Amazon.com Review

The Olympus Stylus 300 is perhaps the best go-anywhere point-and-shoot digital camera, thanks to its all-metal, weatherproof exterior. Easy on the eyes and comfortable in the hand, the Stylus 300 can also withstand water splashes, driving rain, and windy snowstorms. And though it's not waterproof, you can add the optional PT-016 underwater case for diving photos down to 130 feet underwater.

While not as Elph-in as some other compact digital cameras, the Stylus 300 is easily pocketable for on-the-go photo fun, from sightseeing to impromptu get-togethers. It’s also very quick to respond on start-up. Just slide open the clam-shell cover, and the Stylus 300 is ready to snap pics in about 3 seconds.

The Stylus 300 is made for automatic point-and-shoot possibilities, and the camera offers some basic scene modes (landscape, night, portrait, and self-portrait) and white balance settings (daylight, overcast, tungsten, and fluorescent). The menu system accessed through the 1.5-inch LCD continues the Olympus tradition of a well-mapped out software system.

We were quite happy with the exterior, providing a lot of area from the right side of the camera to the lens, which helped to eliminate fingers getting in the way of the lens. Additionally, the shutter button at the top of the camera was nicely sizeable for our chunky fingers. We were a bit disappointed, though, with the size and slipperiness of the function buttons on the back of the Stylus--the all-metal exterior was just too smooth and the buttons not rubbery enough.

With the 3.2-megapixel resolution, you’ll be able to capture enough image detail to print out decent 11 x 14 print enlargements. But the best thing about more pixels is the amount of stored pixel information, which enabled us to play around and crop images on our PC without losing much clarity or sharpness. At the highest quality setting, you’ll get 2048 x 1536 pixel images, but you can also step down to lower pixel ranges--from 1600 x 1200 to 640 x 480.

You can also record small QuickTime videos, though we found the movie mode to be fairly basic compared to some of the other new releases of 2003. Since there’s no built-in microphone, your movies will be silent, and you can’t utilize the zoom while filming. Choose between 320 x 240 for 16 seconds and 160 x 120 for 40 seconds.

If you’re looking for pure point-and-shoot pleasure, the Stylus 300 is the camera for you. It’s nicely automated and ready to snap pics in a flash. We were also quite happy with the battery life, though you might want to invest in an additional battery (model LI-10B) as well as a higher-capacity XD card for safety's sake. --Agen G.N. Schmitz

Pros:

• All-weather means never having to worry about rain, sleet, or snow
• Great automatic point-and-shoot features
• Fast start-up time

Cons:

• No manual controls
• Movie mode doesn’t have sound, short video length

Features

• First digital camera with all-weather reliability --shoot digital images under almost any weather condition
• 3.2 megapixel sensor captures enough detail to create photo-quality 8 x 10 prints and medium-quality prints up to 11 x 14
• 3x optical plus 4x digital (12x total) zoom lens with autofocus
• Included 16 MB XD memory card holds 20 images at 2048 x 1536 HQ setting
• Rechargeable Lithium-Ion battery included; connects with Macs and PCs via USB port

Reviews (48)

WOW! What a camera!
This is a snap response after recieving this camera today and playing with it for about an hour or so.

First, THE GOOD:

The first thing you're gonna notice about this camera is it's apearance. It's simply GORGEOUS! It's called the STYLUS for a reason! It's STYLISH! It's hands down the most attractive looking camera I've seen, it just looks cool. You're bound to get compliments any time you whip it out among company. The shiny aluminum case is no just very classy looking, but also makes for a durable and sturdy frame.

The Stylus 300 Digital by Olympus is very well made, and feels firm and durable in the hand. It does'nt feel flimsy at all. You get the feeling that if you dropped it on a sidewalk a few times it would probably survive with little more than a dent (Although I wouldnt try that!). Also, it's supposedly made for all-weather use, so you should be able to take pictures in driving rain if you wanted to. You'l notice that all the ports and connectors are protected by rubber covers and all the little compartments with plastic doors (for example the little cover that you flip up to put in a memory card) covering them are sealed with rubber rims to keep out water. This is a great camera for anyone who tends to be a bit clumbsy or who wants to be able to have take pictures in bad weather.

