Olympus C1400-L 1.4mpx fixed zoom lens DSLR

by David WIlson
(Jesus Pobre, Spain)

The fixed lens DSLR no longer exists as a category of digital camera but in the late nineties this type of camera was quite popular.

Mine was a 1997 model which has a RRP of £1300 when it was introduced. I bought mine in 2000 as a bargain bin end of line offer from Dixons in London for £300 to complement my Pentax 35mm.

I could see the way things were going with digital, and it seemed like the right time to dip my toe in the water.

The C1400-L produced excellent quality images which gave good 6x4 prints, but was hopeless in low light - anything less than good light, not only would it not provide a focus lock, if you did manage to persuade it to take a frame without using flash, it would reward you with a dose of dark blocky pixelated mush.

Eventually I sold it to the son of a friend and upgraded to a Canon Powershot A40. 4mpx -wow! I'm now on my fourth A series Canon, and also own an Eos 400D

---

A 1997 model - a real pioneer! I remember well the problems with digital cameras and low light. I used to stand there waving the camera around just to get something that it could focus on.

Usually I took the shot anyway and ended up with an awful lot of poorly focussed photos.

And moving up to a whopping 4MP! I don't think it's even possible to buy a 4MP camera any more.

Thanks for the submission David, and lovely photos too!

Darrell.

My son (that's him below) loves F1. He's started his own YouTube channel and would love it if you could take a look at one or two of his videos.
Or, if it hurts your ears as much as it does mine, pass the link on to someone who'll really appreciate it.

(probably someone a lot younger than I am!)

Get help using your camera with the complete Digital SLR Guide