Olympus D-490 Zoom (C990Z)

Opinion: I've been putting off buying a digital camera for over a year now. Always reading various reviews and making frequent visits to my local camera and computer stores to check out the latest and greatest digital cameras. Well, my wait is finally over. I bought an Olympus D-490Z.

For a long time, sub-megapixel cameras were expensive and yielded poor results. I thought I was going to end up with a megapixel camera but held off. Then came the 2.x megapixel cameras. Price/performance was getting better but I still held off.

I was almost taken by surprise with the introduction of 3.x megapixel cameras. They sort of crept up out of nowhere! Like all electronic technologies, it drove the price of 2.x megapixel cameras down. That's when I decided that I would settle for a 2.x megapixel camera.

My goal was to find the best price/performance 2.x megapixel camera for $500 or less.

Thanks to dpreview.com, dcresource.com and other online sites, I narrowed it down to 3 cameras. 1) Canon PowerShot S10, 2) Kodak DC280 and 3) Olympus D-490Z.

All three cameras I think are among the BEST in the $500 range. It was a tough choice.

The Canon was good, but I disliked the power source. I HATE proprietary batteries. They're expensive, hard to find and usually don't last as long as you would expect. Add to that, the Canon does not have an external power jack either. That was enough for me NOT to by the S10. I don't want to spend a small fortune for batteries and be caught missing a shot because of power. Plus Canon doesn't ship the S10 with rechargeables. I think it's a Canon marketing ploy.

The Kodak was good too. I love the color reproduction. But it was kinda old technology (it's been out forever), it's large and it's slow. Plus the lens is exposed and only has a 2x zoom. It was reportedly to be a POWER HOG too. I did like the user interface though but not enough to buy it. So it was eliminated.

That leaves the Olympus. I was actually considering the D-460Z which was only a 1.3 megapixel camera that's been reduced to $399. The quality of the pictures from the D-460 is EXCELLENT for it's price.

Well, I found out why the D-460 was reduced....because Olympus just recently introduced the new 2.11 megapixel D-490Z for $499.

Hey, this camera is all you need. The price is right and it performs great! No camera is perfect though. There's a few things about the D-490Z that I don't like, but NOT enough to dissuade me from buying it.

In case you haven't noticed, the D-490Z is so new, pricing is not available on CNET Shopper.com yet. I found my Olympus D-490Z on the Internet through CNET (while I was shopping for the D-460) from #1 TechStore. After you get to the www.techstore.com site, search for D-490. I picked my D-490Z up for only $483 plus $8 shipping. As of August 20, they had 334 in stock. I'm sure after the word gets out, these cameras will FLY out of there.

Finally getting to my review. The D-490Z has Olympus' latest features. 2.11 mega point-and-shoot camera, 3X optical zoom, 2X digital telephoto. Other cool features include QuickTime MOVIE at 15 frames per second for up to 60 seconds (in Standard Quality mode and 15 seconds in High Quality mode). In Rapid shooting or burst mode the D-490 captures from 5 to 45 images at 1.3 frames per second! You can choose from uncompressed TIFF, SHQ JPEG, HQ JPEG and SQ mode for e-mail quality. Diopter. Selectable exposure comp. Matrix or spot meter. Six mode flash, self timer. Panorama mode and the list goes on.

It came with Olympus LB-O1 long-life lithium batteries but I plan to use rechargeable NiMH. The 490Z DOES have an external power jack too. Thanks Olympus. I might consider using an external rechargeable battery from DigiPower. All digital cameras REALLY suck the juice, but I understand that the newer cameras do a better job of power management.

The camera was so easy to use, I started using it right out of the box without reading the manual. Maybe its because I've been studying up on cameras for so long. But no kidding, it was EASY. It's even got a built-in lens protector and on/off switch (by design). One-handed operation is a breeze on this camera. It fits nicely in your hand.

The results are EXCELLENT for a 2.11 megapixel camera. Color is rich and realistic. Cycle times are GREAT. Power consumption seems good too. I've taken over 150 shots, and battery still shows full (I refrain from using the color LCD).

What DON'T I like about the camera? No USB. Transferring photos to your PC is SLOW over the serial port. No question, you have to inverst in a SmartMedia USB Reader. No AC adapter. If you download to a PC/Mac with battery power, you'll cut short your portable source of power. The battery compartment door is kind of flimsy. That's about it though. The other features and strengths of the camera, to me, overshadow my dislikes.

My Conclusion? Check out the Olympus D-490Z. I think $500 is all one needs to spend on a good digital camera, unless you're in need for even higher quality photos and have a thick wallet. It's not the PERCECT camera because there really isn't one, but it comes close. Olympus has a real winner on their hands and you could have it in your hands too!
Hope this helps!!

Maroot Nanakul

Opinion: I love the design of this camera and bought it to supplement my Olympus 2000, which is not quite so easy to stuff in a pocket. Unfortunately, there is a trade off in quality for size and convenience. I was expecting a camera that was on par with my Olympus 2000 (also a 2.1 megapixel with the updated version 2020 selling for about $580 in New York). After using this camera for about a week, I have found that the autofocus and metering systems are indeed a step down from that of the 2000. I have experienced the focus system to be easily fooled in low light or situations where your subject takes up less than 25% of the frame. In addition, I have experienced improperly exposed photo's when used in both the spot and weighted metering modes.

All in all, it's not a bad camera and the deisgn and function is great. It is a step down from typical Olympus quality, however. Even the fit of the camera (i.e. the way the Smartmedia is inserted) seems a step down from what I have expected from Olympus. When the focus and exposure are correct, the photos are fantastic. When they are not, it looks like a camera selling for under $250.

Opinion: Best strengths:
- on/off LCD display saves battery life
- dedicated delete button minimizes menu-hunting
- multi-frame display of stored images
- QuickTime capability
- viewfinder
- Integrated protective lens cover

Opinion: I like the D-490 Zoom. I am not extremely impressed with the indoor picture quality unless I set it to TIFF format. Even then the white balance is sometimes off but I can live with it because the outdoor shots, macro shots, and panorama feature are great. I would recommend this camera to anyone who can live with sub-par indoor pictures in exchange for great outdoor pictures and everything else. The QuickTime format is fun too.