The C-7000 is equipped with a 1/1.8
inch CCD with 7.41 million pixels of which 7.1 million are
effective to capture photos measuring 3072 x 2304 pixels.
Sensitivity starts at 80 ISO and can be increased to 100, 200
or 400 ISO. In addition, an Auto setting lets the camera increase
sensitivity as required without any user intervention.
Composed of 9 elements in 7
groups, the 5X optical zoom of the C-7000 has a focal length
of 7.9 to 39.5 mm, the equivalent to a 38 to 190 mm in the
35mm format.
Apertures start at f2.8 at the wide angle end of the zoom, becoming f4.8
when the zoom reaches its maximum telephoto setting, and close down to
f8 for both. Shutter speeds cover a range of 1/2000 to 15 seconds, but
only when the C-7000 is set to the Manual mode.
The C-7000 is capable of recording
images at any one of 8 sizes. Moreover, the camera is
able to save RAW images — Olympus' *.ORF file extension — and
in the uncompressed TIFF format or in JPEG format at either
of two compression levels.
Image Size (resolution)
Formats
3072 x 2304 pixels
RAW
TIFF
SHQ (low compression)
HQ (strong compression)
3072 x 2048 (3.2) pixels
SHQ (low compression)
HQ (strong compression)
2592 x 1944 pixels
SQ1 (low and strong compression)
2288 x 1712 pixels
SQ1 (low and strong compression)
2048 x 1536 pixels
SQ1 (low and strong compression)
1600 x 1200 pixels
SQ1 (low and strong compression)
1280 x 960 pixels
SQ2 (low and strong compression)
1024 x 768 pixels
SQ2 (low and strong compression)
640 x 480 pixels
SQ2 (low and strong compression)
Olympus Master, the software supplied with the camera, is
needed to read and convert images captured in RAW format (see
the Interface and Software section of the review), and
allows adjusting the capture parameters — white balance,
sharpness, exposure, etc. — before saving the image to a
more common format (JPEG or TIFF).
The image format is selected by pressing the OK button which displays
a screen which presents 4 options, 3 of which are shortcuts to access specific
parts of the the complete menu:
Macro: access to Macro mode, which lets the camera
focus on a subject 8 cm (3.12 inches) distant when the zoom is at the
wide angle setting, or 60 cm (23.4 inches) at the telephoto end; or Super
Macro mode which locks the zoom at the wide angle end and makes
it possible to focus on a subject just 2 cm (0.78 inch) from the front
element of the lens.
Mode Menu: the entire capture menu (see below).
Monitor On/Off: turn on or off the LCD monitor.
Image Size and Quality (see above).
The full capture menu of the C-7000 is composed of four sections, each
identified by a tab on the left side of the screen, but only the two top
tabs concern the capture mode specifically, while the lower two tabs are
shared with the Playback mode. The Mode Menu when set to a capture mode
starts with the Camera section:
Macro: as explained above.
Drive:
Single Frame: captures one image every time
the shutter release is pressed.
Sequential Shooting: assuming that the C-7000
is set to HQ format the camera captures a burst of 10
photos at 1.1 fps.
High Speed Sequential Shooting: Assuming the
HQ image format is used, captures 2 images at 2.2 fps.
Bracketing: allows capturing 3 or 5 photos over
an exposure differential of ±2 EV in 0.3 EV increments.
ISO selects the CCD sensitivity: Auto, 80, 100, 200,
400 ISO.
Scene: serves to select one of the 5 scene
modes (see the Ergonomics section of the review
for a listing of the scene modes). The mode selected
with this option becomes the default setting when the Mode
dial is set to the position.
(My
Mode) 1/2/3/4: serves to save preferred groups of
settings into any of four memory locations.
Flash Intensity Control: controls the output of
the flash over ±EV in 0.3 EV increments.
Slow Synchronization offers 3 settings: First
curtain slow synch, first curtain slow synch with red-eye
reduction and second curtain slow synch.
Noise Reduction: On or Off. When On, noise reduction
is automatically applied to all images captured with a
shutter speed of 1/2 second or more.
Digital Zoom: On or Off. Turns on the 6X digital
zoom.
Fulltime AF: On or Off. When On the camera focus
continuously.
Panorama: engages the Panorama mode (access to
this function requires an Olympus brand xD memory card).
The mode places guides on the monitor so that consecutive
images can be overlapped.
Function: serves to capture images in Black and
White, or Sepia.
