Olympus C-500 Zoom
Pros
- High-quality images, very fast data writing, close-up macro function
Cons
- Awkward design, some blurring at the base of images
Bottom Line
This camera would serve most people's needs, but is not exceptional. We would only really recommend it if you do a lot of macro photography.
-
Price
$ 399.00 (AUD)
To get noticed in the digital camera market, you really have to do something to stand out from the pack. Unfortunately, the Olympus C-500 doesn't manage this. It's competent but not great.
Shaped like an old film camera, it's bulky considering its features, and would be uncomfortable to hold for those used to other digital models. The thumbwheel is in a slightly strange position and is awkward to access. We also noticed the battery slot was unnecessarily difficult to close; a minor problem, but irritating nonetheless.
The camera offers a mediocre continuous shot function (which maxes out at a mere five shots) and a reasonable attempt at manual control, giving you power over aperture and shuttle speed. Combine this with 17 pre-programmed shot types and you have a strong set of features that outdoes many competing models.
The best thing about this camera is the quality of the shots. The C-500 takes some very pretty photos. It captured detail and colour particularly well. The only problem we noticed during our testing was that there was a tendency towards a little blurriness at the base of the picture.
The camera also exhibited lightning-fast recovery speed, with a lag as short as one second between taking shots. This compares extremely well with some other models in this category, which may require as long as three or four seconds before you can take another shot.
The other thing worth noting about the Olympus was its macro function. Macro is a function used to take pictures of things at extremely close range. Typically cameras that come equipped with a macro function can operate from somewhere between 5 and 10cm as a minimum distance. The C-500, on the other hand, can go as close as 2cm. It's handy if you're going to be doing lots of close-up work.
Brand Post
Most Popular Reviews
- 1 Dell U3223QE review: A winning debut for an IPS Black monitor
- 2 HP Spectre x360 16 review: The right 2-in-1 at the wrong time
- 3 Acer K242HYL review: An affordable monitor for any occasion
- 4 GeForce Now review: You bring the games, Nvidia streams the hardware
- 5 Asus ProArt PA279CV monitor review: The go-to for content creators on a budget
Latest News Articles
- Apple offers 6 months free Apple Music, Keynote holiday greeting card templates
- Adobe expands Creative Cloud M1 support, claims over 80% better performance than Intel
- GoPro delivers Quik solution for videos and photos
- Got a GoPro Hero 8? You can use it as a webcam for your Mac
- Canon embolden mirrorless offering with EOS R5 and R6
Resources
Macworld
What's new, plus best mac-related tips
and tricks
Business Centre
The latest business news, reviews, features and whitepapers
Videos
Watch our video news and reviews from around the world
Guides
Comprehensive buying guides, features, and step-by-step articles
PCW Evaluation Team
Pedro Peixoto
Aruba Instant On AP11D
Set up is effortless.
Cate Bacon
Aruba Instant On AP11D
The strength of the Aruba Instant On AP11D is that the design and feature set support the modern, flexible, and mobile way of working.
Dr Prabigya Shiwakoti
Aruba Instant On AP11D
Aruba backs the AP11D up with a two-year warranty and 24/7 phone support.
Tom Pope
Dynabook Portégé X30L-G
Ultimately this laptop has achieved everything I would hope for in a laptop for work, while fitting that into a form factor and weight that is remarkable.
Tom Sellers
MSI P65
This smart laptop was enjoyable to use and great to work on – creating content was super simple.
Lolita Wang
MSI GT76
It really doesn’t get more “gaming laptop” than this.
Featured Content
- Which Lenovo Laptop Should I Buy?
- Every TV in Samsung's 2022 line-up: OLED, Neo QLED and more!
- Top 10 best Android and Apple phones for under $600
- Everything you need to know about Smart TVs
- What's the difference between an Intel Core i3, i5 and i7?
- Laser vs. inkjet printers: which is better?