Rating: 
Summary: A Great Package!
Review: I bought the D-520Z as my third digital camera. I have many years of photography experience, and have owned more than two dozen 35mm film cameras.This is a great camera for the person who is somewhat fussy, but still wants an easy-to-use optical zoom platform. For the benefit of people who don't read instructions, one may view a just-snapped picture by pressing the display button twice or (better yet) setting the camera up to display the picture for about 2 seconds after snapping it. Also, all settings can be memorized so the camera is ready to go as soon as you fire it up. For instance, I use fill flash on nearly every outdoor shot that involves people, and I have a preference for spot-metering. Both of these items are selectable and memorizable. Although the flash recycle time is a little slow, I consider it a very fair trade-off for being able to use AA batteries and only two of them at that. Performance with NiMH batteries is outstanding; on a recent vacation I took over 100 pictures, most with flash, with extensive use of the LCD, and never changed batteries. Low-light performance is acceptable to me, and I take a lot of pics indoors. The camera is quite compact (fits easily in a shirt pocket with room to spare), and most important, the body is relatively thin. Before you buy ANY camera, consider whether you really want to lug that clunky (and expensive) digital camera around for the sake of a possible tiny increase in picture quality. The true measure of any camera is picture quality, and I find this one to be very good. I'm finicky, and I'm pleased. This camera is not as sexy-looking as some of the competition (read ELPF), but the price is right and I feel beginners and amateurs will be able to take a very high percentage of good pics with this one. Highly recommended...hats off to Olympus.
Rating:
Summary: The best digital camera on the market for under $300
Review: 1. First put in stores in April 2002. Great phot quality for a 2.0 Megapixel. I use it for sending photos on the web. It's great for that. 2. After lots of research, this is the best I could find for under [money]. Super buy. 3. You need a USB port on your computer. 4. Easy easy easy to use. If you have Windows XP on your computer, you plug the USB adaptor into the camera. XP recognizes the camera as a drive. (No software to install). You simply drag and drop the jpegs to your hard drive same as you would any files from any disk or drive. When you unplug the USB, the camera turns off. This probably works on Win98 as well, but you might want to check that out ahead of time. 5. Battery life is unmatched. I have used it all day (in the viewfinder mode) without seeing the battery power indicator move at all. 6. Sixe 4 1/2 X 2 1/2 inches. 7. Even close, the viewfinder does an excellent job of properly centering the photo. This saves battery life. You don't have to turn the screen on unless you want it. 8. Downfalls: You close the sliding lens cap to turn the camera off. If you push it too hard, the lens caps hits the lens and causes the pull-in-the-lens mechanism to jam. Can't review your photos on the rear screen unless you first turn the camera off. Pretty annoying if you want to show your shot to someone immediately. 9. Other things you will need. Get a cheap (non Olympus) NiCd batter charger. I found an Eveready set for [money]. It's much cheaper than the Olympus and works as well. Get a SmartMedia 128MB card to replace the one in the camera. You will have trouble filling it up before you download. ... You may want a vinyl case. It's not included. 10. Lots of other features I have never found the need to use, but they give a lot of added capability and depth to the camera. 11. Finally, the pop up flash does a great job with fill in ... like when you are taking a photo of people with a window behind them. The center weighted metering is not very good, so you will have to select flash instead of automatic.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Little Camera for amateurs.
