camera

Some nice underwater features but color software needs improvement
For a trip to the Yucatan, I purchased the SeaLife DC1000 with single flash unit, as we anticipated diving, and also a Canon D10 to allow more options while snorkeling. The DC1000 has some nice features (push-button controls are generally easy to use underwater) and comes at a reasonable price for a dive-capable camera for those of us that have limited chances to do photography with scuba. In general, the camera worked well and took some nice pictures while diving at 50 feet using the flash, which is essential under these conditions. As noted by the prior review, however, its performance for shallow-water snorkeling could have been substantially better. I initially had problems with the flash under these conditions, which frequently overwhelmed the image. After regular adjustment of the power, flash pictures worked better, but this means that one-chance shots (e.g., fish) may be lost. There are other adjustment options for the flash (macro vs. long-distance settings) that I did not have a chance to try, which may improve results, but the amount of adjusting to get a good flash result is frustrating given that the flash is supposed to be integrated into the camera system. Because of the erratic flash results I was getting, I also explored alternative non-flash modes. This revealed the biggest negative of the camera--the "special" underwater color bias settings seem to function by just adding varying levels of red to everything, whether the objects are red or not. After it became obvious that the underwater settings were generating unacceptable results, I started instead taking pictures underwater with the land setting, which of course creates images that are more blue than natural due to long-wavelength light attenuation. After returning home, I explored whether I could salvage some of the images using Photoshop. This helped to a limited extent for the shots taken in the underwater setting, but the excess red could not be entirely eliminated. In contrast, when color balance/contrast filtering was applied to shots taken with the standard land setting, the resulting image colors were excellent and true to life. So in the end, the special underwater adjustment features seem more of a sales gimmick that will send unsuspecting users astray rather than a strong selling point. In the future, SeaLife should consider teaming up with Adobe to come up with a quality image filter algorithm. An option that I did not try was to manually set the white balance using the included white board (another thing to hold onto in the water...)--this might fix the problem. Other negatives to the camera were an annoying delayed response when trying to change zoom settings, and a very slow focus/shutter response resulting in missed pictures. As I used the camera more, it seemed to me that the photo was taken when I released the button rather than when I initially depressed it as one would expect in other cameras. br / br /So how did it compare to the Canon D10 performance? Without the fancy underwater settings, the Canon took expected blue-biased photos that, when filtered through the contrast/color balance filters of Photoshop produced excellent, vivid, true to life shots. In general, the image sharpness of the D10 was slightly better than the DS1000, as perhaps might be expected when using a product from a top-tier camera company. Bottom line: if you are just going to snorkel during the day, go with the Canon D10 and save yourself a good chunk of money. If you are planning to dive or night snorkel, then the DS1000 may be the way to go, but expect to experiment/practice with the equipment before you get consistent results.

with some experimentation a great camera,requires patience
this camera has great potential, BUT not for snorkeling in under 15 feet. Buy one of those cheap ones for that. The color adjustor for the DC1000 is overkill for blue (Hawaiian, Caribbean) water and most pics are very orange! I had to use the LAND setting to avoid that problem, then adjust the exposure based on the depth and sunlight. ALOT of practice is needed for this. Fortunatley I had over a week in Hawaii! br / br /Diving over 15 feet however, is another story. The colors are much more true and vibrant and with good light the built in flash is often unnecessary. Key to good closeups is stillness. Hold on to something stable if possible, if there is a current or surge, you will get blurry pics. The stabilizer built in does not work all that well. Longer distances do not require this of course. br / br /There is a delay sadly, between pressing the shutter button and the actual snapshot. Not long, but long enough for MANY fish to hightail it out of the shot! Plan ahead of time or hide and pre focus the shot. That helps a lot. br / br /THe on land feature for this camera was good, not great. br / br /THe housing is great, very durable and solid, I had no fear of it breaking. You do need a good landyard with it though, however when I let go of it diving, it seemed rather neutral buoyant to me. It didn't shoot to the surface or sink to the bottom. A good thing! br / br /I give this camera 4 out of 5 stars because I like it's durability (housing) and deeper water quality. It is easy to use BUT don't expect instant award winning photos until you have played with the settings for a few snorkeling and dive trips. br / br /One thing I would like to see improved is a lens cover strap to hold it on the camera while not in use. Not sure if it has a place for that to buy one. br / br /This beats a film camera any day and for those who will use it more than 2-3 times, you will enjoy this one! I recommend getting at least a 4gb or 2 of them in order to practice and delete. I used a 2gb card up fast.

