Product review: Olympus' Camedia C-3000 Zoom

Friday, June 23rd 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

The Olympus Camedia C-3000 Zoom brings high-quality digital photography closer to the mass market. This $799 camera can take a picture with a resolution of up to 3.34 megapixels (2,048 X 1536) through its all-glass, 32 mm to 96 mm zoom lens. That's enough pixels to create a printworthy 5-by-7-inch image at about 300 dots per inch. Not long ago, such quality would have cost $2,000 more.

When still images just aren't enough, the C-3000 can be switched into QuickTime movie mode. It will record 23 seconds of top-notch video with sound on the included 8-megabyte SmartMedia memory card.

The familiar point-and-shoot design of the C-3000 makes the camera usable right out of the box. The automatic mode worked well even in tricky lighting conditions. More advanced photographers will appreciate the range of manual settings available for exposure, focus and flash.

In addition to the traditional viewfinder, framing and composition can be viewed on the 1.8-inch color LCD. You can also use the screen to review saved images or to show pictures on a television connecting the TV to the camera's A/V jack. A cable is supplied. The Olympus Camedia C-3000 Zoom plugs into Windows 98/2000 or Macintosh computers with a USB cable. Once connected, the included software provides a simple way to retrieve and edit both images and movies from the camera.

See www.olympus.com or call 631-844-5000 for more details.