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Thursday, September 4, 2008

Review of the Olympus C7000 Digital Camera

By Dan Feildman


At first glance you might not even notice this little camera among the others, but don't let its looks fool youthe Olympus Camedia C7000 is a powerful digital camera in a small package. Boasting a 7.1 megapixel range, very user-friendly controls, and excellent quality output, this camera is hard to beat.

Add some very innovative and useful new features and you have a contender for one of the best digital cameras currently available. Enough said - it's time to inspect the Olympus Camedia C7000 more closely and see what it's worth ...

The Olympus C7000 is the smallest camera in its class, and weighing in at a mere 7.7 ounces means that this is camera is going to be as heavy as it is large, and keep in mind that there is a lot packed into this camera!

Upon closer inspection you find that the Olympus C7000 boasts a rather stylish metal body, finished in a sleek titanium color. Well laid out controls grace the back of the camera, along with a crisp 2-inch LCD screen that remains easy to see even in bright sunlight thanks to semi-transmissive TFT technology.

The CCD sensor located deep inside the C7000 has the ability to capture 7.1 megapixels of photographic information and when combined with a 5X optical zoom lens capable of 35-mm focal lengths varying from 38mm to 190mm, this camera more than lives up to its ability to capture top quality photographs.

Having a TruePic TURBO image processor enables users to take clean and sharp photos with fantastic color representation and little distortion or noise. As well as a real-time histogram, users can be alerted to over and underexposed areas in photos while in any shooting mode through color-coded highlighting. With the ability to record VGA video at 30 frames per second, the C7000 has both a microphone and speaker built in for recording and playback.

Prepare to be pleased when you press the power button on top of the C7000 - this digital camera starts up in under a single second. The quality doesn't stop at speed either - the controls on this camera are positioned exactly where you want them to be, and you will never be left trying to remember how to perform a specific camera function using the external controls.

Navigating the menu controls via the LCD is also kept simple, and advanced users will be pleased to have many interesting features such as Autofocus Target Selection and Red-Eye Fix so easily available.

Photos are stored using xD-Picture Cards, and Olympus has added a 32MB card with the camera so you can begin taking photos right away. A USB 2.0 connection is used to transfer photos to your computer, and the cable is also included.

A lithium ion rechargeable battery powers the Olympus C7000, and this has been included in the box along with a compatible charger. Based on the camera settings you should be able to get around 200 shots out of this camera between battery charges.

With all of the excellent features the Olympus C7000 has to offer, the shortcomings are very few. They are so few in fact, the only one to truly be noted is with the Autofocus. It occasionally has problems when used in low-lit conditions. It still works well in bright light, even if not as fast as similar cameras offered for the same price.

The last feature to make note of is the time lapse setting that can be set to take photos automatically at 1 to 60 minute intervals. Features such as this along with all of the others make the Olympus C7000 a highly recommended pick.

In conclusion, the Olympus C7000 is nothing less than an excellent camera for the asking price of just under $600. While not the least expensive to be found, the stylish and forceful design, outstanding image quality, and many useful features make this the C7000 impossible to resist.

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