Olympus C-5000 Zoom Review

Click to take a QTVR tour of the C-5000 Zoom

The Camedia C-5000 Zoom is the successor to Olympus' 4-megapixel C-4000 Zoom. It's now 20% smaller and lighter and features a 5-megapixel imager with a high quality Olympus 3X optical zoom lens. This compact, stylish and light weight camera is simple enough for novices yet is loaded with advanced exposure, focus and metering modes for the more skilled photographers. With a unique ergonomic design, and a hot shoe for more flash options, the C-5000 Zoom provides great value in a compact form.

The C-5000 Zoom employs a precision Olympus all-glass 38mm - 114mm equivalent lens, which is matched to a 5.0 Megapixel CCD. The Noise Reduction mode facilitates noise-free photos during long exposures. All together, these features allow users to produce consistently crisp, high-quality prints up to 11" x 14".

The Program Auto mode allows beginning photographers to take flawless pictures using basic point-and-shoot techniques. Users can select from six different Scene Program Modes with the mode dial, including settings for Landscape, Portrait, Night Scene and Sports photography. The "My Mode" feature allows users to create their own user-customizable setting for shooting under specific conditions. The menu also features three shortcut buttons that save menu navigation time by letting the user assign the most frequently used menu categories to these three buttons.

Experienced photographers will appreciate the manual settings with individual controls for aperture priority, shutter priority, and full manual operation with manual shutter speeds ranging from 16 to 1/1,000 of a second. Other advanced controls include: Selectable AF Point, moveable with the menu navigation arrow pad and Super Macro mode for photographing subjects as close as one inch. A TTL flash hot shoe is provided for easy attachment of the Olympus FL-50 or FL-20 flash units. Adjustable White Balance and One Touch White Balance provide maximum shooting versatility.

A dedicated "Quick View" button on the back of the camera allows users to instantly review their photographs on the 1.8-inch color LCD, and then quickly return to shooting by pressing the shutter button. It is also possible to configure the camera to "sleep" after a set period of non-operation time. This helps to prolong the camera's battery life.

For easy, software-free photo downloads, the C-5000 Zoom features Olympus' USB Auto-Connect capabilities so images can be downloaded quickly and easily in all current Mac and Windows operating systems. The supplied CAMEDIA Master Editing software gives photographers all the basics they need to edit, print and share their photos.

C-5000 Wide Zoom features:

• 5-Megapixel CCD for images up to 2592 x 1944
• Olympus 3x zoom lens with 38-114mm equivalent coverage
• Stylish, compact and light weight body
• Program AE, Shutter-priority, Aperture-priority or full Manual
• Six Scene Program modes plus customizable My Mode
• Shutter speeds from 16 secs to 1/1000 sec in Manual mode.
• Noise Reduction for high-quality images even in low-light situations
• Sharpness, Contrast and Saturation is adjustable
• Color, Sepia and Black&White modes
• ISO sensitivity: 50, 80, 160, 320 or AUTO
• White balance: 8 presets (4 fluorescent) and one-touch custom
• 1.8-inch color LCD monitor
• 1.7 frames/second burst in HQ up to 5 frames
• iESP multi-pattern AF with Spot AF option
• Macro focus and Super Macro focus down to one inch!
• Digital iESP multi-pattern and Spot metering modes.
• Built-in flash with Auto, Fill, Red-eye and Slow-sync modes
• 320x240 QuickTime movies w/out audio at 15 fps
• 32MB xD-Picture Card removable media
• TTL hot shoe for Olympus FL-50 or FL-20 flash
• Storage Class USB connectivity insures quick and simple image downloads to Windows XP, Me, 2000 or Mac OS 8.6+ computers
• Rechargeable Li-ion battery and charger included
• Exif Print and Epson PRINT Image Matching II compatible

The C-5000 Zoom has an estimated street price of $499 and is available now. Camera outfit includes 32MB xD-Picture Card; Li-10B Li-ion rechargeable battery and charger; USB cable; Video Cable; Carrying strap; Lens cap; RM-2 Wireless Remote Control; QuickStart Guide and Printed Basic Manual; Limited Warranty Card; CD-ROM (CAMEDIA Master and User Reference Manual).

C-5000 Zoom Specifications