Rating: 
Summary: good camera, but it costs more than you think...
Review: This is my first digital camera and my very first camera forover $200. Overall, I'm happy with it - it's easy to carry andtakes great pictures. There's not a pause between pressing the button and the camera actually taking the picture, which is a problem with other digital cameras. Some things to keep in mind though:1. Downloading from the camera to your computer is EXTREMELY slow through the Serial Cable. Buy the SMART DISK floppy. Basically, your memory card fits right into the floppy disk, and the floppy disk works just like any floppy. The only bad thing about the floppy is it takes two lithium batteries. 2. If you have a laptop, you probably want to buy the DDSMFLSAD Smart Media Adapter for PCMCIA slot. Does the same thing as the SMART DISK floppy, but obviously cheaper. Same downloading speed. 3. If you don't buy 1 or 2, then buy an AC adapter (which by the way, doesn't come with the camera). Your camera must be on to transfer the pictures to your computer. Again, extremely SLOW. 4. There isn't a protective covering for the LCD monitor, so buy a camera case. This case doesn't come with the camera. Costs around $20 at any store. Actually you can buy the Olympus 200-523 Accessory Kit which has the AC Adapter, 2 MB card, and camera case. 5. This camera comes with an 8 MB card which holds 36 HQ pictures or 18 SHQ pictures. I can't tell the difference between the two qualities. 8 MB is good enough. After taking about two days worth of pictures, I download them to my computer and erase the 8 MB card. I don't feel the need to have more or larger cards. But then again, if I traveled and didn't have access to my PC, then I would invest in a couple 32 MB card. 6. Camera doesn't have zoom. I took some pictures of my friends running a marathon, and it would've been great to have the zoom feature. I sometimes regret not buying the Olympus D-400 Zoom Digital Camera for $600. If you like taking close-up pictures without being near the object, then don't buy this camera. So in summary, I actually spent an extra $200 bucks ($500 total) to make this purchase worthwhile.
Rating: 
Summary: Truly a great little camera, especially for the price
Review: If it had an optical zoom lens, this camera would be perfect! But, it would also cost a lot more. The camera is nice and small, fits easily in a coat pocket so you can take it anywhere. Picture quality is great, a bit soft on landscapes but all digital cameras are, even the 2 megapixel ones don't really do landscapes that well. The macro shots from this camera look spectacular, and people shots are just great. They print out very nicely, too. The autofocus works very well, and the metering is excellent (you can adjust the exposure up and down 1 stop if you want, but so far I haven't found it necessary). Color saturation is great, and very accurate. You can't adjust the white balance manually, but fortunately the camera's automatic white balancing works extremely well. You have 4 options when taking pictures, SQ (standard quality), HQ (high quality), SHQ (super high quality) and SHQ uncompressed. SQ is 640x480, the rest are 1260x980, the only difference being the compression used. HQ uses the most compression, and SHQ uncompressed uses no compression at all (a nice feature that many cameras don't have -for those really detailed shots). I find HQ works just fine for most pictures, and I can get 73 of those on a 16MB card. The viewfinder is a bit small, but not hard to find, and it's quite clear. The LCD is good, even in the daylight. Controls are easy to learn and well laid out. It's easy to view your pictures on the LCD, and you can delete any one (or all of them) at the touch of a button. You can also protect any of them from being accidentally erased. There's a 3x feature that allows you to see a portion of the picture a 3 times the size, useful for determining how sharp it really is, or if you moved the cameral during the shot. The flash works very well for its size, and you can easily turn it off, set it for fill, or red-eye reduction. The panorama mode works great, even hand-held. I took some shots of a church with the steeple way, way up there, using the panorama feature, and when I assembled the shots later on the computer (it's an automatic process) the result was tremedous. You could not see the seams at all, even though I took the shots hand-held. Great stuff. The camera is pretty sturdy too. I dropped it from about 3 feet and (thankfully) it survived. The software is reasonably good, and I really like the little Camedia thumbnail viewer. Downloading from the camera is smooth, although a bit slow since it's serial. However, the FlashPath adapter works really nicely and is much, much faster. The camera uses batteries pretty quickly, but if you get some NIMH rechargeables you'll have no worries. Go to Thomas Distributors on the web, and buy the MAHA MHC-C204F charger and 8 NIMH batteries and you'll never run out. With the MAHA you can even recharge them in your car. Don't buy the Olympus NIMH charger, it only works with Olympus batteries (yes I tried it with some others and it got so hot it almost caught fire) and doesn't have the features of the MAHA (and it costs quite a bit more). By the way, the camera comes with a home version of PhotoDeluxe, which is an OK photo editor. Has the basics. But you'll probably want something else eventually. I recommend PhotoSuite II - really great for the price and very easy to use. Anyway, I guess I've rambled a bit, but bottom line I'm very happy with this camera. Going digital is so freeing - you can take as many shots as you want, no film costs, see exactly what you have before you walk away, and then put it all into your computer to play with.
