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Olympus C2500 SLR Digital Camera Outfit

Olympus C2500 SLR Digital Camera Outfit

List Price: $1,299.99
Your Price:
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: THE Digital Camera...
Review: Before buying this little gem, I looked at almost every digital on the market. This was the only one that accepts both types of flash memory (CompactFlash and SmartMedia), it's also one of the very few digital SLRs that don't cost a fortune. Camera is a cinch to operate, whether you're a pro or an amateur. Only real quibble I have is the oddball size of the lens (43mm) - try finding a 43mm step-up ring in your corner camera store! Autofocus is supurb, the resolution is incomparable, and coupled with a good photo-printer, this cannot be beat.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A real viewfinder is a good thing!
Review: I am new to the world of digital cameras. After spending a month of reading online reviews, and review sites, I decided on the C2500L. It was very easy to start using right away. The defaults for point and click use produced very nice images. I've been playing with the customizable settings (manual white balance, aperature, and shutter speed) for the last few weeks. The pictures I'm taking now are even better. I'm still learning, but am quite satisfied.

I tend to take a lot of pictures under flourecent type lighting, as I take pictures of my reptiles. The camera has the ability to adjust the auto-white balance, by calibrating it on a white surface under the light you will be taking the picture. That does a great job. And if it isn't precise enough, I can manually select the color temperature.

It does a great job at focusing. I still need to work on having a steadier hand, especially for those close-up shots. Now, speaking of close-ups. This camera does a GREAT job at macro shots. To test it out, I put the lens cap on the table. I was about an inch away from it, and it came out crystal clear... lettering and all.

The camera also does a good job at adjusting brightness levels, without messing up the color. It gets a little grainy under the lower light conditions, but it hasn't been too much of a problem for me. I am impressed with its ability to get a solid focus in very low light conditions.

Some of the drawbacks are: You can't use the LCD as a view finder. It will display the image on the LCD right after you snap it, but you must use the optical view finder for aiming. I don't mind this too much, as I like to look through the lens! Yes, through the lens. This being an SLR gives me a comfortable feeling that what I see it what the camera sees. Actually, that's really my main gripe. I'm pretty much satisfied with everything else, so far.

In summary, if you are willing to spend the money, it's a great camera. I've been reading up on photography now, and believe that this camera should be good enough for my abilities for a good long time.

-Alex

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Easy and flexible! Good camera!
Review: I am new to the world of digital cameras. After spending a month of reading online reviews, and review sites, I decided on the C2500L. It was very easy to start using right away. The defaults for point and click use produced very nice images. I've been playing with the customizable settings (manual white balance, aperature, and shutter speed) for the last few weeks. The pictures I'm taking now are even better. I'm still learning, but am quite satisfied.

I tend to take a lot of pictures under flourecent type lighting, as I take pictures of my reptiles. The camera has the ability to adjust the auto-white balance, by calibrating it on a white surface under the light you will be taking the picture. That does a great job. And if it isn't precise enough, I can manually select the color temperature.

It does a great job at focusing. I still need to work on having a steadier hand, especially for those close-up shots. Now, speaking of close-ups. This camera does a GREAT job at macro shots. To test it out, I put the lens cap on the table. I was about an inch away from it, and it came out crystal clear... lettering and all.

The camera also does a good job at adjusting brightness levels, without messing up the color. It gets a little grainy under the lower light conditions, but it hasn't been too much of a problem for me. I am impressed with its ability to get a solid focus in very low light conditions.

Some of the drawbacks are: You can't use the LCD as a view finder. It will display the image on the LCD right after you snap it, but you must use the optical view finder for aiming. I don't mind this too much, as I like to look through the lens! Yes, through the lens. This being an SLR gives me a comfortable feeling that what I see it what the camera sees. Actually, that's really my main gripe. I'm pretty much satisfied with everything else, so far.

In summary, if you are willing to spend the money, it's a great camera. I've been reading up on photography now, and believe that this camera should be good enough for my abilities for a good long time.

-Alex

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Impress yourself with your photo talent
Review: I bought mine almost two years ago, so I paid more for it, but it was still a deal. It takes great photos, as you might expect, but is actually easy to use, if left in the "P" or programmed mode. Those with SLR film cameras may be confused by the M A and P designators for modes, because the A does not mean auto. The other shortcoming is the Manual, which I hope has been updated by now. Mine came with an errata sheet of a dozen pages and would have been more manageable in just one language. The camera accepts a 1.45x lens and I was able to find (at Amazon) an external power pack that I recommend highly.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Warning to Windows ME users
Review: I have not used this camera, rather the D360L. However, when I upgraded to Windows ME (to take advantage of "My Pictures" and the built-in digital camera stuff), my camera wouldn't work. It wasn't in the driver list, so I contacted Olympus.

