Customer Reviews

Olympus Stylus 400 4MP Digital Camera w/ 3x Optical Zoom

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

I purchased this camera new from Ebay for $350 with a 64MB card. I have been very pleased with the camera. It is exceptionally compact and takes very good pictures. The camera is easy to operate for someone who isn't big on reading manuals. If you have Windows XP, the camera requires no software to transfer pictures to your PC. In fact, I have used the camera to act as a removable drive and used it to transport MS Word files between computers (I copied the files to the camera using Windows Explorer). So far I have printed out photo quality pictures up to 8.5 x 11 inches using the second highest 4megapixel setting (about 1 mb per pic). One criticism I have is regarding the included memory card. 16MB is really too small to do much with. The highest resolution consumes about 2 megabytes per shot and the second highest takes 1 mb per shot. You really need at least a 64MB card and preferably a 128 or 256MB card or you will be forced to use the lower resolution. Overall, I have been very happy with the camera and it is small enough that we have it with us most the time. And when our new 256MB Card arrives, I can take 250 pictures between downloads!

Good Point's:
1.)Weather resistance (note- it is not waterproof, but does have a nice rubber seal under the access port for it's I/O and card slot).
2.)Small Size - easily fits in front pants pocket
3.)Metal,relatively tough outer body - also more scratch "resistant" owing to anodized or matt texture to the metal surface making scratches less apparrent.
4.)integral, tough lens cap - you'll never loose it.
5.)XD memory cards - expensive but very fast, hence compensating somewhat for the minimal integral frame buffer to improve shooting speed.
6.)Rechargable Lithium battery - bucks up front (get a spare), saves big in the long term.
Bad Point's:
1.)Cost - cheaper cameras for the price - though none that are weather resistant.
2.)XD memory cards - Costly and "yet another USB dongle" to buy for your PC if you transfer your px by removing the card and plugging it into a card reader. At least Windows XP will recognize the camera (when connected by USB cable to PC) as a simple card reader without the installation of any additional drivers on WinXP
3.)Images - 4 megapixels are nice, but the lens is clearly a little "soft" compared to more serious cameras like the Olympus E20, Nikon 7000 etc. Abberation less apparent beyond short focus distance to my eye, consistant with others reports of better outdoor pictures. The Camera appears to try to add contrast and unsharp mask internally before saving the images.
4.)Lack of manual controls, plus the fact that everytime you turn it on it defaults to a relatively lower quality JPEG save mode, which wastes a few seconds while you change it to save in Best quality (Which I would recomend- get the 256MB XD card if you can)
Summary: If you like the outdoors (camping, boating, other water sports), then this really is the camera to buy while waiting for the Digital Nikonos (which will likely cost big bucks). Otherwise, look seriously at the new Cannon Elph for a small form factor.

This Camera is great!!! I bought this camera right before a trip to Las Vegas and have no regrets. In fact I can't imagine my trip without it. I took over 120 pictures on High Quality resolution and still had 140 shots left with my 256 card. The Camera is so small that I went clubbing with it in my pocket and was still able to bust moves on the dance floor. The display screen is a good size and the buttons are easy to access.The features are easy to access and take about 5 minutes to learn. The different shooting modes come in handy depending on your shooting conditions. Panaramic mode is awesome! I took a great shot of the Las Vegas Strip using the panoramic mode and stitched it using the software included. You have to have an OLYMPUS BRAND MEMORY CARD to use panorama mode. Some people complain about the new Xd card, but there are so many good things about it. It is so small; about the size of a stamp. The size helps consume less battery life. I never had a problem with my battery running low; I just charged it whenever I went to bed. Also, you can get an adapter for the card to make it compatable with compact flash or smart media formats. The quality of the pictures look incredible and you can notice the most minor details when zooming in. In movie mode the movies are crisp and smooth. Length of the movies depend on the picture quality that is set. Some people complain that there is no sound in movie mode. If you want a DV camcorder that can record audio and video, then buy a DV camcorder. Otherwise movie mode is great when you want to capture those little memorable moments. When you are ready to print the photos you can set options on your camera to decide the quantity of each photo you want printed. You can also decide whether or not you want the date or time printed on the pictures. The information is saved on your memory card. When you want your pictures printed out just take your card to the photo lab and the printer will automatically know how many pics you want and if you want the date printed. I just took my card to Costco and was set to go. This camera is a little costly but definitely worth the price. If you want a nice camera that will last for at least 5 years then get the stylus 400. If you want to save money then get a 2 megapixel camera that is bulky and will be obsolete in 2 months. Again awesome camera! Did I mention that it is all weather and can take water sprayed in any direction. You don't have to worry about taking this camera to the beach and getting messed up with sand and water. The Stylus 400 is Stylin'!

