Digital-Camera Reviews

I'm the unofficial photographer for my kid's high school tennis team. I go to all the matches I can and take a zillion photos that I then upload to the net for use by the school and the kids on the team and their parents. I need a versatile unit that works well in all lighting conditions, which is good for action photography and has very good dtorage capacity.

This camera more than fits the bill.

Picture resolution is exceptional even on zoom action shots on the court. It works well with a variety of lighting conditions, a feature I especially like as a lot of my work is in the very late afternoon/early evening time when the court lights come on but some sunlight is still available but changing minute by minute. Changing settings is quick and easy. The only major flaw I can detect for the whole unit is the fluorescent lighting setting is lousy-stay with the standard incandescent setting for better results.

The camera has good storage capacity. It quickly shifts between photos in "view" mode, a feature I like as it allows me to ditch less desirable shots on the fly so as to maximize card storage capacity.

The unit also does excellent close up work. On a recent vacation to Nova Scotia I took a lot of wildflower pictures and they turned out fantastic.

The USB connection is easy to set up and use. There is a Camedia CD for working with your pictures on a pc but it is very basic and offers somewhat limited utility-I use a different photo-shop type program.

A lot of people gripe about the lens cap on the Olympus products. While it's true they were a disaster in previous times, it has improved greatly. Just weave the strap onto one of the side strap bars and all will be well.

I personally find the viewfinder a bit awkward to use and usually just use the LCD on the back to view and set up the pics. On the other hand, my wife loves the viewfinder and that's all she ever uses. I think this is a matter of taste rather than any particular engineering issue.

On the whole, an excellent value for the price on a slew of fronts. I don't see how you could be disappointed with this camera.

The Olympus C-700 is an absolutely amazing camera. First off, it has a 10x zoom lens that's equal to 38-380 mm (in 35mm) -- or an even more phenomenal 38-1,026 mm(!) if one counts the 2.7x digital zoom. So if you're looking for "telephoto," this camera has it in spades!

The camera is even fantastic indoors and in low light (inside or at night). The camera adjusts the exposure to the equivalent of 800-speed film, but I'd swear the sensitivity is even higher. I've gone to indoor theatrical events and shot - with no flash, hand-held and with telephoto -- and the photos have come out great!

Nighttime images are also a piece-of-cake. Long exposures are rendered perfectly (and not washed out)! And even when the scene is too dark to see on the display before the shot is taken, the actual photo is viewable immediately afterwards in all of its splendor. The camera's "exposure lock" is also handy for locking-in the proper exposure indoors (which is useful when the lighting changes dramatically during a stage show, or when the performers are only in the spotlights). Simply press the exposure lock, verify the exposure in the viewfinder's LCD display -- and repeat the procedure until you achieve the level of brightness desired. (Using the exposure lock -- and adjusting the brightness using the digital viewfinder -- takes the guesswork out of overcoming previously difficult indoor lighting situations).

My favorite use for the C-700, though, is taking photos of my kids playing basketball indoors. The camera's dimunitive size (being much smaller than a normal SLR) makes the unit easy to hand-hold and maneuver under all photographic situations. And although the camera's normal focus is slow (like most digital cameras), the shutter will fire almost instantaneously -- if you pre-focus ahead of time (so catching the action is not a problem). (The C-700 will also take a few seconds, in addition, to recover for the next shot; so its important to plan accordingly.) Digital photos of my kids playing basketball are now scattered liberally throughout their rooms. My kids love 'em!

The camera has two LCD displays; one on the camera's back -- and one in the viewfinder; the latter providing an SLR-like view of the actual photo -- both before and after its taken. The LCD viewfinder is ideal for accurate composition, especially when the zoom range is so broad. But both displays will tend to wash-out when shooting in bright sun; so I'll normally end up cupping my hand over the eyepiece when I shoot outdoors. (If most of your photography will be outside -- and if you don't need the ultra long zoom lens offered by the C-700 -- then I would urge you to consider purchasing, as an alternative, a digital camera with a traditional glass viewfinder. Viewing the image in the see-through viewfinder will be much easier -- and much more satisfying.)

