Olympus Reviews

Good-quality, handy little recorder. However, I, too, had difficulty installing the device driver. The instruction manual is to blame. There are a few instructions on each page in large type, followed by footnotes in small font that at times contradict one another. In one footnote, it says to install device drivers with the recorder on stop. What does that mean? In another, it says if the new hardware wizard comes up, cancel it and install the DSS software. This also is meaningless. In my Dell XP, this is how I did it: 1) when they say make sure the recorder isn't on STOP, what they really mean is to make sure it's off, or in the HOLD position. HOLD, in other words, should be on (the recorder is off at that point). 2) plug the cord into a USB port that you plan to use every time because the driver gets associated with that port and no other. Whether the USB port is in the front or the back of the computer doesn't matter, even though the instructions say that. 3) Once plugged in, THEN turn on the recorder by taking it off HOLD. The screen will say REMOTE. 4) Make sure you've already installed the recorder software on your hard-drive, which by the way, does NOT auto'lly install the device driver. 5) Once the REMOTE screen comes on, your XP PC will sense its presence, and throw up the new hardware device wizard. Don't Cancel, as the Olympus manual suggests, but instead select to manually install certain portions of the software (the device driver). The next screen will offer to install a device driver and ask from which source you want to get it from -- the CD in your CD-ROM drive or the Windows System folder. I think either would work, but I selected the CD-ROM to ensure an exact match. However, I believe the DSS Player software installs the the correct driver into your system folder at the time it's installed, WITHOUT INSTALLING THAT DRIVER FOR YOU. You have to do that using that wizard.

Finish out the wizard screen. That's it.

If you plug the recorder into another USB port another time, you'll have to go through the wizard again. It's just a guess, but if you don't have your CD-ROM handy, it's likely the driver in the Windows/System folder is the correct one and can be used.

The recorder and its accompanying Mac software work great. I noticed one reviewer said the included software does not work in OS 10.2, which is true: the version on the CD would not run after installation. However, after quick trip to Olympus' web site, I downloaded and installed the software.

I like how the software allows you to manage the recordings on the voice recorder, listen to them before downloading, download only what you want, and export them to AIFF files, which can be played by QuickTime.

I use the recorder with a phone recording controller (from Radio Shack) that lets me record interviews I conduct on the phone. I can save the interview file on my hard drive along with my notes.

I've had mine for a week now and can find very little fault with this sleek little device. I've not even hooked up the USB connection to my PC. My purpose in purchasing this device was for simple note taking (dictation and idea capturing) and not for recording meetings. On the "SP" and "dictation" settings, voice playback is crisp and clean, sounding like typical tape-based audio recorders. It seems to provide the best output speaking in a normal voice holding the unit about 1 foot away.

My primary intent in selecting a recorder was ease of use, durability, size, quality and price. So far, the Olympus DS-330 has proven easy to use. Turn on using the "hold" slider, hit "new" for a new file, hit "rec" to start recording and "stop" to stop. The unit defaults to appending to the current file so to continue recording, you simply hit "rec" again. The "rew" rewind function is cool, counting back on the LCD timer to any spot along the way. Hit "play" to listen to your output and hit "erase" and the file is gone, or drop it to your PC for safekeeping.

For this simple mode of operation, it's hard for me to imagine this not being an excellent fit. With lots of time in the field, I'll be interested to see how durable it is and how long the batteries last. It fits comfortably in the palm of my very large hands and comes with a really nice carrying case (like a lot of todays digital phones with a wrap-around, use-in-the-case design). With today's dark (black) colored personal computing devices, this Olympus unit fits right in (did I mention it was sleek looking?). Note, this is kind of a "duh" point, but output is monaural, not stereo, and you'll only get sound in one ear of your headphones using the "ear" plug. The price is a little higher than a lot of units, but I sense it's worth it (particularly if you're after the advanced features).

So far, awesome!

I used this recorder to record class lectures. In the small room that I used it in, the microphone worked very well. However, I was going to buy a nice external microphone if my recorder hadn't gotten fried (more below). I got the DS-2000 not only because it was from Olympus, but because one can use smart media to get more memory-- Olympus says it gets 22 hours or so on 64 mb of memory but not really--- you have to use the bad quality recording mode to get that much. I couldn't work with the bad quality recording mode-- it was just too bad for me.

