Rating: 
Summary: Olympus D-490 ~~ Easy to use!
Review: After much research & returning a Canon model (too confusing to use) I decided on this one based on a review in PC magazine! This is a great camera, easy to use & download pictures. Flipping thru modes is a breeze, not complicated at all. I enjoy action photography and this freezes people in motion. This camera literally froze snow flakes in the air! I have a Canon 35MM that takes 5 frames per second and it has never caught snow flakes in mid air! The D-490 is great on batteries, even tho I use the display all the time. Very efficient. I've used this camera quite a bit in the past month and have yet to replace the two batteries (Olympus Camedia CR-V3). Even tho is is not USB, I had no trouble downloading the pictures to my computer with the D-SUB 9 pin connector. I'd read that it can take forever if you don't have the USB interface, but with a pentium II, 500mhz, 32ram... I had no problem getting my pictures loaded in about a minute or two. I'm still getting the USB card reader, since is supposed to load faster! The print quality with the software that came with the camera is incredible. This camera will never compete with $1,000. 35MM setup for resolution, but for what I use it for, it is a five star value at Amazon's price! This camera will pay for itself in about 6 months with the savings on film and developing! My next purchase is the printer that Olympus makes for digital cameras. I had fun with the quicktime movie mode, even without sound, it's a fun extra. The LCD display is easy to read, altho on a sharp angle, is harder to see. Great for taking those candid shots... no one realizes you are using the camera!The only negative thing I can say about it is the way it turns on & off. You have to be careful how you close the cover, because if it hits the extended lens, it won't close altho you can hear the motor trying to. Cannot be too good for the motor.
Rating: 
Summary: Pros and Cons
Review: Pros: Easy to use. You can whip it out, pop it open, and shoot, all with one hand. Compact. Nice user manual. Nice pictures! I have been pleased with the quality. Works great with the NiMh rechargeable batteries, which I would highly recommend. Uses smart media, which is convenient, and pretty cool. Some other nifty features: red eye reduction flash, rapid fire sequence shooting, makes small videos at 15 frames per second, video output jack, comes with decent software. Cons: Only two resolutions to choose from: 1600x1200 and 640x480. An intermediate resolution would have been nice (of course, you can resize the images on your computer). User interface is okay but could be better (sometimes confusing - you get different menus when the camera is open vs. when it is closed, and the menus aren't that intuitive). I needed an hour with the manual, and I'm not all that stupid. No USB connection, and the serial cable is really REALLY slow (but there are alternatives, like the USB reader and the Flash Path adapter). Conclusion: This is an excellent mid-level digicam. Not a good choice for a serious photographer, but great for someone like me who likes to snap pictures of friends and places. I would have given it 3.5 stars instead of 3 if I could have.
Rating: 
Summary: great camera
Review: I purchased this camera almost 4 years ago and love it. It sold me on the olympus name. My next camera, if i have to get one, will be another olympus. Like the fact that it uses aa batteries b/c if i get in a predicament where i need batteries, i know i can go to the neighborhood store to get them instead of being limited to propriatary (sp?) battery units like the sony. I have 2 sets of rechargeable batteries that i use and also have the separate card reader to download at faster speeds. This camera has taken thousands of excellent pictures for me. I'll probably buy a newer model in the next couple of years but, for now, this 2 megapixel beauty is everything i need. Good luck.
Rating:
Summary: The BEST camera I saw
Review: This camera is what I call a "must have thing". The image quality is simply the best I ever seen on digital picturing. The price, worth it. It's not a expensive machine but has too many qualities. I read all the reviews at this webpage and found all them useful for me. And here are my pro and cons: Pro: 1- image quality 2- easy to use 3- doesn't look as a expensive camera, so thiefs will not think it is a digital one, but a ordinary camera 4- software included 5- it records on the picture file data as apperture size, flash on or off, ISO and date on each picture (data read only by CAMMEDIA softwere) 6- very good flash action (with the SLOW fearture you can take pictures that the object is far from you but get bright pics) 7- optical viewfinder (economizes batteries... with my old CASIO QV-300 I had always to change batteries) CONS: 1- data transfer... the serial port is too slow, I recommend a USB SMARTMEDIA READER 2- SmartMedia(TM) card is too small (only 8MB), recommend you buying too a extra card 3- some pictures took with the SLOW flash function get blured (but it was expected), so, needs a good hand or a tripod 4- it's too easy to delete ALL PICTURES! (my brother deleted all pictures from my prom last month.... no comments!) 5- the menu uses only symbols, so, it's easy to someone that doesn't deals with the camera constantly do something wrong, as my brother did It is a good thing to buy, trust me, until today (17/Dec/2000) I didn't find another camera that I would buy instead of this. I bought it with a extra smartmedia(tm) card, a SanDisk(tm) 32MB. I'm now looking for a USB SmartMedia reader, a AC Adapter and batteries recharger.
