Customer Reviews

Olympus SP-350 8MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom (Black)

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The SP-350 provides sharp images and user control in a light, compact body. You can go with a wide choice of automatic modes or control the aperture, shutter, ISO, etc. settings yourself. It may not be a camera for professional photographers, but for amatuers who wants more than a "point a shoot", this camera is great. Like many compact cameras, the SP-350's built in flash has a limited range, but unlike many others, the SP-350 has a "hot shoe" (which the 7.1 megapixel SP-310 lacks) so you can add a more powerful flash. Olympus makes a very compact flash unit, the FL-20, as well as more powerful units, labelled FL-36 and FL-50. Telephoto (1.7x) and wide angle (.7x) conversion lenses are also available. The ability to use regular AA batteries is a real plus for travel. I considered many cameras, including the Canon Powershot SD-550, the Casio Elixim Ex-Z750 , and the Nikon Coolpix L1. I wanted quality images, some manual control, and a camera that is comfortable to hold. The SP-350 feels natural in one average sized hand. My pictures shot with the SP-350 have been excellent. Finally, for what you get, the price is quite reasonable. There are many good digital cameras, my advice is to get the one which you are comfortable with.

I bought this camera after finding that my EOS 20D was too cumbersome for hiking in the Sierras. After shooting about 40 images of both friends and scenery, i can only say that the results are spectacular. Images are wonderfully sharp, colors are very true and vivid and the exposure meter does a first rate job under a variety of lighting conditions. The camera is easy to use, (although the power button could stand to be two-sizes bigger,) and it nests very comfortably on the strap inside a jacket, out of the way and weighing practically nothing, yet readily accessible for those sudden shots.
I've used several generations of Canon Powershot cameras in the past, as well as the very excellent 20D and I was sceptical about this camera after reading a previous negative review. I have to say that I'm completely sold - a great hiking camera that is also perfect for everyday use.

I bought this camera for myself as a Christmas present four months ago. The longer I've owned and used it, the more I appreciate it. As noted in the other reviews, it takes sharp, brilliant pictures that make great 81/2 X 11 prints (or larger I suppose).

The first thing that caught my attention on this camera is the hot shoe. Very unusual in this size and price range. I've purchased the FL-36 flash unit so I can do bounce flash. This avoids the "deer in the headlights" look you usually get with an on-camera flash. The bounce flash pictures I've taken look as if no flash was used at all - great! I'm considering getting the hot shoe extension cable to give me even more flexibility in the use of the flash. If you hold a direct flash more than a couple feet away from the camera you don't get red-eye.

As an advanced amateur photographer, I appreciate the ability to manually control the shutter speed, aperture and even manually focus the lens as needed. Of course, you can set it to full Auto and let the camera do all the thinking if you want. If you press the shutter release half way it will focus and set the exposure. Then press the shutter the rest of the way to avoid delay in actually taking the picture.

I've also been taking quite a few (spectacular) macro photographs with this camera. It focuses very closely in normal mode. It gets even closer in macro mode. As in most other cameras, you lose zoom capability in macro mode. I'm a little disappointed that the smallest aperture is F8 rather than F16 (or better still F22 or F32). A smaller aperture would give more depth of field for macro photography. But I get by okay with F8.

When I first got the camera I tried using alkaline AA batteries instead of the disposable CRV-3 lithium battery. This did not work well at all. I only got about ten shots before the batteries were declared dead by the camera. They were actually NOT dead. It's just that the camera needs a higher Voltage than alkalines can deliver when only slightly used. So I bought a rechargeable lithium battery, which works extremely well in this camera even though it's not listed in the specifications given by Olympus. Unfortunately, although it fits in the flash unit, the rechargeable lithium does not work in the FL-36. Its Voltage is actually too high (higher than the disposable lithium) and the flash unit shuts itself down after two seconds. The AA alkalines work fine in the flash unit but the disposable lithium CRV-3 gives faster recycling times.

I also purchased the 1.7x Tele Conversion Lens as well as the Wide angle lens. You also need to purchase an adapter tube to use either accessory lens. (They are over-priced.) The Tele Conversion lens blocks a corner of the optical view finder. The wide angle lens blocks most of the view finder. This can be a problem when you use the camera out of doors where the LCD is not usable because of the bright light. The front end of the adapter tube is 37mm but uses a non-standard thread so you can't put filters or other accessory lenses on it. I have since discovered that there is an adapter tube made by another company with a standard 37mm thread on the front. I can now install a polarizing (or other) filter on my SP-350. There are a large number of (non-Olympus) 37mm accessory lenses that will work with the SP-350 using this adapter tube. I'm having a lot of fun with the wide-angle fisheye lens I bought. Do a Google search for this stuff.

I noticed they have recently introduced a faster version of the xD memory card. If I didn't already own the slower version I would pay extra for the faster one. I recommend buying either the 512 Meg or one Gigabyte card.