AWESOME point-and-shoot camera
Sony finally made a breakthrough in making a great point-and-shoot camera with the TX1. Great features, simple and easy to use settings. Great even in low lighted area.

Amazing Camera!
I just bought a Casio camera that is in this same category about 2 years ago but recently broke it by dropping it. I've always wanted a Sony so decided to try it. I am blown away!! I couldn't be more satisfied. This thing is awesome!! It is way different than my Casio, most likely because of the years that have gone by but the touch screen, smile detector and panoramic capture are my favorite!! The pictures look great and I absolutely love this camera!!!

Excellent camera
This camera is perfection. My first digital camera and its very easy to use and take perfect pictures especially when its pitch black dark and others wouldn't notice that it was dark. It auto adjust to light so you always get great pictures. I absolutly love and highly recommend it. Sony did a great job on this camera.

Not the easiest to use
There are much better cameras out there for 0 - this one is not user-friendly in terms of navigating through pictures or menus. The battery doesn't last too long because you have to have the camera turned on while you upload pictures to your computer (if you don't use a cardreader and just use the USB cord), and the battery DOES NOT CHARGE while you have it hooked up to your computer. The only way to charge the battery is to take it out of the camera and put it into the AC charging unit, which is a pain to bring with you everywhere. br / br /I got rid of this one and am opting for the Panaonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 when the price comes down a bit.

AMAZING!!
I bought this camera about 2 years ago and it is an amazing piece of equipment!! There are so many features and options to choose from to take the perfect pictures....You can even take a picture in complete darkness with the right settings and they come out bright and detailed. The text feature on the camera is amazing...you can zoom in and take pictures of items or works close up...I love using the text feature to take pictures of insects and other small critters because the details are astonishing...This is my second fugifilm camera and my favorite brand...This camera is so good I bought the pink one for my sister :) and is it a trooper!! I have dropped it countless times and it has even gotten wet and still works fine...I would recommend this camera to anyone

A good camera, not quite polished enough for me
I really love the style of this camera, appearance and functionality of the menus and buttons, however, it wasn't as good at focusing on close objects as my previous Z1 of the same brand, and on low light photos are grainier than I was hoping for. I've moved on from it and have moved on to two digital cameras since this one. br / br /I think there are better options out there today for the money.

