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Good camera, but I think there are better
- Reviewd on:
2008-11-13
By: Brian J. Christensen
I used this camera on a trip to the Galapagos Islands and mainland Ecuador. It is capable of getting some truly great shots and many of my photos look professional quality. I will spend more time on the downsides of the camera than the up, because it seems like the reviews are innundated with positive reviews already. And the camera certainly does have its drawbacks. Granted, I was a fairly heavy user, spending weeks in the rainforest and on fine, sandy beaches, hiking and doing other activities.
First off, the LCD screen cracked, which isn't a huge deal, but some other reviewers may say it is very hard to do... it's not that hard. Next, other parts did come loose, although they didn't fall off, and made the camera a little harder to use. Although it is marketed as weather-proof, a better term is slightly weather resistant. It couldn't seem to get a decent photo off in the rain, even when we stumbled on a tapir, quite a rare sight.
The zoom is practically worthless, but better than nothing, I suppose. On all of my pictures, I have to adjust the color saturation because the camera's normal pictures are somewhat dull-colored compared to real life; not a big deal, really, just an extra hassel. The "mode" settings suck, rare does one actually give you what you want. Night pictures are impossible, it is very hard to set the camera to a slow enough shutter speed to turn out with a good picture. The camera has an incredibly hard time in bad lighting (into sun, cloudy skies, etc), though so do all cameras, however, this one seems a little bit worse than most.
After saying so many bad things, I feel a little guilty, the camera really is pretty good overall. It is slim and easy to carry around. The quality is great, as long as the lighting is good. The macro is amazing.
Bottom line: I just want you all to realize the drawbacks it has before buying. It is a good camera, and pretty cheap nowadays so if you are on a budget, this may be a good pick.
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Great underwater camers Olympus 710
- Reviewd on:
2008-09-22
By: D. Goodwin
Great product! I use it with the underwater case and get superb results while scuba diving.
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Buyer beware of the 5f 08 5e 02 lens problem!!
- Reviewd on:
2008-08-27
By: Marcy Gomez
I purchased the Olympus Stylus 710 brand new in 2006. During the 2 years that I have owned it, it has proven to be a fairly dependable camera. General performance was good although the indoor shots (with flash) and outdoor action shots (i.e. kids playing soccer) could have been better. For some reason, any indoor shot with flash that involves the zoom always ends up dark and blurry, so it's pretty much a given that if I use my zoom and my flash indoors, I will get blurry pictures. Macro shots with a flash aren't that great either. Nevertheless, I've been fairly happy with it.....
...until a couple of weeks ago. While taking pictures during our beach vacation, I was appalled when my camera stopped working. In the midst of taking shots, I got this odd whirring sound, the lens popped in and out, then the LCD screen turned blue. An error message: "D : 5f 08 5e 02" appeared on the screen and my camera stopped working. I was able to view the pictures I had taken, but the same whirring/lens popping/blue screen thing happened each time I tried to take a picture.
All this within 2 1/2 years of purchase!! So this camera is dead and it would cost me almost as much as a new camera to have the problem fixed. I find it completely unacceptable for a camera to stop working this quickly (I had a manual point-and-shoot Canon Sureshot back in the day which lasted 10 years and counting!). Needless to say, this has completely turned me off from Olympus and I'm never buying an Olympus camera again!! Buyer beware - check the net for '5f08' or '5e02' problems and you will find lots of them. I wish I had known this before purchasing it. I would have looked elsewhere!
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Love it
- Reviewd on:
2008-08-19
By: Olayinka S. Taiwo
I absolutely love this camera. I would recommend buying the case as well. My friend lost my camera and I am buying the same exact one twice.
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Good small digital for outdoor use
- Reviewd on:
2008-07-28
By: Early Bird AT 2007
This a very good weather resistant digital. It works very well for outdoor activities like hiking and biking. I bought one and used it on my five month thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail last year. I used it through snowstorms, rain, high heat and other hazards on the trail and took hundreds of pictures. That one finally expired this year due to due to all of the abuse I gave it. I recently bought another one and just used it on the famous bicycle trip across Iowa, RAGBRAI.
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