I'm a big fan of Olympus cameras. I had the Camedia C5050 before giving it up for the SP-350. I love MANY things about this camera: the shape, the styling, the new button layout, the extra features like the SCENE options.

I am annoyed by how slow it is without a flash. I can never seem to pull enough ambient light into a scene not to make it blurry as hell. That's a bummer to me, as I loathe flash, and tend to shoot 99% of what I do with whatever light is available to me.

I's a compact and useful camera, and I find myself appreciating the movie feature more than I imagined.

I have owned two other Olympus camera's, this was my main reason for purchasing the new SP-350. I was most impressed with it's size, shape, hand grip, and outrageously large LCD screen (2.5) for viewing the shot. A nice feature is the "My Mode" settings. You can preset your favorite settings in 5 different mode memory slots. Also has a vast aray of preset "Scene" settings for different conditions. Easy to navigate menu. It has a built in speaker for sounds. The picture quality is outstanding, sharp vivid colors. I have had some of my shots printed, and they are beautiful. As with any digital camera, you have to focus before you shoot. It has a sweet spot for focusing on your subject, just be patient and let it focus before you shoot. Mine powers up real fast and with the self covering lens there is no need for a lens cap to keep track of or loose. I love this camera, it is by far the best one I have owned. I give it 5 stars and would recommend it to anyone who wants a top notch digital camera.

What can I say? This is the third Olympus camera I have owned. I don't think I will ever buy another brand. The SP-350 packs a whopping 8 megapixels into a tiny case that fits easily in pants pockets. The large LCD display produces sharp previews that can be zoomed and panned. I can't say enough about the image quality of the photos. There are plenty of settings for tweaking to get the right results almost every time.

The only thing the camera lacks is battery life. I suggest 2300Ma batteries or better and the H style memory card to speed the write speeds up (2-3X faster vs. the M cards).

I bought this camera after a good amount or research. I have the Olympus C-4000, which is a 4 megapixel camera. I took a lot of pictures with it. I wanted an 8 megapixel camera next. I looked at the C-8080 wide angle but never bought it. When the SP-350 came out I thought this might be the one.

I was going on a trip to Eastern Europe and decided to pull the trigger. I bought the camera and the two lenses that go with it. The first thing I noticed was the size, IT'S HALF AS BIG AS THE C-4000. And the wide-angle lens is ¼ the size of the C-4000 wide-angle lens.

The camera takes unbelievable pictures; it even takes pictures in RAW format. So I'm thinking great camera right, well.

When I get to Europe the camera works fine with the batteries that come with the camera. I couldn't believe how long the "stock" ones lasted. But as everyone knows you need to have rechargeable batteries with any digital camera. So I brought along 4 sets of 2300milamp AA.

Well I was in Eastern Europe between Christmas and New Years. And as you would think it's cold, to say the least. The batteries kept dieing really fast, like take 5 pictures and the camera battery indicator light comes on. I can't tell you how frustrating this was. So I chalked it up to the cold, and pressed on.

Well it's not the cold; it's the firmware in the camera. After I called Olympus they told me there might be a problem with my cameras firmware, and I would need to upgrade it. After I upgraded the firmware, it's working just fine now.

I'm still giving the camera 5 stars because it's got a lot of shooting functions, it's easy to use, even though it's more complicated, it's small and compact, and as I found out you can upgrade the firmware. It's a more complicated camera then the C-4000 but if you're the type that likes more functions then this it the one for you to.

This is my second Olympus in this price and feature range and it has been great to use for informal snap shots, as well as for formal shooting with external flash and photo floods. Battery life even with internal flash is exceptionally long, close up modes and zoom functions are excellent and the spot metering feature makes high contrast and backlit shots a snap. Yes, I have high end SLR products, film and digital that are used for more specialized applications, but a single camera to tuck in a pocket for a trip or day out or a quick web site shoot or family party coverage; it's a great little camera and well worth the price.

The only areas where a good deal of improvement could be made are availability of accessories like filter adapters, chargers, and auxilary lenses and a price reduction on typical accessories like flash units and PC hot shoe adapters.

Huge LCD and DC power make this a great camera for professional use. As an Ebay seller my photos are my lifeblood, and this camera treats me very well. Good price and great pictures.

I bought this camera last year for $300 and I would say it's worth the money, especially now since it's $130 cheaper. Pictures are amazing, even at high resolutions, colors are very accurate and the macro shots are unbelievable! The scene shooting mode also gives you around 15 different scenarios to choose from which makes taking great pictures very easy. Oh yeah, the 2.5" display is crytal clear in any lighting situation, allowing you to view your pictures immediately. Not to mention the video mode lets you shoot at 640 x 480 at 30fps. The menus are very easy to navigate through as well. My only gripe with this camera is the way it eats up batteries. If you plan to shoot all day, you might want to bring at least 4 extra AAs. Or you can spend the money and purchase a lithium ion, which might last a little bit longer. I would rate this product at 5 stars if it were not for the fact that you will spend quite a bit of money on extra batteries. Check out my pics of the Christmas ornament and the cat.