Olympus W-10 Digital Voice Recorder with Built-in Digital Camera

by Olympus

Product Details

Product Manual [2.04mb PDF]

• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 3.3 x 1.8 inches ; 2.6 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00007KJWO
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #45,268 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: December 10, 2002

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

The W-10 doesn't just make it easy to record, it makes it easy to manage audio and image files, too. With two folders devoted to audio files--each capable of storing 100 messages--and a dedicated folder for image files that can hold 250 pictures, organizing and locating important files is simple. You can even move files between folders and erase a single file or an entire folder. Thumb-pad navigation is available with a jog dial, and the W-10's built-in 16 MB memory provides up to three hours of recording in long-play mode (other modes are standard and high-quality). Audio is stored as WAV files, and images are JPEGs. The recorder can be voice activated, and it even has an alarm feature, so you'll never miss an interview. Included Voice Album software lets you display pictures on a PC monitor in slide show fashion and add descriptions and narration to recorded images.

An LCD panel shows recording time remaining, sound quality, folder name, and other non-image-related information (though the LCD cannot be used to review pictures). When the recorder is hooked up to an external monitor, however, visual indexing lets you display an image while playing related audio. The W-10 uses a 0.3 Megapixel CMOS chip for visual indexing (640 x 480 resolution). The W-10 runs on two AAA batteries (not supplied) and cannot run from an AC adapter. Two batteries run about 24 hours. Supported operating systems include Microsoft Windows 98, 98SE, Me, 2000 Professional, and XP Professional and Home editions. Your computer must be running an Intel Pentium II class 233 MHz or faster with 64 MB RAM minimum and a Creative Labs Sound Blaster 16 sound board (or 100 percent compatible). Your video card and display must be 800 x 600 pixels minimum with 256 colors minimum. One available USB port is required.

Product Description

Olympus America (141680) W10 Digital Recorder

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

119 of 119 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Pleased with the W-10, April 25, 2003

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Olympus W-10 Digital Voice Recorder with Built-in Digital Camera (Office Product)

I purchased the Olympus W-10 primarily as a general-purpose note and meeting recorder, replacing a micro-cassette. The W-10 generally met or exceeded my expectations in all areas.

Sound Recording -- This unit is extremely easy to use, and the interface software is excellent. Sound quality is very acceptable at the HQ and SP speeds, although I would not count on using the LP mode for anything, as the quality is very poor. I would have much preferred a 2-hour record time that was actually intelligible, instead of a 3-hour time that is not. The max usable record time, then, is at the SP 'speed,' at a little over an hour. The voice-activated recording mode works very well, and has the effect of expanding your recording time by cutting out periods of silence. For my purposes, an hour is find. Microphone sensitivity is very good.

Photo capability -- There have been very mixed reviews about the camera feature, and here are my two cents on that topic: If you are looking for a camera to take on your vacation, you will be disappointed with this product. If you are looking for a solid voice recorder, this is a good product, and the ability to snap a photo or two in situations where you would otherwise not have access to a camera is a real plus. I have read reviews complaining about a lack of sharpness in the image. I don't think that this is a problem, as long as you understand that the photos are only at a 640 by 480 pixel resolution. In fact, I think that the sharpness is fairly good. What is less good is that colors are not very vivid, and high-contrast situations are not handled well. The photo feature is nice as a supplement to voice recordings, as a way to include a visual reference to the audio. When you play back a voice recording on your PC, any photos taken during that recording will be displayed at the appropriate point in the playback. I could easily live without the camera feature, but it is really nice to have.

Battery life seems to be very good, as I have recorded 8-10 hours in all, with no change in the battery level indicator. Some other digital voice recorders are real battery hogs.

In all, I think that this product is an excellent value!

129 of 132 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's just as I wanted it to be, January 3, 2003

By 

Eduardo Campo (Puerto Rico) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Olympus W-10 Digital Voice Recorder with Built-in Digital Camera (Office Product)

I just received my new Olympus W-10 Digital Voice Recorder and I'm completely happy with it. It's light weight, including batteries. The size is ok, the quality of the recordings is good as long as you use HQ (High Quality). Like almost any other voice recorder, LP (Long Playback) is useless because of the poor quality, unless you use it for recording your own voice in front of the microphone.

Using the Recorder is so simple that I only use the manual for reference.

The software included is amazing. It was so easy to install and to download wave and image files from the voice recorder to the computer, that I couldn't belive it. I downloaded 4 pictures in less than five seconds!! You can also upload voice files from your computer to the Recorder.

The pictures are not as good as any digital camera, however taking pictures is not it's main function so I think the quality of the pictures is good enough. It doesn't have a flash so you can't take pictures without enough light, however it has an indicator that warns you if the Recorder can take the picture or not.

It also has an alarm associated with any voice record (maximum 5 records) so you can set the alarm to remember a special event and the recording associated can be played after the alarm. The only problem with this alarm is that it is not loud enough.

The best of all is that this product includes everything; batteries, carrying case, strap, USB cable, earphones and software so you don't need to buy anything else.

65 of 68 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Cute, but don't count on the camera, February 10, 2003

By 

R. Hafer (Ann Arbor, MI United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Olympus W-10 Digital Voice Recorder with Built-in Digital Camera (Office Product)

Pros: stylish, tiny, lightweight, good audio capacity, voice activated recording
Cons: no Mac support and low res image capture

The blister pack includes...
- W-10 unit
- soft sleeve
- windows software cd
- earphone
- usb cable

I'd hoped that this device would connect as a USB hard drive but it requires pc-based software to download the images. The software is pretty good...I especially like the auto-download-and-delete feature which make connectivity amazingly quick as plugging in the cable switches the w-10 into PC connectivity mode, launch the w-10 software, download the images/audio clips, and delete the images off the w-10.

The camera doesn't have a flash so indoor shots are grainy (outdoor shots are a little better but not quite as good as my first olympus digital camera, which also took 640x480 images). One nice thing is that the unit doesn't have any distinct modes to get into the way...you can switch between audio and image capture seamlessly. One caveat here is that when taking a picture, you need to depress the shutter to the first detent and wait for about a second...once it verifies there's adequate space it gives you a green light, then you can press to the 2nd detent to take the shot.

Summary:
A stylish little audio recorder with quick PC connectivity and limited video snapshot support. Don't buy this unit if you want a true digital camera as the results are not very sharp.