The camera is also pretty small. It may not be the smallest camera out (when compared to other super-tiny models) but it's pretty damn small! It's about the size of a pack of cigarretts! It's actually smaller than my wallet!

The camera is also very well designed. There is no lens cap to loose or have to remember to put on. Instead a door slides over the lens and protects it. This same door/sleave is used to turn the camera on/off. Turning it on is as simple as flipping the door over. Start up is very quick! I was able to turn the camera on, take a picture, and turn the camera back off and in my pocket in about 10 seconds! It's pretty responsive. It's pretty quick taking pictures too, the wait time between pictures is very short (shorter than my 35mm), not quite as fast as would be wished for though.

Olympus also through in a remote control! This is great for self portraits or when you want to actually be IN the pictures you're taking. The battery life apears to be pretty good, and a lithium Ion battery is included as well as a charger. Also included is a 16 MB memory card. I wish there was a little built in memory or a larger card had been included for the money. The card technology is either a new one I am not familiar with or a proprietary one - it's called "XD picture card". The 'card' is a TINY (about the size of thumbnail).

USB is supported (as expected) and you can ussually plug the camera right in and windows (XP and ME) will automatically recognize it as a removeable drive. This is great as you can even use you're camera's memory to carry around or transfer other types of files as well which might be useful in a pinch. It also supports video out so you can view pictures on your TV.

Finally there is also a movie mode that lets you take 16 second video clips. The down side is that this is in quicktime format (I would much prefer MPEG or AVI). Another thing is that the length is ALWAYS limited to 16 seconds - even if you have a 128 MB card in there, you can only take 16 second clips... that's just dumb. If I have enough memory why cant I take longer clips? Come on Olympus, release a firmware patch to allow us to take longer clips or use a different video format. There is also no sound, which is a feature that IS present in models made by cannon and Kodak (who provde both built in mics, built in speakers, and the time of your movie clips is only limited to memory restraints). This is a significant drawback if this featureset interests you, but isn't enough to weigh down the rest of the quality present.

The interface is also pretty easy to use and supports plenty of features. It's not QUITE as easy as the Kodak DX4330, but most people will find it pretty simple with a minimal learning curve.

All in all, this is a GREAT camera. While you're probably going to want to buy a bigger memory card, you'll probably be VERY happy with this as a choice. The only cons are the lack of support for video features - the lack of sound and the time restraints are both unexcusable considering the price.

Still I give it a 5 star rating for the quality of construction and the over-all design. Im very happy with this camera, they just need to add sound to the next version. Heck, if they would just release a patch t allow video clips to use MPEG or even just allow us to take longer clips, then I would call this the ONLY CHOICE in digital cameras for the price range.

Great Picture Quality
My pictures look incredible with this Olympus Stylus! I can go out in the rain and shoot some different looking images and not worry about my camera getting wet. Its small, so I can slide it into my pocket and it is metal so it feels more durable. In doors, I find if I turn on all of my lights when shooting I get better lighting (but I had to do this with my small film camera too). I would HIGHLY recommend this Olympus Stylus to anyone looking to purchase a digital camera. My wife enjoys it too because it is simple but we still get pro results

good for day trips
This is a great camera for day time use. It has taken horrible pictures in doors and at night. It takes beautiful pictures in the sun light though. Wouldn't recommend to a friend.

Excellent camera
If you use a digital camera, you need to get off those 4 AA from your drug store. They are just not practical, the battery on this camera last for a whole 250 MB card at max resolution. Additional battery is cheap (cheaper than buying those 4 AA batteries over time). Just like you would charge a digital video camera, you plug the charger in the wall, place the battery eaily on top and leave it. In less than the time it takes you to drive to that drig store, you got a full charge!
The media card is the one you would use for this camera, why would you want CF for example? Average user would have one digital camera with one card, that easily download into your PC.
I bought the Canon powershot and this by far has a better color especially for Macro shots. Go ahead and get it, it can be used everywhere, it wont run out of battery even if you store ity for a month as long as it is charged and it wont die as soon as as a little increase in humidity hits it. I have been useing it for 2 years and no problems, highly recommended.

dead
Fabulous camera for all 5 months that it worked. Now it turns on but the shutter button does not work. Olympus wants $125. to look at it and probably replace it with a refurb. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

The Olympus xD-Picture Card is compact for smaller and more stylish digital devices. It's powerful for amazing memory capacity now, and increased memory capacity in the future. It's durable, making it a media you can trust with your most valuable data. And it's versatile, for unprecedented device flexibility. Olympus xD-Picture Cards--the most advanced digital media cards ever for the best digital images yet. Nothing's impossible.

