Rating: 
Summary: Overall, a good camera
Review: Picture quality is good.
Rating:
Summary: impressive feature set, but check out the competition
Review: pros:
- fast F1.8 lens, 5MP resolution, 3X zoom lens.
- very good resolution.
- good reliable metering.
- good color balance.
- full manual controls.
- allows fine-tuning of white balance.
- impressive macro performance.
- solid build quality.
- shooting priority play mode (double press quick view button to go to shooting mode).
- eight separate user settings - that's a lot!
- very wide range of manual and parameter controls.
- flash hot-shoe.
- good night exposures with noise reduction enabled.
- no color cast from flash.
- AF assist lamp.
- impressive bundle included IR remote control.
- flexible: supports three types of memory cards: xD, SD, CF.
- supports both RAW and TIFF formats.
- uses non-proprietary rechargeable AA batteries. this means that in a pinch, replacement batteries are as close as the nearest convenience store.
- impressive battery life.cons:
- competition has at least 4x zoom.
- noticeable purple fringing.
- images noisier than expected, even at low ISO setting.
- jagged diagonals sometimes visible.
- complex user interface - button placement has a random feel to it.
- shutter lag when shutter speed isn't fast.
- LCD only tilts and not flip-out like canon's and nikon's.
- cannot cancel writing to memory during TIFF capture - very frustrating if you already know you're going to trash the picture you just took.
- slow start-up (over 5 seconds!).
- slow shot to shot times.
- bigger and heavier than its competition: 4.5 x 2.7 x 3.2 in, weighing 17.1 oz.
- 32MB xD card provided is inadequate so add $$ to your budget to buy external memory.
- manual is on CD - very annoying. this is a solid 5MP camera but suffers from noisier than expected images (even at low ISO settings) and noticeable chromatic aberrations. its flexibility and wide feature set deserves consideration; just makes sure you also check out its impressive competition: the canon g5, sony dsc-v1, and nikon 5400. i hope this helps you with your buying decision. peace.
Rating:
Summary: Needs a wee bit of improvement
Review: Pros:
The camera takes wonderful photos which is the most important of all. The rounded grip makes a one handed hold very comfortable. Cons:
There is no protection for the LCD display on back (unlike the Canon Powershot G1-3 in which the LCD folds in) so I had to purchase a separate LCD Protector for it. The little "wheel" knob under the on/off switch forces you to have to use two hands to make adjustments to the flash mode, macro shots etc.
Rating: 
Summary: Outstanding Camera
Review: So as not to be too redundant, read 4 star review by Charles from 12/03, "Sees in the dark like a cat".
Having owned the C-2000, C-3000, & C-4040, obviously I'm a big fan of Olympus. But the C-5050 is more than a simple upgrade, its been significantly re-tooled. Key improvements are:
-Dual media slots: one takes either a SM or xd, and the other a CF. You can toggle between the two of them easily. This is the only Olympus model to offer this feature, and its nice that I don't have to toss my SM cards.
-Pivoting LCD screen (180). If you compose on the LCD screen as I do, this is a great feature for shooting overhead or down low.
-Macro & SuperMacro modes: takes crystal clear photos from 1.2".
-Additional Program Modes: Beyond P Mode, the are presets for Sports, Portrait, Landscape, and Portrait + Landscape (foreground in focus), and Night. But I tend to get less noise in low light photos w/o flash in P mode vs. Night mode
-Separate on/off toggle wheel that also functions as a "quick select" of certain options, including flash type, freeing you from the menus.
-Five "My Mode" settings where you can save your own custom settings
-Option to shoot in 3:2 SHQ mode to enable 4X6 prints w/o cropping.
The P mode is so good, I rarely use the full manual settings. Easy to modify P mode with buttons that can change exposure +/- in 1/3 stops.
I shoot almost exclusively without flash, and it's truly amazing how much brighter the image will appear than actual. Autofocusing can be slow if the subject is not well-defined, but that's to be expected. There's an option to turn on a red autofocus beam.
This is Olympus' only 5+ MP model to have the f1.8 lens, and is worth the trade-off of lower zoom than the C-5060 or C-8080, which have f2.8 lenses. Having traded down once to f2.8 with the C-3000, I think the f1.8 is of more value. At 5MP, its not a problem to severely crop on the PC & still have a top quality image.
Re: the comment about settings not being saved, there is a menu item "All reset". Default is "yes", simply change to "No", and settings will remain intact.
As for weaknesses, the Manual is next to worthless, and the Camedia software could be better, but I have Photoshop 5.5 and MS Image Pro, so not really a drawback for me. Also, when the batteries are changed or die, the date needs to be reset.
