Olympus Stylus 1010 10.1MP Digital Camera with 7x Optical Dual Image Stabilized Zoom (Silver) by Olympus
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Digital camera reviews of Olympus Stylus 1010 10.1MP Digital Camera with 7x Optical Dual Image Stabilized Zoom (Silver)
Digital camera Review: Not Impressed
Summary: 2 Stars
In the new year I decided to update my camera and buy a new digital. I chose the Olympus Stylus 1010 for several reasons including mp's and video; however, when I got using it I found it to be somewhat complicated to use and not user friendly. I recently took a trip to Italy in which I was hoping to get some great pics unfortunately, despite my careful handling, it just stopped working- black screen, strange noises etc. Needless to say I was extremely upset seeing as I had probably only used it MAYBE 5 times and only had it for about 6 months. Since this time I have been in a battle to get it repaired and when I finally did get it repaired it came back from the authorised repair corp in damaged condition forcing me to return it again and try to explain the current defect. In conclusion, though I have little money to spend, I have even less patience at this point and will probably just take my licks and get a new one. I would say don't bother with the Olympus. In addition to making a sketchy product their "customer service" department is not up to par and their aithorised repair place even less so.
Sorry to be so harsh, but this is what happened.
The End.
Digital camera Review: One awesome little camera
Summary: 5 Stars
I will add my voice to the many positive reviews of this little gem and comment upon some of the negatives expressed elsewhere.
First of all, I must give a standing ovation, two thumbs-up, and any other accolades you can think of, to my absolute, positive favorite feature of this camera: MACRO MODE, and, even better, SUPER-MACRO-MODE!!!! Macro mode lets you focus on a subject down to four inches from the lens, and still allows use of telephoto; super-macro-mode lets you focus down to TWO CENTIMETERS (less than 1 inch) from the lens. I do a lot of EBay and have need for detailed closeups of hallmarks and faded writing on antiques, and this feature is UN-BE-LIEVABLE. Not only can you get 1 inch from your subject, but with 10 megapixels of resolution, you can go into Photoshop, crop a small section of the resulting picture, and blow it up to many times its size while still maintaining good clarity. The result is that you can obtain clear pictures of details that are FREAKING MICROSCOPIC. I kid thee not. This feature alone is worth the very reasonable price. You will find one or two reviews that comment on some kind of "focusing problem" when in macro mode. To those people, I say: RTFM!!! When you hold the shutter part way down, the camera displays a focusing square, and it will be green when the camera successfully focuses. It blinks red if the camera fails to achieve focus. If that little guy is green, you will get a perfect picture every time. If it's red, just move a bit farther away from the subject and try again. When you are operating that close, half an inch one way or the other makes a huge difference. I will repeat: THERE IS NO FOCUSING ISSUE IN MACRO MODE!!!!!
OK, enough of that. Other items:
1) Some of the negative reviews say the picture quality is poor. Those people must have been reviewing a different camera. Or else they were competitors trying to badmouth the product. Picture quality is superb.
2) Many reviews comment that "shadow mode" is the key to taking good pix with this camera. YES IT IS! They goofed a teeny bit by not making it "on" by default.
3) Yes, the 7x optical zoom is sweet.
4) BATTERY: One review commented that the "battery remaining" display is inaccurate. I have to concur with that. It tends to say 4 bars for a long time and then suddenly drop down to zilch. However, in general the battery life is good and par for the course as such cameras go. One review commented that if you use a lot of the optional features of the camera, the battery runs out quickly. I'm sure she's right, but that is true of ANY camera.
5) Personally I like to play around with settings when I shoot pictures and prefer cameras that are less "point'n'click" and more "do-it-yourself". This camera has achieved a good balance between the two. The automatic features of this camera result in good enough pictures that I really don't have much desire to play around (although I do recommend that you read the manual to learn more about how they work and become fluent with them). They do allow you to perform a fair number of manual tweaks if you care to (but not aperature and shutter speed, the two most important ones!).
6) Some reviews have commented that the flash is too strong. I rarely use the flash and this thing takes great pictures without it 95% of the time (and it has several special modes to help you avoid using the flash). However, the one or two times I've tried, the results were less than stellar. Yes, it seems on the strong side and seems to wash out the colors somewhat. I'm convinced there's something I can set on this camera to improve this situation, but I haven't taken the time to figure that one out.
Bottom line: I LOVE THIS CAMERA!!! And it doesn't even cost an arm and a leg. The camera I truly thought I wanted was the Canon Powershot SX10, but I just couldn't bring myself to shell out the $400. I decided to give this one a try and am very glad I did.
Digital camera Review: Buy Something Else...
Summary: 3 Stars
I had an old bulky Stylus zoom camera for years. It did not fit in my pocket, only took expensive XD cards, and was slow. However the picture quality was amazing and I constantly received compliments on my gorgeous photos. It was effortless and I was so happy until one day the zoom lens froze halfway out. I had taken nearly 10000 photos and had beaten this camera up so I decided to upgrade rather than have it serviced.
The Olympus 1010 is not an upgrade! The pics are nowhere near as nice as my old Olympus. Way to cheap out on your product Olympus - what a complete disappointment. I couldn't return it without a restocking fee so I just sucked it up and decided to do better research next time (Circuit City). Ironically, this camera broke within one week - the zoom lens got stuck halfway out. I had to pay to ship it to Olympus to have it repaired. It cost about $20 and I was furious.
I've taken about 4000 photos and luckily it has not broken again but I am always worried. I like the size of the camera, panoramic feature, image stabilizer, and the macro is nice. It takes great outdoor shots and I like the options in the menu and scene guide (I do not find the menus intuitive however). I use a tiny pocket tripod and the timer function to take amazing macros and night shots.
Indoor picture quality is severely lacking. Photos are always grainy or blurry. It is just not an easy point and shoot camera. I have learned to only extend the zoom around halfway - 7X pics are garbage because of the poor quality. They look fab in the LCD and then when I look at them full size I am disgusted by the blurriness. The battery lasts for a full day of shooting (extend the life by using the built in power save feature which turns off the LCD between shots) but I don't know why they bother to give you an indicator. The thing stays green and full until it goes to empty and red and then the camera dies after about 10 shots - wow, thanks for the head's up that I might want to charge my battery. You are not able to zoom during movie mode.
If you do buy this camera, get an extra battery, a case, a mini-tripod, and be prepared to only enjoy your night, macro, and outdoor shots. Having read the reviews I might buy a mini SD card, too. If I had my $250 back I would do more research and buy something else.
Digital camera Review: Just OK
Summary: 3 Stars
I have had this camera for about 10 months. Have used it for various family events (3 kids), skiing, fishing, mtn biking and other outdoor uses. This camera has been fantastic when we use it outdoors, but when used indoors the pics look grainy. Digital camera Review: Falls apart after a few months. Stay AWAY
Summary: 2 Stars
I usually try out a few cameras before settling on a new one every 2 or 3 years. This camera seemed great during it's trial week, but since owning it has fallen apart.
The screen mars easily. The buttons are printed with ink that wears off. The chrome decoration on the top tore off. The camera now turns on and only shoots in Vivid purple tones 50% of the time. The docking cable has a propietary connection that is unnecessary. The battery inidicator is very inaccurate, showing full charge until you have about 10 shots left. This is after 6 months of mild usage!!
I have always loved my Canons and Lumixs. DON"T BUY THIS CAMERA!