Olympus Reviews

I now own three Olympus digital cameras. The D-395 was my third and most disappointing, but it won't by my last Olympus because I made a consumer error when I purchased this camera....ASSUMPTIONS!

I was looking for a replacement for my older Olympus D-380 because I had proudly given it to my significant. A good performer and reliable the D-380 was.

I assumed that the newer D-395 would be at least as fast as my older D-380 when actually taking the desired photo after the shutter release was pressed. Wrong! Be prepared to limit your candid shots because you'll 'miss the moment'. Stills and portraits are fine though.

I assumed that it would have as fast a flash recharge time as fast as my older D-380. Wrong! This is another 'miss the moment' issue.

I assumed that it would be able to take as many and as fast of pictures in the continuous drive mode as my old D-380. Wrong!

I assumed that it would charge up as fast when I first turn it on. Wrong! Yup, more of the same.

I assumed that the display would be as clear. Wrong!

I assumed that the flash would work as well in low light conditions. Wrong!

As I mentioned before I made several assumptions when it came to these details. I am very pleased with my other Olympus products. So, be sure you know what you are buying and don't assume that just because you are purchasing the same brand AND upgrading in model number that you are upgrading the camera! Wrong!

I just bought this camera. I compared a few and this was the best value I found. The pictures come out clear in all modes and the flash is acceptable. It is a bit slow, but so are all of these small cameras. I've used a Ricoh and a Nikon in the type and price range before and this is the best out of the three. The movie setting is unimportant to me, but the quality of the videos is very poor. If you want to take movies, buy a movie camera. This unit is very easy to use, simple on screen settings, easy fast download via the included USB cable. I do suggest getting rechargeable batteries, but I suggest that for all of these types of cameras. All in all, the camera is small and light, easy to carry, easy to use and takes great photos for the format of camera that it is. If you want to do fine photography you must buy top of the line equipment as none of these little cameras will take those kinds of pictures. There is more to it than just mega-pixels!

I just bought this camera;after buying, two negative reviews came out on amazon.This happened before I recieved the camera;worried I tried to cancel but the camera was in the shipping process.Boy am I glad I didn,t cancel;the camera works good for me.I bought it to take fish pictures;I also have a olympus 5050(top of the line camera 5mp)so I know what a good camera can do.I also know what to expect from a $130.oo camera.This camera is good for snapshot I don,t get redeye with the flash;the movies look better than my Olympus 5050;the color is fantastic.The olympus d-395 is small light(fits in your pocket)shoots good right out of the box.I can't stress this enough,if you like simplicity and want a simple camera that shoots good with no adjustments this camera is it.The display is 120000 pixels and looks as sharp and clear as my Olympus 5050;this makes it easy to check the sharpness of your pictures(you can zoom your picture in when displaying the picture on the lcd to check them)The camera is slow shot to shot but so are most cameras in this price range.The 395 also download you pictures without software with included USB cable.I prefer to back my exposier off -.5 when shooting in bright sunny outdoor conditions.I also turned down the LCD brightness 2 clicks.If you want simplicity,easy downloads,good picture on auto,fantastic LCD resolution,compactness and OLympus quality then buy this camera.

This is my 3rd olympus camera, the previous ones are 35mm, so this is my first digital. I have always liked this brand cause for the price you pay you get a great camera. My sister has the D-380 and I was very impressed with it. I decided to upgrade and buy the D-390. Kind of dissapointed to find out that halfway the fun the two AA batteries run dead (you wont survive a party without an extra set), the time lapse between one shot and when the camera is ready for another shot is too long, almost 10 seconds. Is hard to catch good images with kids because once you push the button it doesnt take the picture for another 2 seconds, and the timer is harder to program than in other cameras. My recomedation is to purchase de D-380, the previous model, is more user friendly, it holds 4 AA batteries and cheaper. Good Luck

I received this camera as a lovely gift from a friend. I was very impressed when I opened it...really classy and tiny looking with a nice, sleek look and the cute LCD screen.

