Customer Reviews

Olympus Stylus 9000 12 MP Digital Camera with 10x Wide Angle Optical Dual Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.7-Inch LCD (Black)

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

*Updated: April 5, 2009

I bought this camera as a replacement to my Stylus 1010 which I owned for a year. The Stylus 9000 has pretty much addressed all of the issues I had with the 1010. Here are some comparisons.

Physical features: Put side by side the stylus 9000 is definitely bigger and heavier than the 1010, but that's no deal breaker especially since the 9000 has a sturdy metal body vice the plastic 1010 body. The 9000 is also not as sleek looking as the 1010 but it fits better in your hand and the buttons are raised further so you can find them with your fingers more easily.

Lens: The lens is a big improvement over the 1010 which most professionals will tell you is more important than having higher megapixels. Besides offering extra zoom the 9000 lens is much beefier and offers wide angle shots.

Media Card: It seems that Olympus has finally gotten over their proprietary high horse when it comes to XD media cards. Both the 1010 and 9000 come with adapters to allow the use of Micro SD cards. The problem with the 1010 was that if you wanted to take a panorama picture you had to have an OLYMPUS brand XD card. This is not an issue with the 9000 as it allows you to take panorama shots with any card or even just the internal memory. The 9000 also recognizes the higher write speeds of Class 4 and Class 6 Micro SD cards. Which has solved one of the major head aches associated with VGA videos on the 1010 and its predecessors.

Video: Both Cameras' offer VGA video recording size of 640x480 at 30 frames per second. This feature is normally limited to 10 second clips with regular media cards. The only way around this with the 1010 was to ensure your camera had the 1.1 firmware upgrade and to buy a more expensive XD type M+ card or type H card. But because the 9000 recognizes the higher write speeds of the class 4 and 6 Micro SD's you can now record up to 20:00 min videos without having to purchase one of those high speed XD cards.

Screen: The 9000 comes with the 3rd generation hyper crystal display which is much brighter and gives you a clearer picture than the 1st generation display on the 1010. I was very impressed with the visibility of the screen at high noon on a cloudless race day; I had no real problems taking or reviewing pictures. Though this screen is much better than that 1010 screen it's still not perfect especially considering the lack of a view finder.

Battery life: Both cameras utilize the same LI-50B battery. I do admit that I haven't done any scientific side by side testing, but it seems as though the battery life on the Stylus 9000 is a bit shorter than the 1010. This can be expected with a brighter screen and is kind of a tradeoff I guess. It's hard for me to put an estimate on the battery life here because everyone uses their camera differently, but I would say you could comfortably shoot all day with the 9000 without needing a spare battery. (Unless of course you leave you camera on all the time, take hundreds of pictures ect, ect.)


Operating software: The 9000's menu looks different on the 1010's however the software interface is almost identical. The 9000 does have a built in "beauty" feature, but it takes a lot of time for the camera to process the image, and it's something that is more suitably done on your computer with photo editing software.

A note on camera cases: I had an Olympus brand leather case that I could fit my Stylus 1010, a lens cleaning cloth, and a spare battery in with no issues. Because the Stylus 9000 is bigger only the camera fits in that same case so the $30 camera case had to go the way of the old camera. I also tried the Olympus Premium leather case with the same results. So I am on a hunt for a quality case that I can fit all my accessories in. I'll keep you posted.

Overall: I am very happy with this camera as a basic compact point and shoot. It takes awesome pictures and is small enough to carry around even if you don't know if you'll need a camera. I personally think the price is a little high on it right now, and it would be a great camera if you could get it for under $300.00. Which I'm sure will happen sooner than later.

Finally a compact camera with a great zoom. I've had it a few days now and the photos on the automatic settings are wonderful. The camera also lets you adjust most all parameters to "be creative." This camera will be perfect for travel. The LCD is bright and the controls are intuitive. No more carrying my larger Sony with the bulky (10x) lens. The software is just ok, but I generally use third party applications anyway. I am not a pro, just someone who travels a lot and takes photos to share with others. I'll be taking this camera to Europe next month so I'll update the review if I run into any issues.

Love the camera!

Its important to note what I was looking for when I purchased this. I wanted: 1) COMPACT, 2) High Optical Zoom, 3) Shooting Modes, 4) Ease of use 5) CHEAP ( I bought this camera for $300, $175 of it with gift certificates I already had, so I ended up paying like $125 all in all. I wanted an IDIOT-PROOF camera because I am NOT a professional photographer and have neither the time, nor the inclination to learn about aperture or shutter speed and one that I could travel with easily (put in my pocket). I wanted something that would be fast, simple and effective and this little guy hits all the marks. The pictures are clean and good and its super easy to use.

