Digital-Camera Reviews

Pro's
1. Has all the desirable features like video out, only 2 AA batteries etc.
2. Nice looking and very small in size with good grip. Light weight too.
3. Uses inexpensive CF cards, not expensive sticks!
4. Easy menus and scene modes to use.
5. Competitively priced.
6. Superb macro pictures and good low light/night shots. It could focus in pretty low light without any AF assist light, because of a bright lens.
7. Good battery life on just 2 AA's. (unlike 4 on some models from Canon, HP and others)
8. Inexpensive accessory kit is available right here on Amazon! It has a very fast world charger, 2 NiMH AA's and a custom case.

Con's
1. Reliability is doubtful and battery door is very flimsy.
2. Movie mode is bad, no sound and movie sizes very small.
3. A bit on thick, making it slightly tougher to pocket.
4. No rechargeable batteries or charger in the box.
5. Need to read & remember manual for proper use of so many scene modes like "museum"!
6. Weak flash and redeye.
7. Worst of all it doesn't work reliably with anything other than Sandisk and Lexar CF cards. Weren't these cards made to a standard?

Its not the best but for its price its definitely worth considering. Esp if you like its its picture quality.

I really offer this for someone who wants to buy a party-recording device, or a tiny automatic machine. No manual focus, no manual aperture, but easy-to-use, handy machine. There are some good pre-programmed modes available also. 40-50 pictures can be made with well charged batteries. Good and user-friendly sw also included.

I just bought the camera today and I'm really happy with it.
Few weeks earlier, I bought the Sony DSCP52, played around with it, and then decided to return it. Sony does have a lot of features (and SOUND with the movie), but there are 3 important factors: the cost of the memory card, the size, and weight.

PROS for Nikon 2100:
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1) Supports compact flash memory cards.
-This makes a HUGE difference as it will save you a lot of money.

2) Small compact camera.

-Unlike the Sony DSCP52 that makes your hand feel tired after holding it for too long with one hand.

3) Weight.
-Very light

4) Doesn't use a proprietary battery like other small cameras.
-Mine came with the nikon coolpix rechargeable Ni-Mh70 batteries (these ones are really good ).

5) So many modes to choose from depending on your situation.
-I don't know which other camera in this class comes with this many modes (like ones for fireworks, sunset/sunrise, beaches, etc.)

6) Image transfer.
-This was pretty quick and easy. Installing the software doesn't take too long either.

CONS:
====

1) The manual is just way too confusing. It's kind of hard to follow, and I'm eager to discover all the wonderful things and features that I can use with the camera. I guess it takes a lot of time.

2) No sound with the movie.

3) Gets scratched easily + not very solid built (I'm always scared of damaging the battery door).

4) When turning LCD mon on, it takes a few secs (though this is tolerable).

Overall:
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Note: I'm a beginner at taking digital pictures; this will be my first digital camera! But as a beginner, I find this camera to satisfy more than enough for my basic demands. I have yet to try out the sunrise mode, but so far the ones I've taken in my room look really good. I compared the pictures to the ones my friend took (Sony DSCP72) and they do look relatively the same. So unless you really need to print out huge pictures, 2.0MP is adequate.

pros:
- 5MP resolution in a small, well-designed metal body.
- allows a great deal of manual control.
- good color reproduction.
- higher than expected contrast from tonal balance.
- low image noise with moderate shutter speeds.
- spot metering.
- shooting priority play mode (double press of quick view button).
- good night exposures with automatic noise reduction.
- solid build quality.
- bright, high resolution LCD monitor with anti-reflective coating.
- included Infrared remote control.
- decent battery life (but i'd still recommend getting a spare).
- compact dimensions 3.9 x 2.3 x 1.7 in, weighing 8.0 oz.

