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Olympus Camedia E-100 Rapid Shot Olympus unleashes a 1.5 megapixel speed demon: By FAR the fastest digicam we've tested to date! Select a topic Reference: Datasheet Camedia E-100RS Sample 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 Camedia E-100RS Review --------------------------------- Digital Camera Comparometer (TM) --------------------------------- <-- Digital Cameras (Home) <-- Digital Camera Reviews Index <<Viewfinder :(Previous) | (Next): Exposure & Flash>> Page 5:Optics Review First Posted: 1/18/2001

Optics
The E-100RS is equipped with a 10x, 7-70mm aspherical glass lens, equivalent to a 38-380mm lens on a 35mm camera. The 10x lens features 13 elements in 10 groups, and an aperture range of f/2.8 -f/8 at wide angle (W), and f/3.5 - f/8 at maximum telephoto (T). The lens is protected by a spring-loaded, clip-on plastic lens cap, with a small eyelet for attaching an accessory lens cord (which we highly recommend). The inside rim of the lens is threaded to accept 49mm filter attachments to accommodate Olympus' line of optional lens accessories.

Focus distances for the E-100RS are from 2 feet (0.6 meters) to infinity in Normal mode, and 0.3 to 2 feet (9.1 to 60.9cm) in Macro mode. The camera provides both Autofocus (AF) and Manual focus (MF) capabilities, which are selected by pressing the OK (MF/Protect) button next to the LCD monitor. When you press the button, the Focus menu appears, and you use the Left and Right Arrow keys to highlight either AF or MF. Manual focus activates the distance scale on the right side of the screen, which you scroll through using the Up and Down arrow buttons, until the subject comes into focus. (We prefer using a distance scale with Manual focus, as it comes in quite handy when shooting difficult subjects or in low-light conditions.)

The Autofocus (AF) system operates in two modes, Normal and Spot, which are selected through the camera's Record mode menu. Normal AF bases its readings on the entire image, using a contrast detection system to determine optimum exposure. Spot AF bases its readings on the portion of the image that falls inside the central autofocus target. You can use Spot AF to focus on a specific object by placing that object in the center of the target and pressing the shutter button halfway to lock the focus, then you simply recompose the image while continuing to press the shutter button halfway. The focus (and exposure, if in Program mode) will remain locked until the shutter button is fully pressed or released. For low-light situations, the AF mode uses an AF assist light on the front of the camera to aid in setting the focus.

A Full-Time AF setting is available in the Record menu, just below the AF Mode setting. In this mode, the camera continually adjusts the focus, so that the image on the LCD screen stays in focus at all times. When this mode is turned Off, the camera sets the focus only when the shutter button is pressed halfway. Full-Time AF is great for fast shooting conditions like sports, dance, and children at play, but it requires a great deal of battery power, because the lens is constantly in motion. Therefore, it's best to use it only when conditions require fast focusing.

The Macro button on top of the camera switches the focus range from Normal to Macro. Best results are achieved in Macro mode when the lens is set to the maximum wide-angle setting (placing the lens in full telephoto changes the range to 3.3 to 6.5 feet, or 1.0 to 1.9 meters). Olympus warns that the flash may not work properly in Macro mode, because it can be blocked by the lens (a problem we did note in one of our test shots). Overall, our tests showed that the E-100RS performed well in Macro mode, capturing a minimum area of 2.84 x 2.14 inches (72.11 x 54.29mm), with great color and resolution.

Because of its 10x optical zoom range, and the lengthy size of the lens barrel, the E-100RS features an Image Stabilization system that can be turned on and off through the Record menu (represented by a "shaking hand" icon). When shooting images at the maximum telephoto setting, the potential for blurred images caused by camera shake increases. Image stabilization helps to minimize this problem in normal shooting conditions, as well as in low light or when shooting at slow shutter speeds. (Note: Image Stabilization is ineffective when using a lens conversion kit, working with a panning tripod head, or when working with digital zoom.) While we don't have any quantitative way of evaluating lens-stabilization technology, our impression was that the system on the E-100RS was very effective, damping out even rather severe jiggling when hand-holding long telephoto shots.

A 2.7x digital telephoto feature, which Olympus calls "Super Tele," is also available on the E-100RS, extending the zoom range to 27x. We experienced good results with the 2.7x digital zoom, though resolution was slightly reduced and the overall image was soft. (Remember that digital zoom only enlarges the central portion of the CCD image, and can result in a higher noise level and a loss of resolution.) Digital zoom is activated through the Record menu, and controlled by zooming the lens past the optical zoom range. A zoom scale appears on the LCD display, with the optical zoom range marked in green and the digital zoom range in red.

Optical distortion on the E-100RS is only moderate at the wide-angle setting, as we caught an approximate 0.45 percent barrel distortion. The telephoto setting fared even better, showing only a pixel or so of pincushion distortion.