Even though printing photos from my PC isn't a problem, my favorite way of outputting shots from my Olympus C-700 is actually -- to bypass the computer entirely -- and use HP's new PhotoSmart PS 100 printer, which reads from the camera's Smart Media card directly. Since both the Olympus and HP save and read, respectively, in what's called DPOF (digital print order format) -- I can crop (and select) the photos I want to print on the camera's rear LCD screen -- pop the Smart Media card into the printer -- and then print borderless 4" x 6" photos by hitting just the "Print" button (since the PS 100 will always call-up the DPOF pictures first). What could be easier?

With its 2.1 megapixel capability, the camera also makes great 8 x 10's, which I output in the more traditional manner from my computer to my HP Photosmart 1315 or HP 990 Cse printers.

All in all, the Olympus C-700 is a great digital camera -- which I use to supplment (but not replace) my 35 mm Nikon SLR, Canon underwater, and Olympus point-and-shoot cameras.

If you're looking for a telephoto digital camera, you won't find a longer, more usable range -- in such a small size -- anywhere else! And if you want to shoot indoors or in low light -- you'll be truly amazed by the (previously unobtainable) shots you'll now be able to take. This digital camera has easily expanded my photographic horizons -- in ways I never anticipated. For the above situations (and a whole bunch more) -- the Olympus C-700 is now my camera of choice!

I've owned this camera for several years now and although the resolution is starting to get low by todays standards, I still greatly enjoy this camera. I absolutely love the 10x zoom, and the pictures taken are much better than if you would have a cheapy low-end 3-4 megapixel camera. For anyone on a budget, this camera now offers alot of quality for an affordable price.

Strengths:

1. 4x optical zoom. Most digicams in this price range only have 3x, and most lower-priced cameras only have a 2x or no zoom at all.

2. Pop-up flash. Many owners of the Coolpix 990 and 950 have significant red-eye trouble. Popping up the flash on the 995 gets it far enough away from the lens to eliminate most red-eye troubles.

3. High resolution. 3.3 megapixels in a quality camera like this is more than enough for most serious amateurs. The only time this will become a limitation is if you want to make obscenely large prints (probably 16" x 20" or larger, and even then I don't think it would be a significant degradation) or if you want to crop significantly and make an 8" x 10" or something in that range. I have been very pleased with my results, even in...

4. Auto mode. The 995 has a steep learning curve if you want to really take advantage of its full feature set. But its auto mode is intuitive enough that you can take the camera out of the box and start taking quality shots immediately. The auto mode is no more complicated than any point-and-shoot camera. Excellent feature.

Weaknesses:

1. 16 mb CompactFlash card. This one is really a joke. Nikon should have included at least a 32mb card and probably a 128. I strongly suggest purchasing a larger CF card immediately. Most CF cards have fallen to the 50 cents per meg range now (January 2002), so you should be able to get a good name-brand 128mb CF card for $60 or so. Do it. Now.

2. Digital zoom. Worthless. The pixellization is horrendous, and unless you have a huge amount of light the lens speed is such that you really need a tripod to avoid camera shake.

3. Lens speed. With no zoom the aperture is f/2.6. The further you zoom, the worse it gets. If you don't have a tripod, I strongly suggest one (the 995's mount is sturdy and well-made, by the way).

4. No case included. Again, something you definitely need. I've had very good luck with LowePro, and they're reasonably priced.

5. Complicated menu system. To take advantage of all the features of this excellent camera, you really need to spend significant time reading the manual and exploring the extensive menu system. Not for the faint of heart.

I've given 4 out of 5 stars, with one star removed due to the above weaknesses. But this is a fantastic camera. I've had mine for only about three weeks and I've already taken more than 300 shots, many of them excellent. I highly recommend it.

I have owned 2 or three 35mm SLR cameras and based on
reputation, decided to go with the Nikon 995 for digital photography. I could not be more pleased with this purchase. Whether you point and shoot with the auto mode or
go for controlled effects with manual, this thing makes wonderful pictures. The 995 has it all--the pixels, the zoom, the monitor, the close-ups, the convenience AND simple to use. Like the camera, accessories are precision made albeit somewhat pricey, but hey--you're getting the quality of a Nikon.
Every conceivable option is available including telephoto
lense, wide-angle, fisheye, and assorted filters to name a few. The camera design allows 360 degree vertical rotation so
one can look into the monitor AND shoot the photographer.
The location of the built-in flash reduces redeye over prior models. I have read a few reviews where someone had trouble loading onto their computer. I am a computer neandrethal and this puppy was up and running in a few minutes without a single hassle. Color is fantastic, but it helps to orchestrate your lighting for professional results. I could go rambling on,
but let's keep it succinct, "you get what you pay for" has
never been more true than with the Nikon 995.

