C-2000Z User Review

The Olympus C-2000Z is a 2.1-megapixel digital camera capable of capturing SHQ (Super High Quality) 1600 x 1200 pixel images in standard JPG compressed or TIF uncompressed format.   It features automatic programmed exposure as well as both shutter and aperture priority manual modes. Exposure control is user-selectable for center-weighted average or spot metering. The camera has a large internal RAM buffer to record rapid sequences of pictures. In SQ (Standard Quality) mode it can capture up to 45 images at 2 frames per second, in HQ (High Quality) mode it can capture more than 5 images at 1fps.

The C-2000Z is a very compact (5 x 2.6 x 2.1 inches) and lightweight (9.5oz without batteries) camera. Many people said that the D-600L was too big so the designers made the new C-2000Z as small as possible. The silver part of the camera is lightweight aluminum and the black part is high-impact plastic, the amount of each is about 50%.

It is still too large to call it "pocket size" but you can hang it around your neck or carry it all day in your hand with little to no fatigue.

The C-2000Z is equipped with a large and bright optical viewfinder and a high resolution 1.8-inch color LCD display. Unlike the D-600, the C-2000Z's LCD can be used as a viewfinder and shows about 99% of the captured image.

The LCD comes on automatically when the camera is in Shutter or Aperture priority mode to display the current aperture setting, shutter speed and EV compensation across the top of the frame. The LCD can also be turned on manually when in Programmed exposure mode by pressing the Monitor button.

The information LCD displays most of the important camera settings. Shown here we have SHQ mode, redeye flash, self-timer or remote enabled, macro, EV compensation, spot metering, sequential mode and 21 pictures remaining.

The optical viewfinder has a diopter control mounted on the side which makes it easy to adjust while your eye is still in the viewfinder. As with most optical viewfinders it does not show the entire captured area and crops it down to about 92% of the image. If the camera is not turned on the optical viewfinder is purposely blurry as a reminder.

The lens is a 3x optical zoom equivalent to a 35-105mm lens on a 35mm camera. It's an all-glass, aspheric optic made up of 8 elements in 6 groups. This is a fast lens with a maximum aperture of f/2 in wideangle and f/2.9 in full telephoto. Normal focus range is 31 inches to infinity and the macro (closeup) range is 8 to 31 inches.

Autofocus is achieved by means of the contrast-detection method. In normal lighting conditions the autofocus is very accurate but it has the usual problems in poor to dim conditions. The C-2000Z has two "Quick Focus" settings in case the autofocus cannot be used, one is fixed at 8 feet and the other is at infinity.

Auxiliary Lenses & Filters

Looking for the hard to find Olympus CLA-1 lens adapter for the C-2000Z? My friends at Norman Camera now have them in stock, click on this CLA-1 link to go to their page.

The mode dial is on top and looks like a 35mm camera's shutter speed control. For point and shoot automatic mode you use [P]rogrammed-Exposure where the camera picks the best combination of shutter speed and aperture. For manual shooting use the [A]perture priority mode for depth of field control or [S]hutter priority to stop rapid action.

Olympus C-2000Z Specifications