Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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38 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fabulous piece of kit, 5 Aug 2006
This is a fantastic camera.
This is my third digital camera, the last only being purchase some 18 months previously, so I have some experience of these things that are so hard to get right and are seemingly out of date 10 minutes after you buy them.
Well this camera is different. The 7 MPixels (leading to an image size of just over 3Mb for the highest quality) is very good, screen size is good, size is pleasingly compact, image quality is excellent. Movie mode not brilliant but sufficient, screen brightness adequate if you turn it up to max, stabilisation feature works ok, menu system intuitive.
But what will ensure this camera lasts is the FANTASTIC feature of waterproof / shockproof. Why have no other manufacturers realised that now we don't need to regularly change a film, a camera with minimal slots and rubber seals is easy to build and an obvious gap in the market? And it also means the whole camera, in addition to being beautifully tiny, feels really, really solid in your hand. You know this isn't going to dent if you knock it, as happened to my last camera.
It works as well as you could possibly imagine. For waterproof, read mud/dirt/sand/melted chocolate/can of coke/sticky food-proof. Just run it under a tap to clean it off. For shockproof, read kidproof. We have three boys under the age of 11 - now I can let them play with the camera!
Ignore the 10x optical zoom in the description, it's a mistake, it's 3x optical zoom like every other similarly sized camera, with a 5x digital zoom. However, worth pointing out is the fact that the interpolation on the digital zoom is really excellent. It's the first digital zoom I have actually made use of - normally the results are hideous.
It's a nuisance it's XD - why not SD, Olympus?? - but hey, a 1Gb card is under £30 which stores over 270 pictures at max res and quality.
The water/shockproof feature isn't a gimmick, it's a completely obvious feature that we've been waiting a long time for. Well done Olympus!
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32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Olympus Gets it Right, 24 Aug 2006
This small, well made compact camera was on my shopping list for a while and when I went to Cuba I decided to take the plunge (no pun intended) and buy one. I like well made cameras as I have been a photographer for over 25 years. This is one such camera. It feels strong and beautifully engineered with a reassuring sense of mass for something so small. The tiny battery took a few charges to get it up to max but once there would last for quite some time although the large rear screen must be power hungry. I only wish a viewfinder had found a place in the design as in bright light it still is hard to really see whats being taken on a screen.. a trend that seems to be here to stay with LCD only cameras in dominance. The camera is packed with features and I found myself experimenting all the time with different modes.. largely successfully. Colour rendition is excellent and jpeg quality maxes out as 20 mb opened up. Good results.. about all I could wish for and considering my other camera was a D2x I found the Olympus no disgrace in its image abilities..up to an A4 size print its excellent. Buy one.. in the rain.. in the pool.. at the beach.. its so much fun to be worry free from the elements with this excellent little camera.
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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
What else compares?, 12 Oct 2006
I spent ages looking at digital cameras. I think there are a few cameras out there that might give a slightly better picture quality or have more features but none will survive the treatment you can give to this camera. When I looked at what was available I kept saying to myself "yeah but..."
Most of the reviews I read were written by camera experts but few are written by people who actually want a simple, high quality camera that fits in your pocket or handbag, that can be dropped when you've had a little too much to drink (even if you drop it in your drink!) and will survive a fall on the slopes or even into the pool fully clothed. If I was a photography nerd and wanted the most perfect picture I could have bought a range of great cameras but none would survive my lifestyle.
If I wanted the perfect picture I would buy a huge, expensive camera with loads of lenses and carry it around in a large rucksack but I don't - I want a compact camera that will survive in situations where I might not... and still capture the moment with a great picture. This is a fantastic camera and I recommend it without reservation.
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