Customer Reviews

Olympus FE-5010 12MP Digital Camera with 5x Optical Dual Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.7-inch LCD (Black)

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I recently damaged my Nikon S6 digital camera while on vacation and wanted to have another to continue taking easy spontaneous shots for the remainder of my vacation. I looked at several Olympus models along with a Casio, Lumix, and a new Sony with stereo recording capability. All were in the 8-12 MP range and small compact size. I spent a couple of hours trying different features, focusing, still or moving conditions, and lighting and decided on the new FE-5010.
I charged the battery and "briefly" scanned the operational manual. I personally want to have a camera that is easy to navigate without having to constantly review the manual and the FE-5010 was exactly that... easy!
I have taken over two hundred photos with it during my remaining three days of vacation. Outdoors, indoors, with and without flash, a video of approximately (5) minutes in length, and almost all of the photo modes, (i.e. PHOTO, iA, SCN in several conditions, PORTRAIT,and SMILE).
In my experimentation of the different modes when I had the chance I took a couple of the same picture in a different mode so I could evaluate which were best for most of my shooting. I found the most valuable settings for me were "P", "iA", "SCN-Sport" "SCN-Landscape", and "SCN-INDOORS" with "P" being the most predominant. This was determined by me because most of the shots I had been taking in "iA" mode were automatically being set to "P". I assumed that if the "iA" mode thought that was best for most pictures it would be the best general setting for me as well and when in "iA" mode some feature changes I might want to make were not available to me but in "P" mode I could change the flash or other settings at will, that clinched it.
I often used zoom as well as a few at Super zoom (digital). I found that zoom in SCN-Sport was best for long shots of people because of the clarity when zooming for a closer view AFTER the shot was taken... it was excellent! The Super Zoom photos were as expected, (less than perfect) but if you didn't have to crop the original it was good enough to clearly see what the intended subject was.
The SCN-Sunset mode also took excellent shots with varying reflections from the ocean along with capturing the clouds and hues of the sky.
Three downsides were there was no histogram, which I have used with other cameras and liked, no "burst" mode which I have also liked on other cameras, and the reading time to send the photo to the XD media card. In bright light the shot-to-shot was very acceptable but in limited or low light it took the picture quickly but slow to send to memory thus had to wait before taking the next shot.
With no flash this camera was way ahead of my Nikon S6... simply excellent!
As noted by the purchase, none of these were a deal breaker because the other cameras I evaluated had many more deficiencies in one way or another.
The bottom line for me is when coupling the multitude of features, the clarity of the photos, the ease of use, and the price under $200.00, I had no hesitancy in recommending this model to a couple of friends looking to purchase a compact digital. My advise to anyone interested in purchasing a new compact is that they should compare any other they are reviewing to this one before making a decision.

I have an advanced camera Sony Cybershot DSCR1 10.3MP Digital Camera with 5x Optical Zoom. I wanted a light substitute for occasional photos. Olympus FE-5010 fits the bill. Using the two cameras, I took pictures outdoors under the same good lighting conditions, and the difference was barely noticeable. Almost the same resolution (with 7 MP) and almost the same color quality. Of course, under low light the output from Olympus can't compare to that from Sony (horrible noise). Another thing that I don't like is that xD cards are limited to 2GB. You can use larger microSD but then the movies are limited to 10 sec. Olympus has two things missing from Sony: the movie mode and ability to take macros. And the image stabilization really works!

Thought it was time to upgrade from my Olympus Camedia 4000. The 4000 is a great camera, but wanted the stabilization feature of a new camera, if nothing else. Also wanted higher MPs and smaller size. Also figured I would use it more if it wasn't so bulky. Will one day get a DSLR to replace my 35mm SLR for really good photography, so wanted a point and shoot automatic camera for right now. A lot of cameras will meet all those requirements, but I looked mainly at Olympus because I've been using that brand for over 40 years and never been disappointed yet. I compared this to similar Nikon and Cannon models and it looked to me like the price/feature break was better on the Olympus.

