Customer Reviews

Olympus Camedia D-550 3MP Digital Camera w/ 2.8x Optical Zoom

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I've tried out many different digital cameras over the last three or four years, from Kodak to Olympus to Canon to odd ones like HP. I've tried cameras that cost anything from $150 to $1000. So, when it came time for me to give up my never-used 35mm Canon SLR, I knew exactly which digital camera I wanted to replace it with.

A few years back, I tried out a friend's Olympus Camedia camera with the same body as this one. It was only in the 2-megapixel range, as opposed to the 3 megapixels of this model, but I was always really impressed with the quality of picture it took. For a point and shoot digital camera, the shots were just amazing.

So I didn't have to look very far before I found this camera, the Camedia D-550. And it's certainly lived up to the expectations I'd developed from using the friend's camera.

In my opinion, this is what really makes this camera stand out from its competition:

 It looks and feels like a camera. Some digital cameras go out of their way to be all futuristic and oddly shaped, which I find annoying. I want to be able to hold a camera with my hands, not my fingertips.

 The design of the navigation software is excellent. I've used cameras that go to the extremes of interface design, and I've hated it. I used a Kodak camera once that used menus and control panels that were so big and colorful, it was like it was designed by Fisher-Price. Sure, it looked friendlier to use at first, but when I actually tried to find anything, like how to change the size of my pictures, it was too big and clunky. On the other extreme, some companies make cameras that use a completely bare and technical interface that's impossible to understand. With the Camedia D-550, all of your important tools are no more than two button presses away, thanks to the intuitive design of the interface. If you want to switch to Macro mode, you just turn the camera on and press "Up" twice. If you want to change the size of the pictures you're taking, you just hit the menu button and press left on the wheel that pops up, and you'll see a nice list. Not too invasive, not too technical.

 Streamlined features. A few years ago, it became popular to pack as many different things into a camera as you possibly could. Sound recorders! Movie cameras! PDAs! Cell phones! Put everything you'd ever want in one device! I thought this was a terrible idea. If you want a video camera, get a video camera. A still camera can't possibly hold more than a tiny clip, so why even bother? While this Camedia D-550 does come with the ability to take video clips, it doesn't assume that video will be your primary use of the camera like other models sometimes do. The feature is there, but you can easily ignore it.

 Rugged body design. Olympus sells a similar Camedia to this in features and price, but a different body. I borrowed one for a weekend, and was constantly having trouble with the lens that stuck out of the camera body. The lens cap would fall off all the time, and I just wasn't careful enough with it. When I had my 35mm SLR, I just put a UV filter over the glass of the real lens, and didn't worry about scratching it, but you couldn't do that with the other Camedia lens. With the D-550, you avoid the problem entirely. When you turn the camera off, the lens retracts into the body of the camera, and is covered by the sliding panel that's part of the camera body. It's a brilliant design that keeps the lens safe, and the speed of the lens movement is quick enough that it's not annoying. I love that my camera is so tough. Though I haven't dropped it yet, I have the feeling it would survive a drop just fine.

 And, of course, the image quality. Even with plain old point-and-shoot simplicity, the colors are vivid and sharp, the exposure is just right, and the low-light pictures are just incredible, which is important to me as a hater of flashbulbs. The other day, a bird fell down our chimney and got trapped in the upper grill of our fireplace, beyond where we could see. So I stuck the camera up into the fireplace and had someone point a dim flashlight where we thought the bird was, and I got a pretty decent picture of it! The bird ended up getting out of the fireplace and flying out the window just fine, by the way. :-) The macro feature is pretty cool, too. My desktop picture on my computer is a photo of an ant I took with my D-550. People are really impressed that the ant takes up 3 inches on my screen.

When you consider all the excellent features this camera has, then realize that it's much less expensive than similar cameras, it seems like a no-brainer. I would have easily paid twice what I did for the D-550, and still felt like I was getting a great deal. This camera is going to last me a long, long time, and I'm loving every minute of it.

