An upgrade to Olympus's respected C-3030, the C-3040 adds a faster f1.8 lens and better USB connectivity to the extensive features it shares with its predecessor. The new f1.8-2.6 lens is clearly the central feature of the new model. According to Olympus, the lens lets the C-3040 shoot in lower light conditions, which allows you to shoot flash-free in more situations and increases the effective range of the flash. The 3.34 megapixel CCD in the C-3040 captures images at a resolution of 2048 x 1536, in both the JPEG and uncompressed TIFF formats, and a 32 MB internal buffer allows you to shoot at 3.3 frames per second at high resolution and low compression levels. Additionally, the camera can record short QuickTime movies with sound.
The camera can be operated in several modes: in programmed auto mode, the camera does everything for you; in aperture and shutter priority modes, you get to set the aperture or priority, and the camera does the rest; in full manual mode, you have control over all camera functions. Images can be downloaded to either a Mac or PC via the included USB cable, or viewed on your television using the included video cable. The camera includes USB storage class connectivity, which means it can be connected to any USB-based Windows Me/2000 and Mac OS 8.6 or later computer without installing any software. The C-3040 also ships with two CR-3V batteries (four AA batteries can also be used), a 16 MB SmartMedia card, strap, remote control, and software.