Quickly and easily transferring images and data to a computer is a cinch when the Olympus xD-Picture Card is used with any xD-compatible product. And it's just as easy using non-xD devices as well, thanks to a number of groundbreaking adapters that will be available, including a CompactFlash Adapter, SmartMedia USB Reader/Writer, and PCMCIA/PC Card Adapter.

Designed with the most advanced storage technology available, the Olympus xD-Picture Card system meets the memory capacity needs of today, while also being readily available to fulfill the increased memory capacity needs of tomorrow.

Olympus xD-Picture Cards are the only xD cards that support the Panorama function found on most Olympus digital cameras. ... Read more

Features

• 256 MB storage capacity
• Ultra-compact 0.97" by 0.98" by 0.67" size
• Designed for maximum durability
• Compatible with most products that use xD cards
• Supports the Panorama function found on most Olympus digital cameras

Reviews (7)

Not a commodity if you shoot in Panorama Mode
Several reviewers have indicated xD memory is a commodity. Buyer beware: If you have an Olympus digital camera, and you shoot in the Panorama mode (which I use regularly and really like when snowboarding and backpacking), you HAVE TO HAVE AN OLYMPUS BRANDED xD CARD; non-Olympus cards don't support and won't enter the mode

commodity product; buy where you want
I bought this item from the local office supply store. Costco has it cheaper and has a better return policy (and is 5 min. from my house). Buy this where it makes sense.

Beware xD memory...
Thank heavens analogue cameras standardised on 35mm. Just imagine you went into a shop and had a choice of 2inch, 30mm, 25mm, 33mm, 35mm etc films, only one of which would fit your camera. Olympus have done a Sony and repackaged the same old memory chips (e.g. SD, MMC, SM, CF, MD) as xD and decided to sell it at twice the price of SD memory. Once you buy one of their (admittedly good) digital cameras the small xD market will force you to buy expensive memory that is incompatible with almost everything else our there. As I already own some cheap standard SD memory that's not usable in most Olympus cameras, I have had to look elsewhere for a camera :o(

Great Card!!
This is a great card if you want to shoot video or shoot high mb photos. Unfortunately for Amazon, its less than $80 at Costco.

Enough of confusing standards and formats
I wish the electronics manufacturers don't take consumers for granted. Every year, they come with new storage cards and drive formats. That is the reason many like me are not happy to buya a new electronic device. How can you improve the economy if you don't standardise these sort of things and give the confidence to the consumer that what he/she buys will stay productive and useful at least for two to three years? Remember it is the middle class common man who forms the largest consumer base. We just got over a few years ago from Betamax and VHS formats. Now we have competing DVD formats making most of us totally confused and preventing us from buying any of the multiformat DVD writers even! Until these sort of the incompatabilities are not sorted by all the manufacturers together, they are bound to loose their investment and have poor returns. ... Read more

Features

• Designed for use by digital cameras and devices that accept the XD-PictureCard
• Up to 512MB Storage

Reviews (3)

perfect
Whats there not to like about this card?? A little pricey maybe, but you wont have to get another one any time soon!!!

Does not work with Olympus C-50
Be warned: this memory card is not compatible with the Olympus C-50 camera. The best you can get in the 128.

Plenty of Storage
This is a great card if you plan to take many photos. The only caveat is that for use with an Olympus C50 you must get a firmware upgrade which can take up to 10 days and requires you to ship the camera to Olympus. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

The Olympus xD-Picture Card is compact for smaller and more stylish digital devices. It's powerful for amazing memory capacity now, and increased memory capacity in the future. It's durable, making it a media you can trust with your most valuable data. And it's versatile, for unprecedented device flexibility. Olympus xD-Picture Cards--the most advanced digital media cards ever for the best digital images yet. Nothing's impossible.

