Olympus Camedia C-50 Zoom

Olympus Camedia C-50 Zoom ... Categorically closing the gap between design and performance, the CAMEDIA C-50ZOOM is the camera for those that want it all. Housed inside a body with a stylish, eye-catching and extremely compact fully metallic design is a wealth of high-quality technical features. From the versatile, bright f2.8 / f4.8 precision 3x zoom optical system to its impressive five megapixel resolution, this innovative model ensures photos taken will excel in every respect. Many automatic and manually adjustable settings guarantee C-50ZOOM photographers enjoy ease of use while being left with plenty of scope for creative possibilities. Images are saved on xD-Picture Card, the new digital storage standard.

With the metal-bodied C-50ZOOM, discerning photographers can step out in style and create pictures of the highest caliber. This model incorporates a 1/1.8 inch primary color (RGB) filter CCD to produce razor-sharp five million pixel images. Precision optics ensure that light is clearly and accurately transmitted through the lens system to the CCD. The 3x optical zoom (equivalent to 38 - 114 mm on a conventional 35 mm camera) can be combined with a 4x digital zoom (up to 5x in VGA mode) to give users even greater flexibility for a wide range of situations. The optical system is comprised of seven glass lenses arranged in six groups and features two aspherical elements for edge-to-edge clarity.

Numerous options for exposure control are on hand, including manual and spot metering for advanced users, while the automatic digital ESP (Electro Selective Pattern) option gives complete comfort and ease. The shutter and aperture priority modes allow users to set one adjustment while the camera takes care of the other. Furthermore, auto bracketing is available for automatically taking a series of shots with differing exposure values. A TTL contrast detection autofocus ensures photos are crisp and clear.

Six scene program shooting modes provide photographers with pre-sets for many common motifs such as night scenes, sports and landscapes. In addition, the user's favorite photographic settings may also be saved in the special "my mode" folder. This retains the selected settings for later use. Thanks to the unique Olympus TruePic image optimization technology, captured images will impress with their brilliant colors and gradation. Even for those pictures not recorded at the maximum resolution, the TruePic algorithm utilizes data from all the CCD's five million pixels to produce optimal images, thereby saving memory without any great sacrifice to quality.

The C-50ZOOM allows macro photography and panorama shooting and, moreover, as well as still photos, can record moving pictures in QuickTime Motion JPEG format. An advanced white balance system ensures images stand out with their true colors. Besides full-auto TTL measurement, photographers may choose pre-sets to suit the particular ambient conditions, no matter if capturing images on sunny or cloudy days, or shooting indoors under fluorescent or incandescent artificial light.

Thanks to the built-in flash system with a variety of flash modes, including slow synchronization, perfect illumination is also assured in challenging lighting situations.

After shooting, users have the option to change the photos captured in color, to black and white or sepia, giving compositions a special effect. Images may also be rotated - which is especially useful when wanting to view photos originally taken in portrait format, on a TV.

To achieve the camera's ultra-compact dimensions, Olympus has incorporated two high-performance yet space-saving innovations. First, the C-50ZOOM is equipped with a slot for the xD-Picture Card - the world's smallest digital camera memory card. This new removable storage standard currently features capacities up to 128 MB. Moreover, a Compact Flash adapter ensures compatibility of the xD-Picture Card with CF slot-equipped devices, e.g. digital cameras, thus allowing a variety of users to utilize the new storage medium.

The second coup is incorporation of an all-new ultra-small rechargeable lithium-ion battery. Not only does it make the camera considerably smaller, the very-high battery capacity lets scores of shots be taken without needing recharging. This camera model is supplied with a quick-charger featuring a recharging time of about two hours.

With the USB AutoConnect interface, images are quickly and easily downloaded to a computer. The CAMEDIA Master software, that comes with the camera, lets users chose from numerous options for further processing of their digital photos, including editing and archiving. The CAMEDIA C-50ZOOM supports the new EXIF 2.2 standard as well as PIM II, enabling compatible printers to apply the saved data in order to produce optimized image printouts.