Rating: 
Summary: Awesome Little Camera
Review: This is an incredible camera with a very nice price. I have a huge 3.4 megapixel that takes super pictures but is very heavy. My Olympus D490 takes extrmemely nice pictures and it's a small, lightweight size. You can take it anywhere. It also has all the features you would expect in a much more expensive camera. The pictures come out crisp and bright, and the macromode is super easy. For the price you get so much more than you would expect. Olympus did it again with this keeper!
Rating:
Summary: Great camera, with a few little "gotchas"
Review: This is a really good camera (I have the C990Z - it's the same as the D490Z except that it uses PAL video out instead of NTSC.) Before you buy it, (or more likely if you've just bought it), you need to know a couple of things. 1. The hole for the tripod is offset to the extreme left of the camera, so the little "traveller's tripods" aren't safe to use with this camera unless you're very careful. 2. Only buy Olympus brand smart-media, otherwise you can't access the panorama function (if this is important to you.) 3. Never format the Smart-media card - just do a "delete-all". 4. It appears that all of the Smart-media floppy adapters that you can buy come from one company - Smartdisk. They have driver software (www.smartdisk.com) that works with Windows 2000 that doesn't come in the box. (If you choose to buy a floppy adapter.) 5. I use 1500 mAhr NiMH batteries from Kodak - they're great. The kodak battery charger is also awesome - it comes with 4 different plug types, and works with AC power from 100 to 240 Volts, and either 50 or 60 Hz. Pretty much covers the civilised world. (and the USA too ;-)) 6. Accessing uncompressed mode is not mentioned anywhere in the manual. You do it by selecting the mode one down (eg SHQ to go to SHQ-TIFF), and then press the up arrow and HOLD IT DOWN for more than a few seconds. Leaving this out of the manual was a blunder. 7. The Camedia Master software is pretty ordinary, with one exception --- the digital panorama function works better than you can ever imagine, even without a tripod. With a tripod it's perfect. 8. I have managed to confuse my camera once - popping the batteries out and then putting them back in was enough to get around that. 9. If the camera is zoomed when you close the lens cover, it makes more of that annoying grinding noise than usual, but it doesn't seem to be a real problem. 10. The camera's focus system works by looking for vertical lines - if you don't have any, to get really perfect focus you need to hold the camera sideways (presuming that there are horizontal lines in your picture), half press the button to hold the focus, and then rotate the camera back to normal. In practice, the pictures usually come out very good without going to any extra trouble. 11. This camera is not the smallest, but it is a comfortable size. My previous camera was a tiny APS camera, and I had trouble holding that one steady while pressing the shutter button. Ideally, you should hold a camera in your hands before you buy it. Then buy it at the best price.The conclusion is that I like my camera. It is good enough to justify the price, even when you include the extra money that I paid for the extra memory card, batteries, battery charger, and floppy disk adapter (adds up to about 50% more.) I wish that I knew the things that I have just told you before I bought my camera though.
Rating: 
Summary: GREAT CAMERA @ A GREAT PRICE
Review: I recently purchase this camera at 300 dollars and it's a really great camera and it's easy to use. The picture quality is great and the zoom is great. This is my first digital camera and I think it's a great buy especially with the USB reader because the other cable the came with the camera is to slow. It's also great that you can zoom in your photos after you've taken them. I was going to by the elph canon 2.1 megapixel camera which cost around the same price but this was much cheaper and a great product.
Rating:
Summary: What a buy!
Review: This is a great camera. I bought it primarily for travel, but I've been having fun with it around the house too! The picture quality is amazing! Very impressive! I highly suggest making use of the USB reader--it acts like just another floppy drive--no download required! Just slip in the memory card and the pictures are ready to be emailed, editted or printed! I can't wait to see what this camera will do for me when I'm on my trip!
Rating:
Summary: Olympus D490Z
Review: I purchased the D490Z two months ago based on many reviews I had read by those who already purchased the camera. My main reason for purchasing the camera was because of the reviews on the quality of picture for a 2.1 megapixel camera (and comparisons to higher MP cameras for that matter) and I must say I am impressed. Since many people had listed pro's and cons in their reviews, I was prepared when I received the camera. I find I carry the camera with me whenever I can and in two months I'm still using the original set of batteries after taking more than 150 pictures. Whenever possible I use the AC adapter and it was well worth the money spent. Since downloads take a while and I haven't received the free USB reader, I use it frequently. I also download all my pictures on to a VHS tape before putting them on the computer. Great option for sending copies of pictures to family members who don't have a computer and saves on printing costs. I have a HP 932 printer and am extremely happy with the prints. I have used the camera in many situations including flourescent light and in bars. I am totally impressed with the pictures in both situations using different camera settings to adjust the light balance to get the best picture. It's also handy to have the ability to work with ISO and brightness features to get good pictures when you can't or don't want to use flash. Unless you really need to change it, the HQmode (1600x1200) is perfect for printouts. You can always change to 640x480 with the software for e-mails, although I tend to use Adobe photoshop or Microsoft PictureIt rather than the Camedia software that came with the camera. With all electronic items, you need to take the time to learn how to use them to avoid frustrations. I sat down with the manual and read through every option while trying it on the camera. This camera has so many great options and for the price of (PRICE)I am more than pleased. I purchased the camera, 32 MB card (which I have yet to use as I tend to download pictures as soon as I can), case, adapter and warranty for (PRICE)and think it was well worth the money. The 8 MB card that came with the camera takes 19 pictures in HQ mode and think along with that and the 32MB card, I should be ready for most situations. Overall, the camera is an excellent product taking into the consideration what other reviewers have listed as cons (many of which I don't consider cons - if all electronics were perfect for everyone, there wouldn't be competition). My recommendations are to learn about what you have, be patient and I think you'll be very pleased with the results. After all, the pictures are what counts the most and I recommended the camera Olympus D490Z to others without hesitation. The results speak for themselves.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Camera!
