Olympus Camedia C-5060 5.1 MP Digital Camera w/4x Optical Zoom
by Olympus
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List Price: Our Price: $215.00 You Save: $484.99 (69%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Digital Camera See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Olympus Camedia C-5060 5.1 MP Digital Camera w/4x Optical Zoom
Customer Review: 5060 made me happy
Summary: 5 Stars
Having been very happy with my Olympus c3000 for a few years (3.2 MP) I was distraught at knocking the lens off one day while shooting from the perch of an active pogo stick (no more of that). While Olympus offered to totally overhaul it for $195 I thought it time for a new camera. After trying 2 canons (A75 at $225 and an S1-iS at $440) and being very unhappy with the image quality and focusing I bit the bullet and went for the 5060 wide zoom. This camera is far superior to either of those. More megapixels, yes, but that's not what sold me. It is so fast to start up, focus and write to the card. There is almost no shutter lag in good light. The proprietary battery I wasn't crazy about untill I saw how long it lasted -- at least 3 times what 4 AA rechargables did in my old olympus. And I love WIDE so having the what is equal to 27mm on the 35 platform is great. The tilting, turning viewer which flips over for storage is also a great plus. And it feels very solid (titainium). It has a focus assist light which the s1-is didn't which I need for I shoot alot in dark places. The video mode is quite good and lastly it takes compact flash cards which are the least expensive per meg, so buy a few and you have a real bargain. Finally the lens is super sharp and bright. I also think black cameras are best for not calling attention to themselves. And the image quality is stunning as the very first print showed me. A great camera. No regrets.Customer Review: Strong Prosumer Effort -- Great Picture Quality
Summary: 5 Stars
The Olympus C-5060 Wide Zoom is an award winning (most recently PC World Best Buy in the Advanced Digital Camera class - February 2004) digital camera and has impressive specifications (5 MP, 14X seamless zoom, 2 different usable memory slots [xD and CF], wide angle zoom lens, super-handy multi-position LCD, movie mode with sound, etc.) going for it. It has lots of manual controls available for the more serious photography enthusiasts. You can attach it to a tripod, hook up additional flash units, add lenses and filters and do many manual, creative things not widely available at this resolution and price. None of this made much difference once I started to actually use the 5060.This is the third digital camera that I've bought, and the first that I've been really happy with. The most important thing about a camera (at least for me) is the quality of the images that it produces. I am a beginner at photography, with no picture taking education, and I've only used a fraction of the features that are available on this unit. The best thing is that the pictures that I take with this camera are almost always very good, with a fair number edging into stunning, lush, and gorgeous - usually with all settings set on full automatic. Using the manual modes is just not necessary to get many great shots. Another thing that I want to point out is that the battery life on this camera has been better that any of the others that I've used. The proprietary BLM-1 battery that ships with the 5060 significantly outlasts any AA batteries that I've ever used in other digital cameras. On one charge I have been able to spend many hours per day over several days, using the LCD almost always and the flash on occasion, and I have never yet run out of power. It is a bit slow to recharge once you've used most of the charge, so if you're snapping tons of pictures and have no time for a recharge, buy a second battery.
This is a camera that I recommend to anyone who wants sharp, colorful, gorgeous pictures with minimal hassle, and is able to afford the price range. Try it for the features and price - you'll love it for the pictures.
Customer Review: Arrived DOA?
Summary: 3 Stars
I greatly anticipated the arrival of my new C-5060 and when it got here today I put the battery in the charger and started the rest of the Getting Started procedures. I got all the straps and lanyards attached, read most of the manuals before I found that the charger (a very cheap-feeling plastic unit, made in China) was blinking a red light. This blinking light means that the battery or charger is over-heating or something else is wrong. It also means you can't charge the proprietary battery and therefore can't check out your nice new camera. Olympus says to contact a service center not the people you bought it from in the first place. I figured, if it has problems out of the box I should just return it and decide later if I'd want to replace it with the same model or spend the extra $$ for an SLR.The good news is: the camera fits nicely in your hand for one-handed shooting if you like; the QT movie mode does sound now; and the manual is included in the box. It looks like it has an impressive number of features. The buttons are well placed on the camera but since some have functions that vary with the settings your using, I would imagine it could get confusing. I do wish it had a manual focus adjustment (I didn't notice if there was a way to do this in the manual.)
You should also check the cost of the accessories if you plan to use it for anything more than a point-and-click camera.
As I said, I'll be thinking over the next few days whether I'll replace it with the same camera (one that I could use I'd hope) or if I'll upgrade to an SLR or maybe just stay with my Sony FD-91.
Thanks for listening and I hope this doesn't discourage you too much because it appears to be an excellent camera for the money.
Customer Review: Too bad, no Manual
Summary: 3 Stars
I purchased the C-5060 last week. So far the camera takes good pictures and has most of the advanced features I need. Before I purchased the camera, I read numerous reviews that stated that the full instruction manual wasn't included with the camera, but was included as a PDF file on the CD. The camera does ship with a "Quick Start" sheet and a tiny (impossible to read) mini pamphlet that is almost useless. I thought I could get by with out the printed manual. Boy was I wrong! In order to fully use the C-5060, the printed manual is a MUST. I tried printing the manual from the PDF file included on the CD, but page 67 not only crashed my workstation, but also crashed my business server. After re-starting my system, I tried again to print the manual, but again page 67 crashed my system. Once again, after restarting my computer, Pages 68-149 printed ok, but after printing almost 150 of the 289 pages I called it quits. I called Olympus tech support and was told to download the PDF file from the Olympus web site, and try again. I asked that a manual be sent to me, but was told that I'd have to pay $10.00. Olympus will not budge on that policy. Shame on Olympus, keep in mind that the instruction manual is 289 pages, and much of the information contained in the manual is important to get the most out of the advanced features the camera offers. My advice: Buy another brand of camera that includes a full instruction manual. Even though the C-5060 is probably a good camera, because of the hassles of not having the manual, I can not recommend this model, or for that matter this brand.Customer Review: Great Camera
Summary: 5 Stars
This is my 3rd Olympus digital camera. This is my favorite so far. One older 2.5MP Olympus camera just didn't have the picture quality I wanted although it was very well made. I owned the Olympus C4040 which was a great camera. I was going to settle for the C4040. It took awesome pictures and was also built well. Unfortunately I had a situation which required more money then I had and the C4040 had to go! Now I have the C5060 and it's a keeper. Once again it is well made and takes great photos. I bought it based on a Steves Digicam Review. I read reviews here after I bought it and actually got concerned that I made a mistake. People talking about malfunctions and poor battery life? UH OH! Well, I have waited a couple of months and took alot of pictures before I wrote this and so far I have had no problems. The battery lasts quite a long time which is great. Even using the flash and the lcd for a long time didn't drain the battery too quickly at all. ebay has alternate Japanese batteries for much less than the Olympus battery so extra batteries are no problem. The button layout is great. One thing I noticed right away was the evolution of Olympus digital cameras. This camera is well thought out and I could see the details they improved upon over the years. I recommend this camera highly! I imagine that some of the cameras purchased toward the beginning of their manufacturing run, had a higher degree of faults. Usually these problems are worked out and it seems this could be the case with the 5060.