Under 0 STEAL!! Remarkable bargain camera
GREAT low-cost camera .. not an Amazon buy (from an egg-cellent CA company :) ) .. Bit over 0 ..free: shipping, 2GB SD card and soft case. I've owned it a bit over 6 months. I'm an experienced photographer, but never owned a digital camera before. br / br /Perfect? No, for 0-800 get a better one ;) Others in 0 range may be competitive.. I can't say. It compares very favorably to ones my kids have owned that cost much more. This camera was released ~2 yrs ago. br / br /Strong Points: br /1. It works fine as a "point and shoot" in most normal situations.. so you don't HAVE to fiddle with a lot of techy details (BUT it has extensive "manual" capabilities and many MODES such as backlight etc) br / br /2. Superb resolution (approximately 2x HD).. Should easily do an 8x10 photo. Some claim it is "poor" in some situations.. this is a misapplication.. usually in low light where they expect the "anti-shake" to function as a tripod.. sorry but cameras don't work like that. br / br /3. It is EXTREMELY compact.. cigarette pack size and under 5 oz weight. It seems to be well built too.. I haven't babied it. I'm sure water and sand would do it in though br / br /4. Also does decent video (up to 640x480 resolution), and will work perfectly well in an "average" lighted room.. good for casual filming and "youtube" etc. br / br /5. It has 5x OPTICAL zoom (to 10x digital zoom) .. this is excellent for a unit that doesn't have a "snout type" camera lens that sticks out. Optical beats digital a lot. (Zoom appoximates a 35mm with 36-180mm) br / br /6. The LCD seems decently sized and bright to me.. and I don't have very good eyes.. :) It cannot be "reversed" to see yourself while taking your own pic. br / br /7. Works very well as a "copy camera" mounted on a lighted stand to copy documents or family albums, etc.. it has a very nice MACRO focus ability and a "text" exposure mode. It should be great for making shots for ebay etc too. br / br /8. It has EXTENSIVE manual over-ride and settings options.. In order to use these well you MUST be familiar with the camera and its use (from practice and the manual.. which contrary to others I find competent and pretty thorough .. it isn't a tutorial though) br / br /9. It comes with a cord to attach to a VCR (or computer card) and actually makes an ok video camera, though not portable in this mode.. and the viewfinder doesn't power up when you have an external device attached. br /This is a "makeshift" mode and I'd not suggest it for normal use unless you get the "ac adapter" for it (IMO bit expensive for a 0 camera) It WILL NOT work on USB power. br / br /10. I had no problems transfering pics from the camera to my pc. It can be done by either using the included USB cable or by taking the SD card out and plugging it into a reader on your pc. I've done both and had no problems. It "just happened"..I didn't have to do anything to make it work br / br /11. It makes decent "action shots" too in decent lighting (auto racing etc) with shutter speeds up to 1/1000 sec and down to 4 sec. It doesn't have a "bulb" setting that I am aware of. br / br /12. It has many "best of" scenrios ..1 flash, 1 not: you pick best.. several shots in a row, save last 3: .. "fast shot" sequences.. etc.. I'm sure something to suit your fancy is here br / br /13. The non-extending lens make this both higher in reliability and more sleek.. but also gives it the higher fstop restrictions. br / br /It does have some negatives (not really "failings" .. just things that are worthy of note) br / br /1. The lens is in the spot where your left hand normally goes and it takes awareness to keep your finger off the lens since it doesn't "stick out".. you would see this onscreen unless you're shooting "blind" like over your head.. I found it pretty easy to adjust. br / br /2. This is NOT a "see in the dark" camera.. I say this not because it suffers in low light (it has up to 1600 ASA which is VERY respectable, but the 3.8 lens is the issue). Low light suggests tripods and timed exposures and people don't typically do that with a "point and shoot".. I have used it on a tripod and it works well. I have taken acceptable shots by candlelight if the subject is near the candle.. such as a birthday cake. It is an f3.8 lens.. expensive cameras will be f2.8-f3.2 or so. br /IF lower light conditions are IMPORTANT to you, I'd suggest GE-E1235 12MP Digital Camera with 3X Optical Zoom (Black) or the slightly older GE E1050TW-BK 10 MP Digital Camera with 5x Optical Zoom and 3.0-Inch Touch-Screen LCD (Black). They're almost double the price and suffer the "innie/outtie snout lens" which I don't much like, but much better for lowlight with lenses around f2.4. br / br /3. The software suite that it comes with (for using on your pc) is only ok.. to do any real custom work you will need to buy software, which you likely have anyways if you are doing this kind of work. For color balance, cropping, making slide shows, etc its fine. Picassa is a decent free option. br / br /4. The battery is ok, but if you're going to use it for extended video you better get a second one so you can switch out if you need to. I've never had it stop on me, but I am aware of its limits.. In still mode it shouldn't be a problem. It recharges rather quickly.. 2 hours?.. I've not timed it. Careful shopping will yield an equivalent battery or better (not with the FUJI brand on it though) for a very reasonably price. br / br /5. You can put a TON of stuff on even a small SD card.. but the memory it comes with would probably not make most people happy for anything other than around the home where you can dump shots to your pc now and then. SD cards are CHEAP now.. buy one no matter what camera you get! br / br /Another "observation".. neither bad nor good.. it took me a bit of study to figure out how to use the "screen menus" to see and sort and change your pics in the camera, but my daughter picked it up and immediately worked it in detail..I'm guessing its pretty standard for digital cameras.. as I said its my first. br / br /In summary.. FOR AVERAGE TO BETTER LIGHTING conditions and MANY 'point and shoot' applications, you can't do better. Its such a feeling of FREEDOM to not have to fool with film and developers!! Excercise that freedom.. USE IT! PLAY WITH IT!! LEARN! :) It is capable, inexpensive, flexible. It isn't a 0 camera for 0 but its a keeper. Buy it. br /

Fugifilm Z100FD
Love this camera, bought it as a replacement for Fugi Z1. br / br /Pros: Size, fast start up, battery life, picture and video quality, 5x Optical zoom, large display, easy to use menus with many useful options, Uses SD and Xd cards, image stabilizer ... really helps with a small camera, tripod mount, PRICE. br / br /Cons: Must remove battery and place into charger (Z1 came with a cradle that was used to transfer pics to PC and charge battery..much easier to use), Door for access to USB connector hard to open, I find it easier to remove SD card and insert into a card reader to transfer Pics. Can't seem to zoom when taking video (may be operator error).

