Quirks

Quirk	Cause	Possible Solution	Notes
Barrel & Pincushion Distortion		Using Camedia software select Image--Filter--Distortion for automatic correction. Use Save As--TIFF to keep original image intact and to prevent quality loss due to JPEG recompression.	The camera embeds the settings, including zoom into the JPEG file. The Camedia software reads these zoom levels and sets the distortion filter to the appropriate values.
Bloom	highly reflective objects oversaturate pixels which spill charge over into adjoining pixels. A CCD quirk	Bloom cannot be seen through the viewfinder. Once taken, check your photo in the LCD for signs of bloom. Move the camera angle slightly. Avoid sun shots as you can damage not only your camera's CCD but your eyes as well. Try using a neutral density filter to help reduce bloom.	Typically seen as an extremely bright, white vertical line when photographing the sun. Will also radiate from a highly reflective object or hot spot such as a hood or bumper of a car.
Bright Beach Scenes		Spot meter when scene has a lot of bright water or beach in the background. Bracket exposure (ev compensation): a series of photos starting with auto and including +/- ev exposures will insure at least one good photo. Use circular polarizer to reduce glare from water.	Strongly consider leaving the C-2500L home & taking a disposable camera; sand could get get trapped inside/outside the camera no matter how careful you are. Also, film cameras perform better with harsh light and extreme contrast conditions of the beach.
Camera Locks/Freezes	Camera may lock up when taking numerous shots (+/- 100) at one time without shutting the camera off.	Reboot by opening battery door to break contact.	Can't turn camera off or access any functions. Make sure batteries have a full charge.
Card Error when deleting files in-camera	SM or CF card which has been previously loaded onto a Mac desktop via card reader	Delete all images using the computer before returning to the camera. Do not delete images in-camera when using a Mac & card reader.	Error will occur with or without actually opening folders on the Mac desktop. May be caused by the Mac's writing several invisible files to the card which confuses the camera. The files can be seen with Norton's Utilities or the Find File (Finder) choosing "more options."
Card Error ! -E- for sm card only	Poor contact connection in camera sm slot	List of possible solutions	Camera will not format card Camera may lock when changing from "P" or "A" mode to review mode CompactFlash card is unaffected SmartMedia card appears fine in card reader; scandisk shows no bad sectors
CompactFlash Card Error when using older Kingston brand cards	Incompatibility with older cards; newer cards are working error free with the C-2500L.	Call Kingston and ask for a newer issue cf card (has a different controller.) Switch to SanDisk or Hitachi brand CF Card.	Can take a picture and write to the card but when trying to view or transfer image, a card error will occur.
Difficulty photographing cats/dogs, etc.	difficult to obtain sharp photo of animal's fur and accurate eye coloring.	Use smaller aperture (higher F-stop) for more depth of field. Focus on whiskers. Use bounce flash instead of straight on. Try external flash on a flash bracket above and away from lens to minimize green eyes. Try a diffuser on external flash.	You may also need to determine whether center (immediate pre-flash) or spot meter (controllable pre-flash) mode will give you the best results. Difficulty focusing: focus on vertical line such as side of face. Tripod may be handy; eliminates softness due to camera shake.
Eyes closed (people & pets) when using center metering	Preflash is used by camera to determine exposure	Warn subject of double flash. Switch to spot metering & warn subject that picture will be taken on 2nd flash. Spot metering allows you to pause long enough after the preflash for the subject to open their eyes before taking the picture.	Center metering puts out a preflash immediately prior to actual flash (when fully depressing shutter button) causing the subject to blink. You have no control over the timing of the preflash. Spot metering puts out a medium-powered preflash when the shutter is pressed halfway. The final flash is emitted when fully depressing the shutter button.
FL-40 overexposure	Subject closer than 5 feet. Flash intensity is determined by focal distance. The flash meters it's output based on light returned from subject.	Use on-camera flash only. Can also use wide panel adapter to soften flash. Be sure to set focus precisely on subject. Spot meter mode, focus lock and reframe before taking photo.	Camera will overexpose if focal point is behind subject. If you focus on a dark-colored subject, the camera thinks that more light is needed and fires a brighter flash. If the focal point is on a light-colored subject, the picture will be slightly underexposed.
FL-40 causes camera seam by hot-shoe to separate from camera	Heavy weight of flash with batteries and possible poor camera hot-shoe design puts excess stress on camera seam.	Do not use the neck strap to carry the camera when the FL-40 is attached. Always handhold the camera when the flash unit is attached. Be sure to check the camera seam for damage whenever using the FL-40.	The weight and bouncing of the FL-40 flash when supported by the neck strap only may or may not be a factor in the opening of the camera seam. Handholding the camera is a possible precaution but may not be successful in preventing the seam from separating from the camera's body. Note: If you should need to send your camera in for repair for a split seam and your camera is still under warranty, call Olympus Service Dept. and not the Repair Dept. which will charge a hefty fee for repair.
