The Chinon ES-3000 digital camera




At under £800, the Chinon ES-3000 is a digital still camera producing full computer screen sized 640 x 480 pixel images and featuring a 7-21mm motorized zoom lens, multi-zone autofocus, controllable flash and the option of adding a substantial image memory via a PCMCIA flashcard. To operate it, you simply open the front panel; the information is displayed on a clear LCD screen on the back.
Chinon claim that the ES-3000, a solid and well-made camera which works extremely well in practice, gives lossless or 'un-compressed' quality images. Our tests did not support this, though the quality of picture seems to be an order higher than earlier models like the Kodak DC40 or Apple QuickTake.
For reproductions up to 6cm wide (vertical) in a magazine, or slightly larger in newspapers, the ES-3000 yields a colourful and visually sharp image. The detail of textures is however broken up by artificial sharpening effects combined with a form of compression which sacrifices sharpness to retain smooth, banding-free colour.
Using four AA size lithium cells which seem to last for around 100 shots, the ES-3000 takes around ten seconds between images to store each picture. This is a brief interlude compared to the minimum of 45 seconds needed to view or transfer each normal sized image to its destination computer via a simple serial cable. With 21 pictures on our card, the total 'reading' time on a laptop was almost an hour. As single image selection and transfer must be previewed by a 45-second preview operation, and selected images can not be copied or deleted, the ES-3000 is not for the news photographer in a hurry.
The instruction manual is superb ­p; a complete book ­p; and the software operationally perfect, no crashes, no hangs, and no bugs even on a PowerMac. Moreover, the actual printed results are good.
For a set of JPEG files including full size images, see our test results (file sizes vary but there are several files and this is only to be explored if you really want to see comparative images).
The ES-3000 is the parent model for several own-branded derivations including the higher resolution Kodak DC50, the Dycam and Logitech. It's certainly the Great White Hope for consumer digital imaging and is the first model in its price-range we have tested to have a lens system and performance suitable for small still life catalogue shots.