Digital Stylus 300 questions and complaints

Hi I just purchased the Olympus Digital Stylus 300. I've taken about 100 photos. I'm kinda happy and kinda bummed. I'm considering takeing 50 to 60 dollar wallet hit to trade it in for a coolpix 3100.

The camera does take great photos. I'v not downloaded them from the camera yet, but thet appear great on the LCD, mostly.

Complaints after 23 miles of hiking and use.

First: No real lense cover. On a long distance hike, the weatherproofness seems to be limited to water. There is plenty of room for some dirt particles to work their way onder the sliding lense conver.

Second: No lens filter attatchement to protect the lense. Is there a such thing? It'd be a nice inexpenisve and protective layer for a $400 camera.

Third: Can't go to playback mode without shutting down camera first. And then gotta turn camera back.

Fourth: Uses propietary Batteries instead of inexpensive and readily available double A batteries.

The coolpix 3100 fixes the last point for sure. I'm not sure if the 3100 allows filters but the 4300 does and there all with $50 of the Stylus at Best Buy.

My thoughts so far. If somebody here knows of filters for the Stylus to protect the lens fron grit and dust, I may stick with the Olympus... sure is easy to use. 2 out of 3 of my pictures seem to be great!

Paul,

I have been playing with my Stylus 300 Digital for over three weeks now and love this little camera. I had a Coolpix awhile back and returned it, it was not a camera I liked. I got no idea how the new Coolpixs are but today my favorite cameras are Olympus. I also have the C-700uz and the E-100rs.

Paul Schilke said:

Hi I just purchased the Olympus Digital Stylus 300. I've taken
about 100 photos. I'm kinda happy and kinda bummed. I'm
considering takeing 50 to 60 dollar wallet hit to trade it in for a
coolpix 3100.

The camera does take great photos. I'v not downloaded them from
the camera yet, but thet appear great on the LCD, mostly.

Click to expand...

I have not only downloaded them onto my computer, but have printed them with pleasing results.

Paul Schilke said:

Complaints after 23 miles of hiking and use.

First: No real lense cover. On a long distance hike, the
weatherproofness seems to be limited to water. There is plenty of
room for some dirt particles to work their way onder the sliding
lense conver.

Click to expand...

I would think dust could get under the sliding cover, but the dust would not enter the camera. The lens barrels have rubber seals protecting the camera from water spray and dust. My advice to carry a small lens brush blower and lens tissue. That would apply for any camera you take.

Paul Schilke said:

Second: No lens filter attatchement to protect the lense. Is
there a such thing? It'd be a nice inexpenisve and protective
layer for a $400 camera.

Click to expand...

I know of no add-on lenses for any of these point & shoot cameras. They are not design for that type of photography. The lens itself is recessed far enough into the barrel where you would have to go out of your way to scatch the lens, you don't need a protective lens filter. The front sliding cover protects the lens better than any lens cap when camera is not in use.

Paul Schilke said:

Third: Can't go to playback mode without shutting down camera
first. And then gotta turn camera back.

Click to expand...

If you tap the Quick View button twice rapidly while the camera is on you will go into playback mode. When the camera is off you only have to tap it once. You can also set the preference to show the picture right after you shoot it.

Paul Schilke said:

Fourth: Uses propietary Batteries instead of inexpensive and
readily available double A batteries.

Click to expand...

I have two cameras that use AA rechargeable batteries which I have thought is the best way to go, but they don't last long and I am always changing batteries. But since I bought the Stylus and have been using it pretty steady, I find that this priorietary battery is long lasting and only takes three hours to charge. You can buy an extra one on Amazon.com for $39. You'll just have to wait until they have them back in stock.

Paul Schilke said:

The coolpix 3100 fixes the last point for sure. I'm not sure if
the 3100 allows filters but the 4300 does and there all with $50 of
the Stylus at Best Buy.

Click to expand...

I feel the Stylus 300 or the C50 are better cameras. At least for me.

Paul Schilke said:

My thoughts so far. If somebody here knows of filters for the
Stylus to protect the lens fron grit and dust, I may stick with the
Olympus... sure is easy to use. 2 out of 3 of my pictures seem to
be great!

Click to expand...

Like I said before, the sliding cover protects the lens better than a lens cap and any fine dust which may get between the sliding cover and the lens can be clean with a lens brush. I picked up an eyeglass pouch which I slip my Stylus into and slip into my shirt pocket which would protect it from any dirt and sand blowing in the wind.

