Canon G2 vs. Olympus C-3030 Jan. 2002 [Canon G2] [My photo gears] [Back to Photo Page]

Image Quality vs Resolution

Canon G2 has resolution of 2272x1704 and Olympus C-3030 has 2048x1536. There is not a dramatic difference (10% in each dimension). The middle image by C-3030 was up-sampled in Photoshop to get the same 2272x1704 image size. There is still visible sharpness margin by Canon G2.

G2 ISO 100	C-3030 ISO 100 (up-sampled)	C-3030 ISO 100 (original)

Image Quality vs ISO setting

C-3030 does not have ISO50 setting. To my eyes, G2 and C-3030 have about the same noise level at the same ISO setting.

G2 ISO 100	C-3030 ISO 100
G2 ISO 200	C-3030 ISO 200
G2 ISO 400	C-3030 ISO 400

My C-3030 focus problem with long end zoom

The next few images show what I mean by focus problem of C-3030. When I zoom the lens on my C-3030, it just cannot focus at the objects at far away (approx more than 100 feet). The resulting images are very very soft and disappointed. Maybe I got a defective C-3030? Anyway, my G2 is perfect fine for focusing at any distance in spec.

G2 ISO 100	C-3030 ISO 100
G2 ISO 100	C-3030 ISO 100

G2 ISO 50	C-3030 ISO 100

Image File Size

Both cameras were set at the highest resolution/quality JPEG mode. One thing does not make sense to me is that the image file size of C-3030 is not very dependent on ISO setting. Higher ISO should have higher noise level, and less compression ratio and large file size. It is pretty consistent with G2 file size, but not with C-3030.......

Canon G2	Olympus C-3030
ISO50: 2001KB
ISO100: 2102KB	1660KB
ISO200: 2293KB	1569KB
ISO400: 2524KB	1556KB

Canon G2	Olympus C-3030
ISO50: 1737KB
ISO100: 1887KB	1541KB
ISO200: 2092KB	1713KB
ISO400: 2325KB	1622KB

Pros and Cons of G2/C-3030

G2 wins

• Better image quality/size in my own opinion. It may be biased due to my C-3030 long end zoom focus problem.
• Larger memory card capacity (CompactFlashII vs SmartMedia).
• External flash.
• Better battery life.
• I am more familiar with Canon's control layout.

C-3030 wins

• Smaller size and lighter weight.
• 75-sec movie mode (vs. 30-sec in G2).

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