So I narrowed it down to the FE 3010 and FE 5010. As near as I can tell, the only real difference is 3x optical zoom vs 5x optical zoom. And price of course. Wanted the 5010, but was leaning to the 3010 until I found that right now, anyway, the price for the 5010, is actually *lower* than the 3010 here on Amazon. That's a no brainer even for me.

So I bought it right before I left for a week in San Francisco. After a week of use, I'm extremely happy with it. On my way to Alcatraz Island, I was able to take a picture of the warning sign on the island at full zoom, on the bow of the very much moving ferry, among a jostling crowd of other tourists, and got a perfect close up picture of the sign from about a half mile away. With everything on auto. Stabilization worked great, as not only was the ferry moving, but my hand wasn't very stable holding the camera one handed above everyone's head to get the shot.

Took about 400 pictures during the week and most turned out great. I found it *is* possible to get a blurry picture, but it takes work. I've only had to look up a couple of things in the manual. Mostly it's very intuitive and simple to use.

Only two complaints so far. The minor one is the explanation for the "card access lamp" light. The manual's only comment is that when it is blinking red, it means the card is being accessed, so be sure not to remove the card while it's blinking. What it doesn't tell me is what it means when it's burning solid red or solid green. And it's either solid red or solid green 99% of the time. Mostly solid red. Still don't know what it means.

The major complaint is about the "battery check" indicator. It's a solid green all the time, right up until it unexpectedly turned into a 1 bar blinking red, which I assume means recharge the battery. I would assume it would gradually get lower, letting me know about how much battery time I had left. This goes from indicating full charge to needs charging immediately, instantly. Doesn't allow for much planning. Don't know if this is an issue with my camera alone or the whole series.

What was even worse, though, was when I saw it go from full charge to flashing red, but I turned it back on about a minute later to show my girlfriend the flashing red indicator and it was *solid green* again, indicating full charge. So it not only seems to have only two indicators, full and empty, it goes back and forth between them! At this point, I can't trust the battery indicator. As I have another battery on order, even if I don't get this fixed, it will not be a show stopper for me. But it's a VERY serious problem, in my opinion. Batteries *appear* to last a full day, but because of the indicator glitch, it's hard to tell. I haven't let it run completely out yet because I didn't have the second battery and charged it early to insure I didn't lose any photo opportunities while on vacation. Will test battery life at home.

Other than those issues, though, everything else has worked to perfection! I'm only beginning to play around with the different modes, but the smile recognition, the red-eye, the self portrait and the document modes all work without problem. I even figured out how to turn off the flash without reading the manual. :) And the stabilization allowed for some excellent low light shots without flash, with NO blurring!

I bought the wide-angle and macro attachment (which attaches *without* having to glue the metal ring on the lens!), but didn't have much time to try them yet. I was a bit disappointed with how much the wide angle extended the shot, but have to assume that's standard for the lens. I've also ordered the doubler and tripler lenses, to extend the zoom out to 10x and 15x. Am looking forward to getting those! I believe the stabilization will allow excellent off the cuff zoom shots out to an amazing distance without blurring!

Going from 4MP to 12MP was astonishing to me. Obviously I've had no problem with pixel size or resolution.

I bought a neoprene belt case, but have only used it for carrying the camera in luggage. It was much easier to carry it in the cargo pocket on my pants. I've got enough other stuff on my belt, like my cell phone.

All in all, I'm extremely happy with my purchase! I recommend this camera to anyone who's looking for a quick, easy camera to use for fast photography!

Great camera, love the compact size. It fits into a shirt pocket perfectly,which makes it ideal for the field. The large LCD screen makes it easy to see what your about to photograph. Worth the price.

I owned 2 Olympus camera's before this one, and was happy with them overall which is why I chose this camera. I also had great experience with Olympus support on one of my previous camera's. When the lens stopped working properly I sent it in and they fixed it free of charge.

Unfortunately my experience with this camera was unlike my 2 previous olympus purchases. It may be that the camera I received was defective because the camera has a whole list of problems which is why I am returning it. The camera locks in picture mode and I have to take out the battery and restart. The camera will often, but not always not allow me to view the pictures I just took when I push the play button. Finally, when the camera would actually take pictures and allow me to see them the color and quality was so/so at best.

