Customer Reviews

Olympus Stylus 800 8MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Yes, I am another owner and unfortunately, I learned the ugly truth of this camera during my wedding (old camera died 2 days before).

I would give this 5 stars or higher, but Olympus got extremely lazy on this one. Read on...

In simple, point-n-shoot mode (camera icon on the wheel). It shoots 8 megapixel shots are absolutely the most fantastic pictures I've ever seen. Blown up to 8x10 and cropped, they look like they've come right off 35mm film. The colors are rich and vibrant. Simply amazing.

However...
In the 24 pre-programed "Scene" modes (e.g. Indoor, nightime, etc). this thing becomes a different beast altogether. Simply put, it shoots everything at 3 megapixel... max... and a really awful 3 megapixel at that.

I checked with Olympus on this (twice) because I couldn't believe it. But they confessed that it shoots at 3 megapixel with heavy filters - which results in lots of "jaggies" and pictures that look WORSE than those shot on my 2 megapixel camera with no filtering.

You're probably saying to yourself, "It can't be all that bad."
Believe me, it is. They look like absolute junk when printed out on 4x6 paper... like something I shot with a cell phone or a child's toy. I cannot overestimate just how bad they look.

Bottom line, if you are looking for a point and shoot camera, it is great. But don't count on ever using the 24 scene modes.

I purchased this camera for my rafting trip. I spent a week going down the Green River in Utah, and wanted a camera that could weather the outdoors. This camera turned out to be the best digital camera I have ever used.

First, this camera produced great pictures. I shot nearly 400 pictures and had each printed out at 4 x 6 when I got home. The colors were terrific and the reproductions were vivid and sharp. The controls are intuitive and well placed. The autofocus worked very well. I often reached for the camera to capture a fleeting moment and was able to point and shoot in seconds. The LCD screen is big and bright and was easily seen in the brightest sun (I shot most pictures outdoors). The flash was handy and the fill flash really enhanced many of the shots.

I also purchased 4 extra batteries for the trip. Interestingly, I hardly needed them. I changed the battery once at 200 shots, but I hadn't seen a low battery warning.

Most importantly, the camera weathered the trip perfectly. I took shots from the raft, during the rapids and during the rain. The camera was soaked, yet functioned very well.

Overall, this is an excellent camera. It is easy to use, takes great shots and weathers the storm. I printed out the manuel (all 200 pages) and was able to figure out how to use even the most advanced functions quickly. The 512 xD memory card was good for about 260 shots at the highest resolution. Transferring the images to my computer was a snap. This camera is good for both the novice and the advanced user. Right now, it is the best digital camera out there.

I switched my old Minolta Z1 with this amazing camera. My main criterias were good results in night shots and compact size with best optics.
Stylus 800 didn't fail me in any of this criteria, contrariwise it provide me with even more functions I honoured by really snowy weather in Alps (it is water resistant) and with those Scene modes it's making even better pictures than I can manualy set.

Pros:
- great resolution (you can enlarge small point on the picture and can see what it realy is)
- good autofocus indoor and by room-light
- water resistance (no more stress from rain, waves or anything else)
- heavy metal body
- very fast 1st picture (lens go out in a wink)
- large LCD with great resolution
- very useful ISO 1600 function by evening scenes or fast moving scenes (only 3MPix, but thats enough for travelers like me) without "snow" on pictures
- good flash distance for a compact
- good battery lifetime (I can fill my 1GB card on 1 charge)

Cons:
- slow picture download to computer (USB 1.0 only - with my 1GB card it takes a while - about 15-20 min.)
- slow video (only 15 frames ps) with only digital zoom during recording
- flash recharging sometimes takes a while (about 5 sec)
- leather bag delivered in accessory kit without pocket for second battery (where do you want to lose it again)
- without "anti-red-eye" flash it makes almost always red eyes, but there is software correction available directly in camera or in included software
- software included for managing pictures is slow and too functionally, what leads to dificulty (I lost some pictures after I made a red eye correction and tried to save it - result was .jpg file but corrupted, really unconvenient bug)

I have been an amateur/pro photographer for 20 years. Started out with the Konica 35mm, then the Canon AE1 and also Minolta. My first digital camera was the Canon G4, and altho I was overall pleased with the pictures, I could see improvements that had to be made -- faster shutter speed, removal of more red-eye, etc. My husband bought a Canon A520, and after using it for 3 weeks, we returned it. Just couldn't see that it was much better than the G4. Then got the Olympus Stylus 800. Wow, what a difference. Powers on quickly, and you can quickly capture the picture without a shutter lag. Red-eye is reduced. Very easy to use. I took 3 practice pictures with it, and then ended up taking pictures at beach sunset wedding. They turned out awesome. Especially noticed the good color rendition when photographing Afro-Americans, Caucasians, and even Caucasians with sunburns. Every individual turned out crisp and clear features, even when shooting at night with the flash. I had it on auto except for when shooting the sunset scene -- switched to that scene mode -- and the color rendition was awesome.