I have been using the 995 since 2001, I am a medical Radiologist, in my field everybody needs a high quality digital camara aid for storing cases. The results using my Nikon 995 compared to other cameras (from my collegues) in the same range are breath taking!! You a get a great Nikor lens, with a very convenient Makro and so many manual options that makes it impossible to need another camera.
Plus you can have add-ons that the others don't have like the slide reproducer that lets you digitize all the old slides!!. I have literaly taken thousands of pictures and works as good as new. The 995 lets you take charge when you need to, but also has the automatic ¨SNAPPY¨ mode for easier shots. It's a must have. After comparing I can't imagine 3 years later why would I want to change it for another.

Very nice camera. Easy to use. Takes great pictures and the Kodak software is MUCH better than the HP software I'm using now. BUT if you need non warranty service, like drop the camera or get it wet, your in deep do-do. I spilled something on the front of the camera, barely got it wet. United Camera and Binocular Repair, Kodak's nonwarranty repair center, wanted $193 to repair it.. Of coarse I'm not going to pay that much since the camera didnt cost much more than that anyway. I'm using an HP now and even though I dont like it as much as I did the Kodak, I'll never buy a camera from Kodak again.

I have been eyeing digital cameras for at least one year. Two things drew me to the Kodak DX6340: 1.) The 4X OPTICAL zoom, which for some reason breaks the 3X optical zoom standand, 2.) The review by Consumer Reports.

Regardless of the Consumer Reports rating I am extremely happy with the camera, but a few things CR pointed out confirmed my decision:

1.) Longest battery life. CR claims 900 photos, but that is without using the LCD. With heavy use of the LCD I get about 200 photos. Either way it is about 2-4 times comparable cameras.
2.) Shortest delay between shots at 2 sec. Next best was 3 sec according to CR which is a 50% increase in delay.
3.) LCD size. This camera has 1.8" and many comparables have 1.5". Translated, this camera has 20% more viewing area.
4.) Price. Of the top 4-5 comparible cameras reviewed in CR, this was the cheapest.

Also, software was very easy to install, and is better than all the software that came with either my printer or scanner.

Here are my observations with this camera after using it for over 4 months now.
1) It is easy to use. Almost anyone could use this camera instinctively.
2) The pictures it takes are sharp enough but don't expect to get Hasselblad clarity and depth with this camera. Like most digital cameras, you will enjoy the point and shoot convenience that filmless photography offers. Remember, if you don't like a photo just delete it and take another shot if you want to.
3) The DX6340 will suck the life out of ordinary Duracells or Energizers after about 6 shots (with flash). Maybe Kodak can design an high capacity external battery pack which can be slung on one's shoulder and wired to the camera with a simple cable. This battery pack would then make this a good choice to carry for weddings or parties (or other photo-demanding occasions) where one can take 60 to 80 pictures without losing battery juice.
4) If Kodak decides to redesign this camera as a smaller unit, that would be good, too!

Overall, you can't go wrong buying this digital tool. Good work, Kodak!

The camera is convenient with the ability to store photos directly to floppy disk, and this is quite fun for a time, until you realize that:

the camera is bulky and heavy and not only do youhave to carry the camera around, but also a number of floppy disks, extra battery and any accessories.

The resolution is awful. You end up with grainy, blurry photos.

Printing a photo is just not an option. The quality is too awful. You need more MP for that.

The camera has a very long delay. You will hold your finger down for five to ten seconds to take the picture. By the time the camera takes the picture, most likely whatever you were trying to capture is gone, and if it is a posed person then you end up with a fake looking uncomfortable pose.

The colors turn out shadowy and they highlight all the bad things. If your model has dark circles under the eyes, they now look like tires.

