Customer Reviews

Olympus iS-20 QD Date 35mm SLR Camera

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

As one reviewer wrote, I reluctantly gravitated toward an autofocus SLR because my eyesight (even at 30) isn't perfect, and the one thing missing from the shots taken with my traditional Pentax SLR is "focus." An autofocus camera fixes that problem for me. But I want some options as well, to allow for some creativity amidst all the automation. From the moment I got the IS-20 QD out of the box and put in the batteries, it has been a dream to own. I finished off the first roll within an hour, and the pictures, even from the 1-hour shop at the drugstore, were outstanding. I'm not commenting on my picture-taking; I give all credit to the Olympus. Everything from portraits to landscapes to action (it stopped a spinning backyard windmill in its tracks) came out great. I know that I am sacrificing some of the freedom that one would get with a traditional SLR, but for my money (and my experience) I waste much less film by avoiding experimentation, and I can concentrate on the subject matter of my shots. I recommend this camera for both novice photography buffs, and for those who just want a fantastic hassle-free high-end camera.

I actually own the IS-30, which is almost identical to the IS-20, the only difference being that the IS-30 has exposure compensation (from -2EV to +2EV in 0.5EV steps), but I don't know if its still available, so I'm writing this review instead. I've had it for 2 years and it is a marvellous camera.

This camera has all the features that you need and none that you don't. It is essentially a fully-automatic SLR camera, so you have the best of both worlds. With an SLR, when you look through the viewfinder, you're actually looking through the lens, so what you see is what you get (with composition and focus). Unlike a fully-automatic camera, which has parallax error associated with its separate viewfinder.
The IS-20 is "zoomier" (28-110mm) than a standard SLR camera lens (28-80mm), but yet it is quite a small camera when compared to most SLRs. You can also get a telephoto extender that screws on the end making it effectively a 210mm lens; although you will have to use that pretty much at full-zoom and the camera lens cap won't retract when it is in place.
The other advantage it has over fully-automatic cameras is that you can use various filters on the end of the lens. You might first consider getting a 2X macro lens and a red lens for improving the contrast in B&W photography.

I used my sister's Canon EOS-500N for two overseas trips and I found that about half of the features I just didn't use. With this Olympus, however, I use ALL the features. The two most commonly used modes are the scenery mode and the portrait mode. It also has spot metering, a timer, and a nifty lens cap. Plus it has full-auto mode; just press the green button and shoot!

It has twin flashes, one for wide-angle and one for telephoto, and they are mighty-powerful! There are four flash modes: autoflash, no flash, red-eye reducing, and forced flash activation. They're all important. Having no flash is crucial for night time scenes; just put the camera on something steady, select the timer -that way the camera will go off by itself and you won't bump it- and you will take photos that look like a pro.

Initially, the thing that bugged me most is that you can't manually set the shutter speed and have the camera figure out the correct aperture. But now I tend to think that the only time I really wanted to set the shutter speed myself is when I wanted the fastest possible shutter speed, and the camera has a mode that automatically does that for you (up to 1/2000 sec). You can only manually select the shutter speed for long-time exposures greater than 1 sec (1, 2, 4, 8, 15, 30 & 60 sec), but then camera fixes the aperture at f8, so you have to take a few shots to make sure the photo won't be under/overexposed. You can, on the other hand, choose an aperture from f4.5 to f22, and have the camera automatically use the right shutter speed. That allows you to change the depth of field of a scene.

On the down side: for the smallish size, it is on the heavy side. But even though I am usually very obsessive when it comes to lightweight objects, in this case I can easily overlook that, because of its sheer convenience.

If you're thinking of buying a digital camera, know that film has the equivalent of 1500 "pixels" per inch, so that a 24x36mm negative, assuming a good lens and fine-grained film, will have over 3 megapixels. Not only that, but this camera can use a wide range of film speeds, from 25 ISO all the way to 3200 ISO!!
The other reason I didn't want a digital camera, is that I've been known to take about a thousand photos while I'm travelling, and I refuse to fork out that much money for the high-capacity memory cards required. Remember that 35mm film can be bought ANYWHERE.

I've had a manual-focus camera for years, set apertures, speeds, etc. This camera gives you all the exactness of that medium with the total convenience and ease of a fully automatic package. Plus you can set your own apertures if you wish to move "outside the box" and the camera sets the speed for you! The settings are easy to figure out, auto focusing is a bit tricky, but once you get the hang of it, there's nothing easier. Great versatility in a reasonably priced package! I highly recommend it.

NICE! I'm glad I've swapped my Canon EOS SLR for this!