I then took the pictures, along with some digital video I had done, and using PhotoShop and another video editing program, and the help of a friend, converted them all to a DVD. They look like professional pictures when viewed on my TV. Most pictures didn't even need to be tweaked.

Hopefully Olympus will improve their repair-under-warranty policy that some have had trouble with, because I was so impressed with this camera that I am looking to upgrade to another Olympus instead of Canon or Fiji, which I was looking at.

I'm a rank amateur when it comes to actually taking pictures, but one of my considerations was getting nice, high resolution images for printing and modifying in Photoshop. After a few months of regular use, this is a purchase I have no regrets about, and would gladly repeat.

The picture quality is amazing, and the amount of detail you can see with full 8MP images taken on a bright day is breathtaking. Alternately, even setting the camera to image stabilization (which limits the images to 5MP) still lets me take beautiful pics, w/o the flash, using indoor lighting.

It's open and ready to shoot almost immediately, small enough to slip into my pocket (though I do have a little belt holster now, which ties in somewhat to my Batman toolbelt obsession), has a HUGE, beautiful LCD that works fine under sunlight, and I don't find myself missing the lack of a physical viewfinder. With an LCD this good, I'd never use it anyway.

In short, this is a good camera that takes good pictures, even in VERY low light, and combined with my photo printer (HP PhotoSmart 8250, also very nice), I'll never need film again. It doesn't have all the settings a pro will need, but if you're looking for a digital SLR, check out Olympus' Evolt E-500. I got that one for my wife, who actually knows what she's doing, based partially on how happy I am with this model.

I was really blown away by the quality and features of this compact and powerful digital camera. I have been looking for something in the higher MP range. The ease of use and features are great and the HyperCrystal LCD viewer is just amazing! My 1st digital camera was an Olympus, and it turned me into a loyal Olympus customer. The only downside would be is the camera software. Make sure you have a large hard drive and the memory to support it, or it will bog you down. I also purchased at the same time thru Amazon a 1GB XD picture card for more storage at the best price I could find online. No one can beat Amazon for the best prices.

I've had this camera for about four months and shot over 13000 pictures with it. I do aerial photography with kites and balloons, so I send the thing up about 200 feet into the air. I've taken similar shots in all different modes and consistently found that if it's set to the highest resolution with minimal compression, you get absolutely amazing shots. However, if you adjust it down at all, you get an amazing mess.

That said, the camera takes huge 8Mpix shots (about 3200x2800) at up to ISO400 (ISO800 & ISO1600 drop down to 4Mpix - as does the anti-shake mode). It handles an amazing array of lighting conditions. It's also very easy to use. It has built-in help screens. I was concerned at first because you can't turn off the LCD - but amazingly, I've taken 300+ shots on a single battery charge with the LCD on (no flash though).

I haven't played with the new Stylus 810. Hopefully Olympus fixed their compression algorithms. As much as I love Olympus' cameras, I hate their policy of not upgrading old firmware. Call tech support and they'll say "that's fixed in the new model".

And one more gripe - xD cards are very slow. It's not just the camera (which is USB 1.1). I have a Pentax with SD and have tried the same reader with both xD and SD cards. The SD was at least 10x faster.

That all said, I am still planning to buy another Olympus...

I just bought the Olympus Stylus 800 & my first
response was, "It's that small!" Honestly you will
be amazed how tiny & compact this 8 megapixel
camera is, I was blown away. I have waited years
to find a Digital Camera that was A) High in Megapixels
B) Compact C) Let you control apature & shutter speed
D) Also works as a point & shoot. Olympus now has an
hands down amazing camera in the Stylus line.

VERY pleased with the product. Light weight, thin, not too bulky, large viewing screen, rechargable battery out lasts regular batteries, great pictures and movies with good sound. No problems, highly recommend. Decent price. Consumer Reports recommends as a "Best Buy".

I have to say, after reading some of these reviews I don't agree. This is a great size camera that takes nice pictures. Toss it in a bag and go. I don't know of any Digital Camera that works like we ALL expect them too. This is a good camera for the money as well.