Rating:
Summary: Tried many...this one is still the best!
Review: I bought my Olympus D-340R in late 1998 (I think) when it first came out, for around $300. The same money buys a lot more these days but this one has honestly been worth every penny. It has been used (and seriously abused) pretty much daily for 5 years and is still going strong. I have NEVER had a single problem with it. I've purchased 4 other digital cameras since this one, only to return them (a Canon, HP 320, HP 635, and Olympus D-390). Nothing beats the quality of the pics on my Olympus D-340R. I've never experienced photos with red-eyes like I did constantly with the others (I don't use the red-eye reduction - typically just point and shoot), and the color/sharpness are far superior to the others. The drawbacks are that there is no optical zoom, and I do go through a lot of batteries (but we use the LCD alot). The megapixels could be higher, but it works ok for me. Although I use it primarily for web use, I've found the SHQ shots print out superbly (with my photo printer). I recommend upgrading to a 128 MB memory card - I did this past year, and wowsa! I can take nearly 600 HQ pics or nearly 300 SHQ pics. I also recommend getting a memory card reader for super-fast downloading, because the serial cable is painfully slow. With a card reader you can also bypass the Camedia software, which leaves something to be desired. I am amazed that this camera has served me so well for so long! And until I can afford a $500+ model....I'll happily keep on using it!
Rating:
Summary: Perfect For Beginners and Normal Users
Review: There's a reason why this camera is the most popular one on the site - it is all you will ever need in a digital camera, at an unbeatable price! I understood ZERO about digital photography and had it up and running in no time. Make sure you get the following accessories: (1) A floppy adaptor, because moving pictures to your computer by cable is too slow. (2) A 16MB memory cartridge because you will not be able to stop taking pictures. (3) Extra rechargeable NiMH batteries and a charger because the one minor drawback of this baby is the way it eats batteries for breakfast. I cannot say enough good things about this camera. If you're just looking for a camera to record your friends, family, and life, this is the one.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent camera with tons of features for its price.
Review: For only $300, this camera is an excellent choice for anyone who needs to take digital photographs. It has more features than I ever thought possible, including the ability to slice a picture into 9 sections and zoom in on each one (on the LCD screen), and hook it up easily to a TV and use the slide show function to display your photos on a larger screen. Although the positives outway the negatives, there are still some aspects I could do without. I have had the camera for 2 days (and have been using it very much as well), and already the battery low warning has appeared. I read that you should really use the AC adapter for doing 'camera --> PC' transfers, as well as connecting it to your TV. I haven't done that, so I'm sure those are 2 main reasons the batteries are already low. Also, it is suggested that you use the LCD screen for viewing pictures only, as not only does it eat up battery life but you can take more steady pictures when using the viewer rather than the LCD. Camera --> PC transfers are slow and you can get quite impatient waiting for the included software to index/thumbnail all the pics on the cam before you can do anything such as download, etc. But, for the price it's an excellent camera. You can save in .bmp, .jpg, and .tif using the included software. Using the lowest image quality mode, you can store about 120 on the included 8 megabyte SmartMedia card, and they come out exceptionally well, too. 4 flash features, zoom, and more make this camera a necessity for the novice photographer or just about anyone.
Rating:
Summary: good for beginners
Review: ...P>Ok, bad points first: No optical zoom, just digital zoom. Digital zoom is pointless though, just makes the pixels bigger. I really wish all digital camera manufacturers would stop with the digital zoom boasts. what's the point? Batteries. Yup, eats batteries fairly quickly. 4 of them. Serial port download is slow. Bulky. Heavy and quite a size compared to some of the dinky dig-cams about now. Good: Contrary to noevilpeople, I've found this camera to be extremely durable. It has lasted 4 years with me. Including a drop onto a marble floor, numerous plane trips, a house fire and a touch of condensation. good going. Name a PC or printer that still goes as well after 4 years! Seems to take quite a few pictures for its memory. 36 HQ on a 8MB card is good going. newer cameras seem to squeeze in less, even at the same res, and with no discernible increase in quality. It can take 16MB cards easily enough (I got one), but any bigger (32MB) and I recall you have to send it back to Olympus to get it retro-fitted or something! Price. it's cheap now! Small display on top of the camera gives you enough info without having to use the power-hungry lcd a lot. LCD only needs to be used for macro shots (<10 cm away) and panorama shots. Otherwise, just use the normal viewfinder. All in all, this camera has done me well. the only real lack is the optical zoom, which is why after 4 years I'm after a new camera, but for the beginner this is a superb camera.
