Reviews for Olympus Camedia C-5050 5 Megapixel Compact Camera

Olympus Camedia C-5050 5 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: Exceptional strong color saturation and accuracy - better than my Nikon D100 and D1X.

Weakness: some noise recognizable in photos - tamed by setting the sharpness settings at -1 to -2. Also, would have liked for the F stop rating to go higher than F10.

I am the owner of a Nikon D100, Nikon D1X, Fuji S2 Pro, Fuji Finepix 602Z, and now...the Olympus C5050.

I purchased this camera because I was still looking for a compact, albeit sophisticated camera design. The Olympus does not disappoint. Perhaps, the greatest feature that I liked about this camera is the fact that it has superb color saturation and balance. Over 95% of my photos taken with the Olympus 5050 do not require any type of post processing in Adobe or other graphics editor programs.

If I could make this camera better, I would:

A - give it a better focal length distribution (i.e. 35 - 160 or close).

B - Allow a wider aperture setting scenario (not the current maximum of f10).

C - Take care of the image noise problem in normal settings.

D - Allow shooting data to be displayed in image viewfinder (not just the top and back LCD screens).

All in all, this is a great camera - highly recommended.

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Olympus Camedia C-5050 5 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: First digital. Easy to use. Great pictures.

Weakness: Update. Camera lens failed to open. In the shop for 6 weeks. "Repairs just drag on".Don't understand how with only two repair shops they wouldn't have adequate parts.

Repair shop very vague when it comes to repair status. Initially waiting on parts, failed to say it could take months. Next time I agreeded to replacement camera 1/8/04, new camera would be shipped and at my home 1/16/04. Checked today 1/21/04 has not been shipped, do not have camera to send me. Anticipate camera available next week, but no promises. Enjoyed the camera but if I would have known about the kind of service that I could expect from Olympus "repair" shop, would have gone to another brand. Look elsewhere.

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Olympus Camedia C-5050 5 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: very clear and precise pictures,I am using this camera with a under water houseing for scuba diving , this camera is rated #1 with many scuba photographers due to the clearness

Weakness: sutter lag

this camera has many strenths including the ability to take pictures in not the best envirements and conditions .
could use little bit better instructions from olympus , but still ok .
the controls are easy to find and use there does seem to be little bit of shuttle lag but manageable .

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Olympus Camedia C-5050 5 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: Outstanding picture quality. Perfect Windows XP compatibility. Takes AA batteries. Takes most popular media cards.

Weakness: Battery life could be longer.

This is my first digital camera. I am totaly pleased with the performance of this camera. Software included is OK but I prefer the XP program. Great for panorama shots right on down to portraits and close ups.

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Olympus Camedia C-5050 5 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: Incredibly versatile; can use in manual mode or any of the programs available. Designed well; fits the hand very nicely; light and being small does not intimidate subjects.

Weakness: Lag time on shutter button. Miss some sequence shots due to lack of speed.

Although it is small in size, the magnitude of the photos is incredible. I began photographing seriously just 4 months ago and I now have several photos that are very professional looking.

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Olympus Camedia C-5050 5 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: Ease of use, battery life, material quality and certainly picture quality

Weakness: A more comprehensive manual regarding feature uses

Graduating from a 2 MP pixel camera, I was looking for a camera offering some of the same features available on SLR's including picture quality. There may be better but I doubt anyone would have any regrets purchasing the C-5050. Great camera.

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Olympus Camedia C-5050 5 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: Very good pictures, cleeeaaarrrr

Weakness: Shutter Lag

This is my first digital camera and I wanted something that I could replace my 35mm camera and that was as clear and bright as a 35mm. So far the camera has not disappointed. Even my wife loves it, she said she'd never want me to buy a digital camera because the pictures would never be as good as a 35mm, now that she saw the picture's, she love's it.

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Olympus Camedia C-5050 5 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: Very responsive camera. Good weight and feel. Impressed with picture quality.

Weakness: None

Shipping was prompt and received exactly what I ordered. Thus far I am very impressed with my purchase of the Olympus C-5050 digital camera. Good weight and feel. I look forward to a great experience.

