The C-700UZ came to the market as a surprise announcement (to those who didn't already know) made almost exactly a month after PMA 2001. The C-700UZ is a 2 megapixel digital camera with a 10x optical zoom lens built into a relatively compact case.

Olympus have waved their typical feature laden wand over this camera to ensure it's fully loaded with a good set of manual controls (and exposure modes) as well as several pre-programmed scene modes and a movie clip ability (with audio). The other important detail of the C-700UZ is its price, with a street price of just US$650 it appears to offer an amazing amount of substance for your hard earned dollar (pound / euro etc.).

Taking a look at the current market at this price level there's nothing at this price with this resolution and features... That must make the C-700 UZ a top pick for users who don't need more than 2.1 megapixels and are looking for a compact camera, the 10x optical zoom looks like a deciding factor.

Compared to the C-2100UZ

  Olympus C-700 UZ Olympus C-2100 UZ
 
Body Front magnesium alloy, back plastic All plastic
Street price * US$ 650 US$ 750
Lens 10 x optical zoom, 5.9 mm - 59 mm
35 mm equiv: 38 - 380 mm
F2.8 - F3.5		 10 x optical zoom, 7.0 - 70 mm
35 mm equiv: 38 - 380 mm
F2.8 - F3.5
Lens type Extending Fully enclosed
Lens thread 55 mm with optional adapter 49 mm
Image stabilizer No Yes
Sensitivity Auto, ISO 100, 200, 400, 800 Auto, ISO 100, 200, 400
Sensor 1/2.7" 2.1 megapixel (1.92 effective) 1/2" 2.1 megapixel (1.92 effective)
Resolutions 1600 x 1200
1280 x 960
1024 x 768
640 x 480		 1600 x 1200
1280 x 960
1024 x 768
640 x 480
Image formats TIFF, JPEG TIFF, JPEG
Digital Zoom 1.1x - 2.7x 1.1x - 2.7x
AF assist lamp No Yes
Manual focus Yes Yes
WB manual preset Yes No
Exposure modes Auto, S-Prg (3 modes), Aperture priority, Shutter priority, Manual Auto, S-Prg (4 modes), Aperture priority, Shutter priority, Manual
AE bracketing Yes Yes
Movie clips Yes, 320 x 240 / 160 x 120 Yes, 320 x 240 / 160 x 120
Shutter speed 16 sec - 1/1000 sec 16 sec -1/800 sec
Flash Pop-up (flip-up) Pop-up
Flash range (max) W: 5.5 m, T: 4.4 m W: 4.0 m, T: 3.2 m
Ext. Flash Yes, synch terminal Yes, synch terminal
Remote control No Yes, supplied Infrared
Power 4 x AA batteries 4 x AA batteries
Storage SmartMedia (up to 128 MB) SmartMedia (up to 128 MB)
Storage included 8 MB SmartMedia card 8 MB SmartMedia card
Viewfinder Electronic viewfinder (mini LCD) Electronic viewfinder (mini LCD)
LCD 1.5" (114,000 pixel) 1.8" (110,000 pixel)
Weight 410 g (14.5 oz) 540 g (19 oz)
Dimensions 108 x 76 x 78 mm (4.3 x 3 x 3.1 in) 113 x 78 x 141 mm (4.5 x 3.1 x 5.6 in)
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* Correct at time of review

That's how it looks on paper. Lets examine this digital camera in a bit more detail to see if it lives up to its billing.