cons:
- some purple fringing / chromatic aberrations.
- noisy images, "jaggies" visible.
- limited adjustment on image parameters.
- no manual white balance.
- no manual focus.
- some blue cast using the flash.
- no AF illuminator.
- high redeye occurrence.
- poor movie mode when compared to competition.
- manual is on CD.
- LCD not very useful in very low light.
- glacial write times for TIFFs.
- slow image write times.
- RAW format not supported.
- you can't slide the lens cover to turn the camera on and off when mounted on a tripod nor can you change the battery or xD card.
- poor macro ability.
- fastest continuous shooting speed is only 1 fps.
- no histogram display in record or play mode.
- the supplied 32MB xD card is inadequate. be prepared to shell out a few more bucks for more memory.
- the batteries supplied are proprietary so add a few bucks to your budget for a spare.

the c-50z is a decent camera with 5MP resolution in a compact package. but there is no manual white balance and no manual focus plus the images compare unfavorably against its competition. at this price point, check out the canon s50.

i hope this helps you in your buying decision. peace.

This is really my first digital and I have only had it a couple of weeks. However I find the delay between when I press the button and when the picture is taken far too long. It averages 6 seconds on auto and 2 or more on the sports setting, which I am told is as fast as it gets. By this time my kids are halfway down the block. I have a lot of pictures of my yard, empty doorways, and blank walls. At least I know I have to take the picture again because I can view it immediately, but somethings can not be repeated. Is this delay normal for other cameras...?

Pros: Ultra compact, five megapixels, manual exposure options, Compact, high resolution, razor sharp, bright LCD, Small, lithium ion battery/charger, picture quality, compactness, easy to use, loaded with advanced features yet point-and-shoot simple on automatic, multiple resolution options, including uncompressed TIFF, compact and light.

Cons: No LCD screen cover, no AF assist light, questionable low-light capabilities, many settings, price, uses new xD picture card, Poor LCD viewing in very low light, extremely slow save for TIFFs, occasional image noise, works poorly with a tripod.

Summary: I did quite a bit of research before deciding on the Olympus C50. I wanted a small digital camera that had some manual controls. The camera also had to feel sturdy and have a menu system that was intuitive for me. The C50 won out over my other choices hands down (Minolta F100 and Nikon CP4500). Overall, I'm happy with my purchase and can live with the little quirks I've read about with this camera. The remote comes in handy when displaying your pictures on TV. Also, the battery life on this little guy is quite good -- much better than the Kodak I had. Olympus could have done a better job on the printed manual. The manual on CD is much better and they should have just printed out that manual in the appropriate language for the countries they ship to.

Hello,

Well, to cut short some of the remarks in those reviews, a few points:

- The USB is not slow. Transferring a full 16Mo card to my computers (Windows XP/2000 or Mac OSX) takes less than 10 seconds. The slow USB problem is mostly due to computers running W98OSR2 (I don't have the exact reason, but the slow USB is not due to the camera).

- Batteries: Olympus has the great idea to accept AA cells, adapted to rechargeable batteries (1.2V). You can buy two sets of nickel-metal batteries in any store for 20 bucks, with the charger. And even if you're in the middle of Continental India, you will find AA cells without problems, compared to lithium batteries. NiMh cells last longer than alkaline batteries, but make sure you always have a set of 4 batteries charged, especially if you use the LCD screen at all times.

Now the good points of the camera:
- a good optical system, with little deformation at wide angle, and a decent aperture. It can be used indoor without flash if the subject is static.
- good flash exposure, and many capabilities (slow mode to keep the ambiance, red eyes reduction, flash off...).
- Overall good light exposure. It is not op-perfect but the multi-zone measurement makes a good job in classic composition. For highly contrasted scenes, you can use the 'spot' measurement, which is maybe too wide to be really 'spot', but precise enough to expose one part of the picture perfectly.

- Fast processing, probably due to a lot of RAM in the system. A full-size picture is processed in about a second.

Bad points:

- Noise of the zoom: it sounds awefull, but like most other digital cameras... The system that prevents the optical system to come out when the lens cap is on is a little weird, but proven efficient (I have that camera for more than 3 monts... Tested and approved)

- Batteries run out quickly... BUY SOME RECHARGEABLE NI-MH. Those cameras are power hungry. The other solution is to wait 5 years, technology will be better and more power efficient!

