The Case for Digi-Snaps: Hands on Review of the Olympus DL 200

Curiously, both reporters at the NAB luncheon had the same model camera, an Olympus D 200L, capable of storing 20 high quality (640 x 480) or 80 medium-quality (320 x 240) photos (both qualities good enough for partial-page magazine work) and transmitting them electronically to a computer and thence anywhere on the planet in minutes. Olympus also makes a higher cost, higher quality model, the D 300L.

"Why do you use that still camera?" asked one executive, holding forth his own company's paperback-book-sized, digital video camcorder, "This records hundreds of thousands of still frames instead of just 80."

And there, my friends, lies an interesting conundrum - why indeed carry a snapshot digital still camera, if you already carry a digital video camera, capable of storing thousands of still shots on the videotape? After acquiring such a still camera and using it for some time in conjuction with my video work, I have several reasons and most of them translate into bang-for-the-buck, profitable routines that make the addition of this equipment highly desirable.

My first response to the paper-back-book camcorder challenge was price. Both of the current models of supersmall DV camcorders cost upwards of $4,000. While employees of the manufacturer may find these really handy for capturing those special moments, I had no motivation to record the sherrif coming to collect my rent. Four big ones is a good price for an industrial camcorder that you reserve for billable client work. It is outrageous to assume one would spend that for something casual, something one might carry around at all times.

The booklet DV's have their niche and the digital snapshooters theirs. At 15% of the cost of a booklet DV, the D200L, still a little pricey ($RETAIL PRICE??) , is ideal for taking the casual snapshot a quantum leap beyond the Instamatic.

Pocket Sized Media Source

The Olympus family of digital still cameras is built along the lines of high-end 120-film camera. It looks and feels exactly the same, with a built-in, no-red-eye flash, paralax viewfinder and sliding lens door. No one will know you're shooting digitally until you show them the small 1.8" color LCD viewfinder in the back, which doubles as a through-the-lens (TTL) electronic viewfinder, and playback screen.

To take a picture, you either look through the optical viewfinder or watch the LCD and push the trigger button. Several controls are offered for exposure override, focus, exposure, etc., but like all good snapshooters, the automatic features pretty much guarantee good results. This is not a replacement for a 35mm SLR with elaborate photographic capabilities. It is a snapshot camera with digital output. Slide the lens door closed, press a button and you can review your shots on the LCD in full frame or 3 x 3 "Hollywood Squares" format. Press the red button and confirm with the trigger button to erase any shot from the memory.

Downloading is a Snap

When the digital magazine is full, or any time before, the user simply connects the included data wire from the camera to the computer's com port (both Mac and PCs are supported) where an included software program downloads the pictures to hard drive memory.

The DL200/300 can also be used as a computer-driven camera by using the software to control the camera settings and trigger. I found this handy during long-distance chats with friends over the net, by placing the camera over my computer and waving hello.

Professional Applications

Professional videographers will find the D 200L exteremely useful in the digital project studio paradygm. While a digital video camcorder could certainly be pressed into some of the duties of a digital snapshot camera, the departure from its duties as a principal photography instrument would be wasteful.

Assume, for instance, that a production requires a dozen or so still shots of products or other subjects to be inserted into an otherwise live-action sequence. Consider the time required to assign the task to the DP, move the tripod, light the scene for the video camera, shoot and log the shot and freeze frame the shot in a NLE (often with interfield jitter results). Now consider the ease of letting the DP get on with the live shooting while you, the Producer (or a PA) knock off a quick series of snapshots, download them to the NLE computer in a special subdirectory and tell the editor where to find them.

Another on-set necessary is the task of shooting continuity stills on a set. Even when instant video playback made it possible to rewind the camera and review the scene, DPs rarely do this, preferring still to rely on a Polaroid - whose pictures cost over a dollar apiece - than risk a camera tape cinch or over-record. Use the DL 200, shoot as many shots as you like, load them onto the laptop and continue shooting with the Betacam.

Location scouting with a digital still camera offers the same savings, plus the results may be instantly emailed to your clients anywhere in the world. The fast connection between reality, the digital still camera and the Internet result in a new level of convenience that replaces costly customs we've accepted for too long as necessary irritations.

On the set, don't forget to take lots of pictures of the client, actors and crew, happily working together. Assemble them into a post-shoot scrapbook, email it to the client and wait for the appreciative callback.

New Revenue Streams

Many videographers, enjoying the convenience of working in a digital desktop environment are also discovering the windfall profits that accrue from outputting their work to other media, such as CD-ROM and websites. Such experience leads some producers to actually add these profitable product lines to their corporate offerings.

CD-ROMs and websites, while incorporating video, depend primarily on still art and photography as sources of visual material. A still digital camera is a must in such work and the addition of it to a videographer's toolkit makes the transition to ancilary media easier and more profitable. Often, an entire project will require no video assets and may be completed with still shots acquired in the field. While such projects will come to the video producer because his company is recognized as a media production source, the elements need not include motion pictures and may, therefore, be produced for a fraction of the cost of a production requiring video cameras, lights, crews and support facilities.

I found that having the camera with me daily, while traveling to work or enjoying my family, gave me opportunities to grab photos that could be used in nonlinear edits on the job. For instance, during a production that required illustrating the expenses of a family deprived of the prime income earner, I was able to shoot shots of my wife and children shopping for groceries. The next day, the shot became a background in an Adobe After-Effects sequence. I started with full color, faded to sepia tone and defocused as the titles formed in the foreground - simple - fast - no cost - with tons of client-percieved production value.

The same shot, acquired with a video camera, would have become a planned and budgeted setup, no doubt trimmed for expense from the budget or weighing heavily on the producer to execute. This and many other opportunities developed every day while I had a digital source sitting in my pocket.

Oops Olympus

The only drawback of the D200L is a design oversight that tends to eat up the camera's 4 AA batteries at an alarming rate. On the back of the camera is a small green button that turns on the LCD screen for picture playback.

This button is not recessed into the body of the camera, but stands out about an eigth of an inch. If the camera is carried in a briefcase or a tight compartment in a camera bag, the button gets depressed, the screen comes on, and the battery drains. I discovered this flaw only after going through about 20 batteries in a week of testing and remarking that the batteries were costing more than 35mm film and processing! Once I figured out the problem, the cost of operating the D200L fell precipitously and became my constant companion.

Class Glass

As for quality, Olympus has been a leader in employing glass lenses on all of their cameras, commencing in the days when low cost, consumer VHS camcorders became popular. Following this philosophy, the D200L and D300l employ very sharp, glass lenses that produce superior results to other cameras with similar digital characteristics, often selling at higher cost.

If your budget can afford $500 or so for an opportunity to extend your horizons, both creatively and economically, I highly recommend any digital snapshot camera for your field equipment package and the Olympus D200L as a specifically wise choice. Taking a little, cardboard donut around the green button will aleviate the battery drain (or reverse one of the AA-cells until you're ready to shoot), and the results/price ratio is quite attractive. In no time, you'll be drawn into designing websites to hold your photos, posting photos like a parent with ten refridgerators and exploring the lucrative world of digital media from a new and widening perspective.