Customer Reviews

Olympus D-360L 1.2MP Digital Camera

5 star:		(95)
4 star:		(27)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

The D360L camera is very easy to use and takes awesome pictures under almost any conditions. The resolution and features are truly incredible for a camera in this price range. The software installs easily and has good help information to guide you through the image editing process.

The camera comes loaded with many nice features. About the only thing lacking is an optical zoom. I'm a frugal consumer and decided that the added cost of an optical zoom wasn't justified for my intended use of the camera. Most features have been covered in other reviews but one nice feature that I haven't seen mentioned much is the video out jack and cable (included) that allows you to view your photos on a television. My parents are in their 80's and don't have excellent vision, so the television connector lets me share photos with them without them having to peer at the tiny LCD screen.

Accessories add a substantial amount to the cost of your camera outfit. Expect to pay an extra $100 to $250 above and beyond the camera price for them. I bought a SanDisk SmartMedia 32MB memory card, a DigiPower Solutions 12X rechargeable power pack, and a SanDisk SmartMedia USB external drive for downloading onto my PC. The only problem I encountered was with the Sandisk SmartMedia USB external drive. The install software had trouble locating a device driver, but I was able to locate the correct driver at the Sandisk web site and get things working properly. I have not had any experience with Olympus support, since everything works great.

The bottom line is that this camera offers fantastic value for the money you spend on it. You really can't go wrong buying this camera. It rocks!

I bought this camera because it ranks high in "pixels per dollar" (resolution) and because I own three other Olympus cameras which have been outstanding performers--good picture quality and easy to use. I spent some time comparing the features of different brands and models in the $300 to $800 range. Dollar for dollar this camerea is very hard (impossible?) to beat. What you get for twice the price isn't that much more with the exception of a zoom. Zooms are a mixed blessing anyway because so often you get blurry pictures (because you don't use a tripod). Plus, you usually give up some close-up ability when you have a zoom. The zoom might be more important if you don't have some photo editor software to crop, enlarge, or otherwise manipulate your digital pictures. Some minor concerns. I find the look and feel a little "clunky" compared to other Olympus cameras and other brands. Also, the new models are less iMac friendly. So, I bought an Olumpus SmartMedia Reader which added to the cost but is a very cool device. And battery life? I read all the comments about getting rechargeable batteries but I was still shocked at how fast the batteries wear out. Still, all-in-all, this is a great camera for the price.

I looked at a lot of cheap digital cameras before my friend told me about this one. It had a good feature set so I bought it. I've been really impressed with the picture quality, especially compared to my friends with more expensive floppy-based cameras. It's also really small compared to those clunkers. It doesn't have a zoom, but night pictures and flash come out very well. I've been very happy with it so far--used it as my only camera on my trip to Hawaii with great results. Be warned, it goes through batteries quickly--we got some rechargeables that helped.

I had been searching the digital camera market for months trying to figure out which camera to buy within usd 400 when i came across the Olympus-D360L. I had been reading the customer reviews for several days on Amazon, and was very much prepared for the short battery life, only 30 good quality photos with a 8 mb smartmedia card etc. BUT, was i surprised ! Not only does a set of 4 AA batteries (good quality, i.e. Duracell or Sony) last for the entire 8 MB shoot, but it also allows for a full / unrestricted use of the flash. To make matters even more impressive, you can take as much as 122 pictures (standard setup) and the quality of these photos is amazing. Only if you download these photos and zoom in 2-3 times into the photo will you feel the 'mosaic', but for ordinary folks like you and me, we dont need to zoom in that much, and standard photos itself is extremely good. Furthermore, if you view the photos on TV the clarity is even more amazing. One thing though ... viewing 'portrait' pictures on TV is a strain on the neck and the camera does not have any builtin feature which could switch 'portrait' pictures to 'landscape'. For usd 299 .. this camera is a steal !

I had occasion to buy the 360 and 460 recently. Other reviews adequately describe why both are great cameras and which accessories you'll need. Essentially, they're the same box(1.3 MegaPixel) and microcode. The same "darkroom" software, CamediaMaster 1.2, comes with both. The 460 has a better user interface and a zoom. The buttons and menus are somewhat more intuitive, but the 360 interface isn't bad to begin with. The digital 2x zoom is the same on both, the close-up (macro) mode on the 360 is 4", vs. 8" on the 460. The feature set (e.g.: ISO, spot metering) is similar, if there're any differences they're minor and subtle. The ease-of-use factor of the 360 is better. On the 460, you have to wait for the lens to come out of the casing, and you must remember to open the flash. Unless you *really* need zoom, you can save yourself two hundred bucks by purchasing the 360.

