Product Reviews (19)
Excellent for it's intended use
Strengths: Compact size, splashable, efficient battery, quick response, video capability, good range of picture resolution, range of ISO rates (to 1600)
Weakness: No sound on videos
I've had this since January 2006, taken it on several trips with a 1gb memory card. I have a small belt pouch I carry it in, and it is awesome as a snapshot camera. It turns on, brings out the lens, and is ready to shoot in just a couple of seconds, so you don't have to carry it in your hand unless the action is really fast. I've used Sony and Canon digital cameras and have found them very slow to respond and non-intuitive, so I like my Olympus Stylus 600 digital.
The LCD is bright and useful, and yes it is a little difficult to see in the full sun, but what LCD isn't? If you frame your shot with outlines, the focus and color work well enough that you can just snap the shot and move on. The quality of the shots in some sun directions is better than others, backlighting with a hill or trees gets kind of dark, but the auto-exposure can be compensated by setting the exposure based on the darker parts of the picture and then re-framing. It's just a very nice camera design overall. The battery is great. I've used it for at least 300 pictures between charges, probably more. I just don't have to charge it up much. Even when the battery light comes on, you've got a lot of pictures left.
Advice: Get the 1gb xD card. Take lots of shots. Discard those you don't like, and have fun with the memories!
It won't allow you to change lenses, it won't let you totally set the shutter and exposure, but you can't expect that in a point and shoot camera anyway! It's a pocket camera, literally!
By nbruland - Aug 27, 2006
Excellent Camera
Strengths: Several shooting modes to choose from, beautiful clarity of pictures, size and weight make it very portable.
Weakness: Flash could be a little bit stronger. No viewfinder, sometimes when on the beach the LCD display is hard to see.
I bought this camera to take on my trip to Antigua, and I loved it. Most of our pictures were taken on the beach, on a boat, or at sunset. The camera has a beach mode and a sunset mode taking all of the guesswork out. The pictures turned out beautiful, the water resistance made you feel like you didn't have to run and dry off to get a shot you wanted, just pick up the camera and shoot away. I'm looking forward to getting an underwater housing for this camera, and using it for years to come. With the 1gb memory card you get about 700 pictures on the standard mode, that came in handy in the islands since we don't have a laptop. I would highly recomend this camera.
By burtonhoff - Oct 25, 2005
DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY !!
Strengths: great size, lovely large lcd, lots of settings , easy to use....
Weakness: takes unfocused pictures, not true to color, weak flash
I had to return it a couple times, the new one was just as bad as the first one. Pictures were out of focus, slow in taking. I feel i simply wasted my money.Frustrating !!
By user111 - Mar 27, 2006
Olympus Stylus 600
Strengths: small,lightweight, great value for the money, long lasting battery charge
Weakness: no viewfinder, uses pricier XD picture card
The Stylus 600 is a great compact camera that fits conveniently into a small pocket. It allows novices to keep some or all of the auto factory settings and the more advanced to adjust the 23 or 24 modes for more professional quality pictures. The XD memory card is essential but costs more and is not as readily available as an SD. For the technologically challenged, Olympus offers good online support. The abbreviated and the longer version of the manuals may be downloaded from the internet. I use this camera at the beach frequently without worrying about water splashes, am very happy with the quality of my pictures and would highly recommend it to others.
By richarde - Dec 22, 2005
Olympus Mju600 Digital Camera
Strengths: Light weight, lovely design (mine is blue), easy to operate
Weakness: Pictures in dim lighting not too good, flash not strong enough.
Overall a very good camera, not worried about the lack of sound, outdoor pictures are brilliant, well exposed, well saturated. When are camera manufacturers going to supply a fitted case as standard equipment?
By roy5051 - Mar 16, 2006
This camera is great! I got it as...
Strengths: Great picture quality, good price, easy to use
Weakness: none so far
This camera is great! I got it as a birthday present and have realy enjoyed it. It's controls are easy to use and understand. Large LCD screen is easy to see. 26 different picture modes make it easy to find the best settings for a certain picture. Litium battery fully recharges from dead in under 1 1/2 hours. Nice and compact. Highly recomended!!!
By schmikinheimer - Oct 30, 2005
Olympus Stylus 600
Strengths: small, good battery - last for a long time :)
Weakness: there is no FULL AUTO option
This camera is very good. I bought it few weeks ago. It's easy to use and understand all option. What I love aboit this camera is larege LCD screen, so the pix you took are easy to see. 26 different picture modes. Great compact camera. Definately recomended!!!