Rating:
Summary: Great camera
Review: I am having a lot of fun with this camera. Takes great pictures, and I actually think the software supplied is pretty good for sorting and downloading the photos onto the computer--for actually tinkering with the photos, I use both Adope Photo Deluxe and Corel Photo-Paint. Couple of bugs with my unit explain the four stars:1) I cannot select all five resolutions--two intermediate settings are displayed, but the camera won't select them. 2) The battery life indicator doesn't seem to work--it's displayed, but the Lithium batteries died without warning (after lots of use). The Movie feature is a fun gimmick. So is the ability to plug directly into a T.V. to view the photos as a slide show. The camera is small, which makes it easy to take along. Fits in a jacket pocket. I like the lens cover, and the unit seems sturdy. I am looking forward to getting the USB reader in the mail. Downloads with the serial port take too long. I bought this as my first digital camera. I wanted the zoom, and I wanted a convenient size and 2 megapixels. There were a few models that met these criteria, and the zoom on this Olympus (as well as the video feature) sold me on this one. I am hoping that the two minor bugs described above are easily resolved.
Rating:
Summary: What A Great Little Camera!!
Review: This Olympus 490 is my very first digital camera, but I've been getting recommendations from friends for about six months. I chose the Olympus brand simply because several friends who owned this brand said they were the simplest to use. I had my eye on the 460, but when Amazon lowered the price on both, I decided to save and get this one. I love it!! You can spend a weekend reading the manual and playing with all the features, or you can read the quick instructions and take your first pics ten minutes after you get the box open. There are lots of choices on resolution, and zoom is a great feature. This camera also takes panorama shots and quick time movies. You download to your computer using a serial port, which although people tell me it's slow, I find extremely handy, as I can use almost any computer - my one at work, home, my boyfriend's house, etc., without worrying whether or not there is USB support. Also, I did have to call Olympus tech support to ask a simple question, and I got a very friendly, extremely helpful guy who answered my question in two mnutes flat. You can't beat that service! An excellent little product that I'm *very* happy with.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't buy it!
Review: I have owned my camera for 2 years and had nothing but trouble with it. Once the warranty expired (of course), I had strange problems with the batteries! They would only operate if they were warm! Very odd. And, just as others have posted, the camera suddenly "died" on me about a month ago. Not worth the money to fix it, I just purchased a new camera. NOT an Olympus!
Rating:
Summary: Olympus D-490
Review: The Olympus D490 is an awesome camera. I've used it for year, but someone recently dropped and broke it.
The Olympus takes great pictures. They have good color, except in flourescent lighting, which showed up as yellow. For fast moving objects, the flash is required to avoid blurring. For objects with bright light in the background and the foreground in shadow, the flash needs to be forced. In the dark, pictures will turn out with good color as long as nothing is moving while taking the picture. The camera takes longer to take the picture in poor lighting. Scenery pictures come out wonderful. I've even caught the glistening ice, mist rising from streams, and sunlight filtering through the forest.
The Olympus is easy to use with point and click, and autofocus. It also has panoramic and other options.
Rating:
Summary: Great starting digital camera
Review: My D490 is still going strong after about 3 yrs. I do note the plastic door is wearing. The lens seems to be slowing as it moves in & out. The flash is no problem to use manually. I have used more basic 35mm camera and there are some things you need to do yourself- no big deal. There have been no problems as I too have gotten a card reader to facilitate faster downloads. The real problem is the shutter button is wearing out. This happened on a VHS C camcorder I owned too.I guess I am too hard on this part of a camera. I used to sell cameras for a big box store and Olympus is a good brand. It is a Ford or Chevy and dependable up to a point. As these cameras have evolved, they have sacrificed some good options and quality to go in new directions. In a way they now resemble the GM and Fords of the late 1970's. I don't doubt that Evolution in real life has had the same process and end results (Why is "Friends" in it's 20'th yr.) At any rate, I can't tell you the trips I've taken and gotten out my camera from my shorts to get a wonderful shot that when taped to my cubical makes my day: Sunsets, men shot out of cannons, Pandas at the Zoo, and waterfalls galore. Enjoy your camera and know they don't make em like they used to.
Rating:
Summary: Don't Get Too Attached to This Camera..It's gonna DIE!!!!!!!
Review: I have had a love affair with the Olympus D490 now for 2 years. And up until very recently, I would have sung nothing but praises for this camera. (In spite of the stupidity of having to manually open and close cover to turn camera on/off and/or view pictures) We got along great, we went everywhere together, I had decided that this camera was the love of my life...UNTIL...tragedy struck. This damn bastard camera just up and gave out one day. No warning, no "dear john letter" no nothing...just abandonment and betrayal. And things were going so well for us too! How was I to know that complete heartbreak was right around the corner?
I don't know if I can ever trust or love another camera again. And if I do, you can bet it's not going to be an Olympus. For the 400.00+ I spent on this baby 2 years ago (and yeah, i know the prices have come way down)..I would have expected this thing to last longer than it has. In closing...enjoy your D490 while you can...but know in your heart that your joy is fleeting, and that like all good things in life...the joy comes to an end and leaves you miserable and alone (cameraless). Merry Freaking Christmas.
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