The design of the camera, the metal case, size, weather-proofing are excellent. It's still my favorite. However the quality of pictures both indoors and outside are horrible. The camera over compensates for dark or light situations. A beautiful day with a nice blue sky is captured by either making the sky very white, or the subject (trees, house, etc) very dark. The camera is being returned because of the poor quality. It's a real bummer because I like everything else about the camera.

Updated 10/21/03 -- Purchased the Canon Powershot S400 to replace. What a great camera!!!! The Canon takes excellent pictures right out of the box. About the same size, but no weatherproofing. Much better camera for the money!!

The Olympus Stylus 400 is a nice camera for outside, well lit shots. What is missing is the Olympus milestone 1.8 Super Bright lense. That lense is on the Olympus C-5050 that they are discontinuing, and replacing it with the C-5060. Unlike the 5050, the 5060 has a darker lense. The Stylus 400 has one of the darkest, with a 3.1 to 5 aperture range. That is why their is so many complaints about the inside shots.
What the 1.8 super bright lense means is that it lets in more light, with a larger opening. More light means faster shutter speeds, which means non blurry shots. It is even more important for indoor shots with low light.
I have an Olympus C-2040 which has the super bright 1.8 lense, and was Consumer Reports number one rated camera a couple of years back. It actually outperformed even the 5 megapixel cameras in printed picture results, and in the follow up review, it rivaled the 5's.
When I am indoors, I purposely turn off the flash, and take pictures with just the normal existing light in the room. That way you get warm natural skin tones. With a darker lense, you are totally dependent on a flash, which eats up your battery life, and gives you washed out bright area shots.
Right now with the C-5050 going for less money as a clearance to make way for the 5060, which is also 5 megapixels, but with the darker lense, makes me want to suggest the 5050 is the one to have.
Myself personally, I am keeping my 2040 because of the great results I am getting. I can print out an 8 1/2" x 11" on photo glossy paper, and you can't tell it from a 35mm photograph.
I like the entire Olympus line, but their caveat is that super bright lense. Normally you have to sacrifice some of that to get an increased zoom beyond the normal 3x. In the Stylus 400 you don't even get the additional zoom, while sporting the darkest lense. If you are outside, in sunlit conditions, that is fine. I don't know about you, but I take most of my pictures indoors. That is where the super bright lense shines.
I'm sure the 400 is a great little camera, but I thought the aperture range should be brought to the forefront. A lot of years ago, I bought a 35mm Nikon with a 1.4 50mm lense. It was more money than the smaller ones, and they also had a 1.2 that was all glass in the front, and very expensive. The same rule applies here. Get the 1.8 instead of a 3 plus if you are doing some indoor shots. Nobody knows what is best for everybody, but I hope this helps.

We already have another digital camera, but it was very bulky. So we went by the Best Buy to see what they had for our upcoming trip to Orlando. We bought it two weeks ago and it is fantastic!

Takes great photographs, the battery charge lasts a long, long time, and it's so small without being wimpy...like I'm gonna break it. But love, love, love!

My husband is a photographer with regular film, and he even thinks this takes fantastic photographs. I like the versatility of the options that I didn't have with our other digital.

The xD card is very cool and small! We also purchased a 256 card because the card that came with it is sort of puny and I like to take pictures and then delete what I don't like later so I like to have a lot of room.

We are quite pleased with this little camera. It's about the size of a regular point and shoot 35mm. Highly recommend!

