Hi,

I just bought an Olympus C-2000 digital camera and I am wondering that since you can use the LCD like a viewfinder and therefore the camera must be digitising the image it's looking at, is is possible using the RS-232 cable to record the images on the LCD and hence use it as a digital camcorder?

Thanks,

Fergus

-- Fergus O'Connor (fergoc@hotmail.com), September 03, 1999

Answers

The C2000 outputs video wherever something is plugged into its video jack. However, the frames do not change as fast as even a low-end camcorder.

The RS-232 outputs images digitally, and it's rate of transmission is much slower still, especially since the minimum size on a C2000 is 640x480.

According to Steve Sanders (on Steve's Digicams), the CCD on a digital still camera (such as the C2000) is designed for individual frames, not continuous use. He claims that continuous use may overheat and wear out the CCD. He recommends against using a handheld digital camera as a web camera for this reason.

So, there are several reasons why it may be better to use an actual digital camcorder (or even an old tape camcorder) for a camcorder application.

-- Jim Popenoe (popenoe@humboldt1.com), September 03, 1999.