Quickly and easily transferring images and data to a computer is a cinch when the Olympus xD-Picture Card is used with any xD-compatible product. And it's just as easy using non-xD devices as well, thanks to a number of groundbreaking adapters that will be available, including a CompactFlash Adapter, SmartMedia USB Reader/Writer, and PCMCIA/PC Card Adapter.

Designed with the most advanced storage technology available, the Olympus xD-Picture Card system meets the memory capacity needs of today, while also being readily available to fulfill the increased memory capacity needs of tomorrow.

Olympus xD-Picture Cards are the only xD cards that support the Panorama function found on most Olympus digital cameras. ... Read more

Features

• 128 MB storage capacity
• Ultra-compact 0.97" by 0.98" by 0.67" size
• Designed for maximum durability
• Compatible with most products that use xD cards
• Supports the Panorama function found on most Olympus digital cameras

Reviews (10)

Pleasant surprise
I don't know what the "quality" of this disk is compared to others since it's the only type of disk that my camera will take, but I don't have any complaints about it. What I wanted to mention was that in addition to having the absolute best price, Amazon's package also included a card holder that can keep up to 6 of these disks from getting damaged. Thank you!

Tastes great & it's less filling!
Bought this for the Olympus D390 (2.1 MP). Works great! It holds about 220 pictures at 1200x1600 resolution. That's plenty for almost any length trip.

I went with the Olympus brand because we occasionally use the panoramic feature on the camera, only the Olympus brand supports that particular feature. Otherwise, all xD cards are pretty much equal.

Cheaper than Ebay
I almost bought this item on Ebay from one of those sellers that jack up the shipping costs to compensate for the low cost ot the item. One person out bids you and then your up the creek. This item is cheaper from amazon with the free shipping and you have a reliable known vendor your buying from. Don't be fooled by Ebay...

Best price going!!!
After looking around, this is by far the best price on a new 128 xD card! And with free shipping that makes it even better! Thanks Amazon!

Quick Ship, highly Recommended
As this is the only kind of card my Olymous camera would use, so i cant say much abt its performance as compared to otehr card. But it is a very good memory card and always recommended for use. Got the best deal for it and it was quickly shipped to me. ... Read more

Product Description

m:robe 100 Digital Media Player, MP3, 5GB ... Read more

Features

• Supported audio file formats - Windows Media Audio (WMA) and MPEG1,2, Audio Layer3 (MP3)
• Compatible with Windows 2000 Professional/Home, XP Professional/Home Edition
• Enjoy over 1,200 songs with over 5 GB of storage
• Convenient and easy-to-use touch panel lets you quickly play music, view music and device settings, browse your music files by artist, album, genre, composers, or release year and more
• Music List display lets you select music tracks for playback from Favorites, Recently Played, My Top 20, Tracks with Lyrics and Unplayed Tracks categories

Reviews (1)

Looks Cool, but thats about it
Ok, I bought this MP3 player because of its amazing looks, but the touch screen is uber sensitive, so you have to keep the hold switch on all the time, which makes switching tracks or adjusting the volume a three step process (1-turn off hold, 2-switchtrack/volume, 3- turn hold back on)The screen scratches easily as well and after about a day, it looks like you've owned it for a year.A remote is an add on accessory, but costs $50.And the sound output is terrible. I just couldnt get this thing lound enough, I always had it on max and it was just never enough.Could have used about a 25% increase in volume.And thats not even the worst of it.Mine broke at least 4 times in two weeks... The screen would flash fatal system error, and just freeze.So I downloaded the patches off of olymups online that were supposed to solve the issues, and 1 week later, i was getting the same errors.Tech support said it would need to be sent out for repair, so i just said forget it and got my money back.The worst part of all though was the music interface software...Complicated, bulky, slow, aggravating and archaic.Does not Support drag & drop which makes adding that 1 track you just downloaded a real pain in the but.If your looking for an Ipod alternative, this is not it. ... Read more

Features

• One dedicated slot for xD-Picture cards
• USB interface
• Reads and writes to and from cards
• Compatible with both PC and Mac
• Easily clips onto key ring

Reviews (2)

Olympus getting it right!
I read with concern the large number of reviews in which users have problenms with flash drives including this Olympus MAUSB100.
Could these user failures be related to misuse or improper shutdown?? Am using it with Win98 and it works just as advertised. I download my photos and then follow the disconnect procedure. Have also uploaded and downloaded mp3 files...again with 100% success. The unit does get very warm and this does concern me, however, being aware of this issue forces me to not leave it active any longer than the task requires. Afterall, it isn't a true hard drive and should be treated with care. Fuji also has a very reliable unit with similar features. I do like this product and will most likely purchase a 2nd one....

