December 17 - December 24

Taking your best shot by Alessandro Cancian One of the main problems with digital cameras has always been the lack, except in very few cases, of zoom lenses able to break the barrier of 3x magnification. This is a non-trivial factor, especially for those who like myself, want to exploit the capabilities of lenses with better characteristics. Some alternatives are available on the market, but most of the time the cost is prohibitive even for professional photographers. But the situation is improving, and this is confirmed by one of the most recent additions to the Olympus range the new C-2100 Ultra Zoom. Equipped with an incredible 10x optical zoom lense, and with the possibility to increase it to 27x with digital magnification, the C-2100 turns out to be a pleasant surprise. Comfortable to handle, the camera is lighter than it looks. The Olympus C-2100 ultra zoom has 2.1 megapixel CCD, with a resolution of 1600x1200, perfect for any need from portraits to landscapes, from magnification of tiny details to shots of moving subjects. Thanks to the optical image stabilizer the camera is equipped with, the image quality is truly unbelievable even with faraway objects. This quality degrades somewhat when using Digital zoom mode. If on the one hand this boosts the capabilities of the machine, on the other, most of the pictures I took (using no tripod) came out completely blurry. On the back, the C-2100 carries an LCD 1.8" monitor through which, in case you dont want to use the viewfinder, you can keep the surrounding situation under control while you prepare to shoot. In my case, switching from the viewfinder to the monitor was necessary due to the low quality of the former, which gave me problems especially in dark places. Through the monitor, incredibly bright and clear, it is also possible to review the pictures taken and decide about them. The Olympus model comes with 4 NiMH rechargeable batteries, with a definitely good life, a 8MB SmartMedia card for picture storage, and an infrared remote control. The 8MB SmartMedia card is the least positive aspect of the C-2100, since this capacity limits the potential of both the camera and the photographer. Perfectly compatible both with Mac and with PC platforms, the C-2100 is equipped with a serial port, USB (with cable), DC in for optional AC adapter, microphone and audio/video output (with cable). The Olympus camera is an interesting product for professionals and amateur photographers alike. The ultra zoom in fact offers a very high number of working modes ranging from fully automatic to fully manual, where one can set all parameters based on ones experience. Working with the C-2100 is a breeze, thanks to its easy access to zoom control, shutter and integral flash. If the camera determines that the flash is required, it displays a flashing symbol in the viewfinder and you can decide if you need it or not. Another common problem with digital cameras is the lack of an adapter for an external flash; the Olympus model is equipped with a 5-pin connector located on one side of the camera. The quality of images was quite good even in less than perfect light conditions. The colours were very well calibrated and saturated. Macro mode was surprising, considering its ability to capture details from extremely close distances with results that left little to be desired in comparison to a 35mm. The C-2100 is also equipped with a very good system for sequential shutter release that enabled me to fill the SmartMedia card (16 images in medium compression) in a few seconds. The surprises are not over yet, because the Ultra Zoom can also be used for video recording. Although the camera is not designed for its video features, they are a nice bonus for easily creating Quicktime shorts for web use. The $999 (US) can in fact film high density, HQ (320x200), or low density, SQ (160x100) movies. After two months of intense use I can assure you that the C-2100 Ultra Zoom is undoubtedly one of the best digital cameras in its price range currently on the market. Try it out and see for yourself. For further information please visit www.olympus.com

 

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