Customer Reviews

Olympus Camedia C5500 5.1MP Digital Camera with 5x Optical Zoom

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This is my second Olympus Camera. I have been using it for 2 months now and it is an exceptional camera. The camera is very easy to use if you give a quick review to the advanced manual on the cd it comes with. The pictures are beautiful quality. I have a cheap photo printer and you really can not see any quality difference between these and ones you would have printed. Set the camera to auto, and ANYONE can use it. The "Mode" settings are great. If you want to take pictures of your kids running around playing, set the dial to scene and the mode to sport, and the camera is automatically set to take pictures in motion. Like I said, just review the guide! Great for begginners to frequent users. Lots of options for setting it up manually also. Seems very sturdy and I love not having a lens cap to keep up with. Videos are nice and sound is clear. I do wish the flash would pop up on its own instead of having to manually do it. PictBridge makes it incredibly easy to print photos from the camera instead of having to transfer them to the computer first :) The red eye and cropping features on the camera are easy to use and work great. It fits nicely into your hand. It will not fit into your pocket, but you wont loose it in your purse either. (I would loose a credit card sized camera in 2 minutes) Off, the camera is 4 1/4" wide and 2" deep. On and with the lens fully extended, the camera is 3 1/4" deep. The 2" screen is clear and bright. You should purchase a larger XD picture card, the included card is waaay to small. You may also want to get an XD card reader that plugs into your USB port. This will allow you to trasfer your pictures to the PC much quicker. It comes with software, wrist strap, all the cables you need to connect to your PC, TV, & printer. Use rechargable AA's to save money, but if you get in a bind, the best feature is that you can stop at the gas station and pick up batteries :) Hope you enjoy it as much as I :)

This camera replaced my Olympus C-3020Z. In general it is a substantial improvement over the earlier camera: higher resolution, bigger zoom range, bigger LCD, sound and AV capabilities, a greater range of useful scene modes, and more. The camera is smaller. The flash must be manually popped up for use, which is fine with me, as the flash on the 3020 would go off whenever the camera thought it was a good idea unless it was manually deactivated, which resulted in a lot of pointless or unwanted flash firings. The pictures are excellent. The macro modes are especially impressive.

Nevertheless, the camera falls short of the older model in a few annoying ways:

No neck strap. The camera has only a wrist strap. I for one do not want to walk around with a camera dangling from my wrist. There's not even a provision for atttaching a strap. Ridiculous.

No lens cap. This is actually sort of a wash. The cap on the 3020 had to be removed before powering up the camera, which could be tough for some to remember. It did not attach to the camera very securely, causing it to pop off frequently when placed in a bag. The 5500 has a built-in cover which closes when the camera is powered down. This is convenient, but the thin leaves of the cover seem fragile and cannot provide the same level of impact protection as a cap. They can also easily be drawn back by any object that impinges upon them.

Slow lens. This is the worst part. The wide open speed of the lens is actually the same as on the 3020: f/2.8. However, the lens on the 3020 was physically larger and retained the full f/2.8 aperture throughout its zoom range. The tiny lens of the 5500 starts to lose aperture as soon as you start zooming. It winds up at a slow f/4.8. This is a serious limitation for low-light photography. I would prefer a slightly bigger camera with a lens that was equally usable throughout its zoom range.

