This camera just works superbly and gives excellent prints to 12 x 8 (the largest I've tried). It's light and replaces a rucksack full of gear.

Like any quality camera you HAVE to read the manual; this isn't really a weakness, just the reality.

I bought this camera on the strength of Olympus' reputation and because it was showerproof; one of my children had dropped a Nikon into mud and ruined it! It was a present for my wife. The main problem was that she had difficulty using it. However, another child (!) bothered to read the manual and learnt how to use it; he then abandonned his Nikon and took charge of what had become 'my' Olympus.
To cut a long story short; as a convinced film user I decided to compare it with my OM2n scanned slide images using 12 x 8 professionally-produced enlargements. I may be a beginner but I know what a photo should look like in terms of quality.
Can I just say that I'm using my last film now and am changing to digital. There was no contest. In everything from macro to landscapes the Olympus 500 was amazing. In terms fo convenience it beat my OM's hands-down. The pictures that convinced me were taken in the Italian Alps.

Customer Service

not needed

Similar Products Used:

Several similar Nikons (before they broke!)

Image quality and features.

None to speak of. Marginal talent behind the camera.

Used mostly for Colorado landscapes. For this purpose, it takes wonderful photos. The lcd is visible in outside light. The different shooting modes work well for my purposes. I bought this product because of the weather resistance, the lcd, the size, and Olympus' reputation. The controls are mostly intuitive and easy to learn / master.

My problem is an occasional blurry photo which I believe is more my techinque (or lack of) than a shortcoming with the camera.

The lense cover will dislodge from it's track when bumped. It takes a bit to get it back on track.

It takes decent low res videos.

The best thing that I could say about a product is that I would buy it again. I would buy this product again.

Similar Products Used:

Kodak, Pentax.

Big LCD screen 5.0 mega pixels

difficult to use red-eye reduction flash does not work correctly

I purchased this camera a few weeks ago and the pictures are very clear, however the red eye reduction is not working which is making me feel a bit disappointed. It is also difficult to use. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.