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.
Rating:
Summary: Beware software obsolescence
Review: This camera is let down by poor support. The software (Camedia) that came with the camera supports Windows '98. My new computer came with Windows XP, which is not supported. On the Olympus web site they state that I will have to purchase an upgrade to XP. When I try to follow their link to obtain the upgrade I am taken to a web page detailing a flash gun, a remote control and a flash bracket, so I am still unable to download pictures. This I find a let down and I would think twice about Olympus if I were to be in the market for a digital camera.
Rating:
Summary: Great Camera until it just DIED.
Review: I bought this camera for my wife just over a year ago. Since then we have had a great time taking wonderful pictures. I cannot complain about the quality of picture or the everyday use of this camera. We absolutely loved it until one day when it simply did not turn back on. We thought we had just worn the batteries down, but it did not work when we put new ones in. We emailed olympus and they told us how to reset the camera, with no luck. The price to have it fixed is the same price to buy a new one now on ebay. We took it to a local camera shop and they wanted $...just to look at it. They said this problem happens alot with these cameras, which is apparent if you continue to read all the reviews. For now we bought a HewlettPackard 715 with 3.3mp. I did not want to take the chance on the olympus camera again, even though we loved it while it worked.
Rating:
Summary: I still give the Olympus D-490 5 Stars*****
Review: I ordered my camera on...and recieved it...and have used it every day since, ...and I am very pleased with the camera and the sevice from Amazon.com and VipMart. My camera was a refurb and it works very well. I have several SLR's and this camera will always be by my side and the first one I pick up to shoot with. I am by nature the first one to find fault (or so I'm told) with everything but not this time. Have no fear, get one of these if you are in the market for a point and shoot camera that can do much more than just take a snapshot! Steve.
Rating:
Summary: D490 Olmpus, Amazon and Vipmart
Review: I thought this might be of help to those of you who are nervous about buying on line and especially buying a refurb camera. The Olympus I bought came from Vipmart via the Amazon link. I also puchased a new Olympus 128mb smart card with it. I got a good price on the card but I stole the D-490! The ad said, the camera had slight scratches on it and it was a refurb for $139.00 The scratches were so slight I had a hard time finding them and it works great! I also found that when hooked up through your VCR your can record unlimited movies! I have not found my old mikes with RCA jacks yet but I'm convinced It will record the audio as well. I wonder why they don't advertise this fact? On the con side... They didn't send me the strap! Oh well, I gotta complain about something don't I?
Rating:
Summary: Great - While it Lasted!!
Review: Loved the camera when I first got it, although the picture quality wasn't fabulous it was fine for a first digital camera. However, the camera stopped working just after my one year warranty ran out requiring it to be shipped back to Olympus for a complete overhaul ...Sadly, I know of at least one other with the same problem with an Olympus camera, so I'm wary of the brand now.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: It takes great pictures for a small amount of money. I'll never buy film again!
Rating:
Summary: Fits in my cargo pants pocket
Review: I've had this camera for almost a year and it's had very very heavy use. I do a lot of work in the field and this camera "folds" down so that it fits easily in my front pocket (cargo pants, not jeans). The slide close over the lens is perfect for protecting the lens, the flash disappears into the body. Unlike the other reviewer(s), I've not had any problems with the software; I moved to rechargeable batteries fairly soon after I bought the camera, however, I never used to LCD screen much as I have to look at my subjects (eye to eye) to photograph them; I'm never "behind the camera." That I could just set the lens to wide angle and shoot from the hip has been a breeze with the mighty-mite. Only quibble is with the noise the lens makes (wide-tele); that is, I prefer an almost silent adjustment...However, for most, I'd think the very solid sound of the barrell changing from tele-wide-tele, would be satisfying, and good feedback.
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