Olympus SP-350 Digital Camera

Pros: Resolution, features and performance, picture quality, manual controls, hot shoe
Cons: Uses expensive xD memory

The new O lympus SP-350 is a 8-Megapixel digital camera with 3x optical zoom, large 2.5-inch LCD screen and manual control. I got mine for $328, but it sells for even less now. Pictures The pictures of the ...

Pros: My Mode, Manual Settings, 8 MP, lots of available Accessories
Cons: Initial battery problem, Weak auto mode

In April I had the very difficult task of replacing my trusty Nikon Coolpix 4300. As usual, I became a regular at all the camera shops playing with all the toys for about 2 weeks before I finally settled on the Olympus SP 350. As a photography ...

Pros: Good-to-great camera for someone who isn't satisfied with camera-phone quality snapshots.
Cons: None of consequence; though I'd like a microphone that is automatically "on" for movies.

My initial impressions of the SP-350 were all good, except photo quality - and it took some serious play-around time to arrive at a judgment on that. My decision: I had to change some of my ways to take advantage of the SP-350's features to get ...

Pros: Easy to use, high megapixel for better printing, lightweight
Cons: none

We all want the "perfect" digital camera rather we are parents capturing the moments of our children growing up or if you want to get somewhat serious and indulge in some amateur photography. When I started my research for cameras, I knew I wanted an ...

Pros: I love the size, shape, ease of handling of this camera.
Cons: Battery life is simply terrible in THIS PARTICULAR unit.

Something is terrible wrong with my battery life in this camera. I must have a direct short somewhere within the cameras internal components. Believe it or not, sometimes ONLY 5 pictures before the battery indicator light shoes red but a few more shots ...

Pros: Inexpensive, easy to use, lots of features, best I've found
Cons: Prone to shaking, no manufacturer made rechargable batteries

I bought this camera for a few reasons and it lived up to my expectations very well. I wanted a camera that I could take skiing and biking, but also be able to take great pictures, this Olympus easily covers both. There are settings to get a quick ...

Pros: pictures quality, price , size, features, and ability to add external flash lens
Cons: battery nonrechargeable

This is a diamond among the usual toys that so many so-called camera companies have put on the market. The SP 350 comes with so many features that place it at the top of the camera choices in it's price range. I bought my camera through Best Buy web ...

Pros: Size, weight, style, audio operation.
Cons: Difficult menu to navigate through.

I purchased my SP-350 during lunch one day and I love it, but learning how to navigate through the menu has been a pain. I can work through technical things without help, but it annoys me to have to consult the owners manual as I had to with this camera.
Beyond that, I like it.

Pros: Very easy to use in "Auto" mode yet allows for full manual settings.
Cons: Battery life with rechargeables somewhat limiting.

I've had this camera about a month, and absolutely love it.
I don't think you can get a better quality camera with all these features for less. 2 1/2 weeks after getting the camera, I took a trip, east. I deliberately tried to put it to the test with shooting photos with as many features as I could, the results were spectacular, every photo was crisp, clear and with smooth color transitions.

Pros: Large LCD, great pictures, 8.0 megapixels!
Cons: The strap it comes with is big and bulky and is for your neck.

This camera is professional quality! It has a variety of modes and options to enable you to capture your picture to the best advantage. If you are used to a point and click camera, this one does require a bit of an adjustment period, as it allows you to manually set all features. The good news it that there is an automatic mode you can use while you learn to play with all the other modes. Also, once you've found a mode you like you can save it for future use.
The flash could be better on this camera, but luckily there's a hot shoe!

If you are left handed the bump on the right (which is a grip) makes it harder to hold using your left hand. It also makes the camera look much bulkier than it is. I had camera size envy when I placed my camera next to a super flat point and click camera. But, when I saw my picture as compared to theirs, my envy disappeared since pictures created with my camera are superior in quality!

All around, I couldn't ask for a more well rounded camera.

Pros: Great resolution, color, macro. All the important manual controls there if needed.
Cons: Some barrel distortion at wide angle settings.

Great little camera with one drawback - battery life. OK with expensive CRV3's but abyssmal with alkalines or even 2500mah rechargeables. The software upgrade made only a very slight improvement.

After researching the battery testing sites I tried the Eneloop batteries. In testing they found that even though the total mah output over time was about equal to the other batteries, the Eneloop was the only battery which would supply 10 amps (!) for a period of time. Two or four of these will get you through any event, no problem. You can even keep shooting for a while after the battery warning shows. Also, they do not discharge appreciably while your camera is sitting on the shelf (85% power after one year). I found the charger with 4 batteries at wal-mart for $20.

Len

Pros: -Auto and manual features -Setting for panorama pictures with Olympus XD Card (optional)
Cons: -Software is not supported by Windows VISTA OS. -Battery life seems limited

The camera seems to have an abundance of features that are useful to the novice and the more experienced photographer. I have not had it long enough to comment on the quality of the camera, but wanted to make it known that the package software, OLYMPUS MASTER is not compatible with WINDOWS VISTA OS, as of March 5, 2007. Olympus tech service advised they expect this to be resolved in "about a month".

Pros: Lots of manual features, great photo quality, compact, good battery life with CRV3 batteries
Cons: Slow starting, drains rechargeable AA batteries quickly, neck strap annoying

This camera has great photo quality and excellent manual controls for a camera in this price range. It has full manual control, aperture priority, and shutter priority modes as well as selections for various lighting conditions. Consultation of the manual might be useful for obtaining the full value of the camera, but I found the menus intuitive and photographing on automatic to be very easy.

There is a slight lag on starting when the LCD screen goes white and it really runs through the rechargeables, but it gets good battery life off CRV3 batteries. The shutter lag time is not great, but it would be nearly impossible to obtain that in a camera with these features in this price range.

I did wish the paper documentation were more complete. The manual on the accompanying CD is very thorough, but it's nice to have a paper copy to hold in hand.

I'm very happy with it.