This camera does a lot of things for only 300 dead presidents. It has thousands of options, great image quality, and, of course, it's digital! Now you can take all those embarrassing photos of yourself without being afraid of the CVS guy laughing at you.

If you lower the image quality you can take 122 pictures on the ultra-small disk provided. However, the quality is really, really bad (640x480 highly-distorted JPEG). But on good quality you can take 36, which is enough for one session (you can delete the images from the camera after you download them to your hard drive.) There's a super-high quality option which makes TIFFs, but I never use it.

A few drawbacks:

the graphics-editing program that comes with the camera SUCKS. If you plan to do major photo-editing you should get ahold of Paint Shop Pro (jasc.com) or Adobe Photoshop (adobe.com). Another problem is that the batteries run out very fast. It uses four AA batteries every time, which last me about two weeks. If you want to save on battery life, try not to use the LCD screen and instead take pictures the "normal" way. Also, try not to view the photos on the camera and instead download them to your computer first and view them from the hard drive.

Despite these problems, it's the best deal you can find for so little money. Unless you can afford to spend 800 bucks on something better, this is definitely the way to go. Anything cheaper probably sucks.

This is my first digital camera, although I've used them before. After getting to know it and adding some much needed accessories, I can say it really is a great camera, at a reasonable price. The quality of the pictures is astounding considering it is a relatively basic model. The first thing I would recommend ordering with it is a Sandisk reader. This is cheap and a must have; it downloads all your pictures in an instant and thus saves the clumsy,time,and battery-consuming process of loading them by direct camera-to-computer method. If you've read about the battery life problem you'll be prepared for burying the included batteries on the first day. Others recommend rechargeables, but I've always hated them. They don't last long, and I don't like the hassle. I put in new lithium batteries and they really last. As far as actual picture taking, the only two negatives I see are problems with blurry images of moving subjects and the lack of a real zoom feature. The zoom feature on this camera merely crops in on your existing image. However I see these points as minor as the beauty of the picture quality, and sheer fun in using this camera make it a winner. Besides, if you want to zoom in on a shot, just take three or four steps in, and you'll be saving yourself about ... bucks. Out of all the regrettable purchases I've made in my life, I can say this is not one of them. Be careful though, being able to erase and retake shots may lead to severe camera addiction.

This camera is truly easy to use, and it seems to be of reasonably good quality. The instructions aren't anything to write home about, but they suffice. The included software takes a little getting used to but it does do the job, just not as easily as some of the aftermarket stuff. The most amazing thing about this camera (compared to both 35's and other digital cameras I have used) is that it is almost impossible to take anything but a high res. perfect picture. The macro mode is fun too, and good for online auctions or any application where a detailed closeup is needed. I am very pleased with my purchase. The only negative is that the batteries do not last that long and either rechargeables or a transformer are needed.

I've had the D360L for about two weeks and have been snapping everything -- so far I've been *VERY* pleased with the resulting images. I also bought the standalone mediacard reader; it installed on my PC like a champ with absolutely no problems. Together the two components make for a great experience! Even the 8meg card that comes with the camera seems roomy enough for the kinds of web images that I want to mostly make. My only criticism is that there is a considerable delay from when you push the button until the picture is actually taken -- but I see this same phenomena with other cameras (both film and digital); it seems to have more to do with focusing and red-eye reduction than anything else. (The later can be disabled). All in all, I'm very pleased.

I got the Olympus D360L because I wanted a digital camera and I didn't want to spend a lot of money. The picture quality is much better than I expected it to be, and it is very easy to use. I was also impressed with the software that comes with the camera and what I was able to do with pictures after I took them. Its amazing how good pictures come out in low light with no flash. Since it is so much less expensive than the 450 Zoom, it doesn't have a traditional zoom, it has a digital zoom, which functions like a traditiional telephoto lens. So when I want a zoom, I walk closer to the subject. The camera lets you take perfect pictures only 4 inches away from your subject, and that is pretty cool. My advice: If you have $500, get the 450 zoom, if you don't want to spend that much, the D360L is a great camera and I'm very satisified with it.