Olympus Camedia D-510 Zoom Digital Camera

Pros: Picture quality
Cons: Reliability

I loved this camera, but after breaking twice I give up on it. When it worked it took great pictures. But it failed once, sent it in for repairs ~$120 and 6 weeks and a 30 day warranty. Then a few months after that went to turn it on, and it is dead again. Camera was never abused, and always carried in a case. Olympus says they will fix it for $120 again, but I just purchased a new camera with a full warranty.

Pros: Sharp pictures ! Good price.
Cons: Flash delay takes getting used to.

Had this camera a year and dropped it a few times and it still works fine. Takes a bit to learn the buttons. And you can't preview what you just took without shutting the lens. But the lens is better protected than other digital cameras. It does take very excellent high quality pictures ! Took it to the beach and no sand got in it.

We added a 128meg card into it and have never filled it up. Sold the 16 meg card to a friend with an older digital camera.

I use rechargable Ni-Mh batteries with it and it is easy to swap out the 4 AA batteries. I keep 4 in the charger at home and 4 in the camera at all times. Do not keep the camera plugged into the computer too long as I think it drains the batteries. Over all this is a good middle priced camera and saves tons on photo printing costs. My granparents have email ! *smile

Jonathan

Pros: very easy to use. all buttons and doors open smoothly. easy to transfer pics
Cons: Settings reset when you close the viewfinder. You have to redo everything.

I bought this in 2000-2001 and it has served me well. Upgrading now to 8m-pixel machine. I would buy an Olympus again because of the great experience and quality track record of the company.

Pros: Optical Zoom, Good Quality 4x6 prints, decent fine-tuning options
Cons: A little heavy; movie mode substandard; 2.0MP only good for 4x6 prints

First introduced in 2002, Olympus' D-510 model has been a camera I've gotten consistent use out of since my purchase of it about two years ago.

The Good:

-- Good Optical Zoom function
-- Good 4x6 size prints
-- Decent options for fine-tuning quality, including changing the exposure (light/dark) setting, timed mode, changing speeds, even if the Automatic mode does well 90% of the time.

The Mediocre:
-- By today's standards, SmartMedia is difficult to find, especially compared with the much more standard SD cards.
-- Digital Zoom is okay, but rarely recommended if you want to maintain good picture quality.
-- The camera is fairly bulky, especially compared to today's models. This is not a "pocket it and forget it" sized camera
-- While 4x6 prints are fine, 5x7 prints start to show only decent quality, and 8x10 photos begin to show a little bit of pixellation.

The Bad:
-- The movie mode is very substandard. The quality is poor enough to be considered more form than function.

was impressed with D390 (previous model). D510 LCD screen cost min $140 to repair/Sending letter to Olympus The D-390 takes better pictures and better protection on LCD screen. I wonder if mine has defect. Makes a motor sound when zooming in/out. Email response on complaint not positive.

I received my Olympus D-510 for Christmas 2001. At first I did not think I needed a digital camera, however, since Christmas I have about 1000 images (stored locally on my file server). At work I use a professional digital camera and the D-510 although not in the professional league, takes pictures wonderfully. There are a myriad of settings available to customize for different shoots. I only have one complaint and that is the battery consumption, but there was a sale on AA batteries at the PriceClub and now I don't mind. I highly recommend this camera for the entry-mid level photographer.

This camera is from a line of similar cameras which were better designed. Its nice new features are the 2.1 MPixel and its USB port. Unfortunately, the design of the lid is sloppy, the operating software is restrictive and the 8MB SmartCard that comes with it totally insufficient. On HQ - the default - that card stores 16 pictures. You need at least 64MB. The lid open the camera but sticks out to the right of the camera. I am constantly knocking it and turning off the camera unintentionally. 2.1 MPixel is nice, but too much for many application. The files are 400 to 500 MB and sending files this big over a dial-up connection takes too long. So one can set the picture quality to Standard. But if you turn the camera off (whether intentionally or not) and back on, it is back to High Quality. The camera will not memorize your last setting. Very annoying!

Nice camera comparable to other brands in this price range. Cover slides over lens for protection and is easily used. Auto and manual exposure modes. If you care to read the manual you will find that camera can be set to hold your favorite settings or set to reset settings to factory default when camera is shutdown. Very nice for the price and very satisfied! Uses AA batteries so can purchase rechargable.

I tried this camera out and ended up returning it. I was not that happy with the images. What I disliked the most was that when I turned it off, it defaulted out of my preferred settings, so I had to reset them again when I turned the camera back on.

Overall a good camera; however, lcd should be better protected - broke mine already - need repair ($120 min chg by Olympus)(still works w/o lcd). hard to figure out flash off. Next time, ask about lcd display durability when buying.

I wanted a camera that was easy to use for my wife and enough manual overides to keep me interested. This camera fits the bill. I have read that you cannot save the settings when you turn off the camera. Not true. I have read that It is hard to figure out how to download pictures. Not true. I have read that you cannot view pictures unless you turn off the camera. Not true. I agree that there should be a full printed set of instructions. However this does not seem to help the majority of people that cannot program a VCR. If you cannot figure out all the features, buy a simpler camera. I love mine. Just buy some rechargeable batteries as you do with any camera in this price range.

Overall the price -per features is excellent & the imaging is great for the price as well. The USB Auto Connect feature is great- This is the most hassle free way yet to get your photos into your computer & then into an image editing program. I REALLY like the fact that this camera is crossplatform(MAC & PC) Since I need to use both in my work and at home! Its a nice small size, but not the most attractive looking camera out there, but one of the best priced for what you get!

I love my new camera. Really easy to use with simple instructions, even a few basic photo tips for an amateur like me. Plug the included USB cable into your computer, a couple clicks and the pictures are on your computer or simply do cut and paste. The Camedia software was a little confusing trying to figure out how to layout pictures on a sheet of paper but worked ok after a few trys. I printed an 8x10 picture, taken with HQ setting, on glossy paper using my Canon S300 printer (2400x1200) and it's as sharp as any 8x10 photo I've ever taken. You can save your settings - there is a hold option on one of the menus. I compared quite a few cameras over the internet, and couldn't find anything close to this price with optical zoom and the variety of resolution settings.

I have used this camera for 8 months. The picture quality is outstanding. I use it every day, doing field inspections. I can print out a photo in less than 5 minutes, and I always get rave reviews. If you buy rechargeable batteries and the AC power supply, you can extend usage 5 times normal. Very cost effective.

This review, alas, is a post-mortem and part of my grieving process (take my advice and NEVER DROP A CAMERA!). I owned it for about a year, and though I resisted all the new technology, I became very attached to it. It takes great pictures and was easy to transition to from an Olympus Stylus Zoom. It also takes 15-second Quicktime movies, which the specs don't mention on this site! If you purchase this camera, I also recommend getting two sets of NIMH batteries ($10 ea.) and a NIMH recharger (about $25) - it's a good system. Then ask for a 128 SmartMedia card for Christmas ($69), and then there's nothing you can't do. Also, if you're thinking about going digital, prepare yourself for all the time it takes to sort, edit, upload and print photos. I'm overjoyed to see it at these prices - we bought it for nearly $500! Thanks Dealtime.