All in all it was a good recorder. I did notice beeps in the recording occasionally (and with another Olypus recorder) but it was not at all frequent and not really a problem. The DS-2000 has a nice layout with easy to use tools.

Mine worked very well untill I plugged it into a car power adapter that I had in my car cigarette lighter. After a few seconds, for some reason, the electronics in the recorder started to burn and now it doesn't record right. I was hoping it was the memory card that got broken, but I might have to get a new recorder. If I do have to get a new recorder, I was probably going to get an Olympus DM-1. It is mostly the same as the DS-2000, I think, but with a better sound system and a few other features. I really plan to one day get a recorder that records in 44Kbps or more. The DS-2000 uses I think 12 Kbps in its best quality mode. I am going to wait until the prices come down on those, though.

Thank you for reading all of this.
Bottom line: The DS-2000 was a good recorder, but I would probably buy the DM-1 if I had to buy another recorder right away. I would buy an external microphone (though I have never used one). It seems to me that that might help in the recording quality. Eventually, I am going to get a recorder that has the highest recording quality I can afford (44Kbps or more)(I think the Olympus DM-90 currently has good quality).

I've bought analog recorders for years and constantly been disappointed in the microphone quality, not to mention the annoyance of dealing with tapes. If you want quality you have to pay for it, and you pretty much get it with this product. In my case I was able to set it on a table and pick up presentation style audio more than 15 feet away (assumes the individuals were projecting, but not shouting). The playback was quite clear. The size, weight and functionality are good. The MP3 playback was nice, but dedicated MP3 players will always have better features.

My only complaint is that after more than a year, the price doesn't seem to have come down much. Considering that Olympus sells an improved DM-1 model for a similar amount, I would've expected a lower price for this.

I originally gave this product 4 stars, but after using it moderately for 10 months, have lowered it to 3 stars. My reason is that in less than a year, the headphones plug has malfunctioned so that audio only works in one ear, and to my surprise, the speaker stopped working. I understand that expensive electronics such as this can be fragile. But my advice to anyone purchasing this is to handle with care and keep your receipt and packaging ready.

and is very good at it. I really like the VCVA feature. You can control the sensivity as well. Also the switch for dictation vs conference is very useful as well. Awesome/fast tech support. Had few questions about the software, and got them all answered in 5 mins.

The most important thing about digital voice recorders is: they should be easy to control and navigate. I must say DS-2000 is very easy to control and use.

Wish List:
It would be awesome if the software had the capability to export to mp3 format.

On May 29, 2004 I ordered the digital recorder, based upon the glowing reviews that I've read about the sound quality. I'm a barbershopper and wanted to have high fidelity digital recordings for the chorus web site and for learning tapes. The device is tiny, sleek and shiny like an elongated lighter. It sounded sensational with the little ear buds, but came with no protective case. On 07/09/04 it stopped working entirely. The display did not light up, yet the batteries were new (2 days old)and the battery display showed that it was fully charged the day before. I was heading out for a rehearsal, and had it on my wrist by the strap. My guess is that it must have bumped into the car door as I slid into the driver's seat. When I took it off my wrist to put on the seat belt, that's when I discovered that the display was dead. I opened the battery slide and the little coil that pushes against the battery sprung out. Without that in place the recorder cannot work. Because the failure happened more than a month after purchase, Home Depot would not cover it. Olympus is having me send it back. We'll see what happens. It's a nice device, with great fidelity, but it's incredibly fragile. I'd hesitate before recommending it.

Yes, the features of this machine are nice, but the DSS format's name "Digital Speech Standard" and Olympus's touting of it as an "international standard" are deliberately misleading. In fact, Olympus owns it and does not even make it available enough for software vendors to develop conversion software. There is no way to, for instance, convert a CD audio, or MP3, or any other audio file into DSS format in order to play it on the DM-10. If you buy the thing thinking you can load 10 hours of CD audio books onto it, you will find that instead you only get 1 hour (in WMA format). And if you call Olympus to ask about it, their tech support people based in India will just tell you tough luck.

I purchased the DM-20, which has twice the storage. I would recommend finding that one if you plan to use it much for music. It has great support for Windows Media Audio .wma and .mp3 files, and their proprietary format. I try to do everything in .wma. At the lowest quality compression setting you get a very long recording time. Navigation is easy. The controls are set out well. The LCD has good info and lots of options. The voice recording quality is excellent, especially from the remote control plug-in microphone (which might not be available in all versions).