Nice extension cable, Just throw the reader out
Stops working in a matter of minutes. Gets very hot. Extension cable is nice but not worth $20. ... Read more

Features

• Matte paper - ribbon for the OLYMPUS P-400 dye sublimation photo printer
• Good for up to 50 prints

Features

• Light and ultra-compact design for no-hassle portability
• Anti-reflective lens coating reduces glare
• Convenient center focus knob for easy, accurate focusing
• Built-in dioptric correction adjusts to individual eyesight
• Contemporary design

Features

• Exclusive Supersonic Wave Filter virtually eliminates dust particles
• 3 ASIC Digital Engine provides unique Parallel processing system allows up to 12 images at 3 fps in any mode (TIFF, JPEG, RAW, or JPEG + RAW)
• Separate 128MB image buffer
• USB 2.0 / FireWire ( IEEE-1394 ) connectivity
• Magnesium alloy metal body for extreme durability and lightweight, water resistant comfort

Features

• Keep a spare battery ready to capture once in a lifetime shots
• Rechargeable lithium-ion battery
• Compatible with Camedia C-50 and Stylus 300 and 400/410 models

Reviews (1)

1st Li-ion battery for Oly
I measure this battery with tester it has 950mAh which takes a lot of photos than the Ni-MH AA. Just take a 2nd one for travel instead of a box of AA, it is a good idea to come with the new compact Oly cameras. ... Read more

Features

• Always keep your batteries charged and ready to capture once in a lifetime photos
• Compatible with lithium-ion battery LI-10B
• Battery compatible with Camedia C-50 and Stylus 300 and 400 models

Features

• Tight O-ring main seal with safety lock
• Stainless steel and nickel-plated brass hardware
• Features a large, responsive shutter button, precision zoom lever, and durable controls
• Great for diving, snorkeling, surfing, skiing, fishing, sailing, or even in certain industrial situations
• Durable transparent polycarbonate housing

Amazon.com Product Description

Stop juggling multiple SmartMedia cards, and replace them all with a high-capacity 128 MB SmartMedia memory card. Olympus SmartMedia cards are compatible with any product that uses SmartMedia (3.3V). Olympus SmartMedia memory cards also make panorama pictures a snap by taking advantage of the panorama function in Olympus digital cameras. ... Read more

Features

• 128 MB SmartMedia card for use with digital cameras, MP3 players, and other digital devices
• Enables a panorama feature when used with select Olympus digital cameras

Reviews (25)

Interoperability of Olympus vs other smart media cards
The only difference between the Olympus and other brands of SmartMedia cards is that only the Olympus SmartMedia card supports the Panorama function of the camera (see owners manual for details, but basically it allows you to stitch up to 10 images together into a panoramic image). If you never use this feature just buy the less expensive memory. If you have a need for panoramas, and already have one Olympus card, use that Olympus card for panoramas, and buy the less expensive SmartMedia cards for all your other photo needs. As an example, on Amazon, the Viking 128MB card is ... cheaper than the Olympus.

marketing trick?
The card is fine, it works as advertised. And - as always true with digicams, the more memory you have, the merrier!

Having said that, I never liked the way Olympus have implemented 'panorama mode' with proprietary memory cards. Technically, there is no good reason for panorama support requiring special memory cards. For example see Canon's digicams - they give panorama support with any memory card (well, Canon cameras usually use CF rather then SM, but that does not make a difference for this matter), and, with better user interface. So - is this a trick used by Olympus, in their cameras design, to sell more memory cards? perhaps - you'll be the judge.

