo a camera has to be quite bad, or broken to be un-able of producing good work. fwiw i have the 7070 and am quite happy with it. it does, like someone already pointed out, take some time to get to know well, but after that it works like a charm. except for the horrible barrel distortion of the lens...
scottgee1
RF renegade
KEH has a "LN-" one for US$310.Trius said:Clint: That's quite a story. I certainly understand. As a result of this thread, I have been on eBay looking for 5050s.
ScottGee1
(who is always happy to help others spend their money -- too!)