There are simply too many faults to this camera. It may be suitable for very casual use, like snapshots of the family petsor a vacation but if you want GOOD pictures, this is not the camera.

Given camera as a gift, and as a novice is incredibly easy to use. However...I quickly discovered (after spending nearly $100 on prints) that obtaining quality 4x6 prints is not an option. In order to get decent resolution I am limited to wallet sized pictures. Bottom line??? If you prefer to thumb through a photo album years later, strongly consider a different camera with higher mega pixels.

The Sony Mavica FD73 is lots of fun and easy to use. The convenience of being able to use 3 1/2" discs as your storage media is worth a lot. The zoom and macro capability is excellent. Having said that, the picture quality is acceptable for snapshots, email, and auction sites, but is a far cry from photo quality. The images get very grainy in low light, and are quite pixelated if enlarged at all. Reflections and very bright spots are not handled well...light to dark transitions are coarse. You'll be able to get decent prints up to about 5X7, but beyond that things start to get a bit fuzzy. I've had great fun with this camera and enjoy using it, but I'm currently shopping for an FD88 to improve the image quality.

I am truly enjoying my first digital camera, the Olympus D490-Zoom. What a great little camera! I was able to take photos right out of the box without spending a lot of time reading the manual. The pictures are fantastic! I haven't experienced the massive battery drain reported in other reviews but maybe I haven't used it long enough. I use the HQ setting the most and they turn out fabulous, even printing in 8x10.

The downside(s): It takes FOREVER to download the photos to the computer using the serial interface. I am anxiously waiting for my USB reader. Also, the sliding lens cover is a little tricky-if you close it too far it can hang up the lens when it's trying to retract, which can't be good for the motor. Also, the lens cover is a little "sticky" to slide, not as smooth as you'd want. The lift-up flash (not automatic) is a little inconvenient, but I'm used to it now and it's not a real problem. I mostly take pictures of my pets, so red-eye (actually, green-eye) is always present with the flash and has to be edited out. There is a red-eye reduction feature, but the dogs won't cooperate! It works well with people, however.

On my printer, DeskJet 720C, I have to use the highest quality print feature so the photos don't come out fuzzy. But at the right setting they are perfect.

Just be sure to get the USB reader. I was 35 years old when I bought this camera just before Christmas 2000 and have since turned 50 waiting for the pictures to download.

All the downsides aside, I definitely recommend this camera.

This is a really good camera (I have the C990Z - it's the same as the D490Z except that it uses PAL video out instead of NTSC.) Before you buy it, (or more likely if you've just bought it), you need to know a couple of things. 1. The hole for the tripod is offset to the extreme left of the camera, so the little "traveller's tripods" aren't safe to use with this camera unless you're very careful. 2. Only buy Olympus brand smart-media, otherwise you can't access the panorama function (if this is important to you.) 3. Never format the Smart-media card - just do a "delete-all". 4. It appears that all of the Smart-media floppy adapters that you can buy come from one company - Smartdisk. They have driver software (www.smartdisk.com) that works with Windows 2000 that doesn't come in the box. (If you choose to buy a floppy adapter.) 5. I use 1500 mAhr NiMH batteries from Kodak - they're great. The kodak battery charger is also awesome - it comes with 4 different plug types, and works with AC power from 100 to 240 Volts, and either 50 or 60 Hz. Pretty much covers the civilised world. (and the USA too ;-)) 6. Accessing uncompressed mode is not mentioned anywhere in the manual. You do it by selecting the mode one down (eg SHQ to go to SHQ-TIFF), and then press the up arrow and HOLD IT DOWN for more than a few seconds. Leaving this out of the manual was a blunder. 7. The Camedia Master software is pretty ordinary, with one exception --- the digital panorama function works better than you can ever imagine, even without a tripod. With a tripod it's perfect. 8. I have managed to confuse my camera once - popping the batteries out and then putting them back in was enough to get around that. 9. If the camera is zoomed when you close the lens cover, it makes more of that annoying grinding noise than usual, but it doesn't seem to be a real problem. 10. The camera's focus system works by looking for vertical lines - if you don't have any, to get really perfect focus you need to hold the camera sideways (presuming that there are horizontal lines in your picture), half press the button to hold the focus, and then rotate the camera back to normal. In practice, the pictures usually come out very good without going to any extra trouble. 11. This camera is not the smallest, but it is a comfortable size. My previous camera was a tiny APS camera, and I had trouble holding that one steady while pressing the shutter button. Ideally, you should hold a camera in your hands before you buy it. Then buy it at the best price.

