Digital-Camera Reviews

SmartMedia is sold under several brands. Olympus branded SmartMedia allows you to take "panorama" shots. Essentially, you take multiple shots while making sure to overlap edges. You then reassemble these multiple shots using the "Camedia" software that came with your Olympus camera. The difference is that when an Olympus brand SmartMedia card is used, your digital camera keeps exposure settings constant across these multiple shots; which makes for a consistent panorama when you reassemble the individual shots via your computer.

This is a nice feature, but not a feature most of us use often. If you are going to purchase multiple SmartMedia cards, you might be able to do with just one or two Olympus brand cards - especially since they cost more than other brands. I use two 32Mb other brand cards, and save my two 8Mb Olympus brand cards for when panorama shots present (since you can switch the cards out at anytime - unlike traditional camera film).

I admit i chose this one because it was the smallest and lightest model out there at the time for a 5mp. I really needed one for my trip to China, and it performed nicely. The pictures came out pretty decent when there were decent lighting, but when it was a bit dark out, pics tend to turn out blurry. Overall a nice little camera to have around you 24/7 due to it's light weight, but if you are going for something important like a wedding or something, i'd suggest something more on the pro level.

Okay: I have owned the previous Optio S4 and decided to upgrade to the S5Z. I have a couple of observations I would like to share.

PROS:

1) Huge display on S5Z. Really awesome viewing pics and makes composing much easier.
2) I don't think any other point-and-shoot camera has this many shooting modes and options to tweak color/contrast/ISO etc. To get the BEST quality shot, you should really mess with the settings. For example, taking a shot of a mural in the shade, you should up the contrast and saturation manually to get the best colors.
3) The Quick button can be assigned to custom functions for quick adjustments to pictures on-the-fly.
4) 640x480 movie mode with no limitation on max. time. Apparently they expanded the write buffer and created a faster write channel to the flash card that previous models.
5) Price is good and keeps dropping.
6) Really awesome camera for taking SIMPLE shots of everyday life
7) Compact enough to hide and walk around without it being a burden in your pocket.


CONS:

1) The screen, while huge, is a pain to look at in direct bright sunlight, as in, the sun is shining right onto the display. As one reviewer said, almost unusable except in shade / indoor scenarios.

2) The S5Z shares a trait with my other Pentax, the S4. The trait is that when taking pictures that contain BOTH a) bright sunlight and b) a good amount of blue sky the entire photo takes on a bluish/greyish hue. Can't see the effect on the camera's display screen but when put on a monitor it is apparent. For example, taking a picture of a completely white wall with blue sky above it in at least 1/3 of the picture will cause the white wall to take on a bluish hue. If you're taking pictures of people in the water or on/near a beach, the sand and people will take on a bluish hue. The auto white balance does nothing to remedy this; neither does choosing the other white balance options. Seems the image sensor on this and other mini cameras from Pentax are ultra sensitive to blue, causing a washout effect. Doing an auto color balance after downloading onto a PC remedies the effect somewhat.
3) The wash-out effect (when lens is pointed toward the sun) is more pronounced in this camera compared to other cameras. In fact you have to be pointed away from the sun by at least 90 degrees to avoid bad washout (washout is when the foreground/subject is completely dark because of it a bright lightsource in the background) I've taken shots with other point-and-shoot cams with less washout.
4) If you drop this camera while lens is open, the lens assembly is so frail you can kiss your new camera goodbye. It will crack and fall apart. If you drop it while closed, there's a good chance it'll still work (this is from experience). I can't speak for the S5Z (still new) but I've dropped my S4 on the ground at least a dozen times and it still works (sort of)

I am an experienced digital camera user since the times of the Casio QV-10 and my experience with the Optio s5z was excellent. The picture quality is superb for an ultra compact camera, fast focusing, sharp pictures, good contrast. From my point of view there are 2 cons, as all the compact and ultracompact cameras the flash is weak and it is hard to compose the picture under direct sunlight using the lcd display, an optical viewfinder would make it almost perfect.
Concerning the pictures do not forget that when you buy ultra compact or compact camera you get smaller size for less quality pictures.

Well, this was a pretty nice tripod. It fit all of my needs. But, I have several cameras & lenses, therefore I would be needing a couple extra quick release shoes. While an extra shoe costs about $7-$12 for most tripods. The only place I could find and extra shoe was Sony and they wanted $55.
This one is going back to the store. VERY DISAPPOINTED!

