Customer Reviews

Olympus D560 3.2 MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

Maybe it's because I design small electronic devices that I seem to have a better understanding of this issue of the D-560/C-350 and battery life than others. Digital cameras including this one with LCD monitor screens put savage power demands on their batteries. The basic chemistry and construction of alkaline batteries means that they are not able to efficiently deliver power at this very high rate. They just get hot and their voltage drops very quickly, making the camera shut down in a matter of minutes.

Olympus have been amazingly short-sighted in supplying a pair of alkaline batteries with the D-560. It's giving users the very mistaken idea that it's designed to use this battery type, when it *isn't*. The manual on the CD-ROM more or less spells it out that alkaline batteries are only to be used as a last resort. OK?

Rechargeable Ni-MH and non-rechargeable lithium batteries (CR-V3) have a completely different chemistry. They *are* capable of efficiently delivering the kind of power this camera (and other digital ones) demand, to give a very useful operating time.

I've been using 2,000mAH PowerBase Ni-MH batteries in mine, and getting more than 150 photos before one set is discharged. I think that this is perfectly reasonable. The supplied 16MB XD card can only hold about 80 1024x768 pictures after all.

The bottom line is this: if you are going to buy this or a similar digital camera, be prepared to buy some Ni-MH batteries and a charger or pay a lot for CR-V3 lithium batteries for as long as you own it. Olympus should make this fact crystal clear in their owner's manual, but they don't.

Yes, the D-560 obviously does have a design fault. It will often give the Low Battery warning even on batteries which have just been charged. However mine doesn't stop working, and the flashing red symbol disappears after a while. If you can live with this glitch and are prepared to buy Ni-MH batteries and a charger (or CR-V3 batteries), this is one incredibly good digital camera I fully recommend.

I've been using this camera to send digital photos to my freinds and relatives since April of 2003. I love it and would not use anything else. In my opinion a good digital camera is all about three things: image quality, ease of use, and size. The Olympus D-560 scores big in all three areas.

The image quality is great. This particular camera seems to do an exceptional job of adjusting to whatever lighting conditions I'm shooting in. I often compare photos I've taken with those taken by freinds or relatives using other digital cameras during vacations or special events and mine come out better.

The camera is insanely easy to use. Just point and shoot, no need to select modes or make any adjustments, it makes most of the adjustments for you. However, if you want more control the camera does allow you to fiddle around with various specialized modes. So far I have found such modes unnecessary.

The physical size of the camera unit itself is just about perfect for me. Slightly larger than the palm of my hand, it's small enough to tuck into a pocket or bag with ease, but it's not so small as to make it awkward to hold and aim.

After using this camera for 8 months I have discovered some drawbacks. First, my camera did NOT operate well on standard AA alkaline batteries. It was constantly locking up, beeping, and generally malfunctioning. I thought I would have to replace the camera. Then, on a tip from a freind, I switched to the higher powered CRV-3 Lithium battery, (available on Amazon) and my camera woes were solved. It's worked like a dream ever since.

Second, turning off the camera is kind of clunky and time consuming. You turn the camera on and off by sliding the front lense cover open or shut. This is nice and simple, but closing the camera takes some time, as you have to start to close the cover, then wait for the lense to retract back into the case before you can finish sliding the cover shut. This adds an extra 5 seconds to the end of any photo session before you can stick it in your pocket and move on. To some this may be annoying, but I've gotten used to it.

And lastly, of course, the 16mb memory card that comes with it is too small to be very useful. (I remember only getting around 17 high quality pictures on a card.) Invest some money into a high capacity memory card (128 or 256 MB) and you can take hundreds of shots without having to download them or switch cards.

So, in summary, great camera. For better results use a CRV-3 Lithium battery instead of alkaline, and get a big memory card.

Pros: Great software, panaromia mode, nice clear lcd, and quick download of pics to pc.

Cons: Some blurryness if you take pictures in motion, Battery life, and the way the lens expands.

This camera was easy to use. Tested this camera side by side with other cameras in the same price range and this one took better pictures. The included software is really easy to use. The camera has two issues. The first downfall with this camera is the batteries. BE SURE TO CARRY AN EXTRA SET OF BATTERIES AT ALL TIMES. We were changing batteries about every 40 pictures or so....which is very easy to do in a short amount of time with the "rapid fire' mode. The other downfall of this product is the media card. The media card is not compatable with our printer's (HP 2210) smart card reader ports. Even with these little issues it still is a great camera to own.

My first advice to anyone looking for a camera of any kind is to buy one from a company that specializes in cameras. Not in televisions and discmans.
The second advice is that a company that has a reputation for professional equipment does not necessarily make equally good consumer level products. I make this comment after my experience with Nikon.
Now for the D-560 -

Firstly - this talk about low battery life on this camera is nonsense. You HAVE to use NiMh batteries - Olympus should have made this amply clear. So ignore these ill informed comments about battery life. One can easily take 50 - 60 pics with plenty of flash and LCD use on one pair of rechargeable batteries. Since the camera uses only one pair of batteries, it is easy to carry a spare that is fully charged.