Review: I got this camera for my birthday a year ago. I have had a wonderful time using it, and I wouldn't have any problems with buying another Olympus. I am currently working on becoming a professional photographer, so it's time for an upgrade. Good stuff: Takes sharp, clear photos with great color in most situations. Decent battery life, 2 AA's last for about 100 pictures. Easy-to-use features, and handy digital on-screen photo index. Bad Stuff: Photos often come out blurry in night-mode. Shutter Speed is a little slow, tripod is best. All in all, I think this is a wonderful camera for anyone who enjoys taking everyday photos.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Performance
Review: I just received this camera a few days ago. It took a few hours to get used to taking pictures and downloading them into my computer. I purchased it used for a low price from an Amazon seller, it arrived promptly and well packed. It looked hardly used and worked perfectly. I already owned a few sets of 1300 mAH, Metal Nickel-Hydride rechargeable batteries, and they work well in the camera, as I used the LCD display sparingly. I was able to take over 30 pictures on one set of batteries with them still going strong. Higher power (amperage) batteries are now available, and would extend the number of pictures per charge. The camera has advanced circuitry that gets more pictures per charge, than previous models. It only uses two AA NiMH, Lithium or Alkaline batteries. The optical zoom is easy to use and is a great help in framing the pictures. The camera appears as a drive on the desktop of my Mac - OSX, and will do so with Windows XP as well, no drivers needed, which is a great convenience. The included software is useful if you don't have other photo software already installed. The camera is light, and compact, rendered colors accurately and with full saturation, and the small built-in flash worked automatically and well. All in all, I am most satisfied with my Olympus Camedia D-520 and would highly reccommend this entry level camera to anyone interested in learning digital photography,
Rating:
Summary: Great camera for the price
Review: First of all,...stop reading and get in tune with reality. For $$$the Olympus D-520 is a great digital camera. I'm trying one out now for a friend and I'm really impressed with it. My own digital camera is an older Olympus D-370 (1.3 mp) and I'm afraid I'm going to have to pickup the D-520 now for myself because there is no comparison. Looking at pictures from my D-370 now it's obvious that they were taken with a digital camera. Images from the D-520 on the other hand could easily pass for pictures scanned from a printed photo. I can't believe there is this much a difference between 1.3 and 2 megapixel images. Noted improvements between the two are the resolution, flash, zoom and auto-focus. If you're debating between the D-520 and the D-380 (the newer version of the D-370) I'd highly recommend the D-520. It really doesn't cost that much more and you will enjoy the optical zoom and auto focus. As far as batteries go, I'd recommend picking up a battery charger and rechargeable NiMH AA batteries. Rechargeable is the only way to go with digital cameras.
Rating: 
Summary: Compact Size and Uses Compatible Memory
Review: I bought this camera after my satisfaction with another Olympus digital camera. I was very happy with the compact size, and that it only uses 2 AA batteries. Too bad it takes a long time to recharge the flash. Also, the flash pops out of the camera and has to be manually pushed in-- why not just build it in to the camera body ? My previous Olympus was in the [money] range, and too fantastic photos. This one, has less than stellar optics. In fact, it is out of focus slightly most of the time. I just bought a Fuji 2650 to compare, and found the optics to be 100 times better. Unless my camera is a lemon, I'd go with Fuji. While the compact size is a plus, the bad photo images don't make up for the size. One thing Olympus *does* have going for it is the use of a standardized memory card-- at least you can buy any camera in this Olympus family and retain your previously bought memory cards. This is one large disadvantage with Fuji, which requires the proprietary XD memory card.
Rating:
Summary: A perfect match between features and price!!
Review: After doing extensive research both online and in stores (where you can actually hold the cameras), I decided that the Olympus D-520 was a great blend between features and price. Unless you're a pro photographer, you're not going to need more than 2 megapixel detail. I don't even use the highest setting, so I can store more pics on my memory card and computer. The camera has so many options, it's awesome. Read the manual for all the details. Having used an older Olympus 1.3 mp model, I knew what I wanted in my OWN camera. The 3x optical zoom is, IMHO, essential. Taking big pictures and cropping doesn't make up for being able to zoom in. A store salesperson said that zoom lenses have to be of a higher optical quality than normal ones too. I wanted a small, lightweight package, which this definitely is. It only takes 2 AA batteries, and it's a lot smaller than previous models and those ones with the big 10x lenses. It takes Quicktime movies (in 15" or 1 minute segments, depending on resolution), but they don't have sound, so it's pretty useless, in my opinion. Recommended accessories (in no order):
1. NIMH batteries (I got a set of 4 with a rapid charger)
2. Extra memory card (I already had a 64 Mb card, but it goes up to 128 on this camera.)
3. Carrying case (Bring your purchased camera, batteries, and memory card to a bunch of stores until you find one that fits well. I got a Tamarac that fits like a glove!)
4. USB Smart Media card reader (If you won't be using rechargeable batteries. If so, the included cable is just as fast and more compact for travel.) If you plan on doing serious editing, the included Camedia software probably won't cut it, but it works fine for the casual user who just wants to view and edit pics. I hope this helps your purchasing decision. It's an awesome camera!
