| I have used a Kodak DC-215 which I felt was a great value when I purchased it for [PRICE] a couple of years ago. It has a 2X optical zoom and produces excellent quality pictures. I have used this and other digital cameras with a great deal of success, but have been dissapointed with the lens limitations compared to my SLR on which I can change lenses from 28mm wide angle to a 70 to 210mm zoom. The E-100RS is the answer to all of my concerns about digital photography. Even without the external flash unit, which is really slick too, the camera as delivered from Olympus is complete and needs nothing to give you great digital photos. Given that most digital photography ends up on the Internet, the 1.5 MegaPixel rating is not an issue at all. Photo quality is excellent even at 1.5. The only thing limited is that it comes with an 8MB card, which is almost useless. Thankfully, memory card prices have dropped and a 128 MB Smart Media card can be purchased for less than [PRICE], and Compact Flash cards are even less expensive. Oh and the camera can hold both at the same time and only requires you to make a menu selection to store your photos on one or the other. You can even copy from one card to the other! Then, using the supplied USB cable, you can access the active card from your computer just as if it was another hard drive. Excellent! The "rapid shot" features work well. The issue of not taking shots right away is not a problem at all. I charged the supplied 1600maH NiMH batteries right away after getting the camera. I played with it, taking lots of shots, quick time movies(it'll do those too), rapid-shot sessions, and only then, after a full week of this, did the batteries go weak. High maH batteries are a must for this camera. Extra sets of 1800 maH (even better) batteries are economical.... Keep one set in the camera and one in the charger to be safe. I did run one set of Energizer alkalines through it and they did not last very long. This is a professional quality camera and slightly above a consumer price range. The improvements are well worth it. Get one while your can! |
