Olympus Reviews

This is a great camera, however be aware that when you order, the camera does not come with batteries.

I recently purchased a 140DLX, and I just got my first set of pictures back. I have NO formal photographic training, but I was simply blown away by the quality of the photos I got back. To me, they looked similar to photos I've seen from really expensive, complicated cameras with all those removable lenses.

I wanted to buy an APS camera, because of the simplicity of loading film. If this is a concern of yours, buy this camera. It's ridiculously easy. APS film shots tend to look grainy, because the negative is smaller than 35mm, so there's another plus.

To me, the coolest feature was spot metering. You can get some really incredible color and life in your photos, and you can also simulate "focusing" on one object, while having other objects in the scene out of focus.

I suggest reading the entire manual, then blow a test roll (find a willing sibling, like I did) on the camera with different camera settings and lighting conditions so you can see what it will do when you really need it. And make SURE to try spot metering on things in the foreground and background so you get the concept. You'll be really impressed with this camera!

- Adam

Very easy to use and very user friendly. I do alot of outdoor photos and the and the weather proof feature alone is worth the price of the camera. Great photo's , all the features I use on my larger SLR, but it fits in my shirt pocket.

I bought it to take pix at my kid's birth. Every single close-up came out blurry. 100% of them. I also missed several pictures because of the "flash 50 times before taking the darn picture" system. Like most of the new point and shoot autofocus (supposedly) cameras, this one has cumbersome unnecessary technology. What I wouldn't give to have my 1989 Canon SureShot Zoom S back. I didn't know how good I had it.

I have used this king camera for four months. At the first time I hold it. I thought it is really a cool camera. The appearance is like streamline, and with the golden color. It looks really great. After I used it, I found it is very convient to get a perfect picture with it, nomatter how bad the weather is. Of course, you cannot use it in the storm. :-) But there is a little problem. I don't know whether it is only my camera's problem. That is when you print the date on the picture, the date and time will not be shown on your pictures very clearly. So that is the reason I give this product 4 stars, but not 5 stars. Anyway, I think it is a good choice for this model. And I have already recommended it to my friends. Some of them also bought it and all of them thought this type of camera is not bad.

I love this camera! Just got my two rolls back...easy to use...
easy to carry....great zoom....can't say enough!

Pictures outside are beautiful...even took some pix inside without the flash of an entertainer (where camera's were not allowed)...and they came out perfect!

Patty

I waited with much anticipation for this camera to be stocked after reading about it's new features in the press release in the fall. I purchased it as a gift for my wife for Christmas because our 6-year old Olympus Stylus Zoom 105 needed major repair. Our old camera took GREAT pictures - sharp, balanced exposures, great variable flash, etc. So, I had no problems buying another Olympus. I looked at the existing Olympus Zooms (115,140,170), but after comparing the pictures from my brother's Zoom 115 to our old Zoom 105, they still didn't seem as good. So I decided on the new Zoom 105.
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Overall, the new Zoom 105 camera is significantly (~15%) smaller than the old one. I like the cool metal shell better than the old plastic one. I was hoping that the AF system was as good as or better than the old one since it claims to be a 'new 11-point multi-wide advanced combination autofocus'.
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During an outdoor (daytime) event, we shot a whole roll of film using the new camera (fully-auto settings) in a variety of settings while my brother's wife used their Zoom 115. After comparing the pictures side by side (same processing), the shortcomings of our new camera are obvious. The pictures are VERY disappointing. The focus is not near as sharp as the old camera, or even the Zoom 115. The edges of the shots are much darker, also. We have taken several rolls in various environments all with roughly the same outcome. Perhaps we just got an early production-run lemon. For Olympus' sake, I hope so.

When buying this camera, I had huge expectations. I previously had a canon, however it was getting a bit old. When I purchase a camera I look for one that is stylish as well as good quality. Many of my friends recommended olympus' cameras to me and so after much research I finally bought the Stylus Select 105. When buying this camera, I expected a top of the line pocket-sized camera. I half-got what I was expecting. It takes wonderful outdoor pictures which are very vivid and clear. However, in dark rooms or at night the pictures can get a little grainy and not as bright as I would want them to be. In the beginning, I tried using the nighttime features as well as the red-eye, however, DO NOT use it unless you have a tripod with you. The manual recommends a tripod, but I decided not to listen and tried it anyway. My returned pictures were blurry and awful. I couldn't even put them in my photo album they were so bad. But I'm much more careful now and don't even bother using the nighttime or red eye features. They're not even worth using unless you carry a tripod with you everywhere you go. Maybe the stylus select 105 did not live up to my expectations, but I do have to admit that it is very sturdy. Also, the camera case givin in the kit is horrible. Don't expect it to provide any protection. The stylus select 105 probably wouldn't need the protection, but I prefer to have some kind of padding protecting my camera even if it has an all-metal body.

This is such a good camera!!!!!!!!!!!!
It is so small, ALL-weather, metal body, a powerful zoom, a big LCD screen, and if that's not enough, it comes with a complete set that contains the camera(duuuh), a CR2 battery, a case, a strap, an extended warranty, and a remote control. What else can you ask for? Maybe you can say the zoom is actually not so good, but a lens of 38-105m, is actually a pretty nice zoom, because if you have a mega-zoom like 150 or something, you're never gonna use it!
If you are those who drop the camera very often, then this is your chance. A complete metal body so it won't be broken, and if you drop I mud it's all weather!
I extremely recommend this camera, besides, I don't know what happened to meubanks64 or something because it always takes sharp pictures with so nice colors.

I really loved this camera, but the sliding "door" broke and wouldn't close after only a few months of minimal usage. I don't know if I got a lemon, or what. The camera was never dropped or otherwise abused. I had had another Olympus for years with the same design, that worked great--it's really easy to get quick shots when you can slide off the lens cover and turn on the camera all in one quick motion ; I will most likely try another one even after my bad experience with this one. I hope that they have solved this issue, if it was widespread--at least one other reviewer mentioned the same problem...