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Olympus Camedia C-5050 5 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: Excellent pictures. Very good price for the quality and features--if you shop at discount. Good size and SLR type feel. Extremely flexible user options.

Weakness: The manual could have been more complete given the wide variety of features. It is a relatively minor nuisance to get the detail from the online manuals.

I looked and read for several weeks before buying and narrowed my choices to the C-5050 and the Canon G3. While either camera would have been a good choice, I went with the Olympus and have not regretted it. The quality of the pictures is awesome and the learning curve to manage all the features is not as steep as I expected.

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Olympus Camedia C-5050 5 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: A plethora of control settings including (full manual) mixed with 5 megapixels makes this camera an outstanding buy...

Weakness: None at the moment.

You can't go wrong if you buy this camera. This is the perfect camera to grow into and test you photographic skills. For the beginner...the programed mode has point and shoot simplicity with great results...a no-brainer.
But if you are serious about improving your photographic skills...this camera has plenty to offer including FULL MANUAL. For studio work...don't worry that this camera doesn't come with a pc sync...you can buy an adapter for around 10 dollars at your local camera store. Mount the pc sync adapter to the hotshoe on this baby...and you're ready for some serious studio work.

Check out this link for some actual pics from this camera.

www2.photosig.com/user...

oh...did I mention that this camera has sepia mode?

Regards,

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Olympus Camedia C-5050 5 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: Clear, very quality pictures. Easy to use. Uses variable memory cards.

Weakness: Shutter lag. Flash distance/quality; otherwords, sometimes subject is washed out by being too close or too dark from being too far away. Might be a user problem and will continue to experiment.

This is our third digital camera, and our last as it fits our needs. The pictures are easily enlarged and enhanced wspecially with good color printer and photo paper.

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Olympus Camedia C-5050 5 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: Excelent picture quality. Menu easy to access through external buttons and knobs. Long lasting batteries. Easy to carry.

Weakness: In low light conditions the flash floods the scene, as a result the photo gets blue, even adjusting the white balance in manual mode.

I´ve been using several models from Olympus (C3020, C4000). This is an excellent product, with personality and style for a camera under $1,000. The photos are excellent in quality and sharpness. I highly recommend to master the manual mode (speed and aperture)to get the best results from the scene, because in auto mode not always you get the best results. Specially in low light conditions.

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Olympus Camedia C-5050 5 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: The lens quality and sharpness are the best strenghts,sharper than any of the cameras on the market today!!

Weakness: Could use a longer life battery,so I purchased several rechargable AA's and keep them handy.

I waited a long time to purchase a digital camera,because I was not satisfied with the comparisions done with film cameras.The 5050 is my first dig camera. I have used my brothers Sonys and Richoh cameras and they do not campare in lens quality or sharpness with the 5050. I have enlarged photos of flowers and you can see individual pollen grains or you can count the eyelashes on portraits taken. The ease of handling is good. I am used to carrying a 35mm,so the 5050 is a feather to carry around. I forget I have it around my neck! I highly recommend getting a 512 memorycard ,because you are going to want to put the 5050 to the test like I am doing!!

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Olympus Camedia C-5050 5 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: pictues quality is A++++

Weakness: shutter lagggggggggggg

Used SLR for over 30 years. After getting ajusted to the shutter lag getting as good pictures as the SLR which had't been used in over 10 months. Only weakness is shutter lag that I didn't expect and a very poor user manual. The CD does have very detailed info, but am not at the PC when I need help. No problem other than user error that customer service talked me thur in minutes with out sending camera in for service. Great buy, would buy again.

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Olympus Camedia C-5050 5 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: Very easy to use, excellent quality pictures, Very bright lowlight pictures, Relatively quick shutter, AA batteries is a major PLUS, Excellent weight and feel, 2 cards at same time.

Weakness: Would be nice to have a more comprehensive printed manual and a 4X tele lens without loss of lens speed.

I've owned SLR’s for over 35 years, Olympus for last 23 years.
Started digital with Olympus D-450 4 years ago, and now C-5050, which is by far the best of the lot.
Bottom line I could have chosen the C-5060 for about the same price but after much research chose the C-5050. It is an excellent camera for the money and I highly recommend it.

