If you've been reading dpreview over the last few months you can't help but to have heard of Olympus's C-2100UZ, a 2 megapixel digital camera with a 10x optical stablised lens. Today Olympus US made the camera official bundling it with 4 NiMH batteries and a charger and an 8MB SmartMedia card, priced at US$999.

Previous DPreview.Com coverage of the C-2100UZ:

• 15/Jun/00 - Initial Japanese announcement
• 31/Jul/00 - C-2100UZ Sneak Preview
• 2/Aug/00 - Yamada Kumio posts sample images

Olympus Press release:

Olympus Announces Full Featured Image Stabilized 10X Zoom Digital Camera

Outstanding Zoom Range with Advanced Photographic Features for a Low $999

MELVILLE, N.Y., Aug. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Olympus America Inc. the world leader in film and filmless photography, today announced the C-2100 Ultra ZOOM, a full featured 10X optical zoom/2.6X digital zoom, EVF filmless digital camera. The 1/2 inch 2.1 megapixel CCD and lens are matched and designed for the best digital photographic performance.

Advancing the technology of its predecessors, the C-2100 Ultra ZOOM is the first Olympus filmless camera to offer a 10X image stabilized all-glass aspherical zoom lens from 7-70mm (38-380mm equivalent in 35mm film photography) to remove unwanted user camera shake for a clearer image. For extended range, the 2.6X digital produces a 35mm equivalent telephoto over 980mm to bring the action closer. At f2.8 -3.5, the lens is fast and bright with 1/3 step aperture control to f11 throughout the zoom range to maximize camera control. The C-2100 Ultra ZOOM eliminates the need for the photographer to carry heavy attachable telephoto lenses.

The C-2100 Ultra ZOOM is made for the photographer who wants an all-in one camera with the ease of a point and shoot with flexibility and advanced features, including many automatic and manual controls like exposure, focus, white balance and flash.

New advanced features built into the C-2100 Ultra ZOOM include: fast performance times with the 16MB SD-RAM buffer for a burst mode of 3 frames per second and 1.2 second shot to shot performance for unlimited standard quality images; an electronic viewfinder (EVF) SLR viewfinder design; and iESP TTL or spot autofocus and focusing illuminator to focus ``from macro to infinity. White Balance is also included in the new iESP multi-pattern full-automatic TTL system with 4 preset manual selections. The metering system features the Digital ESP multi-patterned metering system, center weighted, spot or multi-spot metering of up to 8 spot readings.

The popular QuickTime(TM) Movie feature provides the ability to film short movies, to post on the Internet or view through the camera's LCD. No external microphones are needed as sound is recorded directly from the camera's built-in microphone. The video with sound can also be viewed on any television with the included NTSC AV cable.

The C-2100 employs SmartMedia storage cards and comes with an 8MB SmartMedia card (it accepts cards of up to 64MB). A built-in USB connection provides the easiest and fastest solution for downloading images. Other choices for downloading include the optional ``FlashPath'' floppy disk adapter, USB reader, PCMCIA adapter for laptops, or by using the SmartMedia card slot in the P-330N printer.

The manual exposure mode allows the shutter and aperture to be selected independently giving greater creative control power to the photographer. The fast and flexible automatic exposure modes include Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, Program Auto and the new S-Program mode with Portrait, Landscape, Sports, Night Scene, and Custom setup modes for greater control. Exposure compensation is available in +/- 2 steps EV by 1/3 step increments and Auto Bracketing from 1/3, 2/3 or 1 stop increments for 3 or 5 shots.

The C-2100 Ultra ZOOM provides 4 resolution levels of recording in TIFF or Low and Normal JPEG compressions for photographic images, for a total of 12 different settings (see attached spec sheet for details).

The C-2100 Ultra ZOOM includes an 8MB Olympus brand panorama SmartMedia card, 4 NiMH Batteries and charger, lens cap, strap, USB cable for Windows and Power Macintosh PCs, NTSC video connection cable for TV or VCR, Olympus Camedia Master Utility Software for downloading images from the camera, Adobe PhotoDeluxe image manipulation and creation software and instruction manuals. The C-2100 Ultra ZOOM will be available August 2000 with an expected street price of $999. All software supports Windows 95/98/2000 Pro and NT 4.0 and Power Macintosh computer systems.