Piece of junk. Avoid Casio cameras
Had this camera a couple of months before it broke. When I turned it on the lens came out crooked and the camera wouldn't work. Since it was comfortably under warranty I sent it to Casio, which in turn sent me a repair bill for -- more than I paid for the camera--with no explanation. The camera was never mistreated, but I sure feel like I was. They even wanted to return the broken camera if I didn't want it repaired. I told them to keep it since the photo quality was never that great to begin with and the control buttons are way too small for human fingers. I understand that inexpensive cameras sometimes break but we have every right to expect the manufacturer to honor its warranty if said camera breaks within the warranty period. So, no more Casio products for me. My Canon Elph has been providing trouble-free service for 4 years. It cost more than twice as much as this Casio piece of junk but you really do get what you pay for.

Works well for the price
This is a cheap portable digital camera, and when you buy it expect it to perform as such. It takes great pictures in the sun, or bright indoors, but struggles like most cheaper models in lower light conditions. When you use the flash the colors always are off, and if you don't use the flash (when it is not naturally bright enough) things get blurry. All that being said. Its cheap, portable, high-quality (when conditions are right) camera. If you want to spend 100 on a camera this is a great choice. I am satisfied with it.

Casio tech support doesn't know their cameras.....
I got this camera for .95 at Amazon during the holidays. It doesn't have panoramic, like the nikon s220. Photo quality seems to be roughly on par with those of the nikon, as I compare photos taken with both cameras. br / br /I'm no photog nut. I just want a simple camera. br / br /One thing both the nikon and the casio have are best shot settings, which supposedly have settings optimized for night shooting, magazines, etc. br / br / br /The nikon's best shot modes are a little better than those for exz33. Shots taken on the casio in best shot mode come out blurred, underexposed, etc. br / br / br /On the "night scene" best shot setting, the flash doesn't come on (??) I called casio a month ago. The first rep automatically said that there was something wrong with the camera and I'd have to send it in for repairs. br / br / br /I called back in again, and the 2nd rep did a bit more troubleshooting. She said she had the exact camera model on hand, and guided me step by step. End result, on my camera, the flash still didn't come on, but she claimed one her camera, for the night scene mode, the flash did come on. br / br /Well, on the strength of that, I exchanged my camera and had Amazon send me another one. br / br /In the meantime, while waiting for the camera, I went to Target and tried a working display casio camera. It was a different 'ex' model, but had the same options. Lo and behold, in the night mode, the flash didn't come on! br / br /When I got my replacement camera, I tried the night mode, and no flash, as before. br / br /I even bought another exz33 from Walmart, and tried that, with the same result. br / br /The thing is, in the auto mode, the flash comes on, and everything works just fine. Even in the best shot setting, "night scene portrait", the flash comes on. br / br /At this point, I decided to call casio again, and explained to them that, having tried at least 3 exz33's, I got the same result, and it's unlikely that I'd get 3 random defective cameras. I also told her I got the same result on another model of 'ex' camera. br / br /She couldn't tell me anything aside from telling me to send it in. br / br /Obviously, her tty terminal didn't have any other recommendation. br / br / br /These people don't know their cameras from their calculators. br / br / br /In the meantime, I've decided to hang on to my casio, because in the auto mode, everything works like a charm. I'll just steer clear of the Best Shot settings, because the results are the same across ALL of the casios I've tried, blurred and underexposed. br / br /The nikon is at least more, and the .95 price tag is as cheap as I'm likely to get. Already, the price of the exz33 is .95 at Amazon. At this price point, I recommend getting a nikon s220. I don't know if nikon's tech support is a clueless as casio's. br / br /Bottom line, don't expect much from casio's tech support. br / br / br / br /

Great camera
Small, lightweight, easy to use and understand. Outstanding picture quality. Videos turn out great also.

Great camera for the price and durable
I bought the camera for my second deployment to Iraq in 2007 and it's still going strong. Image quality is awesome for what you pay for. Battery life is long enough to not have to recharge for 2 weeks. I can't complain except for I won't use it much since i have an SLR but whenever I go out I throw it in my backpack and it always comes in handy.

