At first glance you might not even notice this little camera among the others, but don't let its looks fool youthe Olympus Camedia C7000 is a powerful digital camera in a small package. Boasting a 7.1 megapixel range, very user-friendly controls, and excellent quality output, this camera is hard to beat.



Add some very innovative and useful new features and you have a contender for one of the best digital cameras currently available. Enough said - it's time to inspect the Olympus Camedia C7000 more closely and see what it's worth ...

Coming in at a mere 7.7 ounces, the Olympus C7000 is the smallest camera in its class. Lightweight and small becomes deceiving once you discover all that is packed into this camera.

Upon closer inspection you find that the Olympus C7000 boasts a rather stylish metal body, finished in a sleek titanium color. Well laid out controls grace the back of the camera, along with a crisp 2-inch LCD screen that remains easy to see even in bright sunlight thanks to semi-transmissive TFT technology.

Deep inside the C7000, the CCD sensor is able to capturing 7.1 megapixels of photographic information, which along with a 5X optical zoom lens capable of 35-mm focal lengths from 38mm to 190mm, means this camera makes taking excellecnt, high quality photographs literally a snap!

One can enjoy taking sharp and clean photos with outstanding color representation and very little noise or distortion due to the TruePic TURBO image processor. Users can be notified of over and underexposed areas in photos in any shooting mode through color-coded highlighting as well as real time histogram. The C7000 can also record VGA video at 30 frames per second, and has both a microphone and speaker built in for recording and playback.

Prepare to be pleased when you press the power button on top of the C7000 - this digital camera starts up in under a single second. The quality doesn't stop at speed either - the controls on this camera are positioned exactly where you want them to be, and you will never be left trying to remember how to perform a specific camera function using the external controls.

Find the way through the menu controls using the LCD is also kept simple, and advanced users will be delighted to have many appealing features such as Autofocus Target Selection and Red-Eye Fix so easily accessible.

Photos are stored using xD-Picture Cards, and Olympus have included a 32MB card in the box so you can get started taking photos right away. A USB 2.0 connection is used to transfer photos to your computer, and the cable for this is also included.

A lithium ion rechargeable battery powers the Olympus C7000, and this has been included in the box along with a compatible charger. Based on the camera settings you should be able to get around 200 shots out of this camera between battery charges.

With all of the excellent features the Olympus C7000 has to offer, the shortcomings are very few. They are so few in fact, the only one to truly be noted is with the Autofocus. It occasionally has problems when used in low-lit conditions. It still works well in bright light, even if not as fast as similar cameras offered for the same price.

In summary, the Olympus C7000 is nothing less than an excellent camera for the asking price of just under $600. It may not be the cheapest camera of this kind available, but the stylish and robust design, excellent image quality, and many useful features make this camera stand out amongst the others.

One feature not yet mentioned in this review is the time-lapse setting that can set the camera to take photos automatically at 1 to 60-minute intervals, and it is features like this combined with everything else the Olympus C7000 has to offer that make it a highly recommended choice.