...I took a chance that this was the same product that I saw on the Olympus web site (Olympus part number 200860) and ordered it, and it is. It contains the following items:

1 - Camera bag - this padded bag features a shoulder strap and outside zippered pocket for storage of additional cards or batteries. Width 4.5" x Height 6" x Depth 3.0"
2 - 4 AA Ni-MH (1700 mah) batteries with overnight battery charger
3 - xD/SmartMedia USB Reader/Writer
4 - CAMEDIA 4.0 Pro software

For <... this is a pretty good deal, as many places will charge more than half this amount for the NiMH batteries and charger. Additionally, since my Olympus camera didn't come with a bag, this package makes even more sense.

The USB Smartmedia reader means that I don't have to turn the camera on to read the Smartmedia cards, which will be nice.

...So, if you just bought (or are buying) an Olympus digital camera, you should consider this item. The price is great and you'll need everything in it, anyways.

First of all, yes it is a glutton for batteries. I habitually use rechargables anyway and recomend others do the same. You might also want to get an adapter to run it off house current so you don't run down the batteries while it's hooked up to your PC.
As for image clarity, remember that this is a digital camera. It takes a moment after the button is pushed for the camera to take the picture and it must be held steady until it's finished (the higher the resolution the longer it takes). This can be difficult especially when trying to use the panorama funtion. I recomend buying a folding mini tripod to keep it steady. Also there many presets on the camera that will effect the quality of the picture. Everthing from flash to exposure time to day or night pictures. It's a good idea to take a test picture or two to make sure conditions are right.
In short, this is not the kind of camera you can whip out at a moments notice and take a quick snapshot with. If that's what you're looking for them stick to a 35mm.
Oh, and it was mentioned in an earlier review that this camera does not save it's settings and funtions such as flash, resolution, and various picture modes must be reset manually each time the camera is turned on. Not true. There is a selection in the setup menu which lets you choose wether or not settings will be saved when the camera is off. Though if it looses power for too long it will return to factory presets.

In conclusion, it's a good camera as long as you bear it's limitations in mind while using it. I've printed out some pictures on glossy photo paper that are indistinguishable from regular photographs.

Takes very good quality photos, but the batteries run out after a day of use. It also freezes up quite a bit-i.e. you can't close the front bc the lense will not retract.

I've been reading some appalling reviews for the D-560, and I can't sit by without asking if we're talking about the same camera? I've had one for two months, and it's the most incredible photo taking device I've ever seen....
If people would take the time to actually read the book instead of putting a pair of alkaline cells into it, pointing it at something, stabbing the shutter button then complaining about the result, they might take decent pictures with it.
This camera is designed for NiMH or CR-V3 batteries (but which are not supplied with it), the book says so. It has auto-focus which takes a moment to lock onto the subject or it will produce blurred pictures. The book explains this. If you move the camera while taking a low-light photo, it will be blurred, as with every camera. Geez!
Very few of the photos I've taken with the D-560 have disappointed me. Many have amazed me and others with their sharpness and rich colour.
I love this camera so much that I've given it a web page to show off what it can do. I'm not allowed to give the URL, but a Google search for 'Olympus C-350/D-560 photo gallery' should find it. ;-)

I received this camera as a gift and subsequently took it on a long trip to Russia (instead of my bulky SLR film camera). This camera was outstanding: easy to use, produces good quality pictures, lightweight. It makes toting "regular" camera gear around too cumbersome to contemplate: this camera slips into a pants pocket easily enough. As my first digital camera, it's everything I had hoped it would be and more.

The software (Olympus's Camedia) is pretty good and relatively easy to use, although managing your pictures can be more work than it needs to be. Maybe I'll upgrade that to the Pro version. Nonetheless, I was downloading pictures quickly and everything worked cleanly. The main reason to use the software (rotating pictures) is convenient.

The camera itself is lightweight and pretty durable (my son dropped it a few times and it survived just fine). The 16 MB card that comes with it is too small for realistic use, but a 128 MB card is easy to purchase: budget for it, as you'll want the storage. There are only a few minor annoyances that you'll want to compare to other cameras before choosing this one (I don't think anyone else does it any better).