Even if you've had an Olympus C-series before, enough has changed that you'll need to sit down and go through all the menus initially. There are alot of good online references (Steve's Digicams is one). The Olympus website also has support and tutorials.
I hightly recommend this camera. I plan to keep this for many years to come, as 5MP is enough for me.
Rating:
Summary: Comparibly Better & Cheaper than the E-Series
Review: The C-5050 is one of the best digital cameras out there. The multi-function settings allow for extreme versatility, and the mini-videos are neat when there is no camcorder available (although it would be great if a light was pre-installed for low lighting videos). It's shape & weight makes it look & feel like a regular 35 mm film camera. For those who are looking for a digital camera with manual functions; this is the camera for you. I originally wanted one of the Olympus digital cameras in the E-Series, but after some comparison, I found that the C-5050 has more capability at a much cheaper price.
Rating:
Summary: I love the Camera - I hate Olympus
Review: The camera is great and the Underwater Housing to go with it is Brilliant.
What I hate is Olympus' marketing - They give you a piece of cruddy software to go with it that doesn't handle all the file formats the camera is capable of.
Why buy a 5Mpixel camera ? For the quality of course and to shoot in RAW format. But Olympus' raw format is .ORF the software that comes with the camera cannot do anything but view these pictures, can't convert or manipulate. There is a plugin but it only works for photoshop - Olympus' user support recommendation - To use RAW files you're going to have to buy Photoshop at $700!!! They don't tell you that when you buy the camera, additionally I bought Photoshop Express - Useless with RAW so another $100 wasted, combined with the problem with 1GB flash cards I find Olympus' attitude to customers has huge holes. As a major sony and canon fan Its a shame that there is not a comparable package for underwater photography and I'm stuck with Olympus!
Rating:
Summary: Not as robust as you would expect
Review: The functions and features of the Olympus 5050 are superb - and so is the picture quality. However, when relative dropped the camera just 4 inches onto a table top the program selector button broke off. The plastic shaft that had held it in place turned out to be constructed having a very, very thin diameter. I had to pay $180 to get it fixed at Olympus original service. They said it had happened to other users as well, it was a typical error. I didn't expect this kind of problem from a magnesium body camera claimed to be "robust". My old Canon SLR cameras have had much more rough handling without any trouble. Olympus said they had checked the camera from a to z when fixing the broken button, but 1 month later the lens operation jammed for no apparent reason. After gently shaking the camera suddenly started working again, but I wonder, if and when this could happen again.
Rating:
Summary: There are few cameras of this quality at this price
Review: The Olympus C-5050 Zoom is a full featured camera that can do it all. You will need some knowledge of photography if you intend to take advantage of all of its capabilities. Yet, if you are a beginner, the camera will do most of the work if you want it to. The black metal body has a solid, heavy feel, but it is easy to manuever. The rubber grip on the right side secures the camera in your right hand. Many of the functions accessed through complicated menus in previous Olympus cameras are accessed by one touch buttons and a knurled wheel on this camera. A knurled wheel on top of the camera allows you to select one of eleven different shooting modes. Photos are sharp, vivid and accurate in color. It accepts xD-Picture, SmartMedia, Compact Flash and Microdrive memory cards. It has the feel and appearance of quality. If you want more than a snapshot, I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Camera
Review: This is a great camera. While I've only used it for two weeks, it does everything I've asked it to. The menus are easy to use and intuitive. The buttons are easy to use and the battery life seems really good. The delay between depressing the button shutter button and the recording of the picture is much better than my previous camera but there is a delay. SLR camera are still better than digital for action photography because of this.
Rating:
Summary: I LOVE this camera!!!!!
Review: This is my first (well actually my second but I returned the first one (not an Olyumpus) within a week of purchase) digital camera and I absolutely love it! I have been a Canon Sure Shot user for the last 5 years and was really looking for a easy-to-use camera that would take great photos with little work. I received it one day before leaving for a vacation in Las Vegas and was taking photos like a pro the entire trip. It was very user friendly and took no time at all to learn the most useful features. Although I've only had the camera for 10 days, I've taken well over 200 photos and the only feature that bothers me so far is the lens cap. Since I had read the information on the problems with the cap prior to purchase, I knew it would be a drawback, but it's a small price to pay for such great photos. The colors are extremely vivid, the quality is incredible and it really does take great great photos in low-light situations. I did a ton of research after my first digital camera impulse buy and am thrilled that it paid off with this purchase!
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