Olympus E-100RS Review

To make sure that you always get close to the action the E-100RS sports a 10x all-glass zoom lens. And to give you the sharpest possible pictures the lens is equipped with image stabilization. You'll also note the entire exposed end of the lens barrel is coated in a semi-soft rubber material that gives you a very secure grip of the camera.

The 10x aspherical 7-70mm (38-380mm equivalent in 35mm) f=2.8 - 3.5 lens is further enhanced with a 2.7x digital zoom function. It is threaded for 49mm filters, use of a 49-55mm stepup ring is recommended for thick filters to avoid vignetting at wideangle.

The iESP TTL or spot system autofocus insures the fastest possible focusing, especially if the continuous AF option is enabled. The autofocus can be assisted in dim lighting by a builtin focusing illuminator with an effective range of 1.0' to 9.8'. The normal focusing range is 24" to infinity in wideangle, 6.5' to infinity in telephoto, 4" to 24" wide-angle macro and 3.3' to 6.5' telephoto macro. The lens can also be manually focused from 2.0' to infinity in 240 steps.

Here's just how close you can get using the 10x optical zoom. This can be further extended using the digital zoom but some image degradation will occur. You can download the full size 1360 x 1024-pixel images of both of these pictures on the sample photos page.

It may look like an optical viewfinder but it's really a high-resolution .55-inch color LCD display like those found on modern camcorders. It has a large (and soft) rubber eyecup and a dioptric adjustment. You get the benefit of true TTL viewing plus all exposure and camera data can also be displayed on the screen.

(actual viewfinder display in record mode)

You can switch back and forth between the viewfinder or the color LCD by pressing the button on the back. You can review still images and movies or access the menus in the viewfinder the same as the color LCD, this is very helpful when outdoors in the bright light.

The built-in flash has five modes of operation: Auto-Flash (low- & back-light), Red-eye reducing flash, Off or Fill-in. The flash working range is 30 inches to 18 feet in wideangle and 8 inches to 9 feet in telephoto (ISO 100).

The 5-pin external TTL connector for the Olympus FL-40 flash provides the following modes: Off, Auto, Forced activation Slow synchronization (First-Curtain Synchronization effect, Second-Curtain Synchronization effect). When the E-100RS is mated to the FL-40 flash it uses the larger and more powerful focusing assist lamp to insure proper focus.

On top are the macro focus (on/off), metering (center-weighted averaging, Spot) and drive mode buttons (Single, Sequential, AF Sequential, Self-timer/Remote, AE Bracket, Pre-Capture). The mode dial has positions for Playback, Program AE, Aperture priority, Shutter priority, Manual, Special-Program AE and Movie mode. The shutter release has the zoom lens control mounted around it.

The power On/Off/Reset switch is built into the base of the Mode dial.   Next to that is the AEL (autoexposure lock) button that also functions as the DPOF set/reset when in play mode. The 4-way selector switch is used to navigate menus and to select shutter speeds, aperture values and focus distances. The Flash button cycles through the various modes (auto, redeye, on, off) and also serves as the Delete button in play mode. The INFO button controls the amount of information that is overlayed on the EVF or color LCD. The OK button accepts menu selections or selects manual focus in record mode and also functions as the Protect/Unprotect button in play mode. The large button turns the color LCD on or off and also enables the Quick Review function by pressing it twice in record. The button below that enables the onscreen menus.

The I/O ports are on the left side behind a small door. On the top is a 3-pin connector for a remote shutter release cord. Next to that is a USB data port. There is a DC INput connector for the optional AC power supply, a MICrophone jack for an external microphone and an A / V port that carries monoraul audio and video to a TV set.

Also on top is the 5-pin sync port for connecting an Olympus FL-40 external flash and below that is the built-in microphone.

The E-100RS is equipped with both a SmartMedia and a CompactFlash Type II card slot. It can use SmartMedia up to 128MB and CF or CFII solid state cards of any capacity, use of the Microdrive is not recommended.   It comes with a 8MB Olympus brand SmartMedia card with the panorama function.

The E-100RS can be powered by two of the CR-3V lithium batteries or four AA type NiMH, lithium or alkalines.

Olympus includes four 1600mAH AA type NiMH batteries and a rapid charger.

One of my favorite accessories is also included, the RM-1 infrared remote control that can operate the zoom lens and trip the shutter in record mode or control image display and slideshow during playback.