Olympus Stylus 800: An Excellent and Flexible Small, High Resolution Digital Camera

I like cameras. That's probably why I have several dozen (no kidding) in working order in my house. The facts that I never throw anything away and have been around for a staggering number of years also contribute to that unwieldy number of picture taking devices. But I have favorites. For many years, a collection of Cannon SLR's (film type) enjoyed favorite status, but recently, a small, useful, unobtrusive digital stole my affections because I was too lazy to continue in my previous snobbish mode of total control over all functions. This was the Olympus C-60, the fifth digital that I owned, but the first one that produced the quality of pictures that rivaled that of my large, bulky, expensive SLR's. I said rivaled, not equaled, but it was close enough that the incredible convenience and ease of use soon resulted in my nearly exclusive use. Two months ago, just before I took the family on a trip to the Kentucky caves, someone stole this little jewel.

I pouted. I left every one of my other cameras at home and prevailed upon my son-in-law to take care of the photographic needs of the trip. I came home, looked for my beloved camera once more in the hope that some mischievous agent had merely displaced it for me, considered returning to the more photographically virtuous world of my SLR's, and then bought the Stylus 800.

The Camera came in an unprepossessing box that housed, along with the camera, a paper manual (labeled 'Basic Manual'), in French, English, and Spanish, along with folded "Quick Start Guides" in the same languages and a list of ninety cities (in at least ten languages--I have trouble discriminating some of the Asian alphabets from each other), two CD's ("Advanced Manual" and computer software), connecting cables for the computer, a lithium ion battery and charger, and a carrying strap. I searched for, but failed to find a remote control device that I thought came with the package. It doesn't, as I later learned from the word "optional" (and the packing list), which briefly disappointed me until I realized that I had never used the one that came with my C-60, and that the one that I still had from that late lamented camera actually worked with the new one (no zoom on the remote, though, which comes with the optional one for this camera).

The camera itself is an aluminum colored, 4" X 2.3" X 1.3" roughly six ounce device that has no significant protrusions and looks and feels sturdy. Moreover, through the use of weather proofing gaskets, it is claimed to be, and very probably is, sufficiently water proof to withstand any type of insult from the weather. However, with the aid of three pictures replete with large X's, the manual warns against completely immersing it in water. (Don't drop in, take pictures in, or wash in water.) Perhaps there are people who would not generalize across the different types of immersion. (I won't say who they probably voted for.) The battery is a small, rectangular, 3.7 volt, 1230 mAh, (not bad at all) rechargeable Lithium ion, of proprietary design. However, though this battery is specific to Olympus, I was delighted to note that it, too, was interchangeable with the spare battery from my departed camera. This does not go without saying, as many manufacturers delight in forcing separate purchase for accoutrement across their various models.

FACTS

The camera is a sealed device that opens quickly (under one second) to the touch of a slightly recessed button on the top. The lens emerges as the camera is turned on. This six element lens has a maximum F 2.8 aperture (not too hard with this very small focal range of 8.0 mm) to an F 4.9 at its full mechanical extension to 24.0 mm. This 3 X optical 'zoom' is augmented by a 5 X digital 'zoom' which yields a total (seamless) magnification of 15. While picture quality is maintained by the optical zoom, as opposed to the digital component, given the very high pixel resolution, this is probably a useful 'zoom' throughout its full telephoto position. The 800 in the name, of course, stands for the 8.0 net usable megapixels the camera boasts. This is an unheard of number only a few years ago for less than several times the price of this camera. Putting it through its paces convinced me that this was not an idle boast.

The shutter speed is given as 1/2000 sec. to four seconds. As I no longer have easy access to the instruments that would be required to verify these claims (and wouldn't take the time if I did), I can only say that, in use, I have no reason to question these data. The results that one would expect in picture taking flexibility appear to confirm the manual.

