Olympus Japan announce the a new digital camera based on the 2 megapixel C-2020Z with an Olympus ten times stabalised zoom lens (38mm - 380mm, F2.8 - F3.5) with optical stability. Expected retail price is 138,000 YEN ($1300) in Japan available in August. Olympus's answer to the FD-95 & MVC-CD1000 ?

Olympus C-2100UZ (Click for larger image)

Olympus C-2100 UltraZoom Specifications

Imager 2.1 megapixel 1/2" CCD GRGB
1.92 megapixels effective (1600 x 1200)
Image sizes 1600 x 1200
1280 x 960
1024 x 768
640 x 480
Image modes TIFF, JPEG (SHQ, HQ, SQ)
Lens Olympus 10 x, 38mm - 380mm (35mm equiv.) F2.8 - F3.5
Optical stablisation prevents blur at long focal lengths
Lens thread 49 mm
Normal focus distance

W: 0.6m (1.9ft) - Infinity
T: 2.0m (6.5ft) - Infinity

Macro focus distance

W: 0.1m (3.9") - 0.6m (1.9ft)
T: 1.0m (3.2ft) - 2.0m (6.5ft)

Focus modes

Single AF, Full-time AF, Manual

Focus illuminator

Built-in focus illumination lamp

Digital Zoom 1.1x - 2.7x in 0.1x steps
ISO sensitivity Auto (100-400), 100, 200, 400
Exposure compensation +/-2.0EV in 0.3EV steps
Exposure modes Program, Scene-Program (Portrait, Sports, Landscape, Night), Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority, Full Manual
Bracketing 3 shots in 0.3, 0.6 or 1.0 EV steps
Shutter speed

Auto: 1/2s - 1/800s in 1/3 stop steps
Manual: 16s - 1/800s in 1/3 stop steps

Aperture priority F2.8 - F8.0 in 1/3 stop steps
Metering modes iESP, Center-weighted, Spot
Sharpness setting Soft, Normal, Hard
White Balance Auto, Manual Preset, Fine, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent
Flash Internal, pop-up
Flash range @ ISO100 W: 0.3m (11.8") - 4.0m (13ft)
T: 1.0m (3.2ft) - 3.2m (10.5ft)
Flash modes Auto, Anti red-eye, Slow Sync (Front & Rear), Forced on, Forced off, External
External flash Sync connector (for FL-40)
Self-Timer 2 / 10 seconds & Remote Control
Burst mode SHQ: 1.5fps up to 5 images
HQ: 1.8fps up to 16 images
SQ (640 x 480): 1.8fps up to 86 images
Movie mode Motion JPEG 15fps,(320 x 240 / 160 x 120)
8MB = 23 seconds @ 320 x 240
Viewfinder 0.55" LCD TTL (114,000 pixels), adjustable
Only one of Viewfinder LCD or rear preview LCD can be active at any one time.
LCD 1.8" (114,000 pixels)
Picture effects Sepia, B&W, Black Board
Voice recording Available, built-in or external microphone
Remote control InfraRed, supplied RM-1
Storage SmartMedia up to 64MB
8MB Supplied
Timing Store 1600 x 1200 TIFF: 18 secs
Store 1600 x 1200 SHQ JPEG: 3.5 secs
Store 1600 x 1200 HQ JPEG: 2 secs
Connectivity USB, Serial PC/Mac, External microphone
Video output NTSC / PAL & Audio
Power Supply 4 x AA Batteries or 2 x CR-V3 Lithium packs (supplied)
Weight 540 g (1.2 lb)
Dimensions 112.5 x 77.5 x 141 mm (4.4 x 3.1 x 5.6")
Price 138,000 YEN (Japan) - (~US$1,300)
Release August 2000 - Japan

Phil says: Cool, it looks just like the C-2500L but with hints of the C-2020Z & C-3030Z. Shame they didn't put a 3 megapixel imager in there, that would have made it a real killer camera, that said 2 megapixels and a 10x stablised lens makes it a good alternative to the FD-95 / MVC-CD1000. Lets hope we're going to see more big lenses from other manufacturers. Kudos Olympus.

     Olympus Japan C-2100 UltraZoom webpage