- Size? it's not a compact camera, and it won't fit in your shirt pocket. Price to pay for a decent lens, and a large LCD screen. In the other hand, it handles very well, and proves to be a very nice fit in your hand.

- No sound in video mode: at that price point, I'm not really surprised. And to answer the question:"How much would it cost to olympus to add a microphone", I can answer: about 3 dollars (microphone+analog front end+D/A converter+processing power to encode sound!), and something more to add inside this already squeezed camera. If you want sound with the video, go to a better model - more expensive. The main purpose of a camera is... TO TAKE PICTURES!

Overall rating: I like this camera, that provides good colors and very good exposure without hassle. A lot of manual features are available, very good for someone who knows how to use a regular film camera. At that price point...you will not get any better. The resolution is very good (3.3MPS) and detailled, indor photography is possible. If you need an even faster lens, check the C3030 (F1.8 constant), but you will pay a nice premium for the upgrade. The cameras are similar otherwise.

My first digital camera (2/5/02). I wanted the 3 megapixels to print up to 8x10 if I choose to. Fairly easy to use out of the box and takes great pictures with little effort. I am sure I will be able to customize for some great pics.

Here are the highlights/lowlights of the camera.

- The lens cap situation is horrible. If you leave the cap on and turn the camera on, the motor churns to expand the lens tube. I think the motor times out before any damage happens, but bad nonetheless. The camera should have an automatic lens cover, like some of olympus clamshell cameras. I've decided I can live with the lens cap issue.
- You can preview the picture after you take it without changing modes. VERY NICE feature.
- Olympus has a very effective red-eye reduction flicker flash.
- The optical 3xzoom is adequate for most shots. The digital zoom appears bogus. Haven't used it yet, manual says it could be grainy.
- Try on-line printing of your digital pics... Otofo is much higher priced. I tried it and the pics came out GREAT.
- The camera has different pre-set shooting modes for portraits, action, night scenes, and landscapes.
- The...price seems very fair for the optical zoom @3.2 megapixel.

You will have to buy a ac adapted to use the camera at your computer, also purchased the olympus rechargable batteries and the 128 meg smartmedia cart...

I have owned this camera for approx. 18 month and I still love it. It is one of the easiest digital cameras to get to know and use. From the first day I got it I had it out of the box and shooting right away. It's that simple. The only negative factor of the camera is the lack of a Hot Shoe Flash option. The C3020Z has several flash options for various lighting conditions; however, I have grown in my photography and require more advanced lighting options. As a starter camera this is a perfect introduction to digital photography. It has certainly helped me to expand in my Digital skills and knowledge, but as I move towards being a Professional Amateur I have out grown this model. That's my $0.02.

Photo's are good, but software ain't.

I've owned the Camedia 550 for a little over a year. I am very disapointed in the software that you HAVE to use with this camera. I upgraded to the "professional" edition, but it's still bad. It does not alow you to back up your photo's onto CD. (Floppy Disk Only, which is worthless). Also I have pixels dying on my viewing screen.
It is difficult to manuver through the options on the camera. Also uses a Smart Media Card, which the new ones do not use, and very few new camera do use, so I'll be stuck with $200 bucks worth of Smart Media Cards when I decide to chuck this thing.

This is my first digital camera. I researched it thoroughly and for the features this is a GREAT price. PCWorld also said that it had the best overall image quality indoors and outdoors. This is definitely true of my pictures.

One thing it's lacking that I really wish it had was audio with the movies.

It's a little heavier than most digital cameras but not much more than film cameras. So carrying around will feel no different. I kind of prefer the extra weight which isn't much to begin with.

Don't buy a DC input adapter for it. It calls for 6.5V, center positive but any 6V center positive adapter with the right connector will do.

It's very easy to use and wait between shots is minimal on the default setting. It's pretty slow on maximum setting but that makes sense since it has to store to the smartmedia.

Don't regret buying this camera at all.

btw, for first time buyers like myself, if you don't plan to print much, 640x480 resolution (taken by 1 MP cameras) WILL do. I didn't quite believe all I read, but the images aren't all that bad.

I have been using Olympus cameras since I first got my Olympus AZ300 back in 1987. Incidentally, the AZ300 still works!!