Internal storage (21.3 MB) is sufficient to store 114 pictures if you really don't want much resolution or size (480 X 640, less than your decent phone camera) but will only hold four to nine top quality, best resolution 3264 X 2448 pictures, or a little movie time (with sound). Actually, again if you don't need much quality resolution, you can get nearly two minutes of movie (160 X 120) or 15 seconds of 640 X 480. But if you want much more, get a movie camera. This capacity is a nice bonus in your small, pocket sized, still camera. I wouldn't take this to the family vacation, though, without external storage or the high capacity (2 gig) storage card, which I strongl;y recommend. With this card, I have taken over an hour of movies and 114 pictures at medium or high resolution and had room to spare. I have never esceeded the capacity on any trip.

The battery life is really very good for so small a package. 1230 mAh will buy you a lot of shots, a claimed 8,000,000 pixels worth, or about three hundred pictures. It recharges the flash in about a second, quite a respectably short time for most situations and will be fully recharged by the enclosed charger in two hours or less.

FRAMING YOUR SHOT

You have a choice of a 2,5" "hypercrystal" viewing screen, or pointing your camera in the general direction of your picture and hitting the shutter button. There is no viewfinder. This would have annoyed me except for one thing. Whatever "hpercrystal" might actually mean, in the operation of this camera, it means that the view screen is much brighter and viewable from broader angles than any other such screen I have used. It even works in fairly bright surroundings. So far, I haven't really missed the viewfinder, and how many things can they cram into so small a space, anyway?

CHOOSING SETTINGS

You really don't have to choose anything except what result you want. There are 24 different modes, comprising the various combinations of focusing, color and brightness balancing, lens opening, shutter speed, and resolution. You can choose to set these yourself; it's relatively easy with a glance at the manual(s) or a little experimentation; or, you can tell the camera what you want to produce and let it select these settings for you. On screen menus, quick, one button displays, and easy to access controls that help you all along the way are the benefits of this automated camera. There are two separate modes of focusing that boil down to your telling it what to focus on or allowing it to use the picture composition to decide itself. It's almost as easy as your old Brownie (OK, my old Brownie, you probably never had one) except that it actually gets very good results under very wide conditions. Your/my old Brownie needed sunlight and slow subjects to do much of anything. And then you had to develop the pictures, or worse, have someone develop them for you. With this jewel, all you actually have to do is know what you want. Portrait, landscape, ultra close-up (macro mode), your babies first steps (and words), etc.; just endorse your choice on the screen and point the camera. You can even take a "panorama" picture of virtually all your surroundings. Well, actually, you can only do that if you buy the specific add on storage required.

It also has excellent low light capacity and a quite adequate flash for most conditions. I didn't measure the output of the flash, but as I used it, it passed all tests that I put it to indoors and simply seemed brighter than on the preceding digital cameras I have used. Is it as bright as the dedicated flash equipment that I used to use when I was serious about these things? No, but it will serve well enough for most purposes.

Other niceties are included such as red eye reduction, either before (pre-flash) or computer corrected after the picture is taken.

DISPLAYING YOUR PICTURE

Not a problem; the dedicated Camedia Photo Printer I had from my purloined camera plugged right in to the new one, as will any other printer that takes a 'pictbridge' connection. Don't have one? Also no problem. Your computer, with, or probably without the software supplied by Olympus, will recognize the camera through a simple USB connector, also supplied with the camera. If you need it, the proprietary program that comes with the camera works seamlessly.

ITS PLACE IN LIFE

This is not a professional camera for a professional photographer; or at least not the primary tool for a professional photographer. I can, however, imagine that even the most fastidious 'pro' might wish to tuck it into a pocket in case of some opportunity that arises in the absence of full equipment. It is, though, a very useful, high quality camera for anyone who simply likes to take a lot of good pictures.

Recommended:
Yes, highly

Amount Paid (US$): 350.00
This camera is a good choice if you want something easy enough for a beginner to take good pictures but flexible enough for enthusiasts.