Rating:
Summary: High Quality for Beginners
Review: If you're looking for a digital camera that can not only handle web photos, but also some non-web pictures, the Olympus 340R is a good bet. I did a lot of research, including Amazon customer reviews. At $400 in early 2000 (everything electronic has is relative to date), it may represent the best value going. The pictures are great (don't rely on the autoflash indoors...for indoor shots, set the camera for flash). The operating manual could be more user-friendly, but is tolerable. Once you get the hang of it, it's a very easy camera to operate. The built-in shutter cover, which doubles as the power shutoff is an example of simple engineering genius. On the downside, you'll read that the 340R is a "battery hog," and it is. Rechargeable Nickel Metal Hydride batteries (get 8 + a charger) are a must. I also recommend the FlashPath adapter. It's a great way to transfer your picture files to your computer and saves on battery usage. Though I LOVE Amazon, the truth is that you'll be better served if you buy generic versions of these accessories, rather than the Olympus versions that Amazon sells. Another battery saving technique is to avoid using the built-in mini-monitor to take pictures. You don't need it. Net, for $400, you can't beat this one.
Rating:
Summary: Muy buena cámara digital!
Review: La Olympus D-340R ha sido mi única cámara digital, la he tenido por más de 3 años y no tengo queja alguna excepto por dos cosas: 1. Si se utiliza la pantalla LCD para tomar fotografías panorámicas o con el zoom incorporado, las baterías no van a durar casi nada. 2. El transferir las imágenes a la PC puede tardar una eternidad únicamente para ver el contenido de la tarjeta de memoria, luego viene el proceso de bajarlas al disco duro. Consejo: hay que comprar el adaptador AC de lo contrario las baterías se consumirán velozmente! Respecto a la calidad de las fotos, no me puedo quejar de nada. Excelente calidad y si quieren tener más espacio para almacenar... compren la tarjeta SmartMedia de 16MB mientras duren existencias!
Rating:
Summary: Great Vacation Camera!
Review: The D-340R is a great camera for the time it was created and marketed. Granted, it uses a serial port, but that was the standard a few years ago. I bought a multi-card reader, no problem with downloads now! It does use batteries, but only if you are foolish enough to try to run the LCD display window a lot. I bought a quick charger and a couple of sets of rechargeables at Radio Shack, and have had no problem. The controls are useable, although I've never been able to make the "Delete All" function work, it involves pressing two buttons at once. To noevilpeople: it DOES have a telephoto function, if you want a zoom, spend the money. It's rugged enough - I dropped it from a picnic table to the ground once with no ill effect. Again, this is an older camera, newer digitals offer more features. I bought mine in 1999, that was dog's years ago in the electronic world! I've used an Olympus camera for film, now this D-340R, when I upgrade to a newer digital, I'll get another Olympus digital camera.
Rating: 
Summary: This is the worst digital camera i have ever seen, EVER.
Review: After a family member purchased this Olympus D-340R 1.3 MP camera, i will never again buy any product from olympus. The first problem about this camera is that it has no zoom. i cant stand a camera without zoom. that might be enough to throw it in the trash right off the bat. But theres more! This camera eats batteries like crazy. That is to say you put batteries in, take pictures for 2 minutes, and then it says the batteries are dead and wont let you take any more pictures. If you take the batteries out, you can use them in another device for hours, but the camera says they are dead. This seems to happen with only non-rechargeable batteries though, but still, thats another 10, 20$ you have to spend on rechargeable batteries and a charger, plus it takes 4 AA's when it should only take 2. The camera is also very cheap. The whole thing is made out of the lowest grade plastics i have ever seen. If i ever dropped it i am sure it would break. When you turn the camera on, the display on the back doesnt go on like it should. The shutter button is often reluctant to snap a photo. These features make it very hard for me to teach my not-too-savvy family how to use this camera. The flash also makes pictures come out terrible for some reason, and i always find myself shutting it off to save the photo. Not that the photos look anything better than terrible without it. This is a 1.3 MP camera, and a terrible one at that after all. Now we come to the worst feature, the software. This is the most poorly designed software anybody could make. Only a monkey could design software that was any less quality. First off, IT USES A SERIAL PORT! That might have been the height of technology in 1985, but anything less than USB is INEXCUSIBLE! This software is very picky and choosy about when it wants to see that your camera is connected to the computer. And it takes about 30 seconds to detect if it is. Then it takes forever to download just a thumbnail of all the images on the camera. And if you try to transfer more than oh, say, 5 pictures at a time, you risk having the software close on you. Now this might happen before you wait the 10 hrs it takes to transfer the pictures over the rediculously slow serial port, or after. I have it happen to me often after the pictures have supposedly transfered, but then the pictures are nowhere to be found on the hard drive, and i have to spend the 30 min re-transferring them. The people at olympus are obviously not your friends, because i wouldnt wish this digital camera on my enemies. NEVER BUY THIS CAMERA. But if you do, spend the extra 20$ to get a smartmedia USB card reader. It will save you the agony of using the Serial port and the Camedia software, which are both horrible. Also buy rechargeable batteries, as from what ive seen, all olympuses like to eat batteries like theres no tommorow. I would just like to emphasize again, STAY AWAY FROM THIS CAMERA. DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES BUY IT, ACCEPT IT AS A GIFT, ANYTHING. If this camera was free i wouldnt take it. Well i might just to stomp on it 30 times and break it just to save anyone the agony of having to use it.
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