This camera is very good with picture quality! It beat my sister's ... digital camera with the quality! It records short videos (no sound) and does the auto-picture thing (set it and it takes the picture in 10 seconds). It has great options like the redeye mode, landscape mode, night mode, portrait mode, and more! You can even make your images black/white, sepia (old ancient look), or normal of course. Good customizations!

The bad. The batteries don't last very long. I'll say in about 1 hour of use, dead. So get some good batteries or at least rechargable ones to save you money.
Another bad. The zoom. The zoom is almost pointless. First of all, it doesn't zoom very close. Second, the picture quality is just terrible with each zoom you do. Because of this, you're almost without a zoom. Oh well.

Besides those 2 bad things, the camera is A-OK! Worth the money and a great gift for anyone. Really easy and fun!

I like my Olympus D-390, but here are some faults I find with it:

- doesn't use power from USB when transferring photos to computer -- drains batteries instead!
- no optical zoom
- can't turn on menus when lens barrier is closed
- no dock
- no battery charger
- must wade through menus to get to scene selector (portrait, macro, landscape etc.) -- wish this was on a physical dial like on Canons

Stuff I really like

- price ($... Cdn at ...)
- self-portrait mode, where you can point the camera at yourself (is this mode unique to Olympus?)
- lens barrier, which doubles as power switch (lower-end cameras like Kodak's often don't even have a lens cap)
- quality: 2 megapixels are adequate for 5x7's

Tips
- by default, all the settings reset when you turn the camera off. Set it so that it doesn't do this (see manual for details)
- set the flash to be always off! On one shot it made my mom look like a ghost. Besides, with it off, pictures will appear as in their natural light.

For image quality, I was quite amazed by the quality of the pictures produced by this camera. At high quality (JPEG) you can get 36 pictures on the 8MB card, and presumably, with the 64MB card ... ... that wouldbe 288 pictures! With the LCD off, the battery usage isn't too badeither. I also find that the closeup pictures (the macro mode) is also quite good, though the flash is overpowering in these situations. I'll probably experiment with a flash diffuser, possibly something as simple as a piece of white paper over the flash in these cases.

For Macs though, be prepared to work through a few problems. First of all, the cable that converts the PC serial connector to the Macintosh serial connector (for older macs like mine) isn't in the box, despite the label on the box which indicates that it's mac compatible. There's a coupon you can mail to get this connector free, but it should be in the box in my opinion. For modern macs, one would probably have to buy a USB smartmedia card reader.

Knowing this however, I also bought the SanDisk FlashDisk adapter that allows you to read smartmedia cards from your floppy disk drive (also gone in modern Macintosh computers). It too claimed to be mac compatible but it too lacked any actual support in the box. There was NO software for the mac. I had to download the drivers from the internet.

Then I found the drivers claimed that OS8.6 was necessary (I was running OS 8.5.1). I was able to read single image files off the flashdisk, but not two or more. I installed 8.6 but found I had the same problem. I was subsequently able to download multiple files when I directed them to a subdirectory instead of the desktop. I can't say for sure that this alone was the cause of the problem, but at least the whole combination worked.

8x10's are somewhat unsatisfying (of course) but 4x5's made with the camera are really good. It would probably make passable 5x7's. Overall, I'm quite pleased. Olympus lost a star for a somewhat complex user interface and no mac cable in the box.