The D-550 is another of the Olympus line of clam shell cameras dating back to the old (non-digital) Stylus models of the mid-80s. In that sense, the design is tried and true and I like it for its compactness and its ability to protect the lens from those with a penchant for losing lens caps. For the vast majority of digital camera users, this camera will meet all of their needs well into the future. The D-550 trumps the recently released D-520 by offering resolution at 3 megapixels, which with some software manipulation (similar to TV line doublers) claims to raise the maximum resolution to an effective 6 megapixels. I've played with interpolation and am not a believer, and I have stated in numerous reviews of other digicams that resolution beyond 2 megapixels is generally wasteful. The question here is whether the D-550 is worth the 50% premium it carries over the D-520. This cost jump is a function only of the increased resolution. This higher resolution can be worse than unnecessary for *most* applications, it can make the camera less user-friendly. Aside from the fact that it raises the initial price of the camera, operationally it requires greater battery use, usually involves longer lag times between shots, takes much longer to download to a PC and especially prolongs both phases of e-mailing photos (your uploading the file and your recipient opening it). These latter issues are, in my opinion, the most important, as the real purpose of digital cameras is being able to integrate them into the world of personal computing. [note: For those folks whose needs are enlarging photos beyond 8" x 10", higher resolution is required] The other features of the D-520 worth noting are its very adequate 2.8X optical zoom *plus* a vaguely helpful digizoom (do not accept digital zooms in place of optical zooms; they are not equals), its ability to operate off readily available AA alkalines (though it will accept rechargeables and these make more sense in may ways), its easily expandable memory (it uses SmartMedia, not quite as good as CompactFlash cards, but close enough) and an adequate number of user-controllable settings, all of which can be handled automatically if you prefer. The only drawback of significance has been slow focus on the Olympus digital cams, resulting in more blurred pics than I think acceptable (and this even with my 700, self-stabilizing model!). Personally, I'd take the D-520 and use the money left over to buy a bigger memory card and some rechargeables.

The Camedia line continues to be a great all around camera for the average person to use. I bought this one after using my father Camedia D-510 extensively. It is simply and easy to use, with a basic manual that answers your questions. The onscreen directions are usuable, but could have been better. I havefound the pictures to be quite clear as I expected. It was easy to use on pick up, I only went to the manual occasionally to find specific features or answers.

Forget those Mac switch ads: It is VERY easy to transfer your pictures to the PC via a USB cable. They fixed one thing in this regard in that you have to activate the camera when plugged in to transfer. The older model just drained your battery as it turned on immediately and stayed on. The transfer wizard is useful for transferring to the PC, but you can also just treat this as a removable drive so why switch? The LCD window is great for taking up close shots and looks to be inprovved over pervious versions as well. This is a point and shoot camera and is one of the best at 3.0 MP. It offers everything I need, plus I can make mini movies with ease (no sound).

The only problem is the camera lens door! They did not fix this problems! You have to open it of course to shoot, but if you do not open it all the way the camera will not take pictures and this can be confusing for some as the viewfinder is blurry. You must make sure to click it all the way open. I have learned to live with that, but when I am taking shots it is too easy to shift the door slightly back inward and cause the camera switch back to view mode. This is the only flaw, it will frustrate you greatly when it happens, but I have adapted to taking pictures in a way to avoid this.

I had hoped they had fixed the door, but did not. Either way I love my camera and still recommend the product. Search around for competitive prices.

It took me a week to find my first digital camera (I tried both Olympus D-520 and Kodak D-3600 (what a joke this Kodak!) but I returned them after couple of days of use) and by this time I've been having D-550 for two weeks already and I just want to describe its pros and cons based on my own experience.

Pros:

1) Compact size. Viewfinder and lenses are protected when the camera is off
2) Battery compartment has a lock that prevents it from being accidentally opened (I had this problem with D-520 and Kodak)
3) No special software or drivers required (I use Win2000) to transfer data from camera to PC or vice versa (unlike Kodak)
4) Amazing picture quality when you shoot outside whether it's sunny, cloudy or it's night. For night pictures you MUST use tripod or place camera on something steady. I'm not quite impressed with pictures taken inside but it's a tough test for any camera and I've not finished yet playing with manual settings. I believe I can get more out of it

Cons:

1) Often when I look through viewfinder my nose sticks to monitor leaving marks (not such a big problem as it may sound)
2) Movie mode lacks sound and limited to ~30 seconds. Of course you can have as many 30 sec flicks as your memory allows
3) Viewfinder is a bit offset
4) No buttons or any other widgets to pick mostly used features like scene or flash selection. You are bound to use menu A LOT which is not the most handiest way
5) Useless printed manual. You should read PDF one on included CD

To sum up I would say that I'm really happy with this camera, it already gave me good deal of joy and sense of satisfaction. I highly recommend it.

This is my first digital camera. I researched it thoroughly and for the features this is a GREAT price. PCWorld also said that it had the best overall image quality indoors and outdoors. This is definitely true of my pictures.

One thing it's lacking that I really wish it had was audio with the movies.

It's a little heavier than most digital cameras but not much more than film cameras. So carrying around will feel no different. I kind of prefer the extra weight which isn't much to begin with.

Don't buy a DC input adapter for it. It calls for 6.5V, center positive but any 6V center positive adapter with the right connector will do.