Im gonna make it super easy. Pros and cons . . .

PROS:
Zoom: The zoom is fantastic. It does exactly what I expected it to: The 10x Optical is rocking good! Clarity is awesome and Im very satisfied with the lack of pixillation.

Size: I love the fact that, in accordance with Olympus' other 'pocket-sized cameras,' I can put it in my pocket, no problem.

Panorama and Shooting Modes: Ive had three previous Olympus cameras and Im in total love with the shooting modes. The in-camera panorama is great and I find myself using it a lot. Beauty mode is quite useful, too, I find.

CONS:
Olympus has a few bad marks against it in my mind. First, its customer service sucks - just TRY to get your camera serviced or a question answered and youll see what I mean. Second, these cameras are delicate, to say the least - my first cameras' flash broke irreparably after the first year and a half and the second one ate it when a little water splashed on it. Just handle them carefully. Finally, Olympus compacts are notorious for taking AWESOME pictures in the daylight hours (dawn and dusk included) but you really have to focus on what your doing at night. If your using the flash, no problem, but if you wanna take pics of anything without it at night, youll have to work for it.

Other than that, the only major con that I can come up with is the size. The size IS good for fitting it into your pocket (which is why I listed it above, too) but its a little bulkier than I would have hoped. Its just bigger than Olympus' FE line cameras, for those who are familiar with them.

All in all, Im very satisfied and would recommend this camera for those who have the same photographic purposes as I. You may want to wait for the price to come down, though :)

I dropped my last Olympus Stylus in water and ruined it. I had bought it about 4 years ago and loved it. I was looking for the same thing, but found that cameras have advanced a lot since then. My old one only had a 3X zoom and 8 MP. The new Olympus Stylus 9000 has a 10X zoom and 12 MP which you can change to many lower MP settings to increase the number of photos the card holds. The battery is slimmer and the recharger is much more compact. I'm still getting used to using this camera, but so far I'm enjoying it even more than my old camera. Nice new and more compact dials. The photos are excellent!!

I just bought the 9000 and used it at a church wedding. I also brought along my Canon A95. The Stylus-9000 photos were grainy, the colors looked harsh and the background area was dark. By contrast, the Canon photos were very clean and sharp, the colors looked more pleasing and the lighting was even throughout the photo, even in the background. The two cameras were used from the same location, same church lighting. I also tried using the 9000 without flash, and the pictures looked much better (than with flash) except I usually could not hold it steady enough so the photos were either slighty or very blurred, even with the stablizer on.
The photos of the 9000 taken outside in bright sunlight were fine.
I'm returning the Olympus 9000.

Well once again I am very very pleased with my new Olympus Stylus 9000 camera. I used their trade up plan and traded in my Olympus Stylus 840 which was a great camera also, but I wanted the better features on the Olympus 9000 such as the 12 megapixels and the 10X optical zoom lens. Also I got a fairly decent price when I traded in the 840 model. My Great Niece got married in an outdoor wedding in Pa. a few days after I got the new camera and I had little time to try out the new features on the new Olympus 9000 camera before I went to the wedding. But I had totally no problems. Olympus cameras are totally user friendly and unlike many cameras they come with a printed hands on instruction manual. I love that feature but truthufully if you know anything about digital cameras you will have little trouble operating the Olympus brands. One thing I was totally surprised about and was amazed at was that we were all seated quite far away from the actual marriage ceremony. The wedding was on a little island on a small lake and the guests were on the shore of the lake. I held my little camera above the seated folks heads, with my arms extended straight up as far as I could reach, and was still able to see the screen and took some really really great pictures at 10X zoom. I was almost certain I would not be able to hold the camera steady at 10X zoom but the double stabilization did great and I didn't get one blurry photo and I am a shaky 64 year old man. I could go on and on about the different features on this camera but trust me, it is loaded down with nice and easy to use features. The price and size of this camera are great too. It is a true shirt pocket sized camera with big camera features and qualities. And remember when it comes to seeing the viewing screen in bright sunlight or any light, Olympus wrote the book on being able to see the screen in all light conditions. The only thing a few folks complain about is that Olympus still uses the XD cards. I don't know why this is a problem to some people as it matters not to me. They are readily available at many places and you really only need one 2 GB size card or at the most 2 cards. The battery life is also senstional and they came out with a new charger without a cord which is great. You will not be disappointed if you decide to buy this camera.