Ken

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Olympus Camedia C-5050 5 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: C5050 has subpurb userablity, the manual in the CD is thorough. Has AWESOME pics-are easily cropped without loss of integrity of the picture. Color saturation is outstanding. Many pic options.

Weakness: Takes some time to really dig deep into all the functions. That isn't the camera's fault. Was some very minor software issues-was cleared up with a call to olympus in 5 min. (user fault)

I purchased the camera with professional lens' and filters. Also got the extra set of batteries($15.00) and a rapid charger-$45 (excellent investment) Upgraded the memory to 128. Bought the card reader and carry a laptop to unload pics. Blew EVERYONE away when I printed pics from the zoo. Cropped images (taken in SHQ) and the result was like I was 3 feet from the animal(cropped with adobe 5.5)-no loss of quality. I recommend getting a photo quality printer. If images are pixelated it is because of bad printing, photographer,or editing. Would recomend extra memory if laptop unavailable. Was very slight noise in shots taken with a water background (forgot filter?) still learning yet am able to convince my hobbyist Bro-in-law that digital IS a way to go. Blew him away with exquisitely detailed pics. He thought they were purchased postcards. (He is also trained in forensic photography-35 mm , and impressed with seeing fine hair on his wife's arm) I will update this review later after I learn the finer points of photography. So far the camera has blown away preset notions of digital cameras in about 99% of ppl I have shown.(the last 1% just hasn't seen the pics yet, only word of mouth from rest) oh yea...He wants one for Christmas if I can afford it...lol...can anyone help me out? (J/K)
BTW...I had a P.O.S. 2mp camera I upgraded from. The 5050 has MANY functions in comparison to it. The 3 yr old now has a new toy and Mom has some more learning to do,no dissappointments yet

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Olympus Camedia C-5050 5 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: Great image quality, good pano feature, excellent macro modes, AA battery use, spot-on autofocus and exposure, great bracketting feature.

Weakness: Shutter lag, shutter lag, complex instruction book, shutter lag, and shutter lag-sometimes up to 1 second-awful for portraits!

Great quality. Best thing?? -Kids have discovered the joy of photography-instant gratification. I carry it everywhere with a supplementary 256 card-100 shots at super hi quality-400 shots at usable quality. Loveit!!-apart from shutter lag

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Olympus Camedia C-5050 5 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: f1.8 lens, movable LCD, CF & xD-pic/smartmedia memory slots, dynamic WB control, A- super macro, my mode memory, photo size & compression choices, A+ photo quality, focus assist.

Weakness: shutter lag, slow playback, cheesy printed manual, smallish buffer, unimpressive high speed mode, mediocre movie mode, a bit pricey.

A wonderfully designed & extremely versatile camera with a few minor annoying characteristics. Once I finally gain total control of all functions, the C-5050 has the capability to deliver professional quality photos like the pro SLRs. Works great as a 5MP point & shoot. Gives total control to the more advanced photographer. Has more bells & whistles than almost any compact zoom available. Hard to find under a 600 price point. Outperforms my last 5MP platform (Nikon CP-5000) in every area except wide angle focal length & lacks swivel LCD of the Nikon. Delivers crisp, clean 8 X 10 prints, even in Jpeg format. RAW & TIFF formats are also available. The super bright f1.8 lens allows higher shutter speeds in low light situations & includes a focus assist beam. Nice hotshoe setup. All in all, a control freaks dream machine! I highly recommend this platform to anyone desiring professional quality results & a camera that they can grow with. Maybe Olympus will finally release a firmware upgrade to address some of the shortcomings in speed & buffer memory. I use 12X CP memory to help overcome the overall lack of speed. One word of warning. Don't drop it! I did & although the camera works in every respect, the AA battery compartment door broke, requiring me to attach a tripod quick release to the camera's tripod socket, in order to keep it powered up. Since this mishap is not covered by the 1 year US warranty, I shutter to think of the expensive & time consuming ordeal I will have to endure when I ship it off to Olympus for repair.