I recently got this camera because of a newborn on the way. It's handy to be able to take pictures, review them, and add/erase pictures as needed depending on how pictures came out. Although I never had a bad picture with my AZ300, the digital camera is one less step that I need to take in terms of picking pictures that I want to develop, e-mailing them, and storing them.

Olympus has been known for their fine camera construction in terms of both optics and automatic functionality. This camera is no-exception. It allows both full-automatic function with some user-overriding features--not enough to make it a full-blown professional camera, but enough to allow a user to take a good photograph in unusual lighting conditions. Controls include spot metering, ISO selection (although I wish speeds higher than 400 were available), 7 different portrait modes, exposure control, sharpness, white balance, etc., give users something to work with as well as typical features such as black-and-white picture shooting, etc.

The 3.0 MP resolution is more than enough for casual users as well as those who wish to make prints up to 11x14, although maximum resolution setting are recommended for this kind of application. Utilization of various TIFF and JPEG modes are covered well in the manual -- just remember, TIFF for VERY "spiff"y prints!!

Word to the wise. I'm sure it's mentioned already, but INVEST IN RECHARGEABLE BATTERIES. Although some may lament how AA's are not necessarily robust to handle this type of application, I find it refreshing to know that there is an extremely standard and relatively inexpensive power source that I can use. And rechargeable batteries certainly make up for their cost in just a couple of charges alone.

Also, invest in a 128 MB SmartMEDIA card. The supplied 16 MB card is good for casual use, but woefully inadequate to store any amount of high-resolution images. I like using the 3:2 mode so I can print 4x6 images on the HP Photosmart 7350 without cropping or resizing!!!

Some negative reviews proclaim something to the effect of image aberrations ("UFO's?") that occur during night shots. I have not experienced any such malfunction.

Great camera, great price!! This is the one to buy if you're an amateur looking for a good digital camera!

I have this camera. It has been fine. However, knowing what I know now I would never buy another Kodak camera. Ever. I dropped this camera, and a little plastic piece broke off which keeps the battery pack in the camera. Not a big deal. But NOONE repairs Kodak cameras. Instead you HAVE to send it into their corporate repair center and they instead sell you on trading it in for a refurbished camera. So, I can send this one in and for $250 get a new refurbished camera. But it only sells for $50 more on amazon.com - and thats a new, non-refurbished one! Its a total crock. Just be forwarned. I'd never buy a camera which I cant get repaired locally.

This is a fine little digital camera for beginners or casual users. It looks good, has great balance in the hand, and offers enough features to make it fairly versatile. Aside from the recreational user, it might be an ideal camera for someone like a real estate broker who wants to have something handy in the glove compartment, but doesn't want to worry about a very expensive piece of equipment getting lost or stolen. The camera is not perfect, but it is a good buy. PROS: 1) Appearance, weight & balance. 2) Highly readable (and adjustable!) LCD display. 3) AAA batteries readily available...(2 sets of rechargeable would be great). 4) Optical (2x) zoom. 5) Switchable resolution settings: a) 640 x 480 perfect for emails & websites. b) 1,152 x 864 good enough for 5" x 7" prints. 6) Very good software package. 7) Kodak service & warranty. 8) Readily available CompactFlash memory cards. 9) Faster recovery btwn shots than most digicams. 10)Useful & handy lens cap.

CONS: 1) Fixed focus lens (like old 110 cameras). 2) Limited (2x) zoom. 3) No USB connection to download shots to PC (this will make the purchase of a separate memory card reader a must). 4) Need for battery charger & rechargeables (to be practical).

