| Product: |
Olympus Camedia C-100 |
| Date: |
09/10/04 (256 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Lightweight, Carry strap and bag, EXTREMELY EASY TO USE
Disadvantages: Goes through batteries quickly, Video mode is of poor quality
Olympus, like other names that become popular due to their quality, is a brand most people would trust to start with, and this camera certainly won't let you down.
Lets begin with my usual researched facts:
(That’s right...looked up on the internet...not my own knowledge).
PRICE: £150 (but always shop around!)
Olympus CAMEDIA C-100 Digital Camera
Dimensions: 12.3 x 4.5 x 6.5 (cm)
Weight: 190 g (so light I originally thought it was going to be a 'cheap' camera)
Localisation: English
Supported flash memore: SmartMedia (this means you can put the disk directly into your computer and view them immediately. I love it!)
Sensor Resolution: 1.3 Megapixel
Shooting Modes: Panorama mode, frame movie mode
Lens Aperture: F/4.0
Focus Adjustment: Focus free (another EXCELLENT feature – as I am not a photographer by profession – rather I am the dweeb that ends up with a thumb in the picture without a lot of concentration.)
Min Focus Range: 60 cm
Focal Length: 4.5 mm
Digital Zoom: 4x
Camera Flash: Built-in
Red-Eye Reduction: Built-in (Never had a picture yet with Red Eye)
Microphone: None (Though you CAN take some low quality video with it, there will be no sound to go along).
Viewfinder: Optical - real-image
Display: LCD display - TFT active matrix - 1.5 inch - colour
Battery: 4 x 'AA' alkaline
Manufacturer's Warranty: 1 year
Technical jargon out of the way, how does this camera PERFORM?
For starters, and this is the biggest selling point to me, taking wonderful, clear pictures, with no red eye, could not be easier. To take your chosen photograph, you literally just point and click, even the built-in flash decides what the skies are like, and only flashes when necessary (either that or I have never noticed it in the bright light, but I know I do not have to turn the flash on or off for piccies). On the back of the camera there is a nice but not overly large, screen from which to view that which you want to snap. You can look at this screen to see the intended subject and therefore have a perfectly centred picture every time! Also, as soon as you take the picture, it comes up on this screen to show you what your finished product looks like! So, if you are not too happy with the outcome, you can snap another one immediately before its too late! (For example those very first baby steps. Don’t want to miss those due to a ‘bad’ picture or an ‘out of focus’ camera).
I have to say, I am not as gadget happy as my son or my husband, and so I have not tried to learn all the functions of this camera. However, that being considered, I do find it quite easy to use for the basic functions. Also, once learned, it is quite easy to tell someone WHAT to do, to get the camera to function in whatever mode you are asking of it. For example, it takes video. I do not know how to do this, but my hubby has done it. I am not overly impressed with this function though because it is choppy, grainy, and nothing to write home about. Nonetheless my hubby found it quite easy to explain to me HOW to use this function. Even after that though, I am still happy to have a VIDEO RECORDER for this function.
Some very nice features on this camera that I do use are, the media smart chip, which slides right into our computer for instant viewing of pictures, AND it holds up to 100 pictures that can be deleted as required instantly. In other words, if you are on holiday, and you have spent the day taking pictures, you can sit down at the end of the day, look through the little screen to see your selection, and delete the ones you are not too keen on. This way you never have to worry about ppl seeing unwanted photos! You will NOT however find yourself erasing 'bad' photos, as this camera takes very clear and beautiful pictures. But, once deleting the photos that just are not to your liking, you have now freed up more space for other pictures. And, you can buy more of these smart media chips if you are one who likes more than 100 photos whilst on holiday. Or, the cheaper alternative would be to pop in to one of the many chemist shops that now offer INSTANT digital photo processing, thus clearing the chip and having more space for the rest of your holiday!
After having this camera for over two years now, I have to say, not only has it been problem free, but we have some BEAUTIFUL pictures that have come out perfect every time! Even my 8-year-old son takes perfect pictures with it, and he doesn’t know anything about cameras except that the screen shows him the subject, and the button on top takes the photo! A great lil camera at a great lil price!
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