Olympus C-3020 Zoom

Opinion: The image quality on this camera is so good that people
won't let me take thier pictures because it refuses to
minimise flaws. This thinng picks up everything that there is
in the image (not that that's bad). Image quality is excelent
and the tones found on some of the "no thought" shots that I
took are terrific. The lights and darks seem to be quite true to
life. This camera is unbelievably easy to use for simple, good
'ol pictures... and now that I've started to fool around with the
manual focus settings I see how powerful this thing really is.
Unfortunately in order to use most of the advanced features,
you must use the lcd screen which tends to drain the
batteries at a rather astonishing rate. That is really my only
complaint after almost a month of use. The only other thing to
know is that in order to use the advanced features, you will
need to read the manual. They're not as intuitive as the easy
stuff, but the easy stuff is REALLY EASY, so you can certainly
start taking beautiful pictures right out of the box. Like I said,
I've had this beast for a little under a month so I'll post a more
complete review with stuff like appatures and white balance
and maybe a few pictures in a few months. I just couldn't let
this camera go without a review any longer.

Opinion: I've had the 3020 for about two weeks and LOVE IT! It's my first digital, but I started taking perfect pictures right out of the box. Since its not an SLR, you need to use the LCD for close-ups. Using NiMH batteries, I'm getting very good battery life, much longer than I'd expected (though the alkalines went pretty fast). The delayed shutter/flash is a bit frustrating, but if you hold the shutter release halfway to pre-focus, it snaps more quickly. I took over 100 shots at my daughter's lacrosse tournament, and all the pictures were sharp and had very accurate color. Indoor pictures are sharp and true to life. Picture detail is excellent. This is a great camera, very similar to 35mm. Note: I don't have other digital experience to compare this camera to.

Opinion: I've had my c-3020z for about three weeks now and really like it. As a beginning digitial photographer I was interested in a reasonably-priced 3.x MP camera that could take great point-and-shoot photos, but also offered enough manual control to take advantage of as my experience grows. I was also interested in a camera I could purchase a reasonably priced housing for. The 3020 delivered on all points. I've found the image quality excellent, with sharp detail and accurate color. I take quite a bit of macro animal shots and I've found the detail it captures impressive, even if I blow it up on my PC. The menus are pretty intuitive as well once you learn what is where. I'm still learning when and how to use the manual modes; there are a few to choose from and I'm still figuring out how to take advantage of all this control. Having had a digital camera before, I didn't mess around with alkalines or memory and bought some rechargable NiMh and a 128mb card. I've been pleasantly surprised to find that this camera doesn't chew through batteries nearly as badly as my Kodak did. I can't wait to take it diving. Overall, a nice camera which takes fantastic pictures for a very reasonable price.

Opinion: I have now had time to thrash the 3020. I wanted a camera had all of the most commonly used functions of my old 35mm SLR needs such as manual overide of all functions yet also offer simple point and shoot capability and not cost the earth. Though not as optioned up and easy to use as an SLR where the options are at your fingertips, this camera does indeed have the functions I needed available, you just have to surf the menus to find them. I urge you to read the specs, it really is a powerful little camera for the price. It is important to use the LCD for macro though as it is not an SLR and the object will be out of shot otherwise (damn caught me out, but only once!). The alkalines are a joke, get yourself decent NiMH batteries. In short, I am very pleased with the camera but for a few points below. I have found the picture quality, colour balance and all functions excellent in implimentation and function. For the price it is excellent value. No more waiting for that roll to film to fill, waiting and paying for processing, scanning images etc. as this camera meets all my quality and functional needs.