It's very easy to use and wait between shots is minimal on the default setting. It's pretty slow on maximum setting but that makes sense since it has to store to the smartmedia.

Don't regret buying this camera at all.

btw, for first time buyers like myself, if you don't plan to print much, 640x480 resolution (taken by 1 MP cameras) WILL do. I didn't quite believe all I read, but the images aren't all that bad.

This is a very good camera for the price. It has features ranging from movie mode to a 3X zoom. The software is easy to install and with Windows XP one does not need to do any special steps to download pictures from the camera to the computer.

I recommend taking pictures in SQ mode for the simple reason that they are smaller files. I left the camera set in HQ mode and now have 40 vacation pictures that claim over 40MB of disk space. This is my fault, and not the camera's.

I really enjoy the compactness and functionality of the camera. It came with a 16MB card, and if SQ resolution is good enough, then this should be adequate for any three day weekend trip. I did buy, and do recommend, purchasing a large card. I bought a 128MB card for [price] and in SQ mode will capture over 1000 pictures before filling it up. Since I download to my computer the first chance I get then delete from the card, I don't foresee ever needing another card. Even in HQ mode the 128MB card will hold over 150 pictures.

Again, this is a fine camera and I'd recommend it to anyone.

I've only had this camera a few weeks and I am extremely pleased with its performance. My previous camera was a Sony Mavica with 640 x 480 resolution, so you can imagine what a difference it makes when you can get a resolution as high as 1984 x 1488. So far every picture I've taken as turned out sharp and crisp just using the default settings. Anything to a landscape to a close-up of my orchids has come out just fine. Pictures I have printed out using an older printer come out looking like real photos (unless you put your nose in the photo where you can see each pixel).

I have to agree with one reviewer about the manual, it jumps around a bit and leaves out key bits (like the camera has to be in the on position to download to the computer, to an experienced digital camera user it is a no-brainer, but to a novice...). Unlike some cameras it feels sturdy in your hands, not cheap. Make sure you have a USB hook-up in the back of your computer, if you have a older computer (5-6 years old) you may not have this feature. Consider getting a tripod if you're going to use the night feature as the shutter will be open for a couple of seconds. Overall a great camera, worth the 5 stars.

I enjoy having the "greatest" equipment that I can afford. However, this means not getting it when it is the "latest." I watched the reviews and other info on various cameras for some time. The D550 was one that I kept an eye on. Finally, the D550 started falling in price. The D550 is now available at a number of online retailers for less than $... dollars. I paid $... and was then able to upgrade to better memory cards and other accessories for the original price of the camera alone. Now I have a great camera. For my needs: family photos, vacation memories, birthdays, and the such; the D550 is perfect. I won't be doing many, if any, night time photos. I don't need fancy exposures or other pro camera tricks. I keep the resolutions small for simple 4x6 shots, but it is nice to have the option to go larger. Once on the computer I can adjust, using various software packages, the image to make it more email friendly. But, usually, I just post an image at my simple website (hosted by ...) and let the family know to browse on over. The manual does not show to much other than the basic operations. But, there are lots of websites out there with great reviews and usage tips. I have printed most of them and created a binder with all the info in it. If you are worried about going digital with your photo memories and are confused by all the lingo, hype, and information out there, then go with the D550. The manufacturer is reliable, the digital technology is mature, the features are above average, and the price is within reach of the first time buyer.

I bought olympus d-550 a week ago, and was completely satisfied. It has a 2.8 optical zoom, and that is like to zoom object 3 times. Digital zoom doesn't help. Ignore digital zoom when you buy a camera, because digital zoom is just the zoom that your computer can make when you enter pictures to your computer. The bigger picture you make, slopier image becomes. i can make pictures a whole page big on a sharpest quality. I like about this camera that cover slides down, and lens is always protected, under the cover. This is highest megapixels with such a small lens. I like this camera and I am very satisfied with it so far.

The Olympus D550 Zoom is my first digital camera and I have had it now just under a month. I am very pleased with pictures that I have taken so far and I am amazed at the sharpness and the true color of the pics. I must confess that I am still experimenting with it. One thing I found was that the literature that came with the camera could have been a little more reader friendly. When one realizes how easy the camera is to operate, one wonders why the instructions had to be so intimidating.

Things i should have done but didnt do: (1) Should have bought a bag with the camera.(2)Should have bought a battery charger and rechargeable batteries (3) should have bought an AC Adapter.

I use the camera in my job on a daily basis. I can find no fault with it. But hey, who am I? .... Just an amateur having fun. Would definitely recommended it.