A little more about panorama mode, Canon vs. Olympus: considering Olympus smartmedia pricing - cost should not be an issue, prices are competitive. As mentioned above, Canon user interface is nicer, how? Well, Olympus cards simply lock exposure at the first frame, and give minimal 'stitch guide' support in the format of thin red frames at both sides of the LCD display. That's it. Canon adds the following: panoramic sequences have distinct file names, so that you can identify the sequences more easily, second, they support right to left / left to right / vertical / or four frame 'square' sequence. last, and IMHO, best of all - depending on the direction of the sequence, the camera LCD 'freezes' on one side of the display, an image of the edge of the previously captured frame, and shows 'live' viewfinder on the rest of the LCD, letting you calmly adjust better stitch with no need to try and remember where the last frame ended.

I think the Olympus Smart Media Card is.
If you are going to get a memory card, why get less than the most available, especially now that you can get 128MB for about [money amount] Soon more memory is sure to become available, but at this point I believe 128MB is the most you can find in "Smart Media Card" from Olympus, or even a generic card for that matter. This will give you almost one picture per MB, meaning that with the 128MB Smart Media Card you get well over a hundred High Quality (HQ) pictures. HQ gives you a very nice 5x7" photo at 300dpi. You can significantly reduce the about of memory used by the card if you decrease the size of each picture taken. For small pictures used to attach to emails you could conceivably get well over a 1000 pictures on the card by going from just over 3.9 mega pixels (HQ) down to just over 0.3 mega pixels (Normal mode on the camera) similar to the resolution of the first VGA monitors, reducing the memory usage by more than 1/10th. As far as buying the Olympus Card, I would recommend it, particularly if you are considering using the "panoramic" feature that "stitches" multiple scenes together to make a panorama using the software that comes with the Olympus digital camera. I understand that this feature is only available on the Olympus Smart Media Cards and now you can find Olympus cards at a comparable price to the "generic" brands. I have had no problems using the Smart Media Card from Olympus. I would recommend it highly. The only con that I can see won't come until they come out with a card with more memory.

Tangent to the 128MB Olympus Smart Media Card is their Card Reader. I opted out of that option, because the only benefit of it seemed to be the convenience of not having to plug your camera into a USB port. This in my mind is off-set by the inconvenience and exposure to damage of removing the card itself to put it into the reader, sounds like an excuse to sell "every available gadget" to me. So why not download directly from the camera? The only other argument in favor of the card reader is that it saves camera batteries, and although I'm getting slightly off subject here, it goes almost without saying that if you are using NiMH 1700 - 2000 mAh rechargeable batteries, which I think you will find is the best bet in the long run, leaving your camera on a few more seconds is immaterial.

replacing after format lost
I am replacing a 128MB card after one of two I owned lost its format. I had the card in an Olympus P440 photo printer (using a PCMCIA adapter). While printing, I lost power to the printer. When I powered everything up again, some of the image data was lost and errors were diaplyed on the printer. When I reinserted the card into my Olympus 3040 camera, it diplayed a card error and refused to reformat with the tool icon. So I threw the card away. This is the only problem I have had in 2+ years, but it seems like a serious design flaw for a card that should have only been open for a read function.

some problems
I bought two of these cards a little less than a year ago
and they worked great until recently. I had 160 images on
one card and when I tried to upload them to my Dell (which
I have done with success many times) I got
"Disk is not formatted." I tried uploading to an IBM PC
and got the same message. When I put the card into an HP
printer (that I have had success with in the past) I got
"Error on card." I was pretty depressed by this since the
images were taken over several weeks for a documentation
project. As a last effort, I tried uploading the images to
an HP computer, and that worked fine - so they were saved.
I tossed the defective card. I had in no way mistreated it.
This experience has taught me to upload my pictures more
frequently - you could lose a lot of valuable images. ... Read more

Features

• Custom designed case of ballistic nylon for the Ultra Zoom C Series Cameras
• Includes belt loop and shoulder strap
• Sturdy construction protects your camera
• Includes storage for batteriesand extra memory

Features

• Auto TTL control
• Auto and manual control
• Compatible with Camedia digital cameras

Features

• Small and lightweight 3.8x zoom capability with focal range of 40-150mm (80-300mm in 35mm terms)
• f3.5-4.5 lens enabling telephoto effects such as shallow depth of field
• Multi-coated optics to minimise ghosting and flaring
• Durable metal lens-mount
• Filter Size -58mm