Now for the Pros and Cons -
Pros -
Takes beautiful and sharp pics. Print them 8X10 and you will be left staring at them. Believe me!
Its shirt pocket size - depending on the pocket, even two might fit. Very handy and compact. You will carry it with you everywhere and take more pictures that way.
Large 1.8 inch LCD display - bright and nice. Almost occupies half the back.
Very quiet mechanism. The sliding plastic cover - that also serves as an on off switch - is a very simple and highly effective solution.
Lens and CCD combination takes very sharp pictures with very little noise.
Color fidelity and balance is top notch.
Powerful flash.
Contains the basic controls one might want in a P&S. Including, night mode, macro, potrait, backlight etc..
It is possible to use landscape/potrait mode to switch between max aperture and min shutterspeed exposure options. Very handy - can make up for the lack of exposure controls if you want to become creative.
Exposure control is accurate.

Uses standard batteries - so it is possible to use regular AA ones in an emergency. They work reasonably if you don't use the LCD.

Reasonably fast startup and quick shot to shot times because it seem that the XD card has fast write times..

Now for the cons -

uses XD cards - and these cost almost twice as much. Add its cost to the price of the camera.

Add the cost of a charger and set of batteries as well. (I recommend the panasonic charger+batteries). However, your charger/batteries have other uses as well - like use them in your discman. In many cases you might already have them with you.

Movie mode does not capture audio.

Pro: I just love the camera! It takes beautiful, clear pictures, especially outdoors. I tried taking some shots indoors too and they turned out very clear also. It is perfect for taking still objects. The functional buttons are, to me, a little bit confusing to use, but if you read the manual, then it should be easy. The camera looks elegant and it is comfortable to handle.
Con: Battery life is too short, 2 AA Alkaline batteries are only good for about 6 pix (if you review them everytime).

I've been reading some appalling reviews for the D-560, and I can't sit by without asking if we're talking about the same camera? I've had one for two months, and it's the most incredible photo taking device I've ever seen....
If people would take the time to actually read the book instead of putting a pair of alkaline cells into it, pointing it at something, stabbing the shutter button then complaining about the result, they might take decent pictures with it.
This camera is designed for NiMH or CR-V3 batteries (but which are not supplied with it), the book says so. It has auto-focus which takes a moment to lock onto the subject or it will produce blurred pictures. The book explains this. If you move the camera while taking a low-light photo, it will be blurred, as with every camera. Geez!
Very few of the photos I've taken with the D-560 have disappointed me. Many have amazed me and others with their sharpness and rich colour.
I love this camera so much that I've given it a web page to show off what it can do. I'm not allowed to give the URL, but a Google search for 'Olympus C-350/D-560 photo gallery' should find it. ;-)

First thing is I want to say was this was supposed to be my first digital camera. I'm a college guy and I bought this for a cancun trip after seeing great reviews for its predecessor D-550. But after a week, I got rid of it. Don't get me wrong, this was a great camera.....but only outdoors in FULL and I mean FULL sunlight. When it came indoors I was very disappointed. Yeah I did my research and I know this camera is only 4 second shutter for night mode. The thing is I took pictures indoors with real bright lights, and 7 out of 10 came out blurry. Moreover, when I mean blurry, I mean unrecognizable like everything was moving, not noisy where if you zoom in the picture it becomes less sharp. I tried different modes but almost all came out blurred. It might be my camera, but why would it take outstanding outdoor pictures yet take blurred out indoor images of still objects with flash??? I thought it was maybe because it needed to be steady, and it got a little better when I placed it on a tripod. But who would carry a tripod in cancun in the clubs and beach at less than full light? Maybe someone who wasn't there to have fun, that's who.

My opinion is get a Canon A70 for around the same price. I did, and even though the picture quality wasn't as sharp outdoors as the D-560, the indoor shots far outweigh the outdoor images.

First of all, yes it is a glutton for batteries. I habitually use rechargables anyway and recomend others do the same. You might also want to get an adapter to run it off house current so you don't run down the batteries while it's hooked up to your PC.
As for image clarity, remember that this is a digital camera. It takes a moment after the button is pushed for the camera to take the picture and it must be held steady until it's finished (the higher the resolution the longer it takes). This can be difficult especially when trying to use the panorama funtion. I recomend buying a folding mini tripod to keep it steady. Also there many presets on the camera that will effect the quality of the picture. Everthing from flash to exposure time to day or night pictures. It's a good idea to take a test picture or two to make sure conditions are right.
In short, this is not the kind of camera you can whip out at a moments notice and take a quick snapshot with. If that's what you're looking for them stick to a 35mm.
Oh, and it was mentioned in an earlier review that this camera does not save it's settings and funtions such as flash, resolution, and various picture modes must be reset manually each time the camera is turned on. Not true. There is a selection in the setup menu which lets you choose wether or not settings will be saved when the camera is off. Though if it looses power for too long it will return to factory presets.

In conclusion, it's a good camera as long as you bear it's limitations in mind while using it. I've printed out some pictures on glossy photo paper that are indistinguishable from regular photographs.