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Olympus Camedia C-5050 5 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: ease to use

Weakness: none

This is my 3rd Olympus digital camera and is the best!! Easy to use and make great pictures! It's great that you can have 2 different cards on the camera at the same time - increases a lot the number of pictures you can take.
This camera is really great!!!

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Olympus Camedia C-5050 5 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: Image quality, ease of operation and battery life is excellent.

Weakness: Having to remember to remove lens cap before turning on camera

This is my third and last digital camera. I waited months for the price to come down. The images are exceptional. Have been a photographer for 30 years and I rarely use my SLR's anymore. Night scene photography is first class. I would recommend this camera to anyone who demands quality.

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Olympus Camedia C-5050 5 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: Excellent image quality, great pana funtion, able to use two memory cards at the same time, menus are easy to use!

Weakness: No AC adapter.

I have been very pleased with this camera so far. When using it in auto for WB, flash, AF, and or one of the preprogramed dial buttons you can't go wrong. The few bad pics that I have had were due to the fact that I did not know how to use the many camera functions properly. Some people have said that the pics look blue in low light when using the flash. I have tried it and have not had any problems unless I took the WB off AUTO. The software is good for transfering images and minor editing.
If you are looking for the detailed reference manual don't forget to look on the CD that comes with the camera. You don't have to go online to get it. It is nice to have it in PDF format because you do not have to worry about losing it. Then you can print out only what you need.
Overall you can't go wrong with this camera. It is easy to use and takes excellent photos! Good value!

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Olympus Camedia C-5050 5 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: High resolution - affordable, Lots manual functions, many memory card formats compability. GREAT Quality pictures!!!

Weakness: Focus in dark, little noise in low light conditions. Too small zoom :):), no manual focus ring...

It's a great camera for affordable price. However If I would have to buy a camera now, I would buy Canon Digital Rebel :). It's more expensive, but it has interchangeable lenses (and of course it's CANON) :)

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Olympus Camedia C-5050 5 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: Excellent pictures, ergonomics, auto and manual modes. Lighter and easier to control than Canon G3. Supports 3 major removable media formats!

Weakness: Camedia Master software is poor! AC adaptor not included.

Excellent 5 MP camera value. Image quality is excellent. Redeye reduction works fine. AutoFocus assist lamp aids in low light focusing. Batteries are common form factor (not expensive proprietary like Canon). Excellent control layout, ease of operation. Excellent support for attachments.

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Olympus Camedia C-5050 5 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: Very strong near SLR, versatile, intuitive setup/adjustments

Weakness: Shutter lag, file size for 5Mp image starting to bog down 6 mos old PC

I recommend to use the PDF of owner's manual from web or CD, this is the way to go with learning the camera's detailed functions with the hyperlinks and index. No need to print it out.

Quality is evident and it is easy to customize for easy access to your favorite settings.

No problems at all yet.

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Olympus Camedia C-5050 5 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: Finally a perfect family digital camera! My wife uses it as a point and shoot camera with superb results. I can play around as if I knew what I was doing. It's almost a SLR camera.

Weakness: Software is worthless. The adapter for different lens is ungainly. One has to print out 240 pages of the manual to understand all the features.

After owning three other digital camera, I feel that digital technology has caught up with film cameras. The C-5050 has all the features the amateur might want coupled with high quality results. It's well worth the investment.

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Olympus Camedia C-5050 5 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: Spectacular photos, even for a novice. Built-in flash pics are unusually good and crisp.

Weakness: Batteries must be removed to recharge. Instruction manual is very weak.

Battery door broke early in the camera's life. Had to travel around Italy with the battery door held closed by everybody's favorite, duct tape. Olympus has had the camera for more that 8 weeks and is charging more than $250 to repair.

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Olympus Camedia C-5050 5 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: Very good pictures - sharp, crisp and clear, sturdy body, black color, small and light, fast 1.8 lens, ease of use, remote control included

Weakness: Shutter lag, short zoom, optional lens block viewfinder, poor LCD display when backlit, Olympus has only one external flash for this camera, expensive external flash, can't update Exif firmware

Shutter lag - This could be a problem when you have someone taking picture of you who doesn't know how to use it, or if you are trying to take the picture in low light setting.

