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Olympus Stylus 120 35mm Camera w/ Zoom by Olympus
List Price: $179.99Our Price: $29.99You Save: $150.00 (83%)Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Digital Camera See more product details
Digital Photo Product DetailsManufacturer: Olympus Model: STYLUS120Z Product features: - Perfectly frame your subject or move in even closer with a 38-120mm zoom lens
- A rugged, splash-proof design lets you capture great pictures under almost any weather condition
- New 11-point multi-wide autofocus system recognized off-center subjects and adjusts accordingly
- Pop-up flash features red-eye reduction and auto color balancing
- Automatic features: auto film load, advance and rewind
Accessories:
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Olympus Stylus 120 35mm Camera w/ ZoomCustomer Review: Best value in its class Summary: 4 Stars
I'm an experienced hobby photographer who's spent many years helping people select the best camera for their needs. This is an unusually good one for most people's needs. The difference between a great camera and merely a very good one is versatility - and versatility is achieved by striking a good balance between capability (features), ease of use (automation) and choice (manual overrides for when the automation makes a bad decision, which they all do from time to time). This model strikes a very good balance, and offers an unusually good lens - key to great picture quality - in this price class .Pro's - 1) Unusually high quality lens, both in terms of construction (aspheric lens elements) and materials (ED glass), makes for very high quality pictures across the entire zoom range. 2) Stepless zoom - most cameras in this class "step", that is, they restrict you to a handfull of pre-determined points in the zoom range. So instead of, say, a "38-120" lens as advertised, you actually have a "38, 50, 70, 90, 120" on these other cameras (Canon, Minolta, and many others). The Stylus lets you zoom to any point in its range, which makes it easier to frame your picture accurately. 3) Multi-zone metering detects and automatically corrects for backlight (putting the sun in the picture won't ruin your shot). 4) Spot metering option let's you tell the camera that you want to concentrate on a small area (your friend's face) under difficult lighting conditions. 5) Focus lock let's you focus on your subject and then reframe (your friend's face again, next to the small tree in the foreground - you want your friend in focus, not the tree). 6) Flash modes for just about every conceivable need in a point and shoot camera. 7) Relatively high shutter speeds for a lens-shutter camera (1/630 second vs 1/400 or so on some other makes) 8) Advanced flash control adds the right amount of flash when needed, not too much, not too little 9) Small, lightweight, reasonably rugged, weather-resistant, clearly laid out controls, clamshell design protects lens when closed. Cons - 1) Zoom range doesn't go truly wide - you won't get a large group in without backing up. This is common to almost all point and shoot cameras - most people will buy a longer lens rather than a wider one, thinking that "bigger is better". For people who would rather get the group shot, or that shoot indoors a lot, try the Stylus 100 Wide, which has a true wide angle lens in it (28-100mm instead of 38-120mm). 2) Clamshell design can develop problems with the electrical contacts (but other designs can develop problems with their lens covers, so you're trading one for another here, in my experience). 3) Red-eye reduction is oversold - they all have it, but it's more annoying than effective. To avoid red-eye, have your subject look just to the side, not right at the camera. In short, as a "second" camera for the enthusiast, or a "main" camera for the mainstream user, this one's hard to beat. For the record, I have no relationship with any company or person in the industry.
35mm Compact Cameras
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