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Olympus C-2100 Zoom Wow! A superb 10X, optically stabilized zoom lens on a high-quality 2 megapixel camera! Select a topic Reference: Datasheet C-2100 Zoom Test Images --------------------------------- 1. Intro and Highlights 2. Executive Overview 3. Design 4. Viewfinder 5. Optics 6. Exposure & Flash 7. Shutter Lag & Cycle Time Tests 8. Operation & User Interface 9. Camera Modes & Menus 10. Image Storage & Interface 11. Video, Power, Software 12. Test Results & Conclusion --------------------------------- Print-Friendly Review Version Additional Resources and Other Links Reader Comments on C-2100 Zoom Review --------------------------------- Digital Camera Comparometer (TM) --------------------------------- <-- Digital Cameras (Home) <-- Digital Camera Reviews Index <<Design :(Previous) | (Next): Optics>> Page 4:Viewfinder Review First Posted: 10/18/2000

Viewfinder
The C-2100 features an eyelevel "optical" viewfinder and an LCD monitor for composing images. The eyelevel viewfinder is actually a miniature version of the LCD monitor, complete with setting indicators and menus. Inside the eyelevel viewfinder, a 0.55-inch, TFT, color LCD display shows the same video preview that you'll see on the larger monitor on the back. The eyelevel viewfinder activates only when the larger LCD monitor is disabled, conserving battery power without any conscious effort on your part. The eyelevel viewfinder's information display is identical to that of the larger LCD monitor. This means that you can change camera settings while peering through the eyepiece. On the left side of the eyepiece is a diopter adjustment dial, which changes the focus of the viewfinder to accommodate eyeglass wearers.

While the eyelevel LCD viewfinder is very convenient, we do have a strong objection to such devices in general: While they work quite well under normal lighting conditions, they are virtually useless for framing shots under very low light conditions. That said, we found the C-2100's viewfinder to be usable at light levels as low as 1/4 of a foot-candle, about a quarter of the light level you'd commonly encounter in a well-lit city night scene. This is pretty good for a digicam, but the C-2100 is actually capable of capturing very usable images at light levels a factor of four darker than this! Thus, there's a range of about two f-stops of exposure at the bottom end of the camera's low-light capability where you can't use the viewfinder system for framing your shots: It's pretty much a matter of dead reckoning to frame your shots. (To balance the criticism we're giving Olympus for the eyelevel viewfinder, it's important to point out here that there are a lot of cameras that can't even produce a decently exposed image at 1/4 of a foot-candle, regardless of what their viewfinders might do. Still, we wish there were a way to frame shots at light levels as low as the C-2100 is capable of taking a picture.)

The 1.8-inch, 114,000 pixel, TFT, color LCD monitor on the back of the camera is activated by pressing the monitor (middle) button directly to its right. Just like the viewfinder display, the LCD monitor features information about the camera's settings, including shutter speed, aperture, metering mode, flash mode, etc. The amount of information displayed is controlled by the Info button, just above the LCD monitor. Each press of the Info button cycles through three levels of display: Autofocus Target Only, Partial Information, and Full Information. With the Partial Information setting, the information display disappears after a few seconds, but can be recalled at any time by depressing the shutter halfway or pressing any other control button. The Full Information display mode remains on the screen at all times. When the Autofocus Target mode is selected, a central autofocus target mark remains in the middle of the screen. If any settings are changed, the information is displayed for approximately two seconds. The LCD brightness can be controlled through the Setup screen, which is accessed through the record menu.

In our testing, we found the C-2100's LCD viewfinder to be very accurate, showing approximately 98 percent of the final image area at the wide angle setting, and about 99 percent at telephoto (at all four image sizes). We usually like to see LCD monitors as close to 100 percent accuracy as possible, so the C-2100 falls well within our expectations.

In Playback mode, the LCD monitor features an enlargement function, which allows you to "zoom" into a captured image by pushing the wide-angle/telephoto lever on top of the camera toward "T". There's also an index display mode, accessed by pushing the lever toward "W." The index mode can display up to 16 thumbnail images on a screen (with options for four or nine image index display through the Playback menu).

As in the capture modes, Playback mode features an information display for each image to report various exposure details. The Info button controls how much information is displayed, with options of No Information, Partial Information, and Full Information. We liked this ability to check on the exposure settings in the camera, as it helps to keep track of your exposures. The C-2100 also allows you rotate captured images and create an index page from movie images.