While I find the coverage of its built-in flash is a bit on the harsh side (my 8-year old Canon Photura is better in this area), the photos taken with the camera under daylight can match up to any good SLR camera in the market. All that performance is delivered in a nice, easy-to-carry, all-in-one package.

You've got a winner here, Olympus!

I love this camera. I wanted a camera that I can take good family photos with as well as use to learn a bit about the basics of photography. The directions were easy to understand, and it took no time at all to figure it out and start shooting. My favorite is the portrait mode. It's very simple to use, and the results are fantastic!

Very versatile, stylish, easy-to-use camera! I used several rolls of my 2-month daughter basically in the portrait mode and I found them very good (w/flash or without it). But more impressive pictures have been done outdoors with 28mm focus. They a really great! The images are sharp, clear, a full of depth. Before I used 35mm fixed Olympus Stylus and my manual Minolta XG-7. This IS-20 QD camera has a lot more to offer for for the beginner and experienced photographer!

I was looking for an entry level SLR and decided to try the Olympus IS 20 at the advice of a friend who works as a semi-professional photographer. After shopping around and comparing the Olympus to other brands such as Nikon and Cannon, I found that Olympus does not necessarily enjoy the reputation found in other brands. Still, I decided to get the IS 20 based on the functions it offered and the great price on Amazon. Since I have owned the IS 20 I have shot over 20 rolls of film including 200, 400 and 800 speeds. The camera is very user friendly and my photos are excellent. The last roll of film that I shot with 800 contained photos of Seattle taken from the incoming Bainbridge ferry at sunset. When I picked up the photos from processing, several members of the staff were waiting for me to compliment me on the outstanding colors and detail in my photos. They were convinced that I am a seasoned photographer with a superior understanding of manual cameras and photography in general; even though I only have a basic understanding! This camera is everything that I hoped it would be and I would highly recommend it for beginners. Also, if you buy this camera, there is a teleconverter lens available at the Oympus Emporium website (but in limited quanties.)

This is a great line of cameras. Looks very cool. Pictures are great with everything that it is suppose to have to produce good pictures. Good flexibility with good automation. Some buttons are hard to use, especially when it comes to figuring out what you want the flash to do. Concerned that it eats batteries, especially since it is fun to play with it. Noisy automation. Seems balanced to hold. Will likely replace the carrying case with an additional one to hold the 210mm zoom lense we got with it that will be easy to remove and add camera and lense from case. I wish the default lense had a little more range and a 300mm lense was extra. Zoom lense screws on and off. Not sure if the mechanics of the zoom functions are harmed when you screw on and off lense. We found the more expensive 30 DLX model for a good price with panoramic, 210mm lense, remote, and the olympus case at another on-line retailer through bizrate. The DLX model is suppose to sport some kind of color correction feature but it is undocumented in the manual. Never heard of the company but they shipped immediately without problem. Despite the criticisms, very fine camera.

I am a scrapbooking fiend and I was tired of my regular cameras because I always had to get so close to the subject in order to take a shot. I wanted more portrait like pictures as well as being able to stand away from the subject in order to catch those candid shots.

I actually have two other olympus cameras. I have an olympus stylus 115, which is nice and has a decent zoom, but didn't give me the picutres I was looking for.

I have been taking pictures with my new camera like a fiend and I love them. The pictures have been crisp and clean...the way I like them, and I don't have to stand right in front of the subject to take a picture.

I actually feel like I am taking professional pictures! Anyway, that's it. Thanks.

I purchased this camera for my 11-yr old daughter to use in a summer photography gifted & talented art class that required the kids to bring an SLR camera (I got a reconditioned model really cheap). What a find!! I bought it because it seemed much easier to use than a standard SLR (which befuddle me), but I didn't expect that the pictures or adjustability would be that great - I was terribly wrong. There was no discernable difference between my daughter's photos and the photos from the kids (most older & more seasoned in photography) who used a standard SLR - except she said that she got to take more pictures because she wasn't always messing with her camera. Her photos included color, black & white, landscapes, close-ups, and many "trick" shots with long exposures and light effects - everything the other kids did with their cameras. He teacher even recommended that she enter a couple of her photos in a local contest!

The "one step" buttons for landscapes, close-ups, long exposure, and short exposure produce excellent results, and the automatic speed setting with the manual f-step option is very nice as well - no charts or graphs needed to figure it all out.

My husband and I have always been interested in photography, but we never wanted to deal with the complicated SLR lenses, F-stop/speed settings, etc., but we were so impressed with the IS20 that we just purchased another one for our own use, and intend on doing a little hobby SLR photography ourselves! The IS20 actually makes photography fun! I've taken the best photos of my life in the past few days, and I'm excited to continue.

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND for the beginning or even intermediate SLR user.