The conclusion is that I like my camera. It is good enough to justify the price, even when you include the extra money that I paid for the extra memory card, batteries, battery charger, and floppy disk adapter (adds up to about 50% more.) I wish that I knew the things that I have just told you before I bought my camera though.

I purchased this camera almost 4 years ago and love it. It sold me on the olympus name. My next camera, if i have to get one, will be another olympus.

Like the fact that it uses aa batteries b/c if i get in a predicament where i need batteries, i know i can go to the neighborhood store to get them instead of being limited to propriatary (sp?) battery units like the sony. I have 2 sets of rechargeable batteries that i use and also have the separate card reader to download at faster speeds.

This camera has taken thousands of excellent pictures for me. I'll probably buy a newer model in the next couple of years but, for now, this 2 megapixel beauty is everything i need.

Good luck.

I've had this camera about 18 months. The only thing that I find lacking in this camera is its ability to take indoor flash pictures. Even using the +/- exposure compensater the pics come out under exposed, especially if the subject is more than 5 feet from the lens. Other features work well. I decided to stop fooling with this camera and went for the Canon S50, wow what a difference. Goodbye Kodak, hello Canon.

PROS: Vivid colors, astonishing picture quality and details, great design and ergonomics, USB connection

CONS: Battery drains fast, bad focus in low-light conditions

Kodak's DC4800 gives you easy access to manual functions, offers a direct USB connection to download photos to desktop and notebook, more sturdy than other cheap cameras, accurate colors that rivals film cameras. Having access to higher resolutions (such as 3.1 mega pixels) is is important as well, b/c you want your picture to be sharp and crisp.

Ergonomics are great and your hands will feel at home when using it! The casing feels very solid, but the two plastic doors (for connectivity and the memory card) looks like they could break at any time.

Here are the functions accessible manually: - Self-timer: to chose the moment your camera will triggers itself. - Burst mode: to take 4 pictures in sequence (at the lowest picture quality, you can take up to 16). - Landscape: to prevent the camera from focusing on a near subject and have the horizon in focus. - Close-up: To let the camera adjust the focus to take a subject between 0.7-2.3 feet in great details. - Flash and flash settings: Will let you chose between flash, no flash, red-eye - Exposure compensation (from -2 to +2): This will let you chose to over- or underexpose your subject, to adapt to various light conditions. - Aperture (f/8, f/5.6, f/2.8): You can decide on the depth of field, so that you can have sharpness and blurriness where you like it on your photos. You can also choose P for the automatic settings to take over. - Zoom in/out: You get a 3x physical zoom, and also a 2x digital (which adds up to the 3x automatically when you press the zoom button long enough). You could also choose to block your camera from entering the digital zoom mode, to prevent yourself from using it (I have yet to see a photo which benefited the use of the digital zoom... they're always grainy, not only with the Kodak's digital zoom, but with all those I tried).

The Kodak DC4800 comes with a 16 mb Compact Flash memory card, which is a complete nonsense for a 3.1 mega pixels camera. You should buy at least 64 MB. Amazon has great prices on this.

The BAD part of the DC4800 is its inability to focus in low-light conditions. It rarely focuses on the subject but looks for any source of light and focus at that point.

The main complaint with the DC4800 goes to the battery.Kodak's proprietary Li-Ion battery that's used in the DC4800 doesn't impress at all. With the LCD on, it doesn't last more than 40 pictures, after which the LCD turns itself off. Get a charger and solve your problems.

ALL digital cameras have their shortfalls, but this one has the least. It's simply amazing when you consider the price!

P>I didn't find the camera very intuitive to use, which problem was worsened by the fact that I don't use a camera very often, so I tend to forget the solutions that worked last time. (Why should a camera be so complex that you need to reconstruct its systems after a lapse of a few weeks?) In particular, I found myself too often taking medium-distance shots with the close-up setting, and getting washed-out images in bright sunlight. Yet I once made my living as a photographer! I couldn't recommend this to the soccer mom or dad who only wants an occasional snapshot.

