Once out of the shop, things got more variable. It takes time before the next pic is ready to take. It turns out this is the incredibly slow xD card they chose to use. It's a genuine Olympus 1G card so there's no one else to blame.

The real achille's heel on this camera is the variable picture quality. Outdoor pics were great. Indoor pics varied from great to awful. Some just turned out very, very grainy and lacking contrast.

After much experimentation, I discovered there was a threshold of light where pictures suddenly turned out very, very grainy. It's like reciprocity failure in film, if you know what that is. You get linear exposure response according to the amount of light available until a certain threshold is reached, then suddenly everything goes wrong.

Invoking Image Stabilization mode pushes that threshold much lower. Instead of having to stand, say, about 12 feet or closer in an average, well-lit room to get a good exposure, when IS is turned on, you have to stand 5 feet away. Otherwise, the result is grainy and speckled with red pixels. My subjects all looked like they had the measles.

The problem with outdoor shots, though, is the display. Fabulous indoors, it is easily washed out if the sun is only slightly behind you, leaving you guessing what you're shooting. Shading with your had simply doesn't work, both in terms of getting a better view, and simply because the ergonomics really don't allow it.

So I'm wondering, what is this camera for? If it's only good outdoors or in brightly lit areas, what is the point of the very small size? I can drag along my SLR outdoors. I want a shirt pocket camera for indoor candid shots, and having a 50-50 chance of getting an very grainy shot is not good enough for the price, the advertised 7.1 megapixels and "Bright Capture" technology.

This camera is going back with an RMA to Olympus... right before Chrismas. If they send it (or another) back with the same behaviour, it goes up for auction and I buy another brand. I got rid of my previous digital camera, so it looks like back to film this Christmas. Thank you, Olympus.

Recommended:
No

Amount Paid (US$): 299
This Camera is a Good Choice if You Want Something... Easy Enough for Anyone to Use