For more information, contact Olympus America, Consumer Products Group, Two Corporate Center Dr., Melville, NY 11747-3157, ph: (631) 844-5000 or (800) 622-6372, Fax: (631) 844-5262 or the Olympus Web Site: http://www.olympusamerica.com/digital.

Olympus America distributes a wide range of products for consumer, scientific, health care, commercial and industrial markets. These include film and filmless cameras, Microcassette and digital voice recorders, binoculars, film scanners, personal photo printers, medical and industrial endoscopes, biological and metallurgical microscopes and measuring instruments, clinical analyzers, and other high technology products. Olympus America is responsible for sales in Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America.

Olympus is a registered Trademark, Camedia and Microcassette are trademarks of Olympus Optical Co. Ltd. Adobe is a registered trademark and PhotoDeluxe are trademarks of Adobe Systems Inc. Apple, Macintosh, QuickTime are a trademarks of Apple Computer. Microsoft is a registered trademark and Windows is a trademark of Microsoft Corp. SmartMedia is a trademark of Toshiba America, Inc. Specifications subject to change without notice.

C-2100 Ultra ZOOM Main Features

1. 2.11 million pixel CCD (1/2 inch, CMY Interlaced,. 1600 X 1200 pixel size image, 5.6 MB file size TIFF)
2. 16 MB SD-RAM Buffer built in, 1.7 frame per second burst mode; 1.2 second shot to shot Unlimited SQ photographs in buffer
3. Creative control
   Versatile image quality modes
   TIFF (24 bit color)
   DCF-JPEG (24 bit color)
   QuickTime JPEG Movie
   TTL/PC Flash with optional adapter cable.
   Optional TTL Connection for external FL-40 Flash and Bracket
   Remote RM-1 or Cable capable
   
4. New 10X Image Stabilized Lens Zoom Lens 7 ~ 70mm (38-380mm equivalent in 35mm film photography)
   2 Aspherical Glass Elements
   All Glass Design
   49mm filter size
   f 2.8 ~ f 11 wide-angle in 1/3 stop increments (7 blade Aperture very accurate)
   f 3.5 ~ f 11 Tele in 1/3 stop increments (7 blade Aperture very accurate)
   Manual Focus (240 Step)
   Power Zoom
5. Advanced Metering Systems
   User selectable Metering:
   Center-weighted
   Digital ESP Multi-Patterned
   Spot metering
   Multi-Spot metering (multi 8 area selection metering)
6. 1.8" Wide-View High Resolution TFT LCD.
7. 0.55" TFT EVF- SLR Viewfinder
   Full information, (All LCD Display functions show on electronic viewfinder EVF)
   Auto Focus / Manual Focus
   Flash Ready and Status
   Buffer remaining
   Aperture
   Shutter Speed
   Frame number
   Metering mode (spot/ center-weighted/ESP multi-pattern)
   +/- And macro modes
8. User selectable exposure modes:
   S-Program: Portrait, Sports, Landscape, Night Scene and Custom
   Program Auto
   Aperture Priority
   Shutter Priority
   Manual exposure
   +/- 2 step EV compensation in 1/3 steps exposure
   Aperture and shutter controls in 1/3-step increments
9. Autofocus Phase Detection with AF Illuminator Assist
   Auto Focus and Manual focus
   
10. Auto Bracketing ( BKT ): automatic shooting with different exposure setting the bracket step is select-able from 1/3EV, 2/3 EV and 1EV; for 3 or 5 images
11. Auto White Balance or Manual White Balance
    iESP TTL Auto White Balance
    4 Preset White Balance settings (Sunny, Cloudy, Florescent and Tungsten)
    One Touch White Balance
12. ISO setting, Auto / ISO100 / ISO200 / ISO400
13. DCF and DPOF compatibility (TIF and JPEG)

C-2100 Ultra Zoom specification sheet (Tentative as of 04/12/2000)