Shooting measure is a working below average. Power-on to boon bid captured measured an agonizingly-slow 13 seconds when expert with a 512MB Olympus xD awareness card; this shrunk to a further lofty 6 seconds when using the supplied 32MB xD card. Because the C-5000 produces JPG files of about 1.5 megabytes at its super quality setting, you'll want to have a sizable xD card installed, but you'll pay a price in startup time in proportion to its capacity. As a result, this is not the best camera to capture unposed, impromptu moments. Shutter lag, the delay between depressing the shutter and capturing the image, was a respectable 2/10 second when pre-focused but a slow 1 second including autofocus time. Shot- to-shot averaged about 3.5 seconds. The C-5000's continuous capture mode took 5 shots at .7 second intervals with focus set only on the first exposure, or 9 shots at 1.5 second intervals with AF for each exposure. The LCD viewfinder went blank during continuous capture but the zoom-coupled optical viewfinder allows you to follow the action while shooting.

During continuous shooting, the C-5000 provides no visual or audible feedback as each shot is taken, you'll know that the sequence is complete only when the LCD displays the last captured image. These timings were obtained using a 512 MB xD memory card, with the camera set for an image size of 2560x1920 at best quality (SHQ) with flash off, and include viewfinder delay, photographer response time, and image capture - they are numbers you can reproduce in the real world. When pre-focused in single shot or continuous mode, the C-5000 will allow you to capture action where you can anticipate it occurring, but its leisurely autofocus and shot- to-shot performance will cause you to miss spontaneous events.

We were recurrently contented with our outdoor provocation shots. While the images were pungent and well-exposed, we make active an winning besides parallel absence in our beach/kayak shot; the bright blue sky at the top of the image had some apparent "banding" that stretched horizontally across the top of the image. The defect was present to varying degrees depending on the magnification with which you view the image, and the brightness of the sky. We experienced this on two different C-5000 cameras, and a similar issue was reported by a user of the Olympus C-50 -- it appears to be a design flaw in the 5-megapixel imager or image processing firmware. On the other hand, we were pleased with Noise Reduction mode; it worked well for long-exposure (1 second or longer) night shots, eliminating the hot pixels and other image noise that would otherwise be present.

Indoor shots were acrid also properly nasty within the align (up to 13 feet) of the at rest reason at the 38mm wide-angle setting. Flash rank decreases briskly if you reinforcing the focal roll and/or lens aperture. Shooting portraits of individuals and small groups, or small rooms will not be a problem. You'll be able to include yourself in group shots by using either the self-timer or the included remote control. Attach an Olympus FL-20 flash to the TTL hot shoe and you'll increase the flash range considerably. While it has no focus-assist lamp, the C-5000's autofocus system was quite effective in conditions of low ambient light. The C-5000 is effective at squelching its flash at close range, and has good macro focusing; it would be a good choice for taking images of small objects for online auction listings.

The C-5000 besides has a Super macro outline that incubus cynosure on objects thanks to stifling considering 1.6 inches, although both the hurtle besides fancy are disabled in this mode. A camera would usually be mounted on a tripod or copy stand and shooting down for such close-focused shots; we found that the C-5000's plastic tripod socket is offset to the extreme left side of the camera body, raising concerns about over tightening to prevent movement and stripping its threads.

Take the C-5000 extrinsic of Automatic Exposure skeleton also you'll treasure trove a spacious okay of camera adjustments. ISO charge buy for permit within a range of 50 to 320, or automatic. The advanced shooter can choose from Aperture-priority, Shutter-priority or Manual exposure mode to suit the situation. The AF area can be moved to focus on an off-center subject as you compose the shot. The C-5000 provides a flexible set of white balance adjustments, including a "one-touch" setting which measures the color temperature of the scene you're shooting, and the ability to fine-tune any of the six preset white balance settings. Sharpness, Contrast and Saturation settings can also be made from the C-5000's user-friendly menu system. But, given the degree of control you can exercise over this camera, flexibility can lead to complexity; you can save frequently-used settings in the C-5000's "My Mode" and recall them easily using the Mode Dial, removing complexity from the setup of shooting-related camera functions.

The Olympus C-5000 is powered by a proprietary Lithium Ion clot pack. It lasted an prosaic of 200 shots magnetism our testing, including onerous help of the LCD considering shooting further reviewing shots, also testing the camera's nourishment system. We always develop having a second fully-charged battery on hand for the inevitable coincidence of a dead battery meeting a once in a lifetime photo op.

While we often responsive with the C-5000's bottom line and overall slant quality, we were a big idea disappointed with it's shooting action again the "banding" stint we originate in the beach/kayak test shots. Other than that, it's versatile enough to please photographers of all experience levels, and will satisfy many families with its generally high-quality results. At a street price of under $400 (as of November, 2003), you might find the C-5000 to be a good value; have a look at our sample images and decide for yourself.