Five-megapixel resolution is quickly becoming the new standard for digital cameras. But these cameras are often bulky, heavy things to lug around. Enter the Olympus Camedia C-50, a svelte, lightweight image capturer with a fair amount of features.
The 3x optical zoom lens folds up inside the camera case with the covers sliding shut over it when not in use, making the camera's small metal frame easily pocketable. While the camera also uses the tiny XD media for storage, it only comes with a 32 MB card, barely enough to hold a dozen images at the highest resolution, so you'll want to stock up on storage (which is thankfully getting cheaper by the month).
Although only 1.5 inches in size, the bright LCD provides an accurate and easy to view image of framed shots before capture. The C-50 also offers an optical viewfinder for framing shots and saving on battery life.
Speaking of, the battery recharges quickly (averaging about two hours) and lasts for several hundred shots before needing a recharge. Even with the limited surface area, the well-placed dials and menu buttons are within easy reach when using the camera, making it a snap to utilize one of the camera's six different scene modes or five flash modes.
With its 5.0 megapixels, captured images offer incredible details and bright colors and can be printed at nearly poster size without any loss of resolution. The C-50 also captures short QuickTime movies, albeit without sound, small enough to be e-mailed to friends and family. Users of newer computers (both Windows and Mac) don't even need to install a driver to transfer images and movies to their system via the camera's USB cable.
The sticker price on the C-50 is still a bit hefty for a point-and-click compact camera, but not bad when you consider the potential of all those megapixels. --J. Curtis
Pros:
- Very compact
- High-quality images
- Long battery life
Cons:
- Only 32 MB memory card
- No sound in movie mode
Product Description:
Combining first-rate photo technology with a compact metal body, C-50ZOOM will thrill the design enthusiasts as well as quality-conscious photographers looking for a state-of-the-art digital camera. Incorporating a five-megapixel CCD, bright (f2.8) 3x zoom lens and precision metering systems, it allows effortless shooting and provides sharp, well-exposed, life-like results. More ambitious photographers will appreciate the creative freedom enabled by the manually adjustable features, such as aperture, shutter and white balance. Finally, this model uses the new digital image storage standard xD-Picture card.
Olympus Camedia C-50 5MP Digital Camera w/ 3x Optical Zoom