EXCELLENT! I bought this camera largely based on the reviews that i saw here in Amazon.com. I have to say that the 5-star reviews this camera has been receiving are right on the money. This camera has everything the normal every day user would need as well as features that the advanced user would appreciate. Picture quality is generally very good. The 5 different picture quality settings give you the ability to use this camera for a variety of uses (home, office, web etc). There are so many options such as panoramic pictures, zoom/macro, ISO settings, slow shutter speeds for night/low light conditions etc.. And the 1.3 Megapixel resolution is excellent for this range of 'entry level' digital cameras. This camera is also very good for night use as it seems to be able to handle a variety of lighting levels quite well. When you consider the price it really is a VERY good buy. Once again i say EXCELLENT!

i thought it was a great camera it works great easy 2 use batteries last for a whole day unless using lcd screen. takes bout 5 sec. to write a pic. w/ 16mb card can take about 230 normal quality pics / 75 high quality / 30 super high quality.

For only $300, this camera is an excellent choice for anyone who needs to take digital photographs. It has more features than I ever thought possible, including the ability to slice a picture into 9 sections and zoom in on each one (on the LCD screen), and hook it up easily to a TV and use the slide show function to display your photos on a larger screen.

Although the positives outway the negatives, there are still some aspects I could do without. I have had the camera for 2 days (and have been using it very much as well), and already the battery low warning has appeared. I read that you should really use the AC adapter for doing 'camera --> PC' transfers, as well as connecting it to your TV. I haven't done that, so I'm sure those are 2 main reasons the batteries are already low.

Also, it is suggested that you use the LCD screen for viewing pictures only, as not only does it eat up battery life but you can take more steady pictures when using the viewer rather than the LCD.

Camera --> PC transfers are slow and you can get quite impatient waiting for the included software to index/thumbnail all the pics on the cam before you can do anything such as download, etc.

But, for the price it's an excellent camera. You can save in .bmp, .jpg, and .tif using the included software. Using the lowest image quality mode, you can store about 120 on the included 8 megabyte SmartMedia card, and they come out exceptionally well, too. 4 flash features, zoom, and more make this camera a necessity for the novice photographer or just about anyone.

Without question....buy the camera. Do what I did and check the reviews. Amazon's is slightly off mark. Most rank the D340R at the top of the "Under $300.00" class. 1280X960 TRUE megapixel resolution is hard to beat at $250.00 (what I paid) and the quality is just what others have said....1st rate!

Unlike Amazon's review, it IS a battery miser, second only to the HP C30 (1000 photos). The full motion LCD screen is the only credible drain and not using it will give you well over 700 shots on a set of AA's.

My camera came with an 8mb card. Amazon is incorrect in stating 8megs give you only 60 standard quality photos. It's 122 640x480 pictures. If you plan on doing a lot of picture posting or emailing, 640x480 size pictures don't overwhelm the servers out there. You get 36 HQ pictures (1280x960)...4x the file size of a standard quality pic. 18 SHQ pictures (1280x960 but with superb crispness and detail) fit on the card. What am I saying? You won't need to buy a spare card if you can hook up to the computer every few days or weekly at the most. I'll buy a couple extra cards for any long road trip!

A final comment on downloading. Serial cable connections are inherently slower than USB hookups. However, the Olympus D-340R's download time through it's serial connection is remarkably fast...a lot faster than HP's and Fuji's....about 5-7 secs per 640x480 pic.

I hope this helps. This camera truly is fantastic and I've become both a website buff and amateur photographer as a result. Happy New Year!

I bought my Olympus D-340R in late 1998 (I think) when it first came out, for around $300. The same money buys a lot more these days but this one has honestly been worth every penny.

It has been used (and seriously abused) pretty much daily for 5 years and is still going strong. I have NEVER had a single problem with it.

I've purchased 4 other digital cameras since this one, only to return them (a Canon, HP 320, HP 635, and Olympus D-390). Nothing beats the quality of the pics on my Olympus D-340R. I've never experienced photos with red-eyes like I did constantly with the others (I don't use the red-eye reduction - typically just point and shoot), and the color/sharpness are far superior to the others.

The drawbacks are that there is no optical zoom, and I do go through a lot of batteries (but we use the LCD alot). The megapixels could be higher, but it works ok for me. Although I use it primarily for web use, I've found the SHQ shots print out superbly (with my photo printer).

