Customer Reviews

Olympus C2500 2.5MP Digital SLR Camera Kit

5 star:		(11)
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3 star:		(1)
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The Olympus C2500 SLR Outfit has been an excellent find for me. Both beginners and pros alike are accomodated by the myriad amount of features built into this camera. An easy point and click mode is available; the camera can metre the exposure before the shot is taken, easy enough for people who don't want to get their hands dirty with shutter speeds, white balancing and focal lengths. For the creative photographers, macro, super macro and infinity focal modes are available as well as the ability to set your white balancing temperatures, shutter speed and aperature.

Images are stored in a jpeg compression mode, except for super high quality images where you can set either jpeg or tiff file formats. For the extremely serious photographers, try the compact flash with tiff images, compact flash is available upwards of 160MB. Each super high quality tiff will eat up ~6.5 megabytes of memory! Both SmartMedia and Compact Flash can be used at the same time, a toggle is available so you can switch between cards on the fly if you have both of them loaded.

This kit comes complete with 4 nickle metal hydride batteries and charger + lithium battery to keep the internal clock and calendar in memory while the main batteries are removed. Also a 32Meg SmartMedia card is included. You can almost start shooting right away, begin charging the batteries right away while giving the manual a look over. The manual explains a ton of other features and creative uses of this camera and some quick how to lessons and is well worth the read.

Drawbacks of this outfit: First, it is difficult to find the 43mm filters, but more and more photo shops are getting digital standard equipment in stock. For the time being I used the 43-46mm step up ring to mount my UV filter (46mm), with a tiny bit of encroachment on my wide angle shots in the corners of the image due to this method of mounting the filter(easily cropped out in a Photo editing program).

Another drawback is that this camera does not support USB connections, you are stuck with a slow serial connection. I would advise investing in a card reader. Personally I use a FlashPath floppy disk adapter.

The Olympus C-2500L is definately worth consideration and extra research for anyone looking for an affordable digital SLR outfit. I did not find any negative reports with respect to this model while doing my web based research. Already I have spend a couple whole afternoons perfecting my skills and I only have good things to say.

This camera is awesome. It has all the features of a manual optical camera, and automatic mode for point and shoot photography. The LCD is crystal clear (though you can't use it as a viewfinder because of the direct optics) and its shoots very quickly, about 1 picture per second. It can only shoot 5 shots quickly, then you have to wait 10-15 seconds for it to write. The flash is really bright, and it also has a bright LED on the front which it uses in the dark, almost like a laser scope, which is really fun to play around with. The resolution is amazing, and it also holds a smartmedia and a compact flash card simultaneously for extra storage. The telephoto Lens that comes with the Outfit works really well too, though I don't often use it, and the remote controll is really useful for self pictures and things like that. The one problem i have is it's hard to hold the camera still, and i find i get much better pictures if i rest it on something. Im sure this will change with practice, of a tripod. It doesnt have a lot of features the 3030 has, like movie and long burst and audio though. In short, if youre looking for a camera to just shoot pictures with, get the 3030, it's better for that. If youre looking to do some serious photography, this is the camera for you.

This is probably one of the best Digital Cameras on the markettoday ...

What I wanted was a digital camera that would provide all the control of a 35mm SLR. This Camera does it in spades.

It is simple enough for my spouse to use and intricate enough to provide everything you could want for serious photography. As I read through the owner's manual I was amazed at how sophisticated this camera really is. It will do things I never even thought about.

My only complaint, which is minor, is the lens is an odd size ( 43mm). But ordering a step up ring has made all my 35mm effect filters usable with this camera.

The only thing I would recommend is if you buy the camera order a 43mm clear UV filter to protect the lens as you would any 35mm camera. The lens is very high quality and warrants protection from scratches and fingerprints

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.

This camera has advanced features that a film photographer will easily relate to; however, a beginner could easily learn how to use this camera using the automatic mode. When pressing the shutter button halfway, the camera automatically senses the amount of light and distance to the point of focus (your friend's face, for example). It takes less than a second, and you are ready to shoot 5 pictures in a row without having to wait for the images to load. You can take more than 250 high quality pictures without ever taking out a card. If you have a PCMCIA adaptor, you can just take the storage card(s) out, put it in the adaptor, plug the adaptor in your desktop or laptop computer, and drag and drop under Windows, Mac, or X-Windows. No slow downloading or special software would be necessary, as the images are saved in the standard "jpg" format.

This camera is very convenient, and at the same time, it will give you pictures that will make an impression and will not interfere with events. It is seldom necessary to use flash, even under indoor or dark environments.

This is a very practical alternative to a professional 35.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.