By alemarny - Nov 16, 2005
Does it all !!
Strengths: small and light, has lots of shooting options, easy to use
Weakness: IMPOSSIBLE TO SEE THE LCD SCREEN IN BRIGHT SUNLIGHT AND THERE'S NO VIEWFINDER!
Olympus, I'm extremely disappointed!
I was excited when I first bought this, my third Olympus digital. I upgraded from the D-540 because I wanted more megapixels, was intrigued by all the extras (which I agree are cool), and wanted to pass on my old camera to my son so I'd get better pics of the grandkids in Australia.
Okay, I should have read the specs more carefully. The camera comes without a memory card. No problem, I had a couple of 128 xd cards from my old camera. Didn't realize they'd only hold about 40 high resolution pics with 6MPs. Bought a 1G card for $80. No problem. The price I paid for a 6MP camera was unbelievable. With the 1G card, I can take about an hour of video. Wish it had sound, but hadn't really considered it as a selling point anyway. I can also store about 400 SHQ still photos. Super!
Loved the huge LCD screen, didn't think it would be a problem not to have a viewfinder, as I rarely use one. BIG MISTAKE! When I tried taking pictures in bright outdoor light, I discovered it was impossible to see what I was shooting. So my whole Australia trip is documented by photos I took blind. Some are good, but only by chance. I had to shoot multiple shots of everything outdoors, hoping I'd get at least one decent photo.
And yes, I tried all the settings, including beach and snow, landscape, landscape portrait, etc.
I've scoured the internet for reviews of this camera that mention this problem, and can only consider that others haven't used it in bright summer light, as it came out in September in the northern hemisphere, and most buyers haven't taken summer outdoor photos. Or maybe my camera is defective. Hope to read more here in coming months.
I've loved my previous two Olympus digital cameras. I can't tell you how disappointed I am with this otherwise exceptional camera. And it appears that most manufacturers of cameras in this price range are leaving off the viewfinder. Comments from other users will be gratefully appreciated.
UPDATE: This is the response I received from Olympus NOT SATISFACTORY! "Unfortunately, the camera does not have a viewfinder, and as any LCD screen the monitor of this camera may not be visible when exposed to bright sunlight."
By anonymous; - Nov 2, 2005
Ready to go
Strengths: Easy to operate, love the picture modes, lens opens quickly to catch your shot
Weakness: none so far.
I've owned mine for a month now, afraid I was not going to like it due to some reviews I've read. But.... I love it so far!! Takes great pictures in an auditorium, I'm sure most peoples problems could be rectified if they used their camera properly! I knew when I bought it there was no sound. So... no, I was not disappointed there wasn't any.
By kimbershop - Apr 4, 2006
Mediocre Camera
Strengths: So far I have not seen any strenghs for a 6 megapixels camera
Weakness: Everything is this camera is technologicaly out of sync and time.
I bought this camera less than a month ago and the only thing I have come to like so far is the large lcd. However almost every camera on the market nowadays have these type of lcd's. I own a 2 megapixels nikon that outperfors this camera. The pictures are always either washed out or too bright. This is a very disapointing camera for a 6 megapixels. If you are out to buy a new camera please don't buy this one as you will be very disapointed.Any other brand name will be better than Olympus. Mediocre all the away.
By TheCritic - Mar 4, 2006
I love it
Strengths: I love the weight, very light. Easy to read. Great pictures! Small enough to carry in a pocket.
Weakness: none so far.
So far I love my Olympus stylus 600.
Seems to be easy to operate and easy to read with the large LCD screen and icons for whatever I want to take pictures of. I am looking forward to taking vacation pictures with it. And the big plus is it is weather resistant.
By PatBlough - Mar 10, 2006
THIS CAMERA DOES NOT RECORD SOUND
Strengths: Compact size, ease of use, fast start-up, good picture quality.
Weakness: THIS CAMERA DOES NOT RECORD SOUND
THIS CAMERA DOES NOT RECORD SOUND. I am absolutely sick that I chose the Olympus Stylus 600. I was in shock when I realized that I wasn't hearing sound with my video recordings. I thought sound was standard equipment on cameras now days so I didn't even think to ask whether it had this feature. I mean cars come with wheels, houses come with roofs, and digital cameras come with sound right? WRONG!
