135 of 138 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good but not Great, April 6, 2008
Updated on December 16, 2008
I upgraded to the Stylus 1010 from the Stylus 830. Though it is arguable whether it is a true upgrade.
Besides the obvious improvements such as the better zoom, higher MP's, and a beefed up lens it is essentially the same camera. It does have a better battery (up to 70 more shots per charge), simpler controls, and improved software on the camera, but it is not weatherproof, which used to be a standard feature on Stylus models. Olympus deruggedized the 1010 by taking out the rubber gaskets on the access doors and by replacing the anodized aluminum body that the 830 has with a plastic one.
The one major improvement the 1010 has is its ability to accept SD micro cards (with an adapter) which have a considerably larger maximum capacity (up to 16 GB), and are much cheaper than their larger alternative the XD whose capacity is limited to 2GB's (a quick price check on amazon shows that a 4GB Micro SD costs around $6, and a standard 2GB XD card cost around $20.)
The SHQ movie feature seems to be a reoccurring problem with Olympus though. The Stylus 830 was only able to record 20 second clips at VGA 640x480/30fps. The Stylus 1010 can only record 10 second clips at that setting. However the 1010 does give you the option of recording VGA 640x480/15fps with longer clips.
*A new development on this is a fix from Olympus. First of all you have to have a camera that currently has the 1.1 version firmware. If you don't, you'll have to go to their website to update it. Be aware though, that website carries the following warning.
"Please note that if the firmware upgrade is not performed properly your camera will need to be serviced to have the camera returned to an operational state."
Once you have the 1.1 you will be able to record movies with 4gb and higher SD Micro cards as well as record movies with VGA quality 640 x 480/30 fps up to the full capacity of the card (no longer limited to 10 second) But this is only with XD Type M+ cardsor the XD Type H cards. This seems to be a complicated and expensive fix considering the price of buying high speed cards (a 2GB XD Type M+ cost around $30), but it is a fix none the less *
Overall I am happy with the purchase and am impressed with the picture quality, and the expanded options in the software. However Olympus could have spent a little extra time developing a true upgrade for the stylus series instead of throwing in a few improvements, (and retrogrades in my opinion) and calling it two different cameras (the 1010 and 1020 whose only difference is the LCD screen, and flash option on during high speed sequential shooting.)
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107 of 109 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
More MP is not always better, November 13, 2008
I have used Olympus cameras for about 15 years and have always been happy with them. Unfortunately, I have used this camera for six months and am getting a new one. There are several good things about this camera, but there is one huge flaw: poor image quality. I have been doing some research and discovered that the megapixels are the culprit. While the camera has 10MP, the image sensor was not made to accommodate 10MP's worth of detail. Because the image sensor is small, it produces grainy photos. You will get better quality images with a camera that has fewer megapixels and/or a larger image sensor.
Some things I DO like about this camera: 1. Good close-up/macro shots; 2. "Scene" settings, such as "Available Light;" 3. Image name includes the date the picture was taken; 4. Portability/size of camera; 5. You can take panoramic photos (if using xD card); 6. Built-in lens cap; 7. Large LCD screen.
Some things I DO NOT like about this camera: 1. Grainy pictures, especially indoors; 2. Flash is too bright and frequently washes out my subject; 3. Lens is easily smudged and can be tricky to clean because it is so small; 4. Can't make the image be 4x6 ratio, so I have to manually crop all of my photos before printing them.
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92 of 93 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing camera!, June 2, 2008
Having been a professional photographer and even teaching a couple of college photography classes, I've shied away from anything "automatic"
in cameras, and have clung to more old-fashioned methods when taking pictures.
I purchased an Olympus Stylus 1010 as a gift for my wife.
I'm now stunned and amazed.
This camera is virtually foolproof. It simply won't take a picture that's out-of-focus, and worry that the camera might not be steady is no longer a concern. Period.
The pictures are crystal clear and I've enlarged them to 16x20 with no loss in quality.
My wife even snapped a landscape from inside a car traveling 60 mph, and the resulting shot showed no motion blur at all.
I believe.
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