The Best Digital Camera Available?
Written: Mar 10 '02
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Pros: 10x zoom, image stabilizer, accurate colors, sharp lens
Cons: big
The Bottom Line: Simply put, it's a fun camera with loads of features that you'll rarely find elsewhere.
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| lakers0340's Full Review: Olympus Camedia C-2100 Ultra Zoom Digital Camera |
This is the perfect camera in every way except one. However, I have found from my extensive use of digital cameras, that there is not one camera that is suitable for everyone. In my case, the c-2100 is almost perfect.
My Background
I have used many digital cameras and have personally owned the Olympus c-2100, Toshiba pdr-m4, Nikon CP950, Nikon CP800, Nikon CP990, Olympus c-3000, Sony p50, and Olympus D-360l. I am also aware of the newest cameras because I constantly read up on information in digital photography websites. It's a hobby of mine that for awhile was an obsession.
Back to the Camera
The good:
The best feature of this camera is the 10x optical zoom lens. It's effective 35mm focal length equiv is 38mm - 380mm. Don't be fooled by any camera that advertises "digital zoom" because it is practically useless. There aren't many other cameras out there with a 10x optical zoom. I only know of 3 other ones that I know of; 2 other ones from Olympus, and one from Canon. The lens is f2.8 at full wide angle and f3.5 at full telescopic. f3.5 at 10x zoom is a very bright lens! This means that you'll be better able to capture action shots in low lighting situations. In fact, if you zoom out maybe just 1/5 from full telescopic, the maximum aperature become f2.8.
Another great feature on this camera is the Image Stabilizer (IS). This lets you use a slower shutter speed to obtain blur-free pictures. With no IS, I am only able to hand hold a shot at 1/30 second without blur. With this camera and with IS on, I am able to hand hold the shot at 1/10 second without blur! The IS system also eliminates the need for a tripod to shoot a 10x zoomed shot in daytime.
The camera uses 4 AA batteries. For me, this is the perfect. I have a bunch of AA NIMH batteries that I can use on this camera. 4 AA NIMH batteries cost about $10 and they can be recharged thousands of times. Each set lasts about 80 shots before I have to recharge them again.
This camera uses Smartmedia cards as the digital "film". As of right now, they can be bought for about $1 for every 2 mb if you look at the right places. I'm sure the prices will continue to fall. I have a 128 mb and a 64 mb Smartmedia card, which is overkill. The 128 mb one can store about 200 pictures at HQ quality (that's the 2nd to the highest jpeg quality). Smartmedia cards can be erased and used over and over again, so in the long run you will save lots of money.
It has a 1.8" LCD screen. I would have like a 2" LCD screen, but 1.8" seems to be the standard these days.
There is a thread for add-on lenses and filters. It accepts any standard 49mm leneses.
The camera is solidly built. I've dropped it a few times on carpet from as high as 3 feet and everything is fine.
There are lots of manual controls. There is a aperature priority mode, shutter priority mode, and complete manual mode where you set the shutter speed and aperature. If you have no idea what those modes are you can always set it on the fully automatic mode. This camera is great for a beginner to use as a point-and-shoot in the beginning and then when they become more familar with photography, they can make use of its more advanced features.
Image quality is great. The colors are not as saturated as the Sony cameras, but I feel that the c-2100 is more lifelike.
There are a bunch of nice features. There is a movie mode w/sound which allows recording up to 320x240, I believe. There are modes where you can shoot in Sepia, black and white, whiteboard, and blackboard. It has advanced features like exposure bracketing and variable flash intensity controls.
The bad:
Size. The first thing most people notice about this camera is that it's big. It's about the size of an SLR camera with a lens attached. Olympus actually makes a 10x digital camera (c-700) which is a lot smaller than this one. The difference in size is because the c-2100 has the image stabilizer. For those that feel that they don't need the IS, you have the choice of the smaller c-700. However, you'll never realize how great the IS is unless you actually have used it before. On the pllus side, it looks more professional than those tiny cameras. I was actually harassed at a sporting event because they do not allow professional cameras in. hmmm... I guess that's a bad thing!
Conclusion:
Another thing worth noting is that this camera is 2 megapixel. I didn't list it as a bad thing because that is all most people need. More megapizels mean larger files and it would only take up extra space for most people. A 2 megapixel camera makes great 4x6 pictures and decent 8x10 pictures. I am sure in the future, storage space will cost a lot less per mb. When that happens significantly, moving up from 2 megapixel will seem more practical to me. Until then, I believe this camera is great for anyone who doesn't mind the size of it. It is a great learning tool for anyone interested in photography. It gives you instant feedback and has the features that will please both beginners and advanced users.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 500
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lakers0340
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Reviews written: 17
Trusted by: 14 members
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