I've spent 27 months with this camera...
and this camera is my buddy... I have the lime version and we've been almost everywhere together since December 2007. Just last week, I took it with me to a rock concert and got some great photos (more on that a little later). Even though I'm not much of a drinker since leaving college, I still refer to this as my "drunk proof" camera, because I think it would be absolutely perfect for a bar-hopping college student... you don't have to worry too much about getting it wet or dropping it. I don't worry about it when I leave it out in my truck in freezing temperatures. I've had it out taking pictures when it's really dusty and the wind is blowing dirt around, etc and I just don't worry about it at all. br / br /The one time I did worry was when we were in Maui last May (2009) and my wife (who bought it for me in 2007) wanted to take it with us snorkeling. Well, what the heck right? The first time we took it out, it performed beautifully in the shallow water... no problems at all! Later that day, however, we tried using it in the hotel swimming pool. No problems with the few pictures we took, but soon after that, the camera ceased working. I don't know if it had something to do with the chlorine in the pool or what. No worries - aloha spirit and all that, so I just left it open, took out the battery and card and let it all dry out. It wasn't soaked or anything, but I had the feeling there was some moisture inside. This was unfortunate because while I had my Canon PowerShot with me, I wasn't about to take that down by the water and the cheapo disposable camera we bought on the beach for body boarding pictures ended up getting ruined before we could develop them. A day or two later, the battery still wouldn't work... the light on the charger would just flash like I was crazy for trying. Well, I was a boyscout back in the day, so I had a brand new extra battery with me. After charging that battery (and again, the camera had sat with the door open for a day or two to dry out completely), everything worked just fine... the XD card was fine - just the battery went bad. I've been using the camera ever since. Would I be worried to take it in an ocean or lake with me again? Yes, I would. Honestly, I'd probably just buy a high-quality disposable camera. I can tell you that I would NOT take it in a swimming pool again, that's for sure! br / br /Now that the water issue is out of the way, I wanted to address photo quality. Have I got some grainy pictures with this camera? Yes, I have. Did I try to change the setting to get better pictures? You bet! I feel that you definitely sacrifice a little bit of photo quality with this camera in exchange for some very cool features. However, if you're willing to play with it a little bit and learn some of the settings, you can usually get it figured out and take some really good pictures. For instance, it's very easy and fast to turn the flash on and off (just push right on the control pad) or push the flower button on the left side if you're shooting stuff super close. The top button on the control pad for exposure is awesome... it will show you 4 different possibilities at a time, then press left to see darker settings or right to make it brighter... that's a BIG help and is super fast and easy to do! Also, when I was taking pictures at the concert last week for instance, it was low light (at times) and I was not about to use a flash, so I turned the knob to the little shaky hand (between the SCN and the picture of the camera (auto setting)) and it did great! The local newspaper even put some of the pictures I took on their website! Of course you can also play around with the knob on the SCN setting... Sport is another favorite setting of mine when I'm trying to take pictures of moving people/objects. Available Light is another one I use fairly often. WHEN SHOOTING OUTDOORS (especially in bright sun), turn the knob to GUIDE and press down twice (3 - Shooting into backlight), then press OK (1 - Activate Shadow Adj.) and that helps TREMENDOUSLY! Without that setting, I would be in trouble. I use it almost 100% of the time when I'm outside and the sun is out (sometimes even when it's cloudy and kinda bright). On a side note, the the movie mode works just find and is an additional nice feature this camera offers (I believe it shoots in WAV or some type of Microsoft compatible format - it's not the QuickTime kind). I hope that helps a little bit! br / br /In short, this camera is not perfect, but it's still pretty awesome. You don't need to bother buying a case for this camera! The battery seems to last forever, which is I take for granted sometimes. I do try to charge it up before going out if I know I'm going to be using it a lot (note: it does take a few hours to charge completely). My 2 GB XD card is almost full right now and there are 1800 high-resolution pictures AND some long videos on there! The main reason I can't give this camera 5 stars is because, unfortunately, I would agree that it is questionable under water. Others might not give it 5 stars because of picture quality. It might not take the very best pictures, but I have taken a LOT of really good ones! I will admit that there was a lady next to me at the concert last week with a Canon PowerShot SD940IS (the red one) and she was taking, for the most part, a lot more quality pictures than I was. However, if your buddy spilled some beer on that camera at the bar or if you got bumped and dropped it or if it fell out of your pocket in the car and you left it out in the cold or if you took pictures in the pouring rain or maybe a dust storm... would the Canon hold up like this Olympus Stylus? I doubt it! This Olympus is one TOUGH camera! Take it for what it is. I might buy a Canon for a little bit better quality pictures, but this Olympus will always be my go-to tough guy back-up if nothing else. br /