That said, I'm glad I own it. I've gone almost entirely digital in my life, and if it weren't for the digital camera I probably wouldn't take pictures at all. The picture quality is good, and you have some (not a huge amount) of selectivity in how your photo will be framed and exposed. (You can select the lens opening, for example.)

I recently changed computers, and I had no problem installing the software on a Windows Me box without a patch from Kodak.

As an avid 35mm photographer, I've put off going digital because the cameras themselves are so limited compared to SLRs.

So, first: The 3200 is a fixed focus, wide angle camera. It has a digital zoom feature, but it's only available when your using the lowest quality image setting. And, as a very picky 35mm photographer, I should point out that even at the higher quality settings, you shouldn't expect to get high-quality prints larger than snap-shot size.

*BUT*: Given the resolution of the camera, the quality of the images is excellent; My first use of the camera was on a disney vacation, and I gave it a huge work-out. I added a 48 meg memory card to it, shot hundreds of photos, and really appreciated the ability to delete pictures right out of the camera - that way you can go crazy take a ton of pictures, then delete the ones that didn't work out.

I'd give the camera five stars, but the fact that it doesn't come with a video cable or memory card is kind of frustrating. The built in 2 megs isn't enough memory to do anything except test the camera.

This is a pretty good deal on a Kodak 1-megapixel camera. What is a 1-megapixel camera you ask? Well, it's about the maximum resolution (the best) you would want for a digital camera whose main task will be taking pictures for emailing or website posting. Higher resolution makes for larger files which require not only more time to upload (i.e. to transfer to an email or to post on a website), but more time to download for your reader. In fact, the new 3-megapixel cameras make photo files so large that a person with a well-tuned 56k (regular modem) connection would have to wait almost 6 minutes to download (view) a single photo! This particular camera then is well-suited to internet apps, and you'll probably use it on lower than 1-megapixel resolution most of the time. PROS: 1) Price 2) Quality 3) USB connection 4) CompactFlash (expandable) memory 5) Through-the-lens shooting. CONS: 1) Limited zoom (digital zooms are poor relatives of optical zooms) 2) High battery usage 3) Mediocre flash capability.

I bought this camera when it first came out in a package deal that also included a photo printer. I have hardly used the printer as it took to long to print and was difficult to navigate. I have loved the camera, though, until the tragic day that I accidentally dropped it the the battery door broke. We've tried, unsucessfully to keep it closed using all kinds of extra strong taping products, but it only holds long enough to take one picture and sometimes not even that long. It is way past its warranty and I knew it was being discontinued. I have just today purchased a newer camera with more up-to-date functions, but this one has been very good to me. It will be missed.

I have always used Nikon 35mm SLR Cameras for my photography hobby and decided to go for a digital and bought coolpix 5700.
The camera takes great pictures, but too slow in focusing. it's got lot of features but takes too many buttons to set. while you are trying set up your camera you'll miss your shots. I been taking it mostly in manual mode because, I have hard time getting the correct exposure from program mode, so I use manual, shutter/apature priority.
My recommandation is if you are taking moving objects, the camera is way too slow (typical digital camera is slow but I find that it's slower than avg), but if you are taking non moving object such as landscape, it takes excellent pictures. my biggest frustration of using this camera is that it's way toooooooo slow. If I get the correct setting for picture in time, the picture quality is excellent, but main problems is setting the camera up correctly ( or I could in my learning curve).