Info: On or Off. Decides whether or not the shooting
date is displayed superimposed on the image when an image
is under review.
Histogram: On or Off. Decides whether or not a
real-time histogram is displayed on the monitor. The histogram
serves to visualize the distribution of brightness in the
frame. A secondary option can be selected to highlight
the brightest areas of the frame in red and the darker
ones in blue.
Sound annotation: On or Off. When On a 4-second
sound recording is possible immediately after the capture
of a still image.
Frame Assist: On or Off. When On the camera superimposes
a composition grid on the monitor.
Time Lapse: On or Off. When On the C-7000 can
be set to capture a series of images over a set period
of time. The number of photos to capture can be set (2
to 99) and so can the time interval between shots (1 to
60 minutes).
The second section of the menu is entitled Picture:
Resolution: serves to set the image size and quality (see
above).
White Balance: Auto, Sun, Cloudy, Tungsten (incandescent),
Daylight Fluorescent, Neutral White Fluorescent, Cool White
Fluorescent, Custom (set by pointing the camera to a white
surface under ambient light).
White Balance Compensation: allows increasing
blue or red content in the image over 7 steps towards either
tone.
Sharpness: controls in camera sharpening over ±5
steps.
Contrast: serves to adjust contrast over ±5
increments.
Saturation: serves to adjust colour saturation
over ±5 increments.
The third section of the menu
is labeled Card. This section, along with the next Setup which
is covered in the Interface and Software section
of this review, are common to all the capture
modes and the playback mode:
All Erase (this option is only visible when the camera
is set to the playback mode): allows deleting all the captured
images with the exception of those that have been marked as Protected (see
further).
Format: formats the memory card. This option deletes all
images including protected images.
In the Playback mode the
first two sections of the Mode menu are called Play and Edit.
Play only contains a single option:
Sound Annotation: which, as in the capture mode, allows
recording a 4 second sound clip with an image that has already
been captured.
The second section, Edit, contains options to modify images:
RAW Data Edit: serves to adjust white balance,
sharpness, contrast and saturation of RAW images and save
them as new JPEG files. (The original RAW image is retained).
Resize: makes it possible to create a small copy
of a JPEG or TIFF photo 640 × 480 or 320 × 240
pixels.
Trimming: allows cropping an image and re-saving
it as a new photo.
The Movie mode also has its Mode Menu, but its first two sections only
contain those options of the still image Mode Menu that are applicable
to the Movie mode:
Camera: Macro, ISO, Digital Zoom, Fulltime AF,
Sound recording, Function.
Picture: White Balance, White Balance Compensation,
Sharpness, Contrast, Saturation.
The Olympus C-7000 is powered
by a Lithium ion battery which is housed underneath the camera,
in a compartment which also contains the memory card slot,
and the battery is prevented from sliding out by a reddish
spring loaded clip. A charger is included with the camera.
It recharges the battery in approximately 2 hours.
Along with the majority of Olympus cameras nowadays, the C-7000 uses xD memory
cards. This tiny card is pressed into the slot, and ejected by pressing
on its edge.
A 32MB xD card accompanies the
C-7000 in North America, allowing it to store:
Format
Resolution
Compression
Capacity
RAW
3072 x 2304
None
3
TIFF
3072 x 2304
None
—
SHQ
3072 x 2304
Low
6
3072 x 2048 (3:2)
Low
6
HQ
3072 x 2304
High
17
3072 x 2048 (3:2)
High
20
SQ1
2592 x 1944
Low
8
High
24
2288 x 1712
Low
10
High
31
2048 x 1536
Low
13
High
39
1600 x 1200
Low
22
High
60
SQ2
1280 x 960
Low
33
High
90
1024 x 768
Low
51
High
132
640 x 480
Low
117
High
248
The combined USB (2.0 High Speed)
and AV Out port is located on the upper right side of the camera,
and is protected by a soft plastic cover. The A/V out signal,
NTSC or PAL, produced by the C-7000 is set in the Setup menu,
and both the USB and video cables are included with the camera.
Another soft plastic cover is also located on the lower left side of the
camera, covering the DC-IN jack which is intended for the optional
AC-DC adapter (D-7AC).
Compare Prices for Olympus Camedia C-7000 Battery (Hi-Capacity Battery)
Characteristics
position.
(My
Mode) 1/2/3/4: serves to save preferred groups of
settings into any of four memory locations.
