Hi all.. writing something after a long long time. Have been checking ur good work for some time though.
I have my Olympus 80 QD for about 2 years now. After I got my canon 5MP digicam the good old Olympus is not the first choice for the weekend parties and short outings. But that has nothing to do with the photographic experience.. this new digicams are so handy and you don’t even have to bother to process it. It’s ready to share out of the box. Digi Vs film ??... some day else.
Having used to the camera for a long time now - I can share some of the ’insights’ I gained.
First of all its a 35 mm - 80 mm auto zoom camera (optical offcourse - you dont get digital zoom here ..anyway optical is the zoom that matters!) that is somewhat 2.1x. You can drag an object towards you up to a certain extend. 3x has become the standard of mid level cameras nowadays. Still you can manage believe me.. if you are not one of those wild life or mountaineer photographers.
It has got a Autofocus capabilty - that has something to do with highlighting and focusing the foreground..intelligent huh ?
Got a 12 second timer .. which becomes handy in indoor snaps - when you two want a frame together but nobody’s around.
Red eye reduction helps you to decrease the red spot on eye area for close up shots.
Auto loading makes it very very easy to load a film - just place the flap and close the door and hey - it’s ready to take snap 1. Also equipped with auto forward and rewind.
Intelligent flash .. which measures up the light and works only if needed.
A digital display helps you to keep track of the number of snaps done and flash option selected.
Quartz clock takes care of the date - time printing on the snaps taken.
And man it has a damn good build quality - stubborn and rock solid. Dropped for atleast 10 times .. it does not even have tame yet !!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------Good moderate feature packed olympus zoom 80 serves really good for a rookie. Its good for indoor get togethers and kitty parties and good for casual outdoor shooting. Definetely recommended for a first time user as it is easy to use, easy to hold and fast to response and MOST IMPORTANTLY IT TAKES CRISP, DETAILED PHOTOGRAPHS UNDER GOOD LIGHT CONDITION.
A few things you have to be careful about -
When using zoom mode you need to be careful about your hand staying still or atleast growing a habit of half-locking the shutter button for a second or two and then complete the press. Other wise you can get a blurry ghost image on the snaps.
The camera does not perform well in low light scenario.. the object should not be more than 10 feet away even when the flash is on. As this does not have a slow sync mode .. the shutter speed remains the same so you do not get enough light in the frame.
With on-camera flash - it is very rare that any camera has resolved red eye, it remains the story with this also.
Over all I would say it is a good deal for a beginner and entry level user. Moreover you get all the goodies of famous Olympus optics experties by spending as little as 3500 bucks. Go for it man if your priorities and budgte suits.