I know after one buys something that something else always look better. But this is something you have to decide. I think the Stylus is built very solid and will withstand rugged use. I looked at the Pentax Optio S which is smaller than the Stylus with more features, but I felt the Stylus just felt right to me. I find the Stylus to be a fun, fun, fun camera to use. It only takes three seconds from tuning on the camera to shooting a picture. That's fast.

--
C700uz, E100rs, Stylus 300
http://www.pbase.com/gene
Life is just a stage and we all have enough pictures to proof it!

Gene Miller77510 said:

Like I said before, the sliding cover protects the lens better than
a lens cap and any fine dust which may get between the sliding
cover and the lens can be clean with a lens brush. I picked up an
eyeglass pouch which I slip my Stylus into and slip into my shirt
pocket which would protect it from any dirt and sand blowing in the
wind.

Click to expand...

Lowepro padded camera pouch 8S fits perfectly with Stylus 300.

J.

Until you at least download those pictures from the camera. You have NO clue what kind of quality you have captured until you see them on a computer monitor or printed them.

I LOVED the Olympus 700UZ until I saw its images on my PC. I took it back before the batteries cooled off!

LOL.

Listen to terry. The WORST pictues will look GREAT on an LCD! That is no way to test the picture quality!

If you are going to return it, at least know what kind of pictures you were getting so you can compare them to the pictures you get with whatever camera you exchange for.

As for batteires, from what I've seen it doesn't look like the camera is large enough to handle AA batteries. AAA maybe.

Terry M said:

Until you at least download those pictures from the camera. You
have NO clue what kind of quality you have captured until you see
them on a computer monitor or printed them.

I LOVED the Olympus 700UZ until I saw its images on my PC. I took
it back before the batteries cooled off!

Click to expand...

--
http://www.pbase.com/agent2099

Gene Miller77510 said:

I have two cameras that use AA rechargeable batteries which I have
thought is the best way to go, but they don't last long and I am
always changing batteries. > >

Click to expand...

Gene you aught to know not to use alkalines with digital camreas.

Get some 1800+ rechargeable NiMH batteirs, they keep going and going and going...

I have the Z5 and it works well when I don't use the pouch. Not sure what the 8S looks like.

Jnha said:

Jnha said:

Like I said before, the sliding cover protects the lens better than
a lens cap and any fine dust which may get between the sliding
cover and the lens can be clean with a lens brush. I picked up an
eyeglass pouch which I slip my Stylus into and slip into my shirt
pocket which would protect it from any dirt and sand blowing in the
wind.

Click to expand...

Lowepro padded camera pouch 8S fits perfectly with Stylus 300.

J.

Click to expand...

--
C700uz, E100rs, Stylus 300
http://www.pbase.com/gene
Life is just a stage and we all have enough pictures to proof it!

I have a lot of 1800ma NiMH batteries. They last okay in my C700, but in my E100rs I have to replace them often. These new batteries are much more powerful than the NiMH double A's. I never use alkalines because it is a waste of money for the five or so minutes you get with them. I just feel than these lithium batteries are really much longer lasting than NiMH batteries.

Agent said:

Mike Orie said:

I have two cameras that use AA rechargeable batteries which I have
thought is the best way to go, but they don't last long and I am
always changing batteries. > >

Click to expand...

Gene you aught to know not to use alkalines with digital camreas.

Get some 1800+ rechargeable NiMH batteirs, they keep going and
going and going...

Click to expand...

--
C700uz, E100rs, Stylus 300
http://www.pbase.com/gene
Life is just a stage and we all have enough pictures to proof it!

The Olympus Stylus 300 Digital and the C50 and the not yet release Stylus 400 all take what is called a LI-ion battery, the LI-10B.

Agent said:

Listen to terry. The WORST pictues will look GREAT on an LCD!
That is no way to test the picture quality!

If you are going to return it, at least know what kind of pictures
you were getting so you can compare them to the pictures you get
with whatever camera you exchange for.

As for batteires, from what I've seen it doesn't look like the
camera is large enough to handle AA batteries. AAA maybe.

Terry M said:

Until you at least download those pictures from the camera. You
have NO clue what kind of quality you have captured until you see
them on a computer monitor or printed them.

I LOVED the Olympus 700UZ until I saw its images on my PC. I took
it back before the batteries cooled off!

Click to expand...

--
http://www.pbase.com/agent2099

Click to expand...

--
C700uz, E100rs, Stylus 300
http://www.pbase.com/gene
Life is just a stage and we all have enough pictures to proof it!

hi Miller and the others,

I planned to buy a digital camera and i did benchmark a few of the latest model (Canon V3, Canon A70 ++). anyway i think i am going for Olympus Stylus 300.

