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Olympus Camedia D-520 2MP Digital Camera w/ 3x Optical Zoom

Olympus Camedia D-520 2MP Digital Camera w/ 3x Optical Zoom

List Price: $299.99
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Still excellent in quality
Review: Im mamun from Dhaka, Bangladesh. I'm a Graphic Designer and something different is my hobby.
I got this on 16 Nov.My cousine brought it for me from Miame. it's my first D Cam. Its quick reference manual is very effective.
I've studied over it from January '02, (actually I'm standing for D510). Unfortunately this model is out of date from March/April. After a long time D520 is arrived, and by studying it I found its more suitable for me. Because It comes with 16 MB Smart Card, Bangladesh's vendors are still do not Import such type of D Cam, Smart Card is a unknown thing to them. Another thing is its 2 Battery, here is a few of 600ma rechargeable is available.
I got its operation system after a clear reading of its quick reference manual. Still I learning over it. Till now I find its focusing is sometime take time, though its manual explain how to recover it. Movie is fine in its size, Pic' s are still nice, night scene work excellent. Downloading XP is amazing, 98 is easy also.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: People, read the manual!
Review: There are complaints by some reviewers that you have to close the lens cover (shutdown the camera), in order to review/see the picture you just took. You would think people would read the manual just a little (it's less than 20pgs after all) when purchasing a camera! You can review the picture last taken on the LCD by pressing the "screen" button twice. Cake.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: My first digital camera
Review: This is my first digital camera. I took 75 pictures per day over three days while on a recent road trip.

Things I do not like: Batteries were replaced about every 100 pictures. The flash is on by default and it takes a bit of clicking to turn it off so sometimes I don't bother (the flash sometimes flashes during daytime which is a bit puzzling to me). I rarely used the LCD display to preview or review my pictures. Perhaps I would be able to take more pictures if I turned the flash off. You can only take a picture every 10-15 seconds when the flash is on .... The flash popping up, camera lens moving out and the big plastic slider on the front seem like a lot of moving parts for a camera. I hope none of them break. (The zoom mechanism is particularly noisy and "flimsy".)

Things I like: Looks, price, ease of getting images onto my Windows 2000 computer. I did not install their software -- the camera shows up as a hard drive when I plug in the USB cable. I can take over 250 1600x1200 pictures with a $50 128MB memory card. The entire camera including the menu/option system is very easy to use. I still have never opened the instructions.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Great Camera for the price, watch the delay and batteries
Review: This might be one of the best 2 MP digital camera for the price, although I have not tried all of them myself. I previously had a 0.5 MP camera and it would take me so many shots before I could get 1 worth keeping. The quality of the pictures on the D520 is just amazing and high quality inkjet prints on photo glossy paper look like a photo. It is very easy to operate, although I was not too sure how to close the camera the first time since I tried to do so without reading the manual. However most of the commands and features are explicit and intuitive. My main criticism is the delay between the time you shoot the photo and the time the camera takes it. It must be close to 1 second which is an eternity when you try to take the picture of a smiling baby or a live action. More misses than hits, but eventually you learn to anticipate the smile and take the shot or multiple shots, which you can erase easily afterwards. I have heard similar complaints from owners of other cameras of different brands, so this is not a problem specific to the D520. The only other big surprise was how much battery this camera can eat! I went through 2 sets after the first two days for what I thought was normal use and bought a battery charger since. Beside that I love this camera, and it is easy to move pictures to PC or Mac, or seeing them on TV.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Great camera, great price
Review: I was looking for a good digital camera at a reasonable price. The D-520 definitely fits the bill. I wanted to make sure the camera I bought had enough features to keep me happy, but wasn't so complicated that my wife wouldn't use it. This camera seems to fit the bill. She can power it up and shoot away without worrying about changing any settings. I like the 3X optical zoom, it gives you lots of options for framing a shot as you take it without losing resolution like you would cropping the picture later in your computer. All of the pictures I have taken so far look great.

The only down side to this camera keeping me from giving it 5 stars is the Camedia Master software that comes with it. It doesn't allow you to do much but download pictures off the camera and put them in albums. My biggest beef is that it appears that you can't change where the software stores it albums. You can upgrade to the "pro" version of the software, which adds some nice features like being able to rename groups of pictures to one name root with a numbered extension ...Thankfully, the ability to drag and drop the pictures from the camera (it shows up as a removable drive on your PC) offsets this drawback.