For a 1.3megapixel camera, I've been very pleased with the picture quality of this camera. At 4x6 the pictures are very good (detail & color). At 5x7 some pixelization begins to become apparent. At 8x10 pixelization is very apparent on most pics. If you're taking pics with little detail (portraits and flowers and such) 8x10s are acceptable when viewed from a few feet away. The built in flash does a real nice job. NiMH batteries are a must. I also find that the brand and capacity of the batteries varies greatly and will give you from minutes to a few hours of serious use. I find that Rayovac 1600mah batteries give me the best service. Of course using the built in LCD screen greatly reduces battery life. I recommend carrying a spare set (4). An upgraded compact flash card is also a must. At the best resolution I get 56 images on my 16M card. I find the JPEG format easy do deal with in most photo application programs. The only drawback is the serial interface cable. It takes a long time to transfer a large number of images to the Computer. While I haven't yet purchased one, a USB compactflash reader would probably be a good idea. The camera is very easy to use and the menu options are very intuitive. (I've never read the manual past a brief lookover.) I recommend this camera to beginners and intermediate users who want pretty good results at a low price.

I've been in the market for a new digital camera for a couple of months, and was trying to narrow down my choices. I've been using my trusty Fuji Finepix 2400 Zoom for the past 2 years, and have been very satisfied with the images it's made. But at 2 MP I've outgrown it a little. Now I've always been a fan of Sony products, but in their digital camera arena, their prices are a bit high. Then along came the Cybershot DSCP32. It had great reviews from all the major sites, ie pcphotoreview.com, steves-digicams.com, Amazon.com etc and everyone seemed to like it. However the dealbreaker is you can get it for under $200.
I won't review all the specs, I think everyone here has already covered it, but lets just say that if your giving this as a gift to a first time digital user, they will love you, because everythng you need is included. No one else can say that. Camera, "film", batteries, and a charger!
Being a lifelong sceptic, I try to see how good things are right out of the box. Judging such things as ease of use, features, and can I even just take a darn photo just by raising it up and snapping the shutter. Yes you can.... I did just that, after setting the date and time, put the memorystick in my card reader and opening the image in Photoshop. My goodness..
the colors were rich, no obvious pixilation, and I could even 'clearly' see what was on the television that the camera was partially aimed at.
The only reason I rated it as 4 stars vice, 5 is to be honest I've only had it for 4 hours and something could go wrong. But so far trust me that this is another winner from Sony, and a great buy!

When our trusted Samsung 105mm Zoom died, I wanted to go digital. I looked at a lot of cameras, but leaned toward to Sony, because we use several Mavica's at work, and I've been very pleased with them.

We got the camera, and my wife immedietly began messing with it. She has never used a digital camera before, but was easily able to quickly get the basics. However, this bad-boy has some pretty neat tricks up it's sleeve, but you need to be able to wade through the instructions to figure it all out.

We used it on vacation, and really liked it. You'll definetly want to buy a bigger memory stick. We went with a 64mb card because the one that came with it only holds something like 10 to 20 pic's, depending on the resolution while the 64 will hold about 45 to 100.

My only complaint is sometimes the pic looks good on the LCD, but on my computer, it is too dark. That is partly my fault, because I have not set the flash to it's high setting. However, I have been able to successfully adjust the color/contrast through photoshop and have the pic's turn out pretty good. So, what I do now is always leave the flash on, and it's pretty well eleminated any of those problems.

We took the card to Wal-mart and printed pic's off it at the 1 hr photo station, and they were excellent--As good or better than a film camera.

In all, we really like this camera, and I would definetly buy it again.

I bought this camera the other day at officemax for 50.00 off. I expected it to be a basic point and shoot...But I was wrong. It took way better pictures then my HP Photosmart 435 also a 3.2MP and it took pictures like my Concord Eye-Q 4060 a 4MP camera. I love the on camera editing and the ease of use. It has some advanced photography settings that are defiently useful. Also I liked how it included a memory card and recharagable Stanima Batteries (takes 2 hours or less to charge unlike most that take 6) I have one thing against the zoom. It has to be at 2.8MP or under to use zoom. But that is fine..I don't use zoom vey often. I love this camera...And I am sure you will too.

Camera looks great and functions admirably, but if you travel a lot like I do, be warned. You will need to bring 2 huge cords just to charge the battery, a USB cord and a bulky dock station. Sony's solution is charging you 50 for the travel charger and 20 for the travel USB cord. Add this to the case you need to buy to protect the huge (although sweet) 2.5" screen and a larger capacity memory stick (included 32 MB holds a whopping 12 photos) you are looking at an extra 150-200 dollars on top of the retail price - OUCH! Definitely not worth it + Canon still has a sweeter picture for the $$$. It wouldn't bother me so much if it was a larger camera, but if Sony is pushing this is as a SLEEK camera, the whole package should be as well.