But i get some feedback from my colleague saying the camera doesnt give a good quality picture. Kindly advice.

By the way, what do you think is the most important feature to be considered before buying a digital camera.

Gene Miller said:

Agent said:

Listen to terry. The WORST pictues will look GREAT on an LCD!
That is no way to test the picture quality!

If you are going to return it, at least know what kind of pictures
you were getting so you can compare them to the pictures you get
with whatever camera you exchange for.

As for batteires, from what I've seen it doesn't look like the
camera is large enough to handle AA batteries. AAA maybe.

Terry M said:

Until you at least download those pictures from the camera. You
have NO clue what kind of quality you have captured until you see
them on a computer monitor or printed them.

I LOVED the Olympus 700UZ until I saw its images on my PC. I took
it back before the batteries cooled off!

Click to expand...

--
http://www.pbase.com/agent2099

Click to expand...

--
C700uz, E100rs, Stylus 300
http://www.pbase.com/gene
Life is just a stage and we all have enough pictures to proof it!

Click to expand...

There are a lot of consideration that one gives when buying anything that's not inexpensive. When it comes to digital cameras it becomes somewhat based on what you want to do with your photography. If you just want something small to fit into your shirt pocket, not worry about the weather, something rugged, yet has good picture quality and accurate color saturation, easy to use, then I think the Stylus 300 Digital gives you the most bang for the buck. Below are a couple of photos I shoot the other day. These shots are straight out of the camera. No editing or enhancing. Your colleagues I do not believe have checked out these cameras themselves. Decide for yourself.

Michael Chengys said:

hi Miller and the others,
I planned to buy a digital camera and i did benchmark a few of the
latest model (Canon V3, Canon A70 ++). anyway i think i am going
for Olympus Stylus 300.
But i get some feedback from my colleague saying the camera doesnt
give a good quality picture. Kindly advice.

By the way, what do you think is the most important feature to be
considered before buying a digital camera.

Click to expand...

--
C700uz, E100rs, Stylus 300
http://www.pbase.com/gene
Life is just a stage and we all have enough pictures to proof it!

Agent,

The other thing I am finding is that at least with the Stylus 300 that these new lithium batteries just keep going and going. I do like them much better than NiMH batteries and I can see why manufactures are going to them, both for power and size. These batteries have no memory and can be topped off in the charger at any time without hurting the battery. NiMH batteries are not as flexible.

Gene Miller said:

Agent said:

Gene Miller77510 said:

I have two cameras that use AA rechargeable batteries which I have
thought is the best way to go, but they don't last long and I am
always changing batteries. > >

Click to expand...

Gene you aught to know not to use alkalines with digital camreas.

Get some 1800+ rechargeable NiMH batteirs, they keep going and
going and going...

Click to expand...

--
C700uz, E100rs, Stylus 300
http://www.pbase.com/gene
Life is just a stage and we all have enough pictures to proof it!

Click to expand...

--
C700uz, E100rs, Stylus 300
http://www.pbase.com/gene
Life is just a stage and we all have enough pictures to proof it!

As you can tell from my last post that I really like this digicam.

Michael, there are many good digital cameras on the market from Olympus and the other major manufactures. In choosing Olympus is the same as one's choice of film. Each manufacture handles color a little different and I like the way Olympus handles theirs. The physical quality of Olympus cameras are second to none and picture quality is very compititive and in my judgement as good or better than the competition.

The real thing that makes a great camera is taking pictures with it. So a camera you take with you all the time is one that you will use and becomes a great camera for you. The more dedicated one is to photography, the more equipment they don't mine taking with them all the time. For the average user, small pocketable cameras have great appeal. Most of the members of this forum are dedicated photograghic hobbiest and not the average snapshooter. So features and versability and not size becomes important. But for me right now in my life a simple P&S will serve me well and still let me enjoy the pleasure of capturing the moment within the limits of my new equipment.

Take care and good luck in making the right choice for yourself.

Gene Miller said:

http://www.pbase.com/image/15517494

http://www.pbase.com/image/15517543

Michael Chengys said:

hi Miller and the others,
I planned to buy a digital camera and i did benchmark a few of the
latest model (Canon V3, Canon A70 ++). anyway i think i am going
for Olympus Stylus 300.
But i get some feedback from my colleague saying the camera doesnt
give a good quality picture. Kindly advice.

By the way, what do you think is the most important feature to be
considered before buying a digital camera.