When I bought this little compact camera I was expecting to later have to buy a bigger more powerful one, but when I used it, I discovered that this little camera does a BIG job! The range from 10x optical zoom to the closest of close ups is remarkable! I can get it to focus on the inside of a flower at 1/4 inch away. That's right, 1/4 inch away. I can't believe it, but it does it!

I have problems seeing up close and I thought that I'd have a hard time seeing the LED screen for shots, but again, I was surprised, I can see it pretty well!

I find it to be deserving of the phrase "Packed with Features". From the "Beauty" setting that softens wrinkles and blemishes, to the timer, to the settings that allow you to create just what you want if the "Auto" setting isn't creative enough, this camera fills the bill.

The battery life seems good to me, but I bought two batteries and chargers so that if one goes dead I have a backup.

I'm very impressed and would highly recommend this camera.

Loved the features the Olympus Stylus 9000 has. I really liked the 10x zoom, it's panoramic photos processed right in the camera, super macro mode and many others. Unfortunately, the one I would use the most was a hit-and-miss for taking good photos. In AUTO mode you really have no control on what the camera focuses on, thus causing many blurry images. It was not camera shake nor zooming that caused the blur. I had the camera for 3 weeks and after testing it on many shots I finally gave up and returned the camera. Bummer, I really wanted that camera!

I gave the camera a 3 star rating as half the photos came out clear and the other half blurry.

Ok, so let me start out by saying that "no camera is perfect". Believe me I'm exhausted from reading reviews and tech data on many cameras. ........and no camera met all my criteria, specifically, finding a camera that had a wide angle (28mm) and aperture priority at the same time. So I gave up a little creative control for the wide angle. My reasoning was that I bicycle long distance and just wanted a camera that I can pull out quick and shoot a photo op while riding. I have all the old cameras with multiple lens and know what it is like to carry around big bulky equipment and have to pull it all out of a large camera bag.
However there were a few other flaws on this camera that I was willing to overlook also. When using the flash you have to be at least into ISO 200 or you will be severely limited in your range. ...........and ISO 400 if your using the zoom. At ISO 400 you start seeing the noise (grain). Above ISO 400 pictures are not acceptable. Most of my shooting is outdoors. When using the zoom the AF seems to struggle and some pictures come out blurry. So you have to be cognizant of that and sometimes work (in some compositions, not all by any means) to get the picture by playing with or adjusting the composition or possibly changing the AF from "spot" to "ESP" and vice versa. I've read other reviews where many have said that the picture quality is a little soft. Well not sure if I would call it soft but what struck me right away is that most pictures fall short on "contrast". So if I bring the pictures into the image application and edit them by increasing the contrast they really "POP!".
The picture quality, the AF issue, and the ISO/Flash issue are all resolvable issues with "work arounds" and compromises because as I said in the beginning "no camera is perfect", ......and they will all have their own unique issues unless you want to spend big, big, bucks. Otherwise the camera structure, the features, the wide angle, the 10X zoom, the 12 MP. The LCD screen., the size and portability all played a roll in selecting this camera.

I bought this camera for my wife to replace our seven year old Canon S40 with a newer, more capable camera. The Canon has been a great camera for us, but this thing is amazing!

I also bought an extra battery and instead of buying the Olympus proprietary XD card (only 2GB), I bought a 16GB micro SD. I also bought a micro SD to XD adapter.

This camera has been great. It's small enough that I don't feel like it's a huge consideration to take it anywhere we go, and it has a super fast start up, making it ready to go right away. The 10X zoom on this size of camera is amazing. It takes great pictures, the colors come out great, and shooting video is super as well. My wife and I both like the evolution of the buttons and displays on the camera. They are much more intuitive and easier to navigate than our previous camera or a number of digitals that we've tested before. My only caveat is that under lower light settings, zoomed pictures may come out a little fuzzy because there just isn't enough light and the flash won't compensate that far away. When turning the flash off for longer shots like that, there is also a slight delay on the shutter, so practicing a little with a moving subject to get an idea of how much to anticipate is not a bad idea.

We haven't played with the smile recognition for self-portrait timer shots or some of the other gee whiz capabilities. We will, but thusfar it has been used for the 98% of what we need a camera for: quickly and easily taking pictures of our family while traveling or participating in other events.

In summary, this camera is a heckuva performer as a versatile and portable point and shoot. We highly recommend!