First, this camera (like many digital cameras) devours batteries. The "low battery" warning comes on very quickly--way too quickly, since battery life far exceeds the warning. However: as the battery runs down, the camera itself processes more and more slowly. So I've found that you'll often miss shots because you need to know about a second in advance to push the button. The lag between "go" and the camera firing is annoying.

Second, the zoom control is a bit difficult to use. It's located on top of the camera and twists, an action that I find difficult to perform while aiming the camera. I've taken to holding the camera at about chest level to shoot pictures so that I have better control.

Overall, the picture quality settings are easy to manage and the pictures themselves are bright, clear, and sharp. The autofocus is almost always perfect and you'll rarely dig into the menus to adjust the camera performance. The panorama capability doesn't seem to work, but it's an extraneous feature.

In any case, this is a great little camera. It does everything a digital camera should, is well made, and makes me a happy camper.

This tiny, light and easy to use camera is a perfect choice for those who aren't professionals, but in some cases even for those... the Super macro mode, which lets it take pictures from 2 cm away, is awsome, and you can't find this on no other camera inn it's price category...It takes great crispy pictures and it has a super-powered flash light.. Except it doesn't record sounds...it's the perfect camera.

I searched high and low for a new digital camera, buying and returning 4 different cameras in a week before finding this awesome little Olympus. I tried cameras from Kodak, Fuji, and Canon and none of them compared to this camera. It is small, simple to use, and affordable. First off the LCD display is extremely crisp and clear and the menus are very user-friendly. The camera starts up fasts and takes pictures relatively quickly also. I will say, it is not the best with batteries.(a common problem in digital cameras though) Just invest in some good rechargables, it's worth it. Anyway, my pictures, snapshots and closeups, come out very sharp and look comparable to those taken with a 5mp camera I have. I think if you are looking for an affordable, portable, great new digital camera invest in the Camedia-540.

A couple things: Pros: 1. I have dropped my Olympus d450 several times, and once I slammed it in a car door (in its case). For some strange reason, it still works fine.

2. You can get an mp3 player that uses the same type of memory card (smartmedia), buy a 32 Meg (smartmedia) chip, and reformat the card for either device when the occasion calls. A 32 meg card can hold either a couple hundred pictures, or about an hour of music.

3. The floppy adapter works well to transfer files to/from the smartmedia card, and a usb smartmedia card reader works even better. However, downloading data using camera and serial cable is quiet an frustrating process (batteriy draning, time intensive, etc.)

CONS- 1: Start stockpiling AA batteries now, especially if you really like using the LCD screen instead of the viewfinder.

2: This isn't the kind of camera you can whip out real fast and and take an instantaneous photo. It takes about four seconds from when you slide the cover open to when you can snap a picture.

All in all, a good buy

Run and buy this camera. I received this a xmas present, and have not stopped telling people about this amazing product. My mom, who is not very techy, loved taking pictures and found it very easy to use, but left the processing to me. The 3x Optical Zoom gives you great close-ups. The camera is very easy to use, once you figure out the menus. the flash is very powerful, can make a dark room at night look like a daytime picture. The video-out allows you to give friends and family a slide show of your favorite pictures. Color is superior to any other camera I have seen. I took pictures and printed on Epson 740 with Epson Photo Paper, my mom was amazed, she thought I had got my pictures developed at the store. The photo quality was fantastic. Buy a film reader, buy rechargeables and buy a 32mb smartmedia card (Holds 146 HQ Pictures). The included software is wonderful, went onto Win98 without any trouble. The software allows you to change backgrounds, really do amazing things with your pictures. I am really impressed with this product. The only drawback is the batteries it eats. (20 batteries in 8 days)

I got this camera used as a gift from my stepfather, and it has been a love affair ever since. Having never used another digital camera I assumed that most cameras were just as fun. I have since realized that this thing is a gem. It is now 2004 and it is discontinued and seems to be going up in market value. The thing that I love the most about the camera after using other cameras is that it will take the picture when you press the button!!!!That is sooo important...the child turns to look at the camera and you have the picture! The other thing I love about it is that I can take night pictures with it. The camera doesn't question my judgement...it will let me shoot in pitch black and then I can take it back to the computer and pull the image out digitally.... They are selling much fancier cameras now...but I want another one of these..(even though mine is working fine)