While I haven't used any other tripods, I am fully satisfied with this one! I bought this tripod specifically to use with my new DSC-R1 camera. It was listed as the preferred tripod in the camera's accessories book, and seemed to have a lot of nice features, so I figured I would give it a shot.

The tripod is extremely light weight, and is ideal for taking on hikes or walks. It comes with a little bag to carry it in, which conveniently fits over your shoulder and hangs behind your back.

It has a quick-mount for the camera (i.e. a little piece that you screw onto the bottom of your camera that can easily be put on and taken off of the tripod, so you only have to spend about 2 seconds mounting the camera onto the tripod at any given time.

To assemble the tripod out of its container from fully compact size to fully assembled size takes all of 10 seconds. You unhook each of the leg pieces and let them slide to full length. You then tighten those leg pieces and pull the legs out until they click into place.

Despite its light weight, it is quite sturdy.

It's also very customizable as to height or camera orientation (you can just about get any shot or angle that you want). It tilts on all axis and can get as low as 7 inches off of the ground.

All in all, this is a great tripod. Again, I haven't tried any others, but this tripod has yet to disappoint.

This is a very good choice for anyone shooting Canon Digital Rebels or 20D/30D series cameras, and wanting an all-in-one design that small and light weight.

Although it doesn't give us the overall range of the most common choice for Canon users (18-55 & 75-300), it does give us a broader zoom than Canon offers starting at 18mm, and is considerably smaller than the 75-300 alone. It also has internal focusing (in neither Canon lens), which means filters, like polarizers, won't spin with the autofocus. It also means we'll have a more useful lens hood, which is included ($$$ add-ons from Canon).

The max aperture at 200mm is 6.3, adequate, but not the best we can get in a 200mm that's still reasonably priced (here's were we loose a star). But construction seems very good, and the warranty is considerably longer than Canon's.

I have owned this lens for over a year now and it never ceases to amaze me when I see the photos it produces. Over this last year I have come to learn a thing or two about how to use this lens.

1) If you are going to shoot indoors, or in low light, with a long focal length (like 200mm) use a tripod or plenty of ambient light. This lens doesn't have a built in image stabilizer so you are going to steady the lens with the tripod or use a real fast shutter speed to minimize your hand jitter.

2) Use a smaller aperture. I have found that my best photos come from an aperture of 8.0 thru 16. These apertures aren't great for bokeh (background blur) but they sure do allow you to take razor sharp pictures.

Praise.

Focal range. With one lens you are able to take nice wide-angle shots (18mm) and with the twist of zoom ring you have a nice telephoto lens (200mm) Definitely a good walk around lens for the day at the botanical gardens, museum or amusement park.

Build quality. This lens gives you a nice solid feel in your hands. Give it a shake and it doesn't make a sound. The zoom and focus rings move smoothly without being sloppy. With a lens this well built you would expect it to be heavy. Not so with this lens, it's quite light (which is something you really appreciate after a long day of carrying it around.)

Minimal chromatic aberrations. The lens' three hybrid aspherical elements and two low dispersion glass elements correct for almost all lateral and on-axis aberrations making most of your images optically clear.

Size. At it's lowest focal length (18mm) the lens is small enough to fit into a mid size top loading camera bag while still attached to the camera body.

Complaint?

Well yes, I do have one minor complaint about the lens. Auto focus is slow. How slow? Well let's just say you won't want to try and photograph a two year old on the move. I have found that I can keep fast moving objects in better focus by switching to manual.

I recently updated my camera gear and bought the Canon 350D. I have used Tamron lens for the past 20 years, always opting for a multifunctional lens in preference to carrying 3-4 lens around, particularly when travelling the world. The 18-200mm XR Di II does it all for me, it is a fantastic all round lens.

This battery will transform your Epson PictureMate Deluxe Viewer Edition from a nifty little photo printer into an absolute Must Have item ! I take it with me when ever I'm doing an off-site photo shoot, or even when I'm out for a weekend shooting candids. The portability you get by adding this battery to the printer is priceless. I have printed as many as 40 photos on one charge.

If you have the Picturemate Deluxe Viewer Edition portable photo printer, this battery is a must have item to make it truly portable. I haven't had the chance to print 70 to 80 prints at one sitting, but it lasted. Highly recommended.