Olympus Camedia C-8080 Wide Zoom Digital Camera

Pros: Awesome quality photos, Great feel, Super Lens
Cons: Manual Focus Control, Smaller than average zoom, Noise after 200 ISO, 1st Unit died

I am going to be brief and not technical. Owned and operated this camera for about two months. The camera has a little weight ... but it feels great in your hand. It takes some of the best photos that I think you can get in this camera class. It ...

Pros: Looks and feels good.
Cons: A very frustrating tool, even for an experienced user.

Be sure to buy your 8080 from Costco, they have a satisfaction guarantee or your money back. I bought my 8080 back in April to replace my worn out 3040. I so loved the 3040, it was slow, but usually got the shot. 30,000 + pictures later, the zoom ...

Pros: Build quality, optics, versatility, pro-images
Cons: None....for those who know what this is before they buy!!

This camera is most definitely World Class....and very much able to hold its own against many digital slr cameras.
It is quite simply a remarkable camera with a host of features....and yes....tremendous optics!
Unfortunately many consumers buying this camera have not fully taken the time to understand its potential and the inherent necessity to be able to work in a more semi-automatic mode. I have seen too many people buy this camera and expect to point, shoot, and print out great photos. Well the reality is that this is truly a pro-sumer camera.....and users must be willing to spend the time to learn how to use it. On the bright side of this situation is the fact that many people who cannot or will not take the time to master and learn this camera are trying to sell their camera for next to nothing....trying to get the 8 megapixel point and shoot! That is great for those of us that understand what a fine camera this is. BUY IT!

Pros: Photo results, wide angle to 28 mm, hot shoe, swivel-screen
Cons: None in this class.

Really exceptional optics for the class. Results are amazing. I bought this camera instead of an SLR because it is a sealed system that protects the sensor from dirt. A friend with a Nikon D70 is always having issues with dust, while I am not. (Though, I envy the choice of lenses he has.) The "28 mm" (equivalent) focal length was the other feature I wanted, along with the ability to shhot RAW images. RAW takes 20-30 seconds to write, which is admittedly slower than with an SLR, but the high-res JPEGS are fast, and very good. Under-water housing is a fun bonus, and cheap, these days.

Pros: good
Cons: good go for it

great camera under 1000 dollars best picture easy to use zoom 5x too small for 8MB zoom need to improve to 7x or 10 x to be perfect.

Pros: Great image quality. Compares favorably to dSLR performance. Very fast start-up.
Cons: It needs a manual focus ring. EVP - yuck! Extended lens bulky.

My initial reaction was... "oh no, I think I just bought a toy." However, once I started shooting test shots at varying aperture settings, my fears proved to be unfounded.

While clearly not a digital slr, it still provides very clear and nearly noiseless images. (Far better than my E20.) While some have mentioned problems writing in RAW mode, I have not experienced these problems at all. I just ordered a battery grip for mine, which I wouldn't have done if I weren't happy with the camera.

Go to www.dpreview.com and perform a side-by-side test image comparison between ANY dSLR and the C8080 and you'll be pretty amazed at how closely it compares. In fact, the 23mb raw images are pleasantly clear side-to-side and top-to-bottom.

I believe much of this clarity is a function of the superior lens Olympus elected to use. If you love tweaking and sharpening in Photoshop, this may not be the camera for you, as the RAW images in default are crisp and quite color accurate.