Rating: 
Summary: Worst camera I have ever owned - terrible response time
Review: Olympus has an outstanding reputation in 35-mm and digital. I had owned an earlier generation Olympus Camedia so I did not hesitate to purchase the D-520 zoom as a pocket camera for quick snaps of our newborn daughter to email the grandparents. Easy to carry in a pant pocket, quality digital pictures, right? WRONG. I have a simple expectation of a camera...point it at an object, push a button, and capture the image. The D-520 only occasionally takes the picture when you push the button, sometimes not responding at all. When you have your infant sitting beside her dog, smiling, both dog and daughter looking at the camera, you have a very limited window of opportunity to snap the shot. The D-520 fails miserably. I have no problems with the quality of the pictures taken, but the response time on the camera between pushing the button and the camera taking the picture is painfully slow. I have missed so many shots, while waiting for the camera to decide that it is ready to take a picture, that I have plan to chuck the whole camera into a landfill somewhere. Worthless digital disaster. My suggestion, get a 35mm and never miss a candid shot again.
Rating: 
Summary: Not a good camera for indoors shots
Review: I own three (3) Olympus digital cameras (D-360Z, C-730UZ, & D-520) and I cannot recommend the D-520 camera. It has an unbelievably long flash cycle time that makes it almost useless for indoor shooting. I'm talking 10 to 15 seconds after taking two or three pictures on fresh rechargeable batteries! (and I buy Olympus batteries) If you're at a graduation or other event you basically have one chance to get a picture because your child will be off the stage and back to their seat before the flash recycles and you can take another picture. It also seems to think you need a flash in bright sunlight and so you have to manually turn the flash off if you want to take pictures outside and not wait for a flash that you don't need to recycle. My Olympus D-360Z never had a problem like this. I thought the D-520 would be a better camera but it isn't. Perhaps its because there are only two batteries instead of the 4 that the D-360Z and C-730UZ have. When you do finally get to take a picture the pictures are crisp and clear with good color balance. I tend to use this camera for outdoor shots only and I keep the flash turned off. If you do a lot of indoor shooting, you may be disappointed with this camera.
Rating:
Summary: Not too crazy about this camera...
Review: I've owned this camera for over a year and I had issues with it right out of the box. I was looking for a good digicam to replace my Fujifilm FinePix A101, which was and still is a great litte camera, but lacked an optical zoom and was a mere 1.3 megapixels. After a trip to England with the A101, I decided to get a higher end point and shoot camera with optical zoom and higher resolution. Having done a bit of research, I settled on the Olympus D-520, which had just come down in price. I had owned an Olympus 35mm camera which lasted me for several years and was FANTASTIC, so I thought I'd be getting the same level of quality in the digicam. Boy was I disapointed! The first thing that bothered me was the sound of the gears almost straining when the clamshell is pulled back and the lens protracts. I was a bit worried that something was wrong with it, but it turns out that that's how all the D-520's sound when they're turned on or off. My 35mm Olympus had a similar clamshell front, but the sound of it opening and closing was extremely quiet. It also had a metal body, whereas the D-520 has a plastic case. I think Olympus was looking to skimp in the design and engineering deptartments with the D-520! The next problem I encountered was how fickle it was when taking photos. I'm not exaggerating when I say that I miss about 75% of photo oportunities when I use this camera. The lag between photos feels like eons, especially since speedy recouperation is essential for point and shoot cameras. The D-520 is EXTREMELY picky about when and where it wants to take pictures... If light levels are not perfect, or if you're too close or too far away from the object you're trying to capture, IT WILL NOT TAKE THE PICTURE. Period. Once again, you're talking a lot of missed photo ops and impatient people posing for a camera that refuses to take a picture. This camera does well on auto-timer mode, though. Sometimes it's the only way I can get it to take a picture, unfortunately. It offers a 12 second timer, which is a few seconds longer than most other cameras, and you typically end up with plenty of time to set it up and get situated. Nighttime or photos shot with minimal light don't look great. They're not terrible, but they could be a whole lot better. In low-lighting situations, the flash can really tweak the quality of the picture, so you have to be on your guard. The nighttime flash option does well in low light situations, though it tends to illuminate everything in what looks like daylight. Resolution is passable. 2.3 megapixels is probably good enough for someone new to the digicam experience, but over time, it seemed as though the quality of the resolution was degrading. Or maybe that was just my patience with the camera... Some people complain that this camera is not intuitive to use. I'd say that that's probably the least of the problems with the D-520. My 10 year old nephew was able to master the basic functions of this camera after a minute or two, so it's not that hard to figure out. It's just not as obvious as some other cameras on the market. In closing, I really don't care for this camera. I feel as though Olympus could have done a whole heck of a lot better, but it's made me very warry of ever purchasing another Olympus digicam. Now that it's over a year old, the D-520 is quite affordable, but I'd recommend going with a Fujifilm camera in the same price range, as I've always been very happy with my Fujifilm cameras.
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