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Photograph: Rick Rizner
Olympus Camedia C-5500 Digital Camera (5.1MP, 2592x1944, 5x Opt, 16MB xD-Picture Card)
Pricing
Latest Price: $222.22
- Spec Navigator
- Digital Format
- Display
- Exposure
- Image Processor
- Included Software
- Lens
- Shutter
- Storage
- LCD Screen
- Exposure Controls
- Dimensions
- Power
- Flash
- Lens Features
- Connectivity
- Other Features
Image Processor
| Number of image sensor pixels | 5.1 megapixels |
| Image sensor | CCD |
| Maximum horizontal image resolution | 2592 |
| Maximum vertical image resolution | 1944 |
| Image sensor quantity | 1 |
| Image format | JPEG |
| White balance | 0 |
Exposure Controls
| Maximum shutter speed | 2000 |
| Minimum shutter speed | 15 |
| Bulb setting | 0 |
| ISO equivalencies |
|
| Exposure settings | 0 |
| Exposure compensation range | 0 |
| Number of scene modes | 10 |
- Lab Tested
- How We Test Cameras »
Pros
Accurate exposures
Long zoom range
Cons
Flash doesn't pop up automatically
Auto focusing can be slow
Bottom Line
Accurate colors, exposures, and long zoom range are this model's strengths. Autofocus locks well on moving subjects.
Olympus C-5500 Sport Zoom
Camedia C-5500 Digital Camera (5.1MP, 2592x1944, 5x Opt, 16MB xD-Picture Card) Review, by Melissa J. Perenson May 3, 2005
While putting the boxy and hefty Olympus C-5500 Sport Zoom through its paces, I found much to like about its design. The sizable grip feels comfortable, and the positioning of the buttons and camera navigation wheel allowed me to use the camera one-handed without difficulty. The 2-inch LCD screen displays vivid, crisp images, and a button to the right of the screen provides a quick means to play back images.
Much of this camera's appeal lies in its wide array of features, many of which are rare in a point-and-shoot camera priced at $320. You get ten scene modes--including sport and candle--plus auto and program modes, and shutter priority, aperture priority, and manual modes for greater control over the image. You can even customize the camera by creating your own shooting preferences as a setting, and by creating shortcuts to often-used options within the menu system.
The C-5500's outstanding image quality is another strength. In our tests, the camera rendered sharp images with balanced color and exposures. The camera's four AA alkaline batteries lasted for 261 shots, which is about average.
Unfortunately, many aspects of the camera disappointed us. Though the camera prompts you when a flash is appropriate, it doesn't pop up the flash automatically. The button to activate the flash is bulky and, like the flash itself, feels poorly constructed.
The camera's erratic focusing mechanism was another source of frustration. When in focus, images appeared crisp and clear. But the camera made it too easy to take out-of-focus shots--surprising, given that Olympus bills this model as its Sport Zoom. But even if you're not shooting action, you may want to use the continuous burst mode to mitigate this problem.
Also, the camera's autofocus often took a long time to lock onto the action, causing a lag in the shutter response (the time between when you try to take the picture to when the camera completes the shot). This tendency was especially evident in settings with low to moderate light.
The C-5500's menu system's setup takes some getting used to, and you may need to consult the advanced manual on the CD-ROM for an explanation of some features and icons. You'll certainly want to consult the manual for a detailed explanation of the image quality settings: The SHQ, HQ, SQ1, and SQ2 options each give you different resolution choices, but the approach is more confusing and convoluted than it needs to be.
The display shows a slew of settings, so you don't have to switch between screens or wonder what settings the camera is on; at a glance, you can see the ISO, shutter speed, f-stop, and resolution. Oddly, nowhere on the screen do you get a countdown of how many images your XD Picture Card still has room for.
With a 5X optical zoom that offers the equivalent of a 38mm-to-190mm lens--a generous reach for a camera in this class--a movie mode with image stabilization, and an impressive number of manual controls, the C-5500 does little to box you in creatively. But its poky response time might leave you dissatisfied.
Upshot: Lots of manual controls and great image quality are offset by the C-5500's sluggish response time.
Melissa J. Perenson
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PCWorld Lab Results
- Rating Breakdown
-
84
-
84
-
70
- See Complete Lab Results »
84
67Performance
| Battery Life (minutes) | 143.75 |
| Battery Life Score | Good |
| Image Quality Score | Very Good |
| Image Quality, Color | 66.5 |
| Image Quality, Distortion | 55 |
| Image Quality, Exposure | 66.2 |
| Image Quality, Exposure--Flash | 62 |
| Image Quality, Exposure--Normal | 68 |
| Image Quality, Overall | 66 |
| Image Quality, Sharpness | 33.9 |
| Number of Batteries | 4 |
| Number of Shots | 261 |
User Reviews
Review Now! Already own it? Tell us What You Think
User Reviews From Around the Web
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Reviewed by: MCCUMGAN
Strengths: Super sharp pictures. Useful macro.
Weaknesses: No complete printed manual.
Overall: The pictures are better than any film camera I have had in the last 70 years (I'm 79). It is large enough to easily manipulate controles. Super macro focuses down to 2 cm. Enabling me to copy slides using a home-made light box. It is inconvenient not having a full instruction manual in book form. It takes a long time and lots of ink to print on the computer.
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Reviewed by: deanshe
Weaknesses: The shutter speed is really slow in low lighting causing the pictures to come out blurry
Overall: This is the first digit camera I have owned. I looked around and read a lot of reviews. This camera seem to get good ratings with a great price. I purchased it just under a month ago. I don't like the camera at all. I have taken nearly two hundred pictures with only a small handful coming out. I am now trying to get a refund on the camera.
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Reviewed by: phutluse
Strengths: 5 megs, 5X optical, use of AA batteries, lens cover, multifeatures, picture quallity great
Weaknesses: slightly heavy overall - but gives feeling of stability,16 MB xD is ridiculous
Overall: First digital camera and really love it. use rechargeble batteries and no problem on long cruises or trips of running out of power, also picked up two 512 MB cards at quite reasonable prices at Sam's Club so have gobs of memory on trips. Also if have trouble with one card (which I did because of being a newbie) have the other for backup while getting card dumped to CDand clearing problem. All in all everything is working great.
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Reviewed by: sivaji_ganesh
Strengths: 5X optical zoom and 5 megapixel at a very affordable price.
Weaknesses: Low light pictures were noisy.
Overall: The best strength of this camera, I think, is the 5x optical zoom in such a small handy size camera. It looks and feels like my previous Canon A series camera. So far my only disappointment is low light pictures are too noisy.May be flash is not sufficient. Oh it is also capable of recording unlimitted length of video. The size of the memory card is the limit. May be useful for someone who needs this feature.
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Reviewed by: sabor
Strengths: 5x zoom, price, outdoor picture quality
Weaknesses: pop out flash, XD card (expensive)
Overall: For its price this is a very good camera with good picture quality. The 5x zoom is a big plus comparing to other cameras in this price range. It also use general AA batries which is a plus for me. Only problem is the XD card. The 16MB comes with it is useless and higher capacity ones are expensive
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