This is my second digital camera, the first also an Olympus. With so many features and shooting modes, I did study the manual. I first found that shooting without a flash indoors using the "auto" mode or the "P" (program) mode produced fuzzy images, but using the "Scene - Portrait with Available Light" function, indoor shots are clear. I love not having a removable/losable lens cap. The built in lens cover retracts as the camera turns on. The "Scene - Sports" feature produced incredibly sharp action photos at our local rodeo. The macro and super-macro feature is very good. Closeup flower images come out clear even with a little breeze blowing. I like having an optical view finder. The 5x zoom coupled with the seamless 4x digital zoom (20x max zoom) produced a surprisingly sharp closeup. The one thing that isn't good - and it may be so with all digital still cameras - is the movie feature. The resolution is very low and capturing one frame for use as a photo is useless. Seems to me my older digital did a better job of using a movie to capture a child leaping from a dock so that I could select one frame from the movie to print. Perhaps I need more experience. My previous camera used AA batteries, and this one does too, so my stock of rechargeable AA batteries hasn't gone to waste. The size and weight of the camera are good. The camera comes with the Advanced Manual on CD rom, in PDF format. This is a bit of a pain if you want to have the manual with you, but at least you can print it in any size, and omit the parts (like how to print photos) you don't need. The manual is fairly easy to understand and navigate. The camera is easy to use (once you know where everything is) and I'm very happy with it. I still have much to learn and will probably like it even more. I gave it a 4-star rating only because of the movie problem.

Update: After using the camera for several months I've noted several problems with it. It badly over-exposes when using the "scene" menu. So far, only the point-and-shoot auto settings have resulted in good photos. Doing comparison shots with my old 2.1mp Camedia 2040, and a Nikon Coolpix, all three did a good job on automatic settings. When switching to "Scene" mode for the Sport Zoom, either in "sport" or "landscape" mode, the photos were horribly over-exposed in late afternoon lighting. Olympus has a way to fix this, I think, but when you're in a hurry for a photo, just use the "auto" mode or buy another camera. Instead of 4 stars, I'd give it a 2 1/2.

I've now had this camera for about a month now, and it's fantastic, I doubt you could find a camera this good for a better price. The image quality is spectacular. The automatic settings usually will do the job, but when it can't (in poor or unusual lighting conditions), the camera is full manual. The 5x optical zoom, combined with the 5.1mp resolution can make for some great enlargements. Other good features include a tripod adapter, time lapse photography, a variable brightness flash, low light focus assist lamp, audio/video out cable, great macro and super macro modes (allowing you to focus as close as 8cm), customizable presets, histogram overlays(to see what will be under/over exposed), and a delay timer so you can get yourself into the picture.

Also, the camera can record video and audio in .mov format. The quality is like VHS in good lighting, and in poor lighting is dark and grainy. Still, I bought this camera for photography, so this is just a bonus anyway, and it's not bad really.

About the only possible downside to this camera is a little bit of a delay between shots (dropping the resolution a bit lets you use the camera's burst mode, which allows for quicker shooting, and still good quality shots). Also, I recommend you get a larger memory card (I've got a 1gig card that can hold about 280 pictures at the highest quality mode or 26 minutes of video!) and a battery charger.

As for the first review which gave this camera only 1 star(Possibly the world's worst digital camera, April 24, 2005) I can only suggest that he had a defective camera. In most conditions, the automatic settings should have worked fine, and the battery life is very good. If action shots come out blurry, switch to either shutter priority or full manual and turn up the shutter speed to a faster setting. As far as durability, its plastic body seems to be pretty solid.

In conclusion, this camera is fantastic!

I got this camera for my birthday last year and it's fantastic. This camera is the perfect example of Olympus' ability to integrate several useful functions into one handy unit, just as the average consumer would expect any leading manufacturer to do.
- The zoom on this camera is AMAZING. I took a photo of one of the Bahamian islands from a plane and it looks like a professional aerial photograph.

- The multiple modes are ingenious. Some of them include the night mode, snow mode (great for winter), portrait, auto (for the everyday shot), night mode (for low lighting), and movie mode (when you think the picture alone won't capture the essence of the moment...on the other hand, THIS camera just might!)

- Extremely powerful flash. My friends and I were taking shots one night with about 10 different cameras. The lighting was pretty dim so we all had to use flash to take the pictures. My camera was the only one that took the picture bright enough for the contents of the photo to be properly visible.

- The movie mode is useful and so much fun. I love nature photography, and one day found a lovely aquarium but didn't want to just take a picture, so I used the movie mode. With the combination of the movie mode and the incredible zoom (and I wasn't even using the maximum zoom), the movie was utter perfection. It was so good, you could hear the bubbles from the water filter, see ever scale on the fishes, and it all looked so real that some people even said they felt like they were inside the aquarium. Of course, they weren't really inside the aquarium. Ah, the joys of zoom.