Not liking point-and-shoot cameras made it difficult for me to decide to get one for a recent trip overseas. I wanted something light, easy to use, and easy to hide (so as no to look like an American tourist). I decided on this camera because of recommendations by friends, but also took my heavy SLR with me in my carry-on luggage. Then, while abroad I decided to mostly use my little camera due to its size.

I never saw the pictures until I got home and had the photos developed (at a good camera shop). Was I thrilled! They were absolutely great. The colors were bright and true. The details were sharp enough to reproduce by scanner and send as attachments onto emails to my family overseas.

The camera itself I often carried hidden in my purse, but it was always ready. The only time I was disappointed in its performance was when I ran out of film! Of course, that was my fault, not the camera's.

It's so easy to use. Very often I had others taking pictures of me. Generally all they would ask was which button to push. Even the most inexperienced picture taker came up with terrific shots!

I would say that this is an excellent camera for its price. If you get it, you won't be disappointed.

About a year ago I reviewed this camera and was crazy about it. I haven't found any reasons to change my mind. If anything, I like it more now than I did then.

I just took it along on another vacation (Cancun, Mexico, this time around) and it was the perfect choice. This time I also brought one of my Nikons and a few lenses to use for my more "serious" photography.

Score it 9 rolls of film for the Olympus and 2 for the Nikon. I won't say that the Olympus pictures are "better". What I'll say instead is that since the Olympus was so easy to carry around I found myself doing so more than I would the 10 lbs of Nikon equipment.

Again, I've found that the night flash mode is a beaut. I took a picture of my girlfriend on a pier with the sunset for a background. Using this flashmode, the foreground was filled in perfectly and the background sunset had fantastic color saturation.

I'm still going to use my Nikons as I have for well over 20 years, but maybe not as often.

By the way, I've read a few reviews saying that the Olympus is fragile. I haven't found that to be the case under normal use.

Edited 1/13/04: I just sold mine after three years to purchase a Canon A70 digital.

I guess it's time to move on from the "old" technology and learn something new.

If my A70 gives me as much pleasure as this little Olympus did I'll have it around for quite a while.

Bought this camera to replace one I had actually worn out! I run a lot of film through a camera in a year. This point and shoot camera gave me sharp pictures with good color on 400ASA film, indoors with flash. The flash was effective to 17 feet away. I put 200 ASA film in and shot pictures both indoors and out. Results were more than satisfactory. I plan to take this camera to Italy with me instead of my SLR. The zoom is smooth, and the image in the viewfinder is very close to actual picture. I love it! Worth every penny!

I have owned quite a few cameras in my life, and feel this is one of the best I have come across. The zoom is excellent, and so far, only two rolls of film used, I have had zero failures. The buttons are a little bit small, and I just need to get used to that, the zoom is easy to use. The feel of the camera is good, despite its small size, it fits well in the hand. The point and shoot era is here, and all the years of my using a Nikon 35mm slr seem to be over. This is just too simple and easy. To go back to the changing lenses, carrying all the baggage, etc hardly seems worth the effort if the end result is as good or better.

This is simply a great camera. I have used it for over 2 years. I bought it at buy.com when it was newly released. We bought it primarily for the zoom. The zoom is simply excellent. This is one of the best point and shoot i have used. I have used Canon and Minolta before. The controls are all conveniontly placed and the zoom works great. I have never missed a picture.

At last, here is an all-purpose, easy-to-use camera that provides a variety of built-in accessories. The Olympus Stylus Zoom 115 QD camera is a great find at a reasonable cost. Best of all, the learning curve is short. After 30 years of using a 35-mm Pentax with six exchangeable lenses, and another 15 years of using one of the first one-step Minoltas, I began to look for a simple camera that was lightweight and not fussy.

I needed a camera that could take excellent quality, in-focus shots of my craft booth set up, because show juries demand them. The camera needed to be small, durable, tough, and take the same quality shots indoors and out, with natural lighting and under fluorescent and indoor stadium lighting. If the same camera could take some close ups of my jewelry so I could scan the shots and send them to clients to give them an idea of a design, so much the better. And I didn't have a lot of money to spare, either.

After some in-person and on-line research I decided on the Olympus Epic Zoom 115 QD. I read through the instruction book once. I made one mistake loading the film (if you don't load it right the first time, don't push "rewind" -the tail end of the film will be sucked into the roll). That was it. My first roll produced some good shots and some excellent shots, and the second roll had no throw-away shots. The variable focus provides a lot of flexibility. No red eyes on flash, not even on the cats. No complaints. For the price, snap this camera up.

I've only used this camera so far for black and white photos, but these have surpassed my expectations. The clarity is close to professional quality. The automatic focus is right on target, producing great shots indoors or out. I did not use a tripod at all. So it must be the camera, because it definitely isn't the skill of the photographer! This camera has lots of features and the size is just right to slip into a pocket. In fact, I carried two cameras with me on my last trip--this one for black and white, and another for slides, and they both fit into the same case--the Olympus in the film pocket. I like the metal protective lens cover, too.

The camera is compact, solid but light, and very easy to use. The images are very good to excellent. All the features seems to work just fine. The telephoto lens really brings images in. Its relative resistance to water-spray helps with boating photography. So far it has worked without a hitch. Though I own a digital camera, I believe that a film camera like this is still preferable for travel or for taking many pictures in a short time. All you have to do is plop a new film in and keep going, and then drop it off for development and you will end up with photos that will not fade out in a few years. I highly recommend this Olympus for an uncomplicated way of handling photography in an economical fashion and ending up with excellent results.