Olympus E-100 Rapid Shot 1.5MP Digital SLR Camera w/ 10x Optical Zoom

by Olympus

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 5.6 x 4.2 x 3.2 inches ; 1.4 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 5 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B000051TOI
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #48,779 in Camera & Photo (See Top 100 in Camera & Photo)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: September 4, 1999

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

With the E-100RS, Olympus does what many other manufacturers refuse to do: produce a quality, innovative camera without a high-resolution CCD. Rather than cramming as many new features as possible into their highest-resolution flagship model and relegating the lower-resolution CCDs to simple point-and-shoot style cameras (as many manufacturers are wont to do), Olympus has started to create unique, capable digital cameras across a spectrum of resolutions--something that helps to keep prices down, while increasing both speed and storage capacity.

At a time when most manufacturers are producing 3-megapixel cameras, there's nothing particularly impressive about the 1.5 megapixel resolution of this Olympus--it's the lens and processor that make the camera special. The E-100RS ("RS" stands for "Rapid Shot") comes with a 10x optically stabilized lens, and is capable of taking up to 15 shots per second--a speed unheard of in the digital camera realm--courtesy of a 9.5 MB SDRAM buffer and high-speed CCD sensor. Its speed makes it perfect for action photography.

If you've ever waited an instant too long to snap the perfect action photo, you'll appreciate the camera's "Pre-Capture" feature. In this mode, the E-100RS starts storing photos in its temporary memory as soon as you half-press the shutter button. Once you fully depress the button, the photo you took, along with the most recent photos in the temporary memory, are saved to the memory card. Users can save from one to five "prepictures" for each photo they shoot. This feature is a boon to those of us with slow reflexes.

For maximum compatibility, the camera can be used with both Smartmedia and CompactFlash cards. CompactFlash Type I and II cards are supported, but Olympus doesn't recommend using the IBM MicroDrive. Camera performance is typically quicker with Smartmedia storage, but CompactFlash cards are available in larger capacities. An 8 MB Smartmedia card is included.

In 35mm terms, the powerful 10x zoom lens is equivalent to a 38-380mm telephoto. The camera's digital zoom, which increases magnification at the expense of image quality, boosts the lens to 1000mm at full zoom. Normally, it would be difficult to take advantage of a lens this powerful without using a tripod. Why? At full zoom, the camera focuses on such a small area that even the most minute movements result in a blurry image. Fortunately, Olympus equips the camera with optical image stabilization, a complex system that senses shakes and wobbles and continuously adjusts the lenses to compensate.

All the flexibility of Olympus's higher-end digital cameras is present in the E-100RS. Aperture and shutter priority modes coexist with landscape, portrait, sports, and night-scene shooting modes. Everything on the camera can be adjusted manually. The EV setting can be adjusted to 2 in 1/3 EV increments; auto bracketing can be adjusted for both EV increments and the total number of shots. ISO can be selected from three options: 100, 200, and 400. The built-in flash features the usual modes: red-eye reduction, auto, fill, and synchro.

For SLR-like framing, the E-100RS uses an electronic viewfinder (EVF) instead of a traditional glass viewfinder. This arrangement has all the benefits of a standard LCD screen (image preview and review, as well as instant access to camera menus), plus increased usability outdoors, while using much less power than the full-sized LCD on the back of the camera. The only disadvantages to the EVF are that it uses more power than a traditional optical viewfinder and that it can be hard to use in low light.

The E-100RS uses four AA batteries, and comes with rechargeable NiMH batteries and charger.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars versatile action camera, March 13, 2001

By 

Mark C. Dibona "drbones" (kensington, nh United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Olympus E-100 Rapid Shot 1.5MP Digital SLR Camera w/ 10x Optical Zoom (Electronics)

I bought this camera (my first digital) to use for action photography. My kids ski race, so I needed a camera that had a good (250+mm) telephoto and a multi-shot sewquencing mode. The E-100 has both and a whole lot more. Although the highest resolution is not up to some of the other cameras in this price range, the E-100 can print beautiful 8X10 glossies on my deskjet printer (who needs 5+ megapixels). The only drawback is that I can't load into the supplies software on my mac powerbook G-3. I tried several fixes, but the best seems to be using a Viking card reader and Adobe Photoshop. All in all a fantastic camera.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Joy to Use, August 30, 2001

By 

George W. Mays (San Antonio, TX USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Olympus E-100 Rapid Shot 1.5MP Digital SLR Camera w/ 10x Optical Zoom (Electronics)

I bought this camera in the hope that it would allow me to get close to the action in sports. (My daughter is a baton twirler; you get the idea.) I am not the least bit disappointed despite the fairly hefty price tag.
This has become MY CAMERA. This is the camera that I take with me. I leave home the Nikon CoolPix 990 (which is also an excellent camera but lacks a respectable zoom) and the Canon S100 (which I find handiest as my wife's purse camera).
I know that this camera lacks a zillion-pel CCD. But the pictures are really quite excellent. Printed at up to 5x7 produces no image degradation; beyond that I expect you begin to notice the camera's limitations. This camera makes you appreciate that there is more to a camera than pixel count. The E100RS optics and metering system are both excellent (IMHO). In short, this is a truly super camera for what it's designed to do --- action photos, especially when it is tough to get close to the action. And when you aren't using it in this manner, it's still a darned good camera for everyday shots.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fast, fun, & easy to run, March 9, 2002

By 

D. K. Lockhart "Mainuh" (Southern Maine) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Olympus E-100 Rapid Shot 1.5MP Digital SLR Camera w/ 10x Optical Zoom (Electronics)

The E-100RS is a great package. I've owned dozens of cameras, but this, without a doubt, is the most fun. A 10X optical, and 27X digital (the best digital resolution I've seen so far) let you reach out and grab things, even if they're a mile or more away. The rapid fire capability is great for getting just the right shot... take the best and dump the rest, but you won't miss that perfect pose or facial expression because you snapped at the wrong split second. The 640x480 movies look almost as good as my Sony Hi8 camcoder video and full screen, none of this postage stamp sized movie. I sold a 3.3 megapixel to buy this as in over 2600 photos with it, I never utilized more than 1280x960. This camera does a nice 1368X1024 which is more than I need. I have printed dozens of 8X10 enlargements from 1280x960 photos and they look fantastic. This camera is probably not for the technologically phobic types. It only took me a couple days to fully understand how to run, but I'm a network engineer by trade and play with electronics all day. The menu could be a little more intuitive, but it's not bad. Many features that you use most often have external buttons so you don't need to go into the menu system. The electronic viewfinder is wonderful, giving you all the info that the full LCD screen would through the eyepiece at a fraction of the power consumption. Plan on buying an AC adapter, Extra NiMH batteries (probably 2 more sets as they give you one set of 1600Mah and a nice charger with it), a 49mm Haze filter to protect the lens, and a 128 meg Smartmedia or compact flash (or both for a total 256MB like I did!). No regrets so far from selling my Sony 3.3MP... and I am having a ball with this camera. Can't wait to take it to some motorcycle races or other sporting events where it'll really shine! And one last piece of info: I had to call Olympus tech support for a few questions on memory cards and external flash cord and their customer service was OUTSTANDING! Got a live, knowledgable technician in under 2 minutes and he answered my questions instantly without typing a query into a database... he really knew the product. I'm impressed! Great product and service... hard to find there days!