Again I am not saying Olympus is a bad company, I actually had great experiences with them in the past; however, I would not recommend this camera based on my experience with it.

I had a hard time buying a camera because I was overwhelmed with all the different cameras and reviews. I finally took the leap and purchased this and so far I am happy with the purchase. I have not explored all its options yet, but it was easy to start using, the basic automatic mode seems great so far, and I love that I can crop and correct red eye on the camera (before I was loading pics on my computer, fixing them, then putting them on a storage device to take them for printing). So this camera will save me a lot of work. Also, even though the power button is near the shutter button, the power button does not depress easily which is great (with my old digital, it was really easy to turn it off accidently while taking a photo. Needless to say, it was really irritating to my husband and me). So far, so good, and the price here was better than other sites.
Dec 2009 update - We had an issue with the lens, but it was still under warranty and Olympus fixed it quickly. I wish it was a little faster at taking pictures, but maybe I haven't set some setting.

I recently took this on a trip to California to test it out, and I was VERY impressed. It's great, not just for your typical pictures, but takes pretty decent artistic photos as well. The zoom is INCREDIBLE, though if you go too far, make sure you have a steady hand. Only issue I encountered was with the city nights setting, which would work great half the time, and blur the other half. Not a big deal as I don't live in the city. Otherwise, clarity is great, its super easy to take pictures with (even if you're like me and change the setting every time to get the best quality...it also has auto settings.)The battery lasts much longer than my last camera's did and it charges quickly as well. Pair it with a 2GB memory card, and you'll never have to empty your pictures before the battery dies! All in all, I absolutely adore this camera!

I love cameras!! I have a Sony HD9 and it is great however, it is large with a 15x zoom. I wanted another camera that was smaller but had great picture quality so I could just slip it in my purse or a pocket when I didn't want to take the larger one. So, I did research and after a friend purchased this camera and I tried it out - I was in love. It is tiny, the pictures are excellent, very user friendly, has a 5x zoom and a great LCD screen (it is very large and easy to see even in the sunlight). The controls are great - I purchased another name brand camera for my daughter a year ago and I was very disappointed in the controls-you had to turn a dial, it was hard to do and easy to slip into another mode. This is my first Olympus but so far I am very pleased with the product!! Just another note, the "Smile" mode is wonderful - you can't miss a smile and if someone blinks, it's OK because it takes three pictures quickly so you don't miss the smile but you do miss the blink (great for taking pictures of babies)and you don't have to do a thing - just set it on "Smile" mode and point the camera at the subject - it takes the pictures without touching the button!!! The battery life seems to be great also - I have taken alot of pictures and it still shows a full charge. With my other camera I have three batteries and wondered if I needed to get an extra battery for this one but it doesn't seem to need it. Thanks Olympus for a quality camera which is easy to use, great pictures, and a afforable price!!!!!!!!

We purchased camera as birthday gift for recent college grad. Went on vacation and the pictures taken were sharp. Ease of use verified by how often our son took and used the camera on side trips. Suggest you get larger disk since the one that comes with the camera is way too small to store pictures unless you want to download it every day. Summary,easy to use, produces excellent pictures, compact, and is good quality for price paid.

I've owned several Olympus cameras and have had nothing but good experiences. I like this camera as well - fits in my pocket to be the every day compact camera, very easy to use - except for one problem. About 1 in 3 times I turn it on it says "card-cover open" now. After looking at how the door closes, I can see that there was too much tolerance allowed for the door to push a small piece of metal across to indicate the the battery door is closed. Consequently, jiggling the battery cover door results in the camera not working any more. A tap brings it back - but that is annoying for a new camera.

The problem didn't develop until after we'd had the camera a few weeks - and the on-line return policy is 14 days at Adorama (Amazon partner). And also note that if you chose free shipping and return within 14 days, you now get to pay the original shipping cost plus that of sending it back. Sometimes on-line isn't the best way to buy after all I guess.

I have contacted Olympus - they'll let me send it in at my expense and they'll decide if they'll fix it for free or not. Not quite the experience I'd hoped for two weeks after buying a new camera.

This problem is a bummer, but otherwise the camera works great for what I wanted.