Olympus IS-3 DLX

This camera is one of the finest I ever had. This is a very advanced camera and the lens is fantastic (Zuiko ED, the finest)

Excellent metering, spot, full manual override, WONDERFUL flash, good grip and one of the finest lens on the world. Good finder and very easy operation.

Lens is a bit slow. Heavy.

IS-10, IS-50

After near 4000 pictures, still no service needed.

Olympus IS-3 DLX Excellent all-round camera, reliable, great quality pictures, despite the fact that the lens is fixed (ZLR). Has all you may need for 99% of shooting situations. With adapters you can have a zoom range between 28 and 300mm, an external flash of GN-40 will increase the range and battery life. Very accurate metering, 2fps motor drive, you name it. I have taken this camera through extensive travel and have come back with breathtaking photos. I have Olympus OM gear for when I am in the mood for serious shooting, but using my IS-3 does not mean in anyway that I am comprimising on quality. The typical SLR outfits are a wee bit more customizable, thats all. It is discontinued but S/H are always available on eBay. Feel comfortable about buying it S/H as this is a very sturdy and durable machine.

About everything, and no greater value for money.

Discontinued, hence less supported. Mind you, the current flagship of Olympus (IS-5/IS-5000) doesn't even come near this baby.

IS-5, IS-2, IS-10 Super.

This is a excellent camera for the money. It has been discontinued, but you can stil find examples that are used. The lens and shooting modes are excellent. You can use manual control if you desire. The built flash and redeye reduction also work well. If you are looking for a film camera that will make you look good as a photographer and is capable of handling 95% of the situations you will encounter in a one piece package, this is your camera. I don't care for the new IS-5 which is cheaper and has less capability. This is a excellent camera for travel and for the photographer that wants versatitly without buying a lot of lenses. I will enjoy this camera for a long time.

Lens Auto Modes Built in Flash

Discontinued Plastic construction (don't drop it!) Accessories are expensive

Olympus IS-2, Canon SLR's

I haven't needed it!

Excellent all around camera. The lens alone worth the price. I don't like their introduction of IS-5000. It is no better than IS-3000 and can't attach G40. I upgraded this camera from IS-30 because IS-30 can't attach G40 and has slower AF, and IS-30 doesn't has so much manual override. I will use this as my main equipment.

Sharp lens. For better sharpness, we should rather use 6x7 because of the limitation of 35mm film size, not only the limitation of the lens. Lens aperture fast enough for such zoom range Zoom range suitable for me Fast enough AF for general use (Far better than IS-30!) beautiful look Points comfortably down when hang on the neck. can use G40 flash All P A S M mode available IVP flash, give exact flash no matter how the back ground is. It is one of the best flash other than Minolta ADI FP flash with G40 Power focus available, I use it as focus lock. Macro available

Can't attach more than one flash unit for TTL metering. I like the lens cap of IS-30. Internal flash can cause redeye. I hope that can create a longer flash beam to hold the internal in a higher position. Power focus move too fast. Can't use AA NiMH battery. LCD doesn't have light. No DOF preview. 1 point AF only.

IS-300 (IS-30 in USA) Minolta Dynax 5, Pentax SFXn, Minolta XG-1, some P+S

Repaired IS-30 in the past. Service in Hong KOng is ok.

I have used or owned a variety of professional-quality SLRs in the past six years (Nikon N90, Pentax PZ-1p and a bunch of lower-level pentax cameras). I can honestly say that 9 times out of 10 I could use my IS3-dlx for everything I use my N90 and PZ-1p for. Yes, the IS3 can''t accept a wide variety of lenses. But the built-in lens is a HIGH-quality 35-180mm which can even be used in macro mode, and you can buy attachments to make it a 28mm wide or 300mm tele. And the Olympus ED lenses are as good as any lens I''ve ever owned. I can count on one hand the number of times I''ve needed a lens wider than 28mm or longer than 300mm. The various program modes are also as good or better than any of the pro models I''ve used. Although the shutter and motordrive aren''t fast enough to be compared with other pro cameras, the camera is more than fast enough for most applications. And keep in mind, this baby was designed as a cross between a point-and-shoot and a SLR! While most serious photographers who use this camera should buy the G40 flash accessory, the built-in flash is more than powerful enough for most uses. In fact, the built-in flash is one of the best on the market. The only real complaint I have is that the accessories are expensive and that the camera could use a bit more metal in some places (namely, the tripod mount ... it has plastic threads!) Don''t get me wrong. I still use my Pentax PZ-1p for "serious" shooting, but I could probably use my IS3-dlx for almost everything I use the Pentax for.

Too many to name them all here. However, high-quality lens, professional-quality program modes and probably the highest-quality built-in flash of any camera are some big strengths

Not enough lens attachments, expensive accessories, bad choice of plastice construction (in some places).

Nikon N90 Pentax PZ1-p

Never needed (as long as you treat the camera like it''s made of plastic and not concrete and steel.