Review: Really like this camera, takes great shots and has lots of features. The video looks great too for a still camera. Uploads to your computer are cruddy slow, hopefully the USB should speed it up whenever I get it, it's been 6 weeks. Definently get the NIMH batteries and charger although Alk. AA's work good in a pinch. Also the 32MB card is a good buy it will give you around 170 shots in .jpg mode but of course it will take you over 4 weeks to download them all. ha I also bought the Tamrac 5694 Digital 4 - Digital/Photo Bag here on Amazon. Definently a good camera though.
Rating:
Summary: How many photos can be taken?
Review: How many photos can be taken at highest quality and lowest quality?
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Camera
Review: The PROS: - Very user-friendly. The menus are easy to navigate, etc. Any problems I did run into (which weren't so much problems as my being inexperienced) just took a quick glance at the User's manual to figure out. - SmartMedia. The SmartMedia cards are a great way to save your pictures. Since the store I bought them at didn't have a 64 MB card available, I opted for two 32s (they gave me a discount), in addition to the 8 MB that came with the camera. Enough memory for any family vacation/occasion. - Zoom. The zoom is a great way to get closer up (obviously)...you can zoom further on your computer, zooming too much, of course, reduces image quality (on the computer). - Lightweight. The camera is light but certainly not flimsy. Easy to carry around to sporting events, etc. - Sturdy. I've seen a few reviews which said the camera seemed to be easily breakable. I haven't seen that at all & have used it every day for a few weeks. True, the cover is strange at first but it took all of 1 minute to figure it out. - Free USB reader. This is essential since it has no USB output. However, a free one from Olympus takes care of that problem (of course, I just ordered it today so let's see how long it takes to arrive). The CONS: - "5 Recordable modes" - While it is true that the camera has 5 recordable modes: SQ, SQ-High, HQ, SHQ, and SHQ-TIFF, it took me 4 calls to figure out how to select SQ-HIGH and SHQ-TIFF (you'll see what I mean unless I'm really not as bright as I think I am!). Hint: Keep the arrow button depressed (hold it down) at "SQ" or "SHQ" & it will highlight the option to the right! Nothing about this in the User's Manual. Overall: A-
Rating:
Summary: Very, very good digital Camera with a standard look
Review: I've been waiting to buy a digital camera for about 2 years but I never considered the resolution good enough to leave my standardd film camera aside. With the 2.1 megapixel generation, I started to consider that idea. The first item that I started looking for was a company that already in the photo business (like Kodak, Olympus, Nikon and etc). After that, I wanted a camera that had the look of a standard camera and was as easy to use as a film camera. I'm not a professional user, then I needed a point-and-shoot camera. After a loooooooooooong research, I got this EXCELENT product. The quality is amazing! As good as a normal camera. Besides the features of recording short quicktime movies and panoramic photos (and it's fairly easy! I got it right at once!). If you can complain about this camera you can complain about two things: the Flash is not really automatic. You need to open it, it does not pop by itself. After open, then the camera uses if it's needed or not. Another point is the conection; it's a paralel connection and not USB. With the free Smarmedia reader that Olympus is offering, this problem is solved. If you're planning on buying a point-and-shoot camera that anybody can use without any trouble and that takes picture with GREAT quality, consider this camera.
Rating: 
Summary: Mine locked up after 3 months
Review: Overall I have been very satisfied with my camera, but after just a few months of use the camera locked up completely and the lens would not retract. I had to send it to Olympus for repair and was without a camera for a few weeks. Olympus had to replace some board inside the camera. When I last used the camera the batteries read fully charged, but while the camera was locked up it aparently was draining the batteries. Olympus sent the camera back with the dead Olympus Lithium batteries in an envelope saying they were dead and needed to be replaced. You would think they would replace them for the inconvienience, but I had to spend an additional $25 to $30 on new batteries.
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