I recommend upgrading to a 128 MB memory card - I did this past year, and wowsa! I can take nearly 600 HQ pics or nearly 300 SHQ pics. I also recommend getting a memory card reader for super-fast downloading, because the serial cable is painfully slow. With a card reader you can also bypass the Camedia software, which leaves something to be desired.

I am amazed that this camera has served me so well for so long! And until I can afford a $500+ model....I'll happily keep on using it!

.... Although shaped to match the E-10, this case makes it very difficult to use the camera spontaneously -- and for general travel and everyday photography, this is a serious drawback.

I moved from a Minolta SLR to the E-10 -- the Minolta case is attached to the tripod screw of the camera body, so that you can quickly flip the main part of the case off and have it hang from the bottom of the camera -- i.e. out of the way. The E-10 has to be totally removed from the case before you can use it. If you try to keep it attached to the camera strap with the provided loop, it gets in the way. You can't use the camera with the entire case dangling from the rear left strap eyelet, obscuring both the viewfinder and LCD panel on the back, and making the camera hard to hold.

So, it takes longer to get the E-10 out of its case, and after that you have to either put down the case, stuff it in a bag or find some other way to deal with it while you take your photos.

In a recent trip to Tuscany I ended up leaving the case at home on most days, as the extra protection it offered meant plenty of candid shots that were missed -- and there's no point owning a camera if you don't take pictures.

Starting with my first SLR over 20 years ago, I've always purchased the manufacture's case for each one of my cameras including my new Olympus E-10 (awesome camera, but that's for another review.) After receiving the case and examining it firsthand, I've determined that while the quality is generally good, the design is poor.

Most good SLR type camera cases have two separate pieces. One piece fits over the bottom. The other piece usually snaps to the bottom piece and fits over the lens and top. The E-10 case is more like a pouch, where the whole camera fits inside. The camera is well protected and doesn't jiggle around. It's good for storing, but not pratical for an outing. The craftsmanship and leather used is overall quite good. The "Olympus" lettering is painted recessed and will probably start to flake off over time. (Some cases have raised attached lettering which is more durable.)

For the price, you could probably do better by buying a padded bag with compartments. On the other hand, if you like collecting accessories for your cameras (like me), you might want to go ahead and get it. It's a nice case, albeit over priced with only a so-so design. At the time of this writing, Olympus is offering a rebate on accessories which makes it an even better purchase.

If you have an Olympus E-10, you probably have to have this case to protect your camera. But that's the problem. Because you gotta have it, Olympus can run up the price and you gotta pay it. If this product sold for less, I'd give it five stars. Good quality leather, nice fit, a pocket in the lid for storing an extra memory card. Good stuff, bad price.

This site recommended this case for Olympus cameras implying that it will suit all Olympus cameras. That was a mis-information. I have an Olympus C-750 digital camera and there is no way I can push the camera in to this case. A waste of my money!

Amazon will tell you to buy this case if you order the Olympus C-750 digital camera, but don't. You couldn't fit that camera in here if an elephant stepped on it wearing a diving belt and holding an anvil.

I looked at many cases online and in the stores (Best Buy, Circuit City, CompUSA) I found that I wanted a case that was small for my new Olympus D-380 (Which I love). I wanted something that I could still tag along and not be to big and clunky. I decided to purchased the Compact camera case at Amazon.com because of it's amazing price (10.00 cheaper then store!). The case is small if you have camera larger then the D-380 I don't think it would fit. There is a belt strap in the back of the case, to hook on a belt I suppose. There also is a strap on the stop of the case to put around your wrist. There also is a small pouch on the case to store extra smartmedia cards (or digital cards). There is no room for anything else. One other thing you might consider before buying is whether you'll lug it around a lot. If you do I would recommend getting a case with a hard back or a full hard case. This protects the LCD screen against bangs and scratches.

For me this case was just right small, compact and at a great price!