Olympus Digital Filmless Cameras

1. Olympus C-2100 Ultra Zoom - After removing the C-2100 from the box in which it came, we immediately noticed the detail that went into creating it. There was no doubt that the design team had done a superb job on what more and more owners of digital cameras are starting to refer to as "eye candy." The metallic look is an eye opener. The first step,as is always the case, was opening the charger and getting thoes Ni-Mh batteries ready to power everything. We were pleasantly surprised by the fact that there were two LCD displays, one inside the viewfinder and the other on the outer surface. Both provided a crisp clear feedback.

   The menu controls are very similar to most Olympus cameras. If you have used one of their digital cameras ealier then the learning curve for the C-2100 is instantly easier. With a 7mm to 70mm lens and 2.7x digital zoom you can get a great photo of any object over 1000 mm away. Adjustment for any setting can be accomplished automatically or manually and, if you are shooting at night just switch to the night mode. Piece of cake.

   If you want to increase the shutter speed for movement, no problem there either. Less exposure, just adjust the C-2100 with ease. The 8MB smart media card that comes with the C-2100 is, however, adequate at best. We chose to upgrade to the 32MB version in order to be able hold more shots and longer movies. You can even create movies with sound and play them back to a TV through the AV cable that's provided. Nice, real nice.

   We decided to test the frame rate by shooting high speed vehicles and sports action. Happily, we found that the C-2100 can take rapid pictures at 3 frames per second. With the large 16MB buffer for bursts the pictures reproduced flawlessly. No distortion, as you are likely to find with cameras out of this price range.

   Downloading was very easy using the Camedia software provided. This camera is for the true professional and even the "wannabe." If you use cameras on the job on a regular basis or are nust now getting into digital, consider the C-2100. You will not be disappointed.

2. Olympus Camedia E-100RS - Looking at the E-100RS, we thought it was a complete duplicate of the C-2100 with variations not visible to the naked eye. It was then that we noticed subtle differences. The metallic look was gone, replaced by a protective rubber coating around the lens and eyepiece. This camera was made for wear and tear beyond the norm.

   Once the batteries were charged, we proceeded to take some still snapshots. The stabilization technology made up for minor movements of the hand, an act that might normally have blurred the picture. The 10x optical lens provides the finest detail for all pictures taken, even at long range. It comes with two types of memory slots, one Smart Media and one Compact Flash. This allows for large files to be created and is especially useful for creating Quicktime movies that would otherwise require a great deal of memory.

   The E-100RS has the ability to shoot pictures at an astounding 15fps. It can capture many pictures in a single session to give you the best results for those particular moments in time. Downloading, by the way, does not require the Camedia software. The USB cable attaches to the computer and the camera becomes an external drive. Copying the images off is as easy as 1, 2, 3. The E-100RS is top of the line. This could easily be the last digital camera you need to buy for another 10 years.