by
David Nagel
Executive Producer
dnagel@digitalmedianet.com
Olympus today introduced the Camedia C-700 UltraZoom, a 10x optical
zoom digital camera with a 2.11 megapixel resolution. Unlike the
C-2100, which offers the exact same features, this one comes in
a compact design and will sell for $699about $300 less than the
C-2100.
The C-700's 10x optical zoom lens delivers the equivalent of a
38 mm to 380 mm lens on a 35 mm camera. It also offers a 27x digital
zoom, which extends the camera's maximum zoom range to 1,026 mm.
It has a 1.5" LCD monitor as well.
Unlike most compact cameras, the C-700 can operate in full manual
mode (or automatic). It has aperture priority (Wide: f2.8 to f8.0,
Tele: f3.5 to f8.0), shutter priority (1/2 to 1/1,000 sec.) and
a host of special programs like Night Scene, Sports Action, Portrait
and Landscape modes. It also has multiple ISO settings from 100
to 800.
The C-700 UltraZoom uses industry standard SmartMedia cards to
capture images in JPEG and TIFF formats. The camera ships with
an 8 MB card standard. (Additional SmartMedia cards are available
in 16, 32, 64 and 128 MB capacities.) A QuickTime Movie mode enables
users to capture up to 62 seconds of full motion video with sound
at 15 frames per second on the 8 MB SmartMedia card. It also records
up to four seconds of audio captioning for each still image.
The C-700 UltraZoom features USB AutoConnect, which allows users
to plug the camera directly into any USB-configured computer.
No drivers or additional software are required for on Mac or Windows
systems that support USB.
The Camedia C-700 will be available in May. It ships with an 8
MB SmartMedia card, a CR-V3 AA Lithium Battery Pack, Camedia Master
Software, USB cable, video cable, manual, carrying strap, lens
cap and retainer cord. It will be available for $699. For more
information, visit http://www.olympusamerica.com.