I love this camera--great especially if you have little kids
We bought this camera after our (then) two year old got ahold of our other little digital and decimated it....This little camera is tough, can get wet, get dropped and be taken in the snow. While the pictures will never be as good as a heavy duty digital, they are quite good (you do have to master the different settings). The shutter speed can be low and I do advise getting an extra battery. But if you need a hearty little camera with really good picture quality and portability this camera is for you. I would buy it again in a heartbeat.

Terrible photos, holiday memories ruined
This is the worst camera I have ever owned by far. Every single on of the photos it took on holiday are blurry, over exposed or grainy. I have used cameras for many years and will never buy this brand again. Do not buy into the gimmicks about shock proof, just get a camera and look after it. If it is going to break it is going to break. These strong cameras just muck up picture quality and that's it.

The best camera
This camera makes the best pictures - in all types of weather and lighting conditions. So portable, fits easily into jeans pocket, purse, shirt pocket.

Just Fine ...
I bought this in Dec 2007 and still in my use, I wouldnt say its awesome, but its average. in day light, beach, greenery, landscape its good but at evenings, indoor in nights it doesn't deliver good results, picture becomes very much grainy. The Major drawback is FLASH, it whitens the picture awkwardly and picture loses its originality. During the years of my use, I rarely used the Flash. Now I have just ordered Panasonic FZ35, Lets see how it will work ... br /Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ35 12.1MP Digital Camera with 18x POWER Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.7 inch LCD

Nikon D3000 is a great entry level SLR camera.
Best entry level SLR camera. The feature which i like the most is guide mode which lets you quickly set the desired scenario and start shooting with out much knowing the internals. Best value for money

Battery
Does the battery come with a charger. I have not receive my package yet for this camera. But I am glad there are good reviews. I am so excited. Will the remote work on this camera too? Any advice on the camera would be helpful~ This is my first SLR.

Great Beginner Package
I bought this package for my wife as a gift and she is very pleased with it. We didn't have a tripod or any of the other accessories and this provided a very good introduction package. With an 8 gig card and the VR lens' you won't be disappointed with this if you are new to the SLR world. My wife took it to a friends wedding and the photographer joked that she was "competing" with his business. She has not put it down and has taken hundreds of pictures has found the dvd and book very helpful. I don't think you can go wrong with this kit.

Nice job nikon
I like the camera, it's easy to use and the lenses are great. The tripod is not so robust thought but other than that i like the overall package. br /

Amazing camera for its time; still a good buy for a low-end camera
This was my first digital camera; it is a quite out-of-date model but it was among the top of the line when it was made, and in some categories it still holds its own against modern, much pricier models. br / br /The biggest strength of this camera is that it takes excellent photos. The automatic setting works pretty well. It supports ISO-400 and has less noise than many newer cameras. It also takes decent flash photos. And it does have modest optical zoom. The settings are pretty easy to use and it gives you a good amount of flexibility, although the full manual mode is clumsy. It is very small, and it is very durable--I have used mine for four years, and the plastic cover for the ports broke off, and the icons wore off the dial, but it still works like a charm. The night-setting also takes fabulous long-exposure pictures. br / br /The weak points are pretty self-evident. The viewscreen is tiny, the camera has a very slow startup time, and flash cycling is pretty slow. And the digital zoom is pretty much useless; modern photo programs can interpolate at least as well. br / br /I think this would be an excellent purchase for those wanting a low-end digital camera. It simply blows away modern models in the below-0 price range. I now have a Canon PowerShot A700 (about 0) and I can say with confidence that this old Olympus still wins out over my new camera in some situations. Especially for people who are going to take a lot of lower light photos but want a cheaper model, this is one of the best options out there.