- Battery power usage. Compared to other cameras which suck your batteries dry after just a few uses, this camera uses much less battery power to function. I bought some rechargeable batteries for $[...]and a charger for $[...] right here on Amazon. The first time I charged them and put them in the camera, it lasted about a month and I had taken over 200 photographs!

- Ease of use. The software that comes with the camera is very simple and can be used by anyone. Just connect the camera to the computer via the USB port, click "PC" on your camera and the software pops up on your screen (after you install it of course!). Then just select the photos you want to transfer, where you want them to go (desktop etc) and click "Transfer". The photos are rather large, so you might want to store them on a disc or flash drive. It's that simple!

- Efficient shipping and great service from Amazon. I received the camera 4 days after the order was placed, and I have NEVER had any problem at all with it.

- Finally, the price. This is one of the less expensive cameras on the market and may be a little steep for some, but you get the best price here on Amazon. Compare it to Best Buy and Circuit City if you need to see it for yourself. It came with a rebate, and when you sign up for the Amazon card you get it even cheaper. The memory cards are also on Amazon and cheaper than most other places as well.

Had it for about 2 months now and have really been working it out. I've used it in many different lighting conditions and have taken quite a few short movies with it. Overall I'm extremely satisfied with the results and general ease of use.

Keep in mind that like most cameras in this price range, it performs better in good lighting conditions and starts to get grainy in lower light (at least without the use of the flash). Startup speed is excellent. Burst mode works very well. The preset modes are usually spot on for their indended uses. I'd suggest getting a nice set of rechargables as it will go through double-A's in a hurry. I've also seen XD memory cards getting much more affordable so go for the biggest you can get. My 512 gets me about 12 minutes of video or over 400 pics.


This camera is a nice bridge between higher end/higher dollar SLR-like cameras and the 3x zoom drop-in-your-pocket convenience cameras. At a steadily decreasing price it's becoming a better value all the time.

I just purchased this camera a couple of days ago, and all I can say is WOW!!! The ease of using this camera is unbelievable. You can take not only color photos, but Black and white, and Sepia...also video in black and white as well. The zoom function is the easiest I have found. The pictures come out crystal clear on my pc and you have a choice of various size pictures that you would like to take. While using quick view to see the pictures that you have taken, you can zoom in on those as well. Slide shows, panoramic...and so many other options. As I have said, I have only had it a few days and am in love. I can't wait to use all of the advanced features that I have not been able to touch on yet. I purchased this camera for concerts and I can see already how great it will be.

COMPARED TO other cameras - this digital camera sucks your batteries dry after a few uses (or not uses). This Digital Camedia NEEDS LOTS OF battery power to function! We found that if you take a few pictures (1-10)- your battery will last up to 2 days. If you are planning a birthday, or any other all day event - take extra and extra batteries - because within the hour - the batteries are drained! Rechargeables, are highly recommended. Otherwise, you'll be spending a few bucks on batteries every week just to keep the camera usage powered up. Excellent digital though, but horrible on battery usage!

Just got this camera for a good deal on black friday but after some intial photos, I am not so convinced about its clarity.
Many of the photos that had even a slight amount of movement seems to have blurred edges. I am not an expert photographer but this isnt my first digital camera either.
I compared similar photos in my nikon coolpix 3200 and the nikon pics were very clear.
I havent seen any reviews here that complain about the camera except the first one - "worst digital camera in the world" and so i am wondering if i may have got a defective piece (what are the chances of that..i wonder)
otherwise, a pretty good camera. looks big and bulky but fits into your hand pretty neatly.
the pop-up flash is a bit annoying.

Very nice camera for the price. Excellent macro pictures. Perfect for taking pictures of stuff to sell on ebay. I highly recommend this camera for it's ease of use, abundance of features and low price.