Focus difficulty on 2D objects		Switch to spot metering.	The camera has difficulty focusing on items such as resolution charts even when contrast is high.
Focusing difficulties		Lock focus on an object the same distance from the camera as the subject, then compose your picture & shoot. Use manual focus to set proper distance setting.	Autofocus problems with: low contrast scenes, subject in very bright light, subject lacks vertical lines, fast moving objects, near & distant objects in autofocus marks.
Focusing difficulties: macro shot of a ring (jewelry)	Subjects with all curves or horizontal lines may cause focusing difficulties.	The camera looks for vertical lines to focus on. Try putting something through the ring to create a straight line for the camera to focus on. Remove UV filters, front-light at 45° angle, use tripod, use edge of wide angle (no zoom) when in S-Macro Mode.	You may find that the camera may focus on the stand rather than the object. Putting an object through the ring will help correct this.
Fogging or bright circular area in center of image when taking remote/tripod shots	Light entering viewfinder; beam splitter is used instead of a retractable mirror.	Cover viewfinder with the lens cap holder on neck strap	When taking pictures your eye area blocks light from entering viewfinder. When using a remote control or a tripod and standing away from the camera, you need to use an alternate method of blocking the light.
Hot Pixels	Long exposures	Use the Dark Current Filter in Qimage Pro. Clean-up in an image editing program (cloning).	The hot pixels (brightly colored red & blue dots) become brighter the longer the exposure; they may be barely noticeable at 2 seconds, increasing in intensity as exposure time increases. They completely disappear when returning to "P" mode.
Long Exposure mode will not take an 8-second exposure	Camera adjusts maximum exposure time to ISO setting		Maximum exposure time at: ISO 100 = 8 seconds ISO 200 = 4 seconds ISO 400 = 2 seconds
Manual Mode setting causes tic marks on control panel to blink		If tic marks are bolded & flashing on the (-) side, adjust shutter speed to a slower setting. The tic marks will stop flashing & move to the right indicating the photo will be underexposed but within the range of the camera's exposure system. If tic marks are bolded & flashing on the ( side, increase the shutter speed. The tic marks will stop flashing & move to the left indicating the photo will be overexposed but within the range of the camera's exposure system.	Tic marks to the left (-) indicate underexposure. Tic marks to the right (+) indicate overexposure. Entire line of tic marks bolded & flashing indicates exposure is not possible.
Noise	Use of ISO 200 & ISO 400. In-camera sharpening when in normal mode.	Expect increase in graininess and noise when shooting at ISO 200 & a greater increase in noise at ISO 400. Use soft mode as your default setting. Apply sharpening (to your liking) in an image editing program. Use noise filters in Qimage Pro to remove unwanted noise artifacts.	The trade-off for raising the sensitivity of the sensor is an increase in noise and graininess. Normal mode applies in-camera sharpening which can produce some noise. If it is a problem, switching to soft mode, which does not apply in-camera sharpening will decrease noise levels.
Picture numbers reset to 0001 when using auto file		Prepare an extra folder in advance on your hard drive to separate duplicate file numbers. If you are prompted to overwrite a file because it already exists, choose "no" and download the duplicate files in that prepared folder.	You may never notice the picture number reset to 0001 unless you download and erase your card several times in one day. File numbers that reset to 0001 on following days have a different prefix (date) number which prevents the duplication even though the numbers have reset back to 0001.
Super Macro Mode--camera unable to focus		Use edge of wide angle.	Cannot use telephoto zoom when in Super Macro mode; camera will not focus or picture will be blurry. Can use telephoto setting when in Macro mode.
Underexposed pictures	Possible reason: Spot metering	Adjust exposure to compensate for darker pictures. Use a gray card or meter off an appropriate spot.	Spot metering sets exposure (of the spot metered off of) to neutral 18% gray. If metered spot is lighter or darker, exposure will be wrong.
White Balance		Portraits taken in open shade or under studio lighting conditions: the manual setting of 4500K produced the most natural skin tone coloring	5500 - 7500 K introduced increasingly warmer (red & yellow) skin tones. No problem with white balance for most scenics.
Xmas tree photos are out of focus	Autofocus has difficulty with branches and tree lights.	Set camera on a tripod & use manual focus at proper distance setting. Try closing the aperture to increase DOF otherwise much of the tree will be out of focus.

Camera Quirks

Accessory Quirks