Click to expand...

--
C700uz, E100rs, Stylus 300
http://www.pbase.com/gene
Life is just a stage and we all have enough pictures to proof it!

Click to expand...

--
C700uz, E100rs, Stylus 300
http://www.pbase.com/gene
Life is just a stage and we all have enough pictures to proof it!

Paul, I was wondering if any of our posts helped you to make a determination as what will be best for you? Good luck in whatever choice you make. Take care.

Paul Schilke said:

Hi I just purchased the Olympus Digital Stylus 300. I've taken
about 100 photos. I'm kinda happy and kinda bummed. I'm
considering takeing 50 to 60 dollar wallet hit to trade it in for a
coolpix 3100.

The camera does take great photos. I'v not downloaded them from
the camera yet, but thet appear great on the LCD, mostly.

Complaints after 23 miles of hiking and use.

First: No real lense cover. On a long distance hike, the
weatherproofness seems to be limited to water. There is plenty of
room for some dirt particles to work their way onder the sliding
lense conver.

Second: No lens filter attatchement to protect the lense. Is
there a such thing? It'd be a nice inexpenisve and protective
layer for a $400 camera.

Third: Can't go to playback mode without shutting down camera
first. And then gotta turn camera back.

Fourth: Uses propietary Batteries instead of inexpensive and
readily available double A batteries.

The coolpix 3100 fixes the last point for sure. I'm not sure if
the 3100 allows filters but the 4300 does and there all with $50 of
the Stylus at Best Buy.

My thoughts so far. If somebody here knows of filters for the
Stylus to protect the lens fron grit and dust, I may stick with the
Olympus... sure is easy to use. 2 out of 3 of my pictures seem to
be great!

Click to expand...

--
C700uz, E100rs, Stylus 300
http://www.pbase.com/gene
Life is just a stage and we all have enough pictures to proof it!

Most modern MiMH batteries have no memory and can be charged at any time.

Gene Miller said:

The other thing I am finding is that at least with the Stylus 300
that these new lithium batteries just keep going and going. I do
like them much better than NiMH batteries and I can see why
manufactures are going to them, both for power and size. These
batteries have no memory and can be topped off in the charger at
any time without hurting the battery. NiMH batteries are not as
flexible.

Gene Miller said:

Agent said:

Gene Miller77510 said:

I have two cameras that use AA rechargeable batteries which I have
thought is the best way to go, but they don't last long and I am
always changing batteries. > >

Click to expand...

Gene you aught to know not to use alkalines with digital camreas.

Get some 1800+ rechargeable NiMH batteirs, they keep going and
going and going...

Click to expand...

--
C700uz, E100rs, Stylus 300
http://www.pbase.com/gene
Life is just a stage and we all have enough pictures to proof it!

Click to expand...

--
C700uz, E100rs, Stylus 300
http://www.pbase.com/gene
Life is just a stage and we all have enough pictures to proof it!

Click to expand...

--
http://www.pbase.com/agent2099

They do claim that, but I have had some die on me a premature death. From having cameras that use both forms of power, I find that I am liking the Lithium batteries better. They are smaller and longer lasting than MiMH double A batteries and they take less time to charge.

In the past I have always been a defender of double A batteries (MiMH), but have changed my mind since owning the Stylus 300. Take care and enjoy whatever you have.

Agent said:

Gene Miller said:

The other thing I am finding is that at least with the Stylus 300
that these new lithium batteries just keep going and going. I do
like them much better than NiMH batteries and I can see why
manufactures are going to them, both for power and size. These
batteries have no memory and can be topped off in the charger at
any time without hurting the battery. NiMH batteries are not as
flexible.

Gene Miller said:

Agent said:

Mike Orie said:

I have two cameras that use AA rechargeable batteries which I have
thought is the best way to go, but they don't last long and I am
always changing batteries. > >

Click to expand...

Gene you aught to know not to use alkalines with digital camreas.

Get some 1800+ rechargeable NiMH batteirs, they keep going and
going and going...

Click to expand...

--
C700uz, E100rs, Stylus 300
http://www.pbase.com/gene
Life is just a stage and we all have enough pictures to proof it!

Click to expand...

--
C700uz, E100rs, Stylus 300
http://www.pbase.com/gene
Life is just a stage and we all have enough pictures to proof it!

Click to expand...

--
http://www.pbase.com/agent2099

Click to expand...

--
C700uz, E100rs, Stylus 300
http://www.pbase.com/gene
Life is just a stage and we all have enough pictures to proof it!