The Olympus' optional B28 lens is a behemoth lens. It obstructs the viewfinder almost entirely. If you use this lens, you'll be using the LCD all the time. This lens is very useful in small room or when you're back against the wall, and have no room to move back. This lens produces crisp, clear images, but, because of its big size (105mm), it's easily prone to flares which can be an annoying problem when sun gets in the way. No front lens thread for hood and filters.

The body is sturdy. It's easy to drop because it's small and light. I dropped it once (about five feet onto the sidewalk), and the command dial got loose a little bit. But the camera appears to be working fine (at this point). Make sure you wear strap to the camera at all time.

Now for Exif firmware which is inside your camera that produces images, you cannot upgrade it yourself if you want newer version for better image quality. You would have to send it to Olympus for the upgrade but then you would be charged. Do not go buy stuff at emporium.olympus.com, they're overly priced. Buy somewhere else that are cheaper.

Overall, its a great prosumer digital camera for good images and fun use, and I'm pretty satisfied with it. I intend to keep it until the prices of those expensive DSLR cameras come down to an affordable prices.

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Olympus Camedia C-5050 5 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: many features that are professional

Weakness: It looks like you have to buy their PC sync adapter at 90 bucks!

I looked and loooked and loooooked for a camera and I almost bought the G3, but I saw the C-5050 one day and thought the features on it was really great. One feature was good for me was the use of AA batteries, tilt screen, easy menu and fast focusing and the best, the fast lens 1.8! I am using the HQ mode (4th lowest setting) and loving the results. I also bought the 825 Espon printer with it and it is "blowing my socks off". I don't have much negs about it, it proforms the way I want it to. I am very glad I waited so long to buy my first digital camera.

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Olympus Camedia C-5050 5 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: Amazing features, excellent performance. In a class by itself. Fast enough to shoot polarized with light to spare.

Weakness: CA and noise are not dSLR quality, neither is price. Optional filter/lens holder slightly interfers with onboard flash, viewfinder; armors lens. Returned one unit for defective card door open sensor.

I am using this camera for both studio and general photography (art, especially 3-D stereo). It is possible to find better glass in this price range (or near it), but only by sacrificing the superb range of features. Performance is invariably perfect at low ISO and medium zoom / aperture ranges. Performance is usually perfect under most other conditions. Noise-reduced time exp's are great. The exposure histogram, external flash, manual control, multi-media, f-1.8, shuttle control, and super-macro put this unit in a class of its own. I have professional experience shooting dSLR's, and have owned a number of prosumer dcams. I researched the current market for six weeks before settling on the C-5050Z. Highly recommended against units twice the money.

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Olympus Camedia C-5050 5 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: Excellent graphic quality! Very fast response using SHQ instead TIFF or RAW. Fast learning process (1-2 days). Lightweight, nice appearance, small size. Very easy USB connection to Computer (Windows)

Weakness: Battery Consumption is to fast (solved with generic brand Ni MH batteries). Display doesn't rotate of detach from main body for difficult angle shoots. Crap software for editing purposes

Excellent camera for first time buyers on the 5 Mega pixels range because of its relation price-product and quality of pictures and speed of recording them. A must is two memory cards of 256 Mb each

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Olympus Camedia C-5050 5 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: Best Pictures Ease of use Multi card use(xd, SM CF) or in combo

Weakness: Lousy software (Paid $20 to upgrade to Pro) save your money

Besides the software issue, I whole-heartedly give the C5050 two thumbs up. From purely an amatuer standpoint, the fully auto gives you an easy to use camera with pictures that I would Rate a 10. I am now learning the camera will update then. Until then enjoy the best digital camera on the market

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olympus camedia c-5050 zoom digital camera

Olympus Camedia C-5050 Zoom Digital Camera receives an overall TopTenREVIEWS score of 2.24 out of 4.00. It is ranked the #233 standard 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,...

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Olympus Camedia C-5050 Zoom

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