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September 16, 2004 � Olympus announced its release of the world�s smallest 7.1 megapixel camera, the Olympus C-7000 Zoom. The 4.3 x 2.3 x 1.7 inch, 7.7 ounce camera looks to build on the C-series' legacy with increased resolution, image quality and portability. The Olympus C-7000 features a 38-190mm (35mm equivalent) lens, allowing users to capture objects as close as 2 centimeters from the tip of the lens when in its Super Macro Mode. There is a 5x optical zoom and an additional 6x digital magnification included.
'Olympus C-series cameras combine easy-to-use automatic functions with a high degree of manual, customizable control to obtain just the right effect for every image, whether you're a beginner or an experienced user,' said Richard Campbell, the product marketing director for Olympus America Inc.
The Olympus C-7000 Zoom has an image processor that suppresses noise, thereby increasing sharpness and contrast. The camera also features an Autofocus Target Selection function that gives the user 143 different focus zones to choose from. The C-7000 Zoom can shoot in several file formats: JPEG, RAW, TIFF, WAV and Motion JPEG. There is a 2-inch LCD screen, composed of 206,000 pixels, on the C-7000, allowing the user to readily view image captures and playback scenes.
The C-7000 offers standardized automatic functions when desired, but emphasizes manual options as well. There are ten preset scene modes available, including Program Auto, Aperture, Shutter and Manual modes plus Night Scene, Sport, Landscape, Black & White, Landscape + Portrait, Portrait, and QuickTime Movie mode. The true gem is the addition of four modes called �My Mode� that enable the user to customize white balance, sharpness, contrast and other shooting settings.
For users that seek enhanced control and flexibility, there are a slew of manual adjustments available. The shutter speed can be adjusted from 15 seconds to 1/2,000th of a second. There are also seven white balance settings: Auto, Overcast, Sunlight, Tungsten and three different Fluorescent settings. The ISO speed ranges from 80 to 400, providing the user an opportunity for low-noise imagery with a setting below ISO100.
Like many recent digital camera releases, the Olympus C-7000 Zoom also aims for the hybrid user, providing 640 x 480 resolution video captured at 25 frames per second. This is a decent video image for a digital still camera under US$600.
The camera comes with a 32MB xD Picture Card, a rechargeable lithium ion battery, a charger for the battery and USB and AV cables.
The C-7000 Zoom will be available in October 2004 for an estimated US$599.99.