Olympus managed to get it right with this camera. They have created a reasonably priced, easy to use, simple but sophisitcated, fairly rugged and great digital camera. The only real detractor is battery life, especially when you use the LCD screen.

We have had these cameras at our office for a little bit less than a year now. We have brought them all over northern Maine and every single camera has come through with flying colors. Out of six cameras, none have been broken in all their use. They continue to provide us with a quick and efficient way to get pictures from the field to the offices and beyond. We are out in the snow, in the rain and in all kinds of weather. The cameras have been dropped, jumbled around and exposed to some fairly intensive use and none have failed yet. I have taken the camera on hiking trips and packed it away in a backpack, on ski trips in my bag and even on a canoe trip. The camera survived the bumps from hiking, still worked in the cold of a ski trip and while I didn't dip it in the lake, the occassional splash did not seem to effect it (but that is not to suggest it is splash resistant - don't get it wet).

I just recently purchased this camera and at a price tage of $269 dollars, I don't think I could tell anyone not to buy this camera.

Auto-focus, auto-flash, different exposure settings, manual control of some feautures, different image quality settings...there is plenty to choose from on this camera.

I purchased the battery charger with this camera when I purchased it for my own use. The camera can go through batteries quite quickly, especially when you are using the LCD screen. We started out without the chargers in the office and had to get them because we were starting to spend too much on the batteries.

I have the flash card floppy disk adapter for my computer, as I find it easier and quicker to use than the flash card readers and I don't have any extra ports to use the reader. The floppy disk adapter is fairly simple and straighforward, just slide the flash card into the adapter and then put the adapter in your drive, just like any other floppy disk. Then you can read and write from the flash card.

If you want a digital camera that provides the best quality for its price, is easy to use and is rugged enough for active use then this is your camera.

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An update after having this camera for several months.

I still can't quit raving about this camera. Both the personal one I have and the ones I have used at work continue to amaze me. They are easy to use, take great pictures and are amazingly rugged. I took mine through the Grand Canyon and all over the southwest this spring and it kept on ticking. I take it everywhere with me so in those moments when you say "don't you wish you had a camera right now" you do. The ones at work, we have dropped, gotten wet, got gunk all over them and just been all around rough with them and they still work like they are new. This camera is great!

3/03 update - this camera still keeps going and going. It has survived another trip out west last summer and some serious winter usage throughout this winter. It even made it through and took great pictures in this wet, moist cave I was exploring. My only complaint now is with newer, higher pixel cameras, the resolution on this camera is quite small. I'm planning on purchasing a new digital camera in the 4.0 megapixel range to make up the difference, but I'm sure I will continue to use this camera for snapshots on quick trips and things like that.

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 269
This Camera is a Good Choice if You Want Something... Easy Enough for Anyone to Use