I owned a Nikon N70, then switch to digital Kodak DC4800. Both are excellent camera of its class. Now I switch to Nikon Coolpix 5700, and realized this is THE camera to own if money is no object. Nikon's metering system with build-in speed light create excellent night time pictures. The focusing is excellent at daytime, and a little slower at night, but by manually adjusting the ISO setting, Apeture and shutter speed, you can easily get an excellent night time picture. The size of the camera is bigger than most compact, but much smaller than most SLR camera. Easily held with just one hand, comfort grib, and the magnesium alloy body is professionally built.
The lens, oh man, the lens, is the best feature because of Nikon's ED lens, 8x optical zoom, this camera can easily shoot sporting event pictures with ease. The 5-megapixel prints are unbelieveable. The best thing about a high mega-pixel camera is that you take the picture, you CROP the picture down, and it's still so detail and clear.
I have always kept my Nikon N70, even when I was using the kodak DC4800. Now, I can truly say that I will be selling my Nikon N70, and my two lens, because the new Nikon Coolpix 5700 replace the performance of my Nikon N70, and it's 8x zoom lens is almost the equivalent of my 35-80mm and 70 to 300mm lens.
Keep in mind that this camera does consume power, a fully charged battery will only last about 70 minutes, because both the LCD display or the eletronic viewfinder consume power.
Unfortunately, I brought my Nikon 5700 from a New York retailer that sent me a japanese model, but it's still the same camera, only that if it breaks down, Nikon will now repair it, even if you want to pay cash for the repair. Therefore, if you worry about camera breaking down, you have to make sure it's a USA model. One last thing, there are too many features the camera have for me to mention here. The most important point is that this camera has all major control of a profession SLR if you want to use it, it also can be fully automated to take picture with your worry. Its size to to big at all to carry for a 10 days even thought its not as small as other digital camera. Its lens has a great optical zoom range that will let you capture details photographs. And the quality, the workmanship of this camera is first class all the way.

This is my second digital camera and it is the best. My mom has the 35mm Nikon and she loves it. Nikon is the best name in photagraphy and it shows. I just printed out my first photos and i am so impressed with the quality. I will never buy an other brand of cameras.

If you can get this camera for less than $200, it's worth it. This is a perfect companion for those are new to digital imaging. Don't use the lowest quality (640x480) - not good for printing. The medium quality (1600x1200 with less compression) is best when you resize to 800x600 for printing (esp. in an under light condition). The best is to use 1600x1200 with the highhest compression - good for printing 8'x10".

8MB CF won't be enough for anything. Get at least 64MB or 128MB + rechargeable battery.

Pros 1: Don't need to install the software. Just plug-in the USB cable, and windows will take it as a removable drive. Very user friendly. The OS of the camera also very easy. My grandma will be able to use it without reading the manual. Pros 2: Not battery eater. I won't say it's the best, but I am quite satisfied. 80 pics taken with LCD on and transfer all of them with the same battery. Not to mention sometimes reviewing the pics taken. Pros 3: In almost totally dark condition, with highest setting, produce a decent quality.

Cons 1: For Win2K users only: all HP digicam won't support CF higher than 32MB for direct transfer. You need to get a CF Reader. I have 128MB Viking and I need a CF Reader to download all the pics. No problem with other windows. Cons 2: Don't use the digital zoom. It's horrible. Cons 3: USB Cable is very special - hard to find replacement. Cons 4: In the dark, there is no light/backlight. Not easy to control the cam.

For the money I can't see getting any other 2.X megapixel camera than this one. It doesn't really have too many nifty features, but HP seems to make that up in image quality. There is a self timer on it, and it takes great pictures at 1600X1200 maximum resolution. These make for awesome 4X6 photos coupled with an HP Inkjet Photo Printer(I use the HP 932C and it looks great!).

Make sure to get yourself some NIMH Rechargeable batteries for this, cuz as with any digital camera, unless you want to spend a lot on batteries, it is the only way to go.

The 32MB Compact Flash limitation on Windows 2000 is a minor thing, just be aware that if you are going to use larger CF cards that you get a CF reader, they are cheap now a days, and they will transfer pretty fast to the computer.

Recommendation: Get one now that they are on sale.

I have owned this camera for almost 2 years and absolutely love it. For a point and shoot style of picture taking, in the digital realm, it can't be beat. I've taken almost 2000 snapshots with my HP315. I've used it on vacation, for family snapshots, for capturing images of woodcarvings for my website, etc. Typically, I use the medium resolution, occasionally the high res. Medium seems to be fine for viewing pictures online or for informal prints. High res is definitely better for printing w/ photo paper. The camera can be hard on batteries, but limiting the use of the LCD view screen greatly extends battery life. I essentially only use the screen to review the picture immediately after taking it (the camera defaults to briefly showing the image and allowing you to accept or delete it). I use the traditional view finder to take most pictures. This REALLY saves the batteries; to the point where I can't remember the last time I've replaced them. I would recommend a higher capacity CF card, I use a 128mb; also, a CF card reader is a must. If you're looking for a digital camera at around 2 megapixel for casual snapshots, this camera can't be beat!