Testing this SONY DSC-T1 during February 2004, has been a pleasure, carrying it in my pocket all day, every day. The size and weight is ideal for ultimate portability. Using this 5M pixel camera at 3M pixel resolution, using the smart zoom feature, or 5 MP mode produces excellent results. The T1 also allows in-camera croping of images, and in-camera image resizing for e-mail purposes. The high quality movie mode is comparable to high quality digital-video tape camcorders, 30 frames per second at 640x480 pixel size image, with the exception of typical camcorder better optical zoom capability. The camera also allows one to view and edit-out portions of the video. The image quality is stunning, and color quality and saturation is also spectacular. HQ video = 3 minutes fills 256MB card. SONY has definitely placed a great deal of engineering muscle into this device. I have produced a number of 8x10" photos and am stunned at the color and image detail. The trick in any photography activity is knowing how to take good pictures and finding correct lighting, etc. Taking care of business, when framing the image, and setting the camera features, will produce truly great results. "The camera that one can take everywhere is the best camera to have," is the remark I deliver to my students, and this device does not disappoint. Spend a few minutes reviewing the 100 page instruction book, buy several high cost high speed 256MB or 512MB memory cards, and have a great time capturing images every place you go throughout the day. As to a Camera Rating, it has earned a solid A+. I also shoot action sports events for FAU, NCAA Atlantic Sun Conference, and others using Canon's best digital equipment. Therefor, when I do not desire to carry large Digital 35mm size equipment, SONY's T1 is an ideal companion.

James L Wilson, Professor, Principles.of.Digital.Photography.and.Post.Image.Processing Florida.Atlantic.University Boca.Raton.Campus Operating.Entity.BocaDigital.LLC. Quality.Digital.Imaging Post.Office.Box.520 Boca.Raton.Florida.USA.33429 Internet.E.Mail.Address For.Faculty.and.Students.mail.please.use: FAU@bellsouth.net

This is our 3rd sony camera and I love them all, but this one.. wow the pictures are so clear, the screen size is huge, and the compact size is amazing. I keep it in my purse all the time for those shots when your just at the playground with the kids and you'd have wished you had your camera, WELL I DO... all the time and use it almost everyday. So easy to use, and such an amazing camera. I would never buy anything but sony, ever. You'll LOVE this camera, it truely is the best!

Keep in mind while your reading my review that this is my first digital camera so, i have nothing to compare it to.

*QUALITY OF PICTURES*
When I first got the camera I took a picture of my friends tattoo. I had it set to the highest level of quality, and enlarged it a bit before printing. From far away the print out looked very detailed and clear. But if you take a close look you can see that it is quite blurry, although it's not very noticable at first glance. If you want to get this camera I recomend it for web site and sending pictures through e-mail only. Don't replace your film camera with it, because the quality isn't as good.

*PROBLEMS*
-The batteries will go dead rapidly. You can only have it left on for about half an hour at a time, before they're completely dead and need rest.
-The photo editing software that came with the camera gave me problems. It worked for about a week, and then it wouldn't let me download pictures, let alone edit them.

*PERKS*
-Download time is considerably fast, it takes about 30 seconds per picture.
-It has an option where you can display your pictures on your TV (although I have tried numerous times and never have gotten it to work)
-It has a tripod socket, allowing you to take less blurry pictures because the camera will be still (doesn't come with the tripod though)
-It has 3 distance settings, allowing you to shoot anywhere from .5 ft through 10 ft.
-It has 4 image quality seetings. With the lowest quality you can store 330 pictures, and with the highest you can store 45 images.
-It has 4 flash settings. No flash, Red eye reduction, Autoflash, and Fill flash (which fires for every single picture.
-It has a self timer.
-It has an LCD screen, which allows you to look at all, or just one of the pictures you have previously taken. If you don't like how it turned out you can delete it to make room for other pictures.

