The Olympus C2100 UZ's most impressive feature is also its most obvious one: the massive 10x optical zoom lens that protrudes from the camera. Normally, it would be difficult to take advantage of a lens this powerful without using a tripod. Why? At full zoom, the camera focuses on such a small area that even the most minute movements result in a blurry image. Fortunately, Olympus equips the camera with optical image stabilization, a complex system that senses shakes and wobbles and continuously adjusts the lenses to compensate.
Olympus adds yet another high-tech feature on this camera by replacing the traditional optical viewfinder with a camcorder-style electronic viewfinder (EVF)--a tiny LCD screen inside the eyepiece. The benefits of this arrangement are obvious: the EVF provides a traditional SLR-style through-the-lens viewing experience, works well even in bright sunlight, lets you hold the camera in the more stable, traditional position, and helps to extend battery life. The 2100 UZ does have a standard 1.8-inch LCD on the back to compose, review, and share images as you would on most digital cameras.
With the exception of the lens and the electronic viewfinder, the 2100 UZ is essentially a 2-megapixel version of the popular C-3000Z. If you like tinkering with your camera's settings, you'll love this camera--it features shutter-priority and aperture-priority modes, manually adjustable focus, adjustable ISO, manual exposure, exposure compensation, and even a multimode flash with slow-sync abilities.
Olympus has been criticized for "only" having a 2.1-megapixel sensor in this camera, when many new cameras (including several Olympus models) are now shipping with 3- and even 4-megapixel sensors. Though we certainly wouldn't mind if Olympus released a 3-megapixel version of this camera, we found that the sharp optics and minimal compression used by Olympus resulted in crisp, sharp prints even at 8 by 10 inches.
If you're currently using an SLR and are considering a digital camera, the 2100 UZ is a great choice. Its lens isn't removable or interchangeable, but is flexible enough to capture virtually any photo, and the full range of manual controls will help an experienced photographer to get the exact shot he or she wants.
Pros:
- 10x optical, 2.7x digital zoom
- Optical image stabilization
- Full manual controls
Cons:
- 2.1-megapixel sensor is adequate, but 3.3 megapixels would shine
Product Description:
Who do you wish you could get closer to? Your soccer star kids? A family of squirrels? Just sling the Olympus C-2100 Ultra Zoom over your shoulder, and away you go. The C-2100 Ultra Zoom features a 10x optical zoom (equivalent to 38 - 380mm) and 2.7x digital zoom, to bring you the equivalent of 1080 mm closer to the action. Optical stabilization ensures your pictures are sharp and jitter-free. And 2.1 million megapixels make for exceptionally clear 8"x 10"enlargements. Take a look at the C-2100 Ultra Zoom. If you're looking for perfection in a full-featured zoom camera, you won 't get any closer.
Olympus C-2100 2MP Digital Camera w/ 10x Optical Zoom