A proper camera (Olympus Camedia C-1000L)

Member Name: fjpickett

Product:	Olympus Camedia C-1000L
Date:	05/09/00 (687 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: TTL viewfinder, excellent optics

Disadvantages: Fussy autofocus, battery life

You may have trouble finding one of these now, as they has been replaced by the wonderful, but expensive, C-2500. However, the upside is that there are still a few around for reasonable money (Morgan Computers do them) and they work extremely well.

The C-1000 (called the D-500 in the US) has what is now considered the relatively low max. resolution of 1024 x 768, but don’t let that put you off, as this is a proper single lens reflex (SLR) camera that will appeal to photographers rather than computer techies. The lens is the equivalent of 50-150mm zoom, which is longer than most, and allows decent close-ups of faces without the camera pushed up the subject’s nose.

The lens also has a 43mm filter thread, and because it’s an SLR, you can add close-up or wide-angle adaptors (which Olympus make). A wider angle is sometimes useful, although digital cameras don’t (yet) have the resolution to take really good landscape shots, IMHO. In any case, it’s worth buying a plain or UV filter just to protect the lens.

The camera is larger than most digital models, but feels like a camera and is easier to hold steady than most. It has an LCD for reviewing/deleting pictures and setting up options, but the viewfinder is always used for composition. I don’t find this a drawback, especially as LCD’s are rarely that clear in daylight, and because it’s an SLR, you don’t have to make parallax corrections when you’re close up.

In standard form, the C-1000 is sold with alkaline batteries and a 2Mb SmartMedia memory card, both of which are inadequate. You must get some NiMH rechargeables and at least an 8Mb card to use it seriously, but these are not expensive. Don’t get larger memory cards than this, as the camera needs an upgrade to handle them.

The only problem I have had in day-to-day use is that the autofocus needs something with a bit of contrast to lock on to, so it can be fus
sy in poor light. Since it won’t let you take the shot until the focus is set, you can’t just point and shoot and hope. The newer models are better in this respect, and have buffer memory to allow continuous shooting. The C-1000 predates this sort of thing, but remains an excellent camera.

PS. I now get to use a C-2500, and it addresses almost every shortcoming. It has similar optics, but much higher resolution, manual or automatic exposure modes, IR focussing for dim light and continuous shooting (up to five shots at a time). Wonderful!

However - I have also resurrected my 'ordinary' 35mm camera and loaded it with some Kodak Elite Chrome slide film, and although the digital cameras are good, and have loads of uses, film (especially slide film) still has the edge...

Summary: