After a number of years of devoted service, my old Hewlett Packard C-200 digital camera just was no longer doing the trick. Probably the best product I’ve ever owned made by HP, it still works, but at 1.0 megapixels it seems to be a bit behind the times. So, we started looking for a new one.

After much haranguing, trying to balance price, reputation, and features, we settled on the Olympus Camedia D-425 4.0 Megapixel Digital Camera. Now there’s a mouthful for you. We have had it several months now, and it gets the job done. The price was agreeable, at $149.99. Office Depot even threw in a free 64MB memory card, which holds about 64 pictures at the high quality setting we prefer. You can adjust this up to two notches below or one above, which will increase or decrease picture quality as well as number of pictures you can take.

What You Get

-Camera

-Wrist Strap

-Manuals on CD ROM and registration materials

-Two “AA” batteries.

-Basic hardcopy manual

-USB cable

The Basics
We liked the small size of the camera. It’s about the size of a pack of cigarettes, less than half as big as my old HP camera. That makes it easily portable: it fits right into your pocket or pocketbook. The attached carry cord makes it an easy fit around your wrist, too, so it’s always at hand to snap a picture.

The camera is attractive, molded in flat silver. It seems durable enough and should survive average use for years to come. We like the case design, which tapers off very slightly from the right hand side to make it fit easier into your hand. Batteries are inserted on the right hand side, where the XD flash card is located too. A simple press on the flash memory card will eject it, allowing you to pop in another or print from a compatible source. USB port and DC power input are located under a rubber flap on the left side.

Some specs from Olympus:

Olympus 6.1mm lens (36.7mm equivalent in 35mm photography), 5 lenses in 4 groups (including 3 aspherical elements)

Autofocus, CDD contrast detection

1.5" TFT color LCD (approximately 85,000 pixels) LCD

Features
The D-425 offers a number of features that increase its overall utility. The ability to take QuickTime moves is the most notable, though their duration is short and they will use up your memory fairly quickly. The four times digital zoom would seem to be a nice bonus, though it’s not as good as optical zoom and slightly distorts the picture. There’s also a timer for use in delayed shots in which you would like to include yourself.

The multiple shooting modes will automatically adjust the image taking to certain conditions. You can set the camera to auto mode, which is best for most applications, but there are also setting for:

Portrait
Landscape and Portrait
Landscape
Nightscene
Sport
Self portrait
Beach and show
Program Auto


The camera is very easy to use, and displays helpful information to improve your pictures in the LCD display provided on the back. Perhaps I’m old fashioned, but I miss the old eye viewer that is not included on the D-425. It’s much easier for me to get a good shot peering through a lens than looking at an LCD screen.

The LCD screen does allow you to browse through the pictures you’ve taken, either individually or in groups of thumbnails. This allows you to delete ones you don’t like and free up valuable memory space when needed. You can also access the camera menu here, and change flash settings and more at your discretion.

The on screen display will alert you when focus and lighting are best suited to snap your shot through a green “ready” light. It will also alert you to the mode the camera is set to as well as remaining battery life. A memory gauge will also keep you posted as to how much space is remaining on the card.

Transferring Photos
This is a snap. Included Olympus Master software allows for transfer and limited photo editing. Once you connect the camera via the USB cord, Windows XP prompts you to choose a program to unload it, and defaults to the Olympus Master software. The software then displays all of the images on the camera on your PC, and you can then choose which ones to transfer. Transfer speed is very fast, too. Taking less than a minute to unload a full card.

Overall
This is a solid camera for basic use. It takes great pictures and has enough features to make it very useful for the average user. The biggest negative I have found is the delay between the time you press the button and the time the camera takes a picture. This is about four to five seconds, which may not seem like a lot until you try to get kids to sit still.

While clearly not intended for the professional or serious photography enthusiast, the D-425 is still a good value. Three and a half stars if I could, but for the price I’ll be kind and round up to four.




Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 149.99
This Camera is a Good Choice if You Want Something... Easy Enough for Anyone to Use