The first thing that struck me about the Camedia C-990 Zoom was that it looks and feels like a camera. Olympus has gone with a bronze coloured shell. Grips and swivels do not play a part with the C-990, the camera simply nests in two hands or one, the right hand does the zoom and shutter release and a thumb can be hooked around to navigate the options associated with the LCD display. There are hatches for the SmartMedia card on the right side and connection with the PC or TV on the left side and the built-in flash but they are all recessed into the body of the camera.

It doesnt match the specifications of our current A-List model, the C-3030, and doesnt come close in deed but thats no slur on the capabilities of the C-990. For a 2.1 megapixel camera it does remarkably well. In terms of image definition it is probably on a par or better than the Fuji FinePix 40i (reviewed issue 37, p84); the default white balance is better, and it certainly feels better in the hand than the FinePix 40i. Olympus has dispensed with an on/off switch by hiding the lens behind a sliding hood. To turn the camera on and start shooting simply slide the hood back. To review shots on the LCD close the hood and press the display button.

Low-light conditions do not affect the C-990 as greatly as some other digital cameras seen in this class. I found it quite adequate for indoor shots without flash particularly with bright colours which tend to lose their vividness in less than optimum light. If you use the built-in flash on the red eye reduction setting be prepared for an unusual strobe effect. The C-990 uses a number of rapid flashes to prepare the subjects eyes for the main flash instead of the usual technique of a single pre-flash.

An 8Mb SmartMedia card is provided in the package and this will store up to 16 images at 1,600 x 1,200 pixels resolution in high quality (HQ) mode or five images in super high quality (SHQ) mode. In most situations the HQ mode will suffice.

You can get carried away with the quality of the snaps taken with the C-990 but not all is rosy if you scratch a little below the surface. For one the menu system both in play and record modes are tedious. Cryptic icons are the order of the day where plain English would have been better, although you can appreciate Olympuss need to localise everything would have made the task of producing the camera a little more expensive. The alternative would be to allow camera controls through software on the host PC downloaded to the camera but there is no such facility. Any comparison with the slick FlashPoint interfaces on some of the Kodak cameras (see Kodak DC4800 review, issue 36, p96) is non-existent. While on the subject of interfaces the C-990 uses a serial connection to the host PC. Downloading still images from the camera is a chore: larger video files seem to take forever. Thankfully R. Gunz supplied us the camera with a USB SmartMedia reader, but this is an option available for $199.

Theres a lot to like about the Olympus Camedia C-990 Zoom. It still takes a back seat for overall quality compared to the C-3030 model but at
$1,000 less, the sacrifice in image quality is well compensated for.