This was my response (read - "doesn't work - we're not doing anything abount it")

"The newer Olympus digital camera models -- D360L, D400Z, D450Z, D460Z, D490Z, C2000Z, C2020Z, C211Z, C2500L, C3000Z, C3030Z, and the C21 -- are not designed to use twain drivers, plug-ins, or the mini-apps to communicate with the computer. The Olympus Camedia utility software communicates with these camera models to download (copy) your picture files into a folder on your computer harddrive where they can be accessed by any software program that can use jpeg or tiff formatted graphic files. Only the following Olympus digital cameras are twain compliant: D200L, D220L, D300L, D320L, D340L, D340R, D500L, D600L, and D620L. Only the D200L and the D300L can not communicate using Camedia. "

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Warning to Windows ME users
Review: I have not used this camera, rather the D360L. However, when I upgraded to Windows ME (to take advantage of "My Pictures" and the built-in digital camera stuff), my camera wouldn't work. It wasn't in the driver list, so I contacted Olympus.

This was my response (read - "doesn't work - we're not doing anything abount it")

"The newer Olympus digital camera models -- D360L, D400Z, D450Z, D460Z, D490Z, C2000Z, C2020Z, C211Z, C2500L, C3000Z, C3030Z, and the C21 -- are not designed to use twain drivers, plug-ins, or the mini-apps to communicate with the computer. The Olympus Camedia utility software communicates with these camera models to download (copy) your picture files into a folder on your computer harddrive where they can be accessed by any software program that can use jpeg or tiff formatted graphic files. Only the following Olympus digital cameras are twain compliant: D200L, D220L, D300L, D320L, D340L, D340R, D500L, D600L, and D620L. Only the D200L and the D300L can not communicate using Camedia. "

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A real viewfinder is a good thing!
Review: I hesitated about buying this camera because many people expressed disappointment about not having an LCD viewfinder (it is an SLR, so you look through a normal optical viewfinder - but you are also seeing directly through the lens). Now that I have had it for almost a year, I would say not having the LCD viewfinder is a great advantage! There are two reasons for this: 1-battery life. The backlighting for those LCD screens really suck out the batteries quickly. When you have the camera on and waiting for just the right moment, that battery is continually draining. I've never counted, but I think I average over 100 daylight pictures between battery recharges (the flash reduces that). 2-you can't see the LCD screens in most lighting conditions anyway. The C2500 gives you an immediate 1 or 2 second preview of the picture after you take it. If I am shooting outside in daylight that LCD preview image is very hard to see. I would hate to actually try to compose a photo in that mode. I've briefly used a couple of other digi-cams, and there is no way I'd go back now. The LCD screens (even when you can see them) have poor resolution, so it is really hard to tell things like how good the focus is - with the viewfinder I can easily tell how well the autofocus did, and whether I should try again.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great camera! Good for anything you need to do
Review: I originally picked this camera for the anthropology department at my university. I was working on a project for recording artifacts to display in a web museum. I found that the macro functions and remote control on this camera were wonderful for taking stills. The pictures were clear and the color was very true to life. I played with the camera around the lab and outside as well and found that it delivered great results in any situation. I plan to buy one for myself now...If you have a USB slot in your computer I would recommend getting a USB flash card reader with the camera. The floppy disk adapter is very slow. Overall a great product and a great price at amazon.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Wow What a Camera
Review: If you can get past the price for this baby online, than I would recommend you buy. This is a real nice 35mm type digital camera.

Plenty of settings from f-stop to zoom to format to size. Remote is real handy if you feel like being in the picture for a change, instead of someone saying where are you in this photo.

Zoom lens, Macro lens and plenty of filters. Shop around though you can get it cheaper.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Wow What a Camera
Review: If you can get past the price for this baby online, than I would recommend you buy. This is a real nice 35mm type digital camera.

Plenty of settings from f-stop to zoom to format to size. Remote is real handy if you feel like being in the picture for a change, instead of someone saying where are you in this photo.

Zoom lens, Macro lens and plenty of filters. Shop around though you can get it cheaper.


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