Rating: 
Summary: Unassisted Suicide.
Review: Like others, I have absolutely loved my Olympus D-490 Zoom digital camera -- until now. I have seen several reviews in this list reporting a sudden and unexpected electrical death of the camera. I am now mourning just that same event. Love ya, Olympus, but I fear I cannot now trust ya!
Rating: 
Summary: Great camera
Review: I've been reading everyone elses reviews and I am shocked. I have had nothing but good experiences with my camera. Yes, it does eat up the battery if you use the LCD screen but if you use good batteries like the energizer e squareds, it works great. The software is fairly easy to use (contrary to what most say). I have to agree with most though when they say the serial port is too slow. I bought a smartmedia USB reader the same day and haven't had a problem since. With the price being so low now a days with used cameras on the market, you might as well pick one up. They work great. I've never had a problem and I've had mine for over 2 years. i am a very satisfied customer.
Rating: 
Summary: Worked great (5 stars) for the first 24 months
Review: I bought my camera new in March of 2001. I have used the camera without problem for a long time , "BUT" (see below). Note to those having problems with battery life - stop using the screen and just use the optical viewfinder except for really close up shots. That's what eats the batteries. I have gotten 250+ shots (more than one 128MB card's worth of pictures at high res) on a single recharge of my NiMH recharagable batteries. Maybe 50% of the time with flash. But avoiding the use of the screen at all costs! Oh, I also really like the fact that the flash is manual; newer versions are completely automatic, and I don't like that at all.Now the "BUT": like several other folk, my camera just stopped working after 2 years of faithful service. I was debating sending it in, but my brother-in-law and I played with the battery compartment a little and, by holding the door partly open (but all batteries in contact) it would work. Looks like age and plastics and tenuous connections, since, having taking it apart and prodded gently at some of the connectors, it now sometimes works. I suspect the flex of the plastic body is too much over time. The method of turning on the camera is just too mechanical. Since the price of "official" repair is a large percentage the price of a new camera, I won't go that route. But I will open it up again and look more closely with a loop to see if there are any obvious solder cracks or other loose connections. Hey, it's long out of warrantee. Anyone with more experience with this problem (all three of you) holler. The very high cost of repair and lack of DIY information on the Olympus site are why I give my otherwise awesome little camera just two stars.
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