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This article is from May 31, 2000, and is no longer current.

Olympus D-460 Zoom Closes In on Point and Shooters

I have to admit, after spending a few months with 3-megapixel cameras, it was hard for me to step back down to the 1-megapixel class with the Olympus D-460 Zoom. It’s not so much the lower image resolution I noticed as the difference in features. Unlike Olympus’s C-3030 Zoom, the D-460 is aimed at the consumer, not the prosumer, and it offers less in the way of manual settings and convenience features than you get with pricier cameras. Then again, this model carries a suggested retail price of only $499, which seems something of a bargain given its 3x zoom lens and laudable image quality.

It’s in the Genes
I have admired and recommended many past Olympus consumer models, and the D-460 offers the same strengths. Like its predecessors, for instance, this latest model is a sleek, lightweight, and compact camera in a sturdy metallic case. Its sliding lens cover, which doubles as a power switch, is much more sensible than the easily lost removable lens caps sported by several high-end digital cameras. It’s only a small annoyance that closing the cover requires you to “trap” the telescoping lens and wait for it to withdraw before closing the cover completely.

Despite its compact size, the D-460 has an ergonomically sound design. There’s plenty of room to hold the camera with both hands without obscuring the lens, viewfinder, or LCD screen. The shutter button and adjacent zoom toggle are easy to reach, and a circular arrangement of compass-point directional buttons makes it easy to navigate menus. A brightness adjustment, accessible from the camera’s menu, makes the LCD easier to read than with earlier cameras, and a handy topside LCD control panel displays the camera’s status. One oddity: As with some previous Olympus models, using the built-in flash of the D-460 requires that you manually open the flash.

Be it Resolved
Realistically, the D-460’s 1.3-million-pixel resolution limits you to a print size of roughly 3 by 4 inches, but 1.3 million pixels is more than enough for Web work and sufficient for many print jobs as well. The camera is capable of two resolutions: 640 x 480 pixels and 1,280 x 960 pixels. Pictures in each of these resolutions can be compressed at either of two JPEG compression ratios. In addition, high-resolution images can also be saved in an uncompressed TIFF mode. This allows anywhere from 2 to 122 images to be saved on the included 8MB SmartMedia card. Unfortunately, SmartMedia may have a dim future, making this a questionable buy if you anticipate investing in additional memory cards for whichever digital camera you buy. See “Getting – And Saving – The Picture.”

The D-460 offers about the level of features and control you’d expect in a consumer level point-and-shoot camera. You can set exposure compensation, white balance, spot metering, and ISO equivalence manually, as well as the various flash modes. The 5.4 – 16.2mm lens (equivalent to 35 – 105mm lens on 35mm camera) does not accept extensions.

The camera’s macro mode produces great in-focus close-ups as close as 8 inches from your subject.

Flesh tones are warm and realistic, while colors are generally vibrant and saturated.

The camera does tend somewhat toward excessive contrast in bright sunlight, but manual adjustment usually remedies the problem.

Over-the-hill Technology
My greatest disappointment with the D-460 is its lack of USB support. The age of serial downloading is past, or should be anyway: It took me nearly 30 minutes to download the contents of a 16MB SmartMedia card. A USB SmartMedia card reader (not included) would bypass this bottleneck, but I don’t recommend sinking any more cash into this dead-end media format. The only included software is the same uninspiring Olympus Camedia Master that accompanies other Olympus cameras.

Speaking of accessories not included, the camera comes with no rechargeable battery kit, nor with an AC adapter. While I have criticized higher-end cameras in the past for these omissions, the D-460’s lack is less egregious, considering its reasonable price tag. I still feel, however, that digital cameras should come with some sort of carrying case –- this one doesn’t — if only to protect the vulnerable LCD screen from fingerprints, scratches, and fatal blows.

All in all, the D-460 is a respectable addition to a venerable family. You can get some great pictures from this camera for a decent price, which drops to as little as $399 online. If you can afford more camera, however, seriously consider spending more for a model with a USB interface. You also might thank yourself later if you stick with a camera that uses CompactFlash cards instead of their SmartMedia counterparts.

For specifications, see Olympus.

Read more by Marty Beaudet.

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