This camera is great, and also horrible. I've had it for about a year now.

Great
-----
o Lightweight
o Very small and portable
o Cheap
o Cool "macro" mode for close-ups
o Nice 3x optical zoom
o Takes great outdoor pictures in full sun
o Takes great indoor close shots
o Hold a LOT of pictures in a 256MB xD card.

Horrible
--------
o Eats batteries - of all types - forget Alkalines - takes maybe 20 photos, with Lithium, takes maybe 50. With NiMH, it will do about 100, but like another reviewer said, it quits long before the battery is discharged. And when it quits, it usually "hangs", making you remove the batteries and put in fresh ones just to close the door (and losing the last shot you took).
o The flash is a real joke. If you use the zoom at all, then the photos are very dark and unusable.
o Once you take a photo (especially with the flash), there is a considerable time before you can take the next one - not as bad as on my FIRST digital camera (also an Olympus), but bad enough so that you miss half of the wedding party when they are walking SLOWLY down the isle. Also when you want to take that second shot of a group, they get impatient with you as you stand there and keep pushing the button and nothing happens.
o The "macro" mode still gives blurry pictures sometimes.
o The (optional) underwater housing is cute, albet bulky, but the photos you take with it are not clear (because of the bad flash).

First of all, please note that the clam-shell design for this camera (D560) is NOT weatherproof - it has no rubberised seals & liners like the Olympus Stylus series (models 300/400/410). So, if protection against the elements is a must, buy one from the Stylus range instead.

This camera is indeed a real battery hog as reported by other users, because last year I was testing my colleague's newly purchased D560 unit (known in Europe/Asia as C-350) when it drained 2 new alkaline batteries empty in less than 40 minutes. On a trip to cold Korea last year, he had also reported on the need to remove and reinsert his 1800 mAH NiMH rechargeable batteries every now and then in order to continue using them with this camera.

Nevertheless, I have seen several hundred photos taken with his Olympus D560 and they were so sharp, colorful and contrasty that I decided to buy this camera as a secondary 'pocketable' unit to my existing Canon Powershot A80, which was too heavy for the purpose. I had also figured on using higher capacity rechargeable NiMH batteries of 2100 mAH to tame this power-hungry beast.

Then the new Olympus D540 model (known in Europe/Asia as Olympus C-310) arrived, together with a multitude of improved features such as:

1) 2 macro modes for close-up shots: 20cm 'Macro Mode' and the new 2cm *'Super Macro Mode'. The latter enables you to take fantastic close-up photos from as near as 0.8 inch (2cm) away & above. In contrast, the D560 only has the 20cm 'Macro Mode' and at a best close-up distance of 8 inches away, is way inferior to competing Canons and Nikons that can go as near as 2 inches (4-5cm);

2) extended shutter speed range of 1 second to 1/2000 seconds, compared to the D560's 2 seconds to 1/1000 seconds;

3) faster lens aperture range of f2.9 to f5.0, compared to f3.1 to f5.2 for the D560;

4) option to save pictures in 2.0 Megapixels aside from 3.2 Megapixels and VGA size; the D560 has the less popular option of 1.0 Megapixels in between 3.2 Megapixels and VGA size;

5) flash located further away from the lens to reduce red-eye effects compared to that on the D560;

6) lighter camera body at 150 grams, compared to 170 grams for the D560, and finally,

7) cheaper than the D560! (although this is actually a price savings, and not a real camera feature)

*'Super Macro Mode' is really a hidden Ace, as it is hidden away in the menu option & was not much advertised by Olympus (if at all). You can check it out under Page 61 of the downloadable user manual for D540 at Amazon.com. As far as I know, no other cameras in this price range (and significantly above) can get you this close: 0.8 inch (2cm).

In case you are wondering, I wish to emphasize that the Olympus D540 (3.2 Megapixels) is actually the NEWER camera, and this D560 model is the older one - Olympus seems to have a confusing habit of naming its newer, budget models with decreasing model numbers instead of progressive model numbers like its own higher range.

To be fair, the new D540 lacks the following when compared to the D560:

1) clam-shell design of the D560; the D540 now uses a sliding power switch (with lock button) at the rear to activate the camera.

2) video-out port (for direct playback to TV); it is unlikely that you will miss this, as the built-in 1.8 inch LCD screen is adequate for playback review. However, if you absolutely require this video-out port, then you must choose the D560 over the D540.

3) spot-metering mode; personally I don't miss this at all, since I don't even use it with my Canon A80. I find the 'digital ESP metering' mode provided good enough for practical use.

With the overall improved features built-in and lower price, I bought the D540 of course, and am glad to say that rechargeable battery life (NiMH, 2100mAH) on my D540 is actually ok - no incidents ever of taking 20-40 pictures only as was previously reported for the D560. Admittedly, the D540 does suffer from a premature low-battery warning indicator - see my Olympus D540 review at Amazon.com dated May 27, 2004 if you are interested.

MY ADVICE: Consider the newer Olympus D540 model first, although either one will definitely help you take excellent pictures.