I would highly recommend this camera. As with all digital cameras, you should invest in some good nickel metal hydride (NiMH) rechargeable batteries and a good charger. You may want to carry some spare charged batteries as well. I also recommend getting more smart media cards as the included card is only 16 MB. Some people recommend 128 MB, but since I don't like putting all my eggs in one basket (what if that card gets damaged or lost?) I recommend getting two 64 MB cards. The price difference isn't that much, and you have a backup card in case on gets damaged.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Good choice for beginners or web-based digital photography
Review: I'm a working photographer, and Olympus has always had a good reputation among my fellow professionals for making high-quality, inexpensive point-and-shoot film cameras. I've known many folks who packed an Olympus Stylus in their pocket, in addition to their regular high-end camera gear, for quick grab shots and the like. It seems that for the most part, this high regard can be extended to Olympus's digital point-and-shoot cameras as well.

I'm planning some extended travels, and though I'll be using my film cameras for the majority of my photography, I also wanted to bring an inexpensive digital camera to email a few snapshots back home. I previously had used several other Olympus digital cameras, including the D-380, and had been pleased with all of them, so when I found a D-520 at a reasonable price I jumped on it.

And after a few weeks of general use, I'm happy with the performance of the D-520. Colors are rendered with good saturation and accuracy, especially in sunlight, and the images are sharper and clearer than I expected for a digital camera at this price, particularly at the higher resolutions. The various controls are fairly intuitive once you get used to them, and while I wish there were a few more manual options, there's a good set of control choices for an entry-level camera. Plus it's small - even smaller than the D-380, which doesn't have a zoom lens. It fits easily into my pants pocket or shirt pocket, which is great for travelling.

The downsides, though there are a few, are mostly minor. The flash pops out and sits there in a bit of an awkward spot, and there's no way to put it back in its slot while the camera's on, even if you've turned the flash off. Frankly, I can't see any good reason why they didn't just leave it embedded in the camera body like they did on most of this camera's cousins. The rubber flap over the USB and video ports seems a bit fiddly and prone to breaking off, but that's not a big deal to me. And the flash sometimes takes a while to charge up again after a photo, but since it runs off just 2 AA batteries I guess that was the trade-off Olympus made for smaller size and weight.

It's not a perfect camera, but it's probably one of the better options available in this price range. The Olympus D-520 is a good camera for a beginner, or for someone who won't miss having full manual controls and other creative options in their camera. Its 2-megapixel resolution is well more than adequate for email and the web (which is how I plan to use it) or for 4x6-size snapshots. Those who demand more control and more options, or who plan to print out 5x7, 8x10, or larger enlargements might want to seek out a model with higher resolution.

If you do get this camera, drop the extra $50 or so and spring for an accessory 128mb smartmedia card. The included 16mb card is too small for anything but short photo excursions, while the 128mb card will give you all the space you'll ever need - on the D-520 it holds well over 250 pictures, even at high resolution. You could save a few bucks and get a 64mb card instead, but in my opinion the extra cost is more than worth it to get twice as much storage space in return.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Good for beginners
Review: My wife, a beginner in photography (all types of it) could produce nice pictures with this easy to use point-and-shoot type camera, that allows basic interventions by the photographer.

People who want to go digital and will use the images for e-mail, web-sites and for keeping a digital album will be very much satisfied with the performance of this camera.
In macro mode the viewfinder can induce to error in framing. Its better to use the screen.

The photographers beyond this should try a more sophisticated model. I have had very good results with the Olympus E10.

A pair of alcaline batteries lasted long (aprox 250 pictures, a number with taken with flash, and rather frequent use of the screen, during a 5 days trip).

The camera is small and easy to carry in a pocket, pouch, etc. Users need to be careful while closing the lens cover... don't do it too fast in order to allow the lens to retract and avoid hitting the lens barrel with the lid.

The software provided is very good.

A must: extra memory cards -64 M or more- recommended.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: It's a good camera
Review: It's a good camera, easy tu use. good resolution.......

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great value!
Review: I was looking for an easy-to-use camera and this fit the bill. It's easy to grasp and is lightweight. The built-in lens cover assures that the lens won't be scratched. Menu options are not intuitive but still easy to learn. And, of course, great picture quality. A very good choice for a first-time digital camera ower.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: good camera but seemingly delicate
Review: this appears to be a good camera for the money, but the pop-out flash, and the motorized lense mechanism seem real delicate. If can purchase from CompUSA or similar with in-store unlimited 2year warranty (extra money), it might be a good deal. I was unwilling to spend the extra money, so in my case, I will return the unit, and stick with 35mm for now.


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