I recently bought one of these- It was to be my third digital camera from Olympus.

it seemed a perfect fit for me, since my last camera died from me getting it wet.

To start with the positive:
The form factor is great, and it really feels solid.

But the negative list is a bit longer:

The controls are VERY basic, with only some static modes-- moreover it doesn't have a hardware switch for modes like the d-40 or 740uz. You have to use the LCD interface to do it.

But the real problem with this camera was the indoor photo quality.I actually returned this camera, as I was VERY disappointed with the quality of the indoor pictures.

Even self timer shots from a tripod were blurry!

I got the 740UZ instead. it is WAY bigger, but at least it takes decent pictures.

If you are going to buy this camera, make sure you buy it from amazon or another place with a good returns policy!

This little camera has everything you need. I've been dealing with digital cameras since they started comming out with them for my work.For most of us, we only need a camera with a very simple operation and that it not so hard to navigate.This little camera does everything you need it to, unless you plan on producing profesional pictures.I have learned with these cameras over the years the simpler the better.This camera is very small and great for traveling.Takes a matter of a couple of hours to work this camera RIGHT.READ THE MANUAL and this camera will take good quality pics anywhere inside or out with a little adjusting.

Looking for a great, compact, high quality digital camera? Look no further, the Olympus 400 is tough to beat.

I'm no photography pro but if you are looking for a great camera to take pictures for the web or to use while on vacation, this is a great selection. It's been to the slopes in Colorado, Utah & South America in (kept in a jacket pocket) snow, sleet & rain. It's taken phenomenal pictures and produced beautiful printouts.

The 16 meg memory card it comes with is a joke; it just doesn't hold anything. If you plan to buy this camera, plan on an extra $150.00 or so for a larger membery card or two. I got a 512 mb card which holds nearly 600 photos that print at high quality as 8x10's. It holds more than enough pictures for an extended vaction but with the 512 mb card it takes a while for the camera to ready itself to take a picture. A 256 mb card is probably the ideal balance of storage space and speed.

The camera is easy to use, looks nice and is comparable to the 35mm stylus series from Olympus that was fantastic as far as 35mm cameras go for the casual photographer.

Bottm line, give this camera serious consideration when shoping for a digital camera and plan on picking up at least 1 256 or 512 meg memory chip if you buy it.

I bought this camera to repalce a film camera. I am trying to wean my wife from film and on to digital and
I needed a camera that was as easy as the film cameras to operate. Basically just point and click. This is
what this was designed to do and it does it well. No complicated controls and no messy confusing
menus. I have been taking photographs for over 25 years, I have had one other digital camera in the past.
It was also a pHD. I did not need to go thru the manual to get this Olympus working. I have nothing to compare it
with but the start up from the off status is decent. Focusing and shutter lag is about what one would
expect. Like most things out there it is rather slow compared to a film SLR that I am used to. It gets worse underlow light since there is no focus assist. Prefocus helps reduce the lag
enormously. Photographs are excellent in terms of color. Tend to have a little barrel distortion in the
wide angle. Use in telephoto for head shots to correct the distortion. Flash is adequate. Size is perfect
since it is easy to carry around. Battery life is decent. I can take about 250+ high quality shots with
mixed use of the flash before I need to recharge. One warning, take care when closing the clamshell
since being abrupt with it can disrupt the lens mechanism. DO NOT MAKE THE CLAMSHELL HIT THE LENS WHEN CLOSING/SHUTTING OFF THE CAMERA. This is the best way to damage this camera. I did it once and knew right away that this was an achilles heel. When closing, there is a click that is encountered, hold the clamshell in that first click and allow the lens to retract before fully closing the clamshell. Otherwise, it works like a charm. I own a Macintosh and it synchs flawlessly with iphoto. All metal case seems indestructable and is very attractive. Haven't really dropped it in water yet but the weather seals are reassuring. Wish it had picture bridge so that it could work with the new p-10 dye-sub printer also from olympus or some other printer with this technology. Best of all, my wife is starting to use it a lot more. She just wants to have hard copies of certain photographs and I insist on a decent small dyesub printer to go with it. A real smart pHD digital camera.