Aside from this major oversight, the camera is pretty good. I like the compact size and the weatherproof design. I don't think the pictures look as good as my 3.4 MP Nikon, but I think that's just a lack of familiarity.
By michaelmoyes - Nov 30, 2005
A dissapointment
Strengths: Small, light design. Bright LCD, large. Very quick at taking picture (low lag-time). Relatively weather-proof.
Weakness: Blurry Photos. Washed out/over-exposed pictures because of too bright of flash. No view-finder.
My whole family owns Olympus cameras, so I was excited to finally purchase this camera. However, I was very dissapointed with the photo-quality. The two main issues were focus and too bright of a flash. Unfortunatly, I could not adjust the setting adequately on the camera to fix these problems, so I returned the camera. Right now I'm debating between a Casio ex-slim 500 (which is a fast picture-taker, but only 5 mega-pixels) and a Canon Powershot 500 (which takes excellent pictures, but is a bit slower with taking photos).
By CarlNToney - Dec 18, 2005
Not a big deal
Strengths: 6.4 MP, big LED and light
Weakness: Fair quality.
1. The first one I got is down due to jam of lens when I first use it.
2. The LED quality is fair. Not the same light and clear as the Canon's Products.
3. The Quality of photo is acceptable and focus is quick.
By liur0000 - Feb 3, 2006
i love my camera
Strengths: it has a good zoom it is tiny and easy to take anywhere it has a lot of different flash modes i also love the big screen on the back and it takes a great quality picture. i love my stylus 600! :)
Weakness: ummmmmmm.......let me think, NONE :)
i just got this camera for christmas. we went to a christmas party and i was using it like crazy. i was soooo happy with the way the pictures turned out. i love the big screen on the back because it was easy to share the pictures with more than one person at a time. well i love my camera. ;)
By dsgdrghrd - Dec 27, 2005
Mediocre - buy something better!
Strengths: Lightweight - can carry in my pocket. Long battery life. Macro function is excellent.
Weakness: Picture color brightness/saturation is far from perfect. LCD is good indoors but useless outdoors. Lots of built-in but good-for-nothing functions.
I used an Olympus D-540 digital camera before this one, an in many aspects that one was superior. With Stylus 600, I tried various auto/manual settings, and always had to change saturation/contrast later on my computer. With hundreds of pictures, it can take hours!
There is no viewfinder and the LCD sucks outdoors.
I like some of the functions, for example macro is truly superb, but others such as museum/fireworks/night scenes would need a tripod to provide adequate quality. And who wants to carry a tripod with a miniature digital camera?
By p_studi - Jul 6, 2006
Great camera with bad focal length
Strengths: Very reliable. Works well with the Olympus underwater housing. Many preset "scenes," work great.
Weakness: Unacceptably small memory. Focal length stinks; it is much too wide.
I love this camera, but I had to buy a 1GB card, and you should add that to the price when comparing to similar cameras.
The optical zoom range is from very wide to just past normal. I never wanted to go wider, but I often wish I could zoom in more, and, digital zoom is really useless.
By anonymous; - Nov 5, 2007
Disappointing Olympus Stylus 600
Strengths: Hasn't worked long enough to post an objective assessment.
Weakness: Software and Customer Service
My Olympus "Stylus 600" is not even four months old. I'm now getting a message come up on my camera screen when I connect it to the USB cable and my PC which says "One Moment Please". Tech support has been unable to assist with trouble-shooting. It doesn't go away and the camera freezes indefinitely. I've replaced the USB cable and tried it on two different computers, both with the same result. Repeated calls to Olympus have not been satisfactory. They will not replace the camera, will not allow the store to do so, and insist I send it to them at my cost to have them look at it. For the price I paid and the little use it's seen in just over three months, I think it's extremely poor customer service and an example of a company that refuses to stand behind their product. I would encourage folks to avoid Olympus products and seek a camera manufacturer who is willing to put the customer first.
By anonymous; - Sep 20, 2006
Olympus Stylus 600
Olympus Stylus 600 receives an overall TopTenREVIEWS score of 2.24 out of 4.00. It is ranked the #456 Compact digital camera of all time. The overall rating represents an intelligent balance of features, value as a function of price to features, and a summary of reviews from a variety of sources. The TopTen REVIEWS' formula gives a picture of important consumer features, market value, and a...
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By TopTenREVIEWS.com - Jan 26, 2009