A great, if dated, choice
I'm a budgeter, but I also really wanted all the cool manual features and eveything. The D40 suited up perfect. Yes, 4MP may not seem much compared to what's out there now - but I figured, when am I ever going to print anything larger than 8x10 anyway? 4 MP was perfect for me, more would be a waste. br / br /As i said, the features are all there. Choose your own shutter speeds and apetures, white balance, video (yes, the vid sux, but that's true of most cameras. Same as digital video cameras take sucky stills. Give it a few more years you might be able to get a really good true hybrid. But i'm not waiting that long.) The only feature I can think of that I've really missed was no hotshoe for a bounce flash. It does have a tripod mount. br / br /It's also a great point and shooter, with several pre-sets. So you can use those and if you decide you want to be brave and try out other stuff, that's there too. br / br /It takes AAs, which if you get rechargeables and if you don't use the LCD screen can go for quite some time. I was once old school photography, so the viewfinder feels better to me anyway. br / br /The one major flaw I heard of before buying was that if you shoot an extremely high contrast shot you might get some violet bleed. In the few years I've had this camera, I've yet to actually see that happen. And even if it does - it's easily corrected in photoshop. br / br /My last thing to point out is it IS dated. The memory cards it uses are a thing of the past that you will mostly likely have to hunt for or buy online. I bought myself 4 cards, which will last me several hundred pics, which is more than I exspect to ever have to shot at one time. br / br /Oh, another thing I really liked - it's size was perfect for me. The tiny ones always seemed to flimsy and it gets hard to hold the camera right if it's too light or heavy. This is not a wallet or slim shirt pocket camera. But it will fit in a pocket or purse quite nicely. br / br /Overall, for the price, it is an excellent little camera. Does everything I could ask for, and despite the world moving on with more technology I still have yet to feel the urge that i'm missing out on anything.

it's been 3 years and i still love my D-40Z
check my pics in the customer shared gallery for some examples. ;) br / br /i bought this camera for the 4MP, the compact size, the sliding cover to protect the lens, the relatively cheap memory format (smartmedia), the AA batteries, and the combination of automatic modes and manual adjustments. 3 years later it continues to deliver for me in all these areas and more. br / br /i spent a month in europe last winter and took 150-200 pix a day with it. everything from skiing to dark pubs to out-the-car-window came out well. br / br /an oft-overlooked feature that has become my favorite (the icon is worn off the selector knob from use...) is the "My Mode" setting. once you pick a setting and save it here, it's at your fingertips. my preference is flash off, motor drive, auto shutter/fstop, overexpose by 0.7. it's my snap-pix-of-my-friends-discreetly mode. ;) anyway, dedicating a selection on the mode knob to a custom setting is much appreciated, thank you olympus! br / br /overall, it takes great pictures, is easy to use whether you want to tweak with things or just hold down the button and fill a card with shots, is reasonable with batteries, and is well-designed and constructed. it has been everywhere with me - travel, skiing, sailing... it has bounced around in my bag, hung out the window on the freeway, gotten rained on, snowed on, hailed on, been to the beach... and is still a champ. br / br /btw, those first two pics i posted in the share gallery i took today... so that's how it works after 3 years of abuse. ;)

Don't Know Why Olympus Stopped Making It
When this camera first came out, I could only afford to look at them on the dealer's shelves. Small, lots of features and reviews praising the image quality up the gazoo, AA batteries (no scarce proprietary). But the price was anything but affordable. Now that they can be had on eBay, Amazon and other places refurbished or in mint condition, the D-40 is still one of the most desired cameras around. The only rub I've discovered is indeed minor: don't leave the autofocus on constant when you're shooting movies with sound; otherwise the focus mechanism makes a distracting noise. br / br /I don't worry too much about filters and white settings. Most of that can be fixed in Photoshop. br / br /It's such a nice camera, I don't know why Olympus stopped making it. At 4 megapixals, it's got a lot of life still in it. br / br /

Terrific, easy to use camera.
This was my first digital camera, which I used constantly for the three years I owned it. I loved it and I shouldn't have been so eager to "upgrade" (I recently, and foolishly, switched to the Sony T1). pThis is a fantastically easy to use point-and-shoot camera that takes fabulous photos, up to and probably even beyond 8x10. It's friendly in low light conditions, at the beach, in the bright white snow, and just about anywhere a person would want to take their camera. Action pictures turn out great. The flash is strong. It is light, compact, and very sturdy. The picture taker's hands don't have to be deathly still to take a killer shot. The lense stays closed. The batteries are AAs--YAY! (I'm amazed at these features I took for granted because my T1 lacks in ALL these areas, much to my chagrin.) pFor the price this camera is being offered at on Amazon, you can't go wrong, even if they are used. You won't be disappointed with the D40.