All in all I think this camera is well worth the money if your a beginer looking to have some fun with a camera. I only use this camera if I am making a web page, sending pics through e-mail, or taking a picture I know I am going to need 3 or 4 copies of. But for the rest of the time I use my old fashioned film camera.

I've been using this digital camera for several years. I purchased it remanufactured from a closeout store. Even though I've had to exchange it a couple of times, it's been a good camera. It is very easy to use and doesn't suck down batteries like some cameras do. I use it to e-mail family and friend's pictures and for eBay listings. It has served its purpose well.

Just received this camera for Christmas and I love it! I happen to have a alkaline battery charger that I can use for the ones that came with the camera. I may purchase the other type rechargables later though.I personally like having the AC adapter to use for inhome use, as it saves batteries. I like the quality of the pictures. At first some were too dark, no matter what I did with the lighting, till I moved the lens selecting button to the middle or to the far right. Now the pictures are very nice. I don't care for the software program that is supplied. I want to save my pictures onto floppy disks and don't like how I have to do that with the "Photo Max Image Maker", so I use Paint Shop Pro for saving. Also, had a bit of trouble getting the "PC" message in the status panel and the beep when hooking up to transfer the images from camera to the album the first time. But once I got that hurddle crossed, it IS easy. I like that the pictures are already .jpg compressed for easy use in emailing. Although the manual leaves a lot to be desired, I highly recommend this camera kit, as the price is good, the camera is easy to use, and the picture quality is very good.

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.

This camera is very easy to use. I haven't even read the manual yet. It also takes great pictures. I originally went for a Fuji camera but after looking it over at a retailer, I decided that it was a little flimsy. The D-560 is built well. The only problem I have found so far is that it eats batteries very quickly. This may be normal for digital cameras but since I've never had any experience with them it was a surprise to me. The camera comes with two AA batteries and has a spot to plug-in an external power source (which doesn't come with the camera). I am trying out rechargable batteries but my friends tell me that lithium batteries are the way to go.
I have taken some nice super high quality photos and printed them on photo glossy paper with excellent results.
A great camera. I definitely recommend it.

I purchased the camera last year and for a number of months it worked great. Now it only takes pictures inside. Anything outside is so over exposed it looks monochrome. Half the time the shutter doesn't click so I have to press it two or three times more until it finally works. When I first purchased the camera I would have given it 4 or 5 stars but now I'm in the market for something more reliable. After reading a number of other reviews where people had the same type of problems I'm convinced this camera is quickly self distructing.

I recently purchased this camera and with the savings from Amazon.com it is a great buy!! The cameras menu is easy to navigate through and with an added 32MB Smart Media card from Viking (just insert it on the side of the camera) the storage capacity even in the HQ picture setting is over 100 images!
With good light indoors it takes great pictures. I haven't used it outside yet, but I'm sure it will be just fine. The software that comes with it is easy to download, and with Windows 98, the drivers are very easy to install too. Just plug in to the USB Port on your PC and the software walks you right through the process of downloading the images.
Again, a great buy on a nice digital camera for the money!!

I originally had an Olympus D-360, the previous model in this line, but it was stolen out of my car (if I ever find the person who did that... grrrr). This camera is quite an improvement over it's predecessor. Smaller, easier to operate, the menu system is 100% improved, and the batteries last A LOT longer. My only gripe is the removal of the small status screen on the top of the camera, it's handy when you don't want to use the LCD screen to save the batteries. Oh well, not a big deal. I do hope to move up to a 2 or 3 mp camera before too long, but this camera takes excellent pictures for it's price/mp range. A good first (or second, grrr) digital camera.

And just a note to the reviewer who had "Mixed Feelings About This One": If the store you bought this from advertised it incorrectly, you can hardly blame Olympus, while it would be nice if a memory card came with the camera, it says nothing about that on the box. And, as for the 2x or 4x digital zoom, if you set the picture quality to the lowest setting, it will digitally zoom up to 4x. As it says in the manual (though not very clearly, took me a while to figure it out too). Of course, digital zooms are junk, they degrade picture quality, but it is there.