If I could give this camera 0 stars I would!

As a teenager I'm not looking for anything too snazzy in a camera. I had a pretty cheap digital olympus that lasted me about 3 years and I loved it. No fancy modes, no high-tec fancy smancy mumbo jumbo... not that I wouldn't like a high-tec camera, just that I don't particularly need it. I just want a camera that allows me to take a few hundred pictures at a time, for trips with friends and the family, for soccer games, for concerts, the beach...ect... My old reliable camera broke last summer after I got thousands of great pictures out of it, and so for the last x-mas my mother (who didn't do much research, but with good intentions) bought me this PIECE OF CRAP...

If you like all the fancy ways to take pictures- there is a tiny possibility you might like this camera... It has all that...somewhat... no wait... not at all...
It maintains a pretense that its high-tec, but it's really just a piece of crap.
When I first got it I brought it with me on my trip to Paris and I was highly dissapointed that after I shot a picture it took literally 15-20 seconds for the flash to re-whatever and let me take another one. I missed about 70% of the pictures I wanted to take, and whenever people posed in my pictures- it took about 5 minutes for my camera to "let" me take the picture. NO CANDID SHOTS here.
Then halfway through the trip, I'd turn on the camera, the screen would pop up, I'd try to take a picture, the orange and green lights would flash and then it would simply turn off... I looked through the manuel and it says that this is simply a problem with the batteries (although the battery symbol came up as full) and so I bought a fresh pack and re-loaded them. And of course it continued to flash and turn off..

I'm not done- I took it to a camera shop, and the guy had no idea what was wrong- I missed pictures of half my Paris trip, a concert , and a beach trip with my friends all because of this horrible joke-of-a-camera.- I also spent the equivolent of the price of this piece of crap on disposable cameras that gave me horrible pictures.

BIG TIP- If you have a son or daughter and you're buying them a camera DO NOT buy this one just-because it's cheap(in case I haven't made myself clear), because they will hate it and resent you for not researching or caring about it...

I got this camera for my birthday a year ago. I have had a wonderful time using it, and I wouldn't have any problems with buying another Olympus. I am currently working on becoming a professional photographer, so it's time for an upgrade.

Good stuff:

Takes sharp, clear photos with great color in most situations.

Decent battery life, 2 AA's last for about 100 pictures.

Easy-to-use features, and handy digital on-screen photo index.

Bad Stuff:

Photos often come out blurry in night-mode.

Shutter Speed is a little slow, tripod is best.

All in all, I think this is a wonderful camera for anyone who enjoys taking everyday photos.

I bought the D-520Z as my third digital camera. I have many years of photography experience, and have owned more than two dozen 35mm film cameras.

This is a great camera for the person who is somewhat fussy, but still wants an easy-to-use optical zoom platform. For the benefit of people who don't read instructions, one may view a just-snapped picture by pressing the display button twice or (better yet) setting the camera up to display the picture for about 2 seconds after snapping it. Also, all settings can be memorized so the camera is ready to go as soon as you fire it up. For instance, I use fill flash on nearly every outdoor shot that involves people, and I have a preference for spot-metering. Both of these items are selectable and memorizable.

Although the flash recycle time is a little slow, I consider it a very fair trade-off for being able to use AA batteries and only two of them at that. Performance with NiMH batteries is outstanding; on a recent vacation I took over 100 pictures, most with flash, with extensive use of the LCD, and never changed batteries.

Low-light performance is acceptable to me, and I take a lot of pics indoors.

The camera is quite compact (fits easily in a shirt pocket with room to spare), and most important, the body is relatively thin. Before you buy ANY camera, consider whether you really want to lug that clunky (and expensive) digital camera around for the sake of a possible tiny increase in picture quality.

The true measure of any camera is picture quality, and I find this one to be very good. I'm finicky, and I'm pleased.

This camera is not as sexy-looking as some of the competition (read ELPF), but the price is right and I feel beginners and amateurs will be able to take a very high percentage of good pics with this one. Highly recommended...hats off to Olympus.