Olympus SZ30 16 MP Digital Camera, Wide-Angle 24x Optical Zoom with Multi-Recording Capability and

Update 8-21-2011

I found the youtube feature on the video settings. It offers different video quality settings and some optimized ofr youtube. ALso, the burst feature is amazin, yesterday I tok a burst of 35 photos in the space of 5 seconds! Amazing.....

First off, I own several "digital" cameras and have also previously had a few long zoom cameras.I don't like "big" cameras because I don't like lugging them around. So when I have owned long zoom cameras in the past, though I have liked them, tended to not use them much because I didn't like carrying them around, thus always ended up selling them.

I have been keeping an eye out for a small point and shoot with a 20+ optical zoom and stumbled upon this one by chance on the Olympus web-site.

I was impressed by what I saw, read a few reviews and ordered it off amazon.com (of course!) and received it the very next day. Right out of the box, the quality of the build stood out, it was also well laid out and I was delighted to find the battery was almost fully charged.

I headed over to a nearby park and snapped off some photos and a few video clips.

The quality of the photos and video were excellent, I used some of the "magic" settings which are special effects, I usually dismiss these types of effects as gimmicks but found some of them to be impressive.

Pluses

The photos have really nice colors and look very life-like (which is what a camera should be capable of!)

The zoom is quiet and smooth

Zoom works with HD and sound (the SP800UZ did not and went straight back!)

You can take photos while shooting HD video (though not sure yet where it saves them)

It can shoot HD video and say, 480 x 640 video (great for youtube etc or emailing) at the same time which is very impressive.

Super Panoramic mode, best I have seen yet.

It has a lot of features, easy for beginners

Takes 3D photos (didn't realize it could until I got it...more icing on the cake lol

Minuses

No Printed manual,you really need one for this camera, even though it is easy for beginners, some features are pretty advanced.

All the promotional material keep saying YOUTUBE! yet so far I have not found any feature directly related to it (if you have please post a comment)

This is a very well built camera, meant to last with some features that are very advanced. If you are looking for a long zoom, with HD video capability and good quality prints, this is for you, the icing on the cake is all the other amazing features you get! I have taken a few pic's in 3D but have not done anything with them. I will do an update when I have used the camera a bit more. Oh and I love the gunmetal gray color!

For such a small camera, I am very impressed!

I have had this camera for about a week now and so far I am very satisfied. I got this camera because I don't like caring around my digital camera for photos and my HD Camcorder for video. While this is in no way a complete replacement for my Digital SLR and my HD Camcorder, it does the job well quite well and is well worth having an all in one in my pocket. I will still use my stand alone devices for those planned events when I want the very best. For general day to day shots of family and fun times it is perfect and at a fair price.

PROS:

You can operate the zoom while shooting video. Not all cameras do this.

You can take full res snap shots while recording video. Again, the Multi-Recording is why I bought this.

You can shoot multi sized photos or videos simultaneously. This is great for a having a lower res copy ready for upload instantly.

The zoom is 24x optical and it fits in my pocket. The speed of the glass is very good considering the focal range of this unit.

You can capture about 29 minutes continuos video at full 1080 (4GB limit on file size for SD cards)

I was concerned about not having a view finder, but so far I can see the display well enough in daylight.

CONS

The noise of the zoom and auto-focus motor is picked up when recording video, not very noticeable when there are other sounds being recorded, but very noticeable when there's relative silence.(my old canon camera produced a constant high pitch whine throughout all videos. This is only when zooming and focus and less noticable.(Again, this is not a true replcement for a dedicated camcorder.)

There seems to be a 2 snapshot limit of still pics while recording video. I'm not certain if that is a setting I can change or what the deal is. Even if it is just 2, that's workable for me. I would typically be taking stills and then decide to have video as well, which this camera makes effortless to do. There's a dedicated record button and off you go.

Some pics will have "soft" details when viewed close up at full res. This is fairly common though on most point and shoots. (Again, not a true replacement of high DSLR) However, most shots can have nice sharp detail when you take some time to properly compose the shot.

Maybe this is just me, but I always think that if something feels heavy it's built better. This feels too light in that regard, but like I said, maybe that's just me. :)

I highly reccomend this for the reasons and purpose that I have stated using it for. All cameras have some drawbacks, but none of those I listed prohibit me from reccomending it. They are relatively minor considering.

Buy Olympus SZ30 16 MP Digital Camera, Wide-Angle 24x Optical Zoom with Multi-Recording Capability and Now

This going to be a quick and dirty review. I got this camera just over a week ago to replace my Canon A720IS. My Canon is a great camera and gives great shots and is solid as a rock. All the paint is warn off all the edges from accompanying me on hunting, camping, traveling and daily use. But I had a family todo and wanted a long zoom and HD video. I spent a lot of time checking out cameras from Sony, Nikon, Panasonic, Canon and others and none had everything I wanted. Then at the last minute I found the SZ-30mr. It was so new I could not find any hands on reviews but it had everything I was looking for and took a leap of faith, bared my credit card and bought it. I was not disappointed. I was so busy before traveling for a wedding/reunion for which I bought this camera for, I did not get a chance to learn it. However, it was not that difficult. And I was able master it enough to get the job done. I bought a 16 gig SD card, a spare battery and external charger. I like the external charger since it does not take the camera out of action during charging. Plus the cable is propitiatory and makes it one more thing to carry and get lost and does not work with anything else. I spent a week traveling for a wedding/family reunion and took tons of pictures and videos. Every morning I would change the battery. I was able to video 90 percent of the time of a wedding ceremony at full 1080i and take full resolution 16 megapixel stills at the same time as well as taking many videos and stills at the reception before the battery gave out and of course like an idiot I left the spare battery in the charger! But by that that time toasts had been made, cakes were cut and dances were made and anything I did miss was not important. I'm a picture taking fool so for most anyone else I think battery life is fine. In just over a week of heavy use I took just over 5 GIG of video and images.

I have not had time to analyze in any quantitative way to the quality of the images since I've been back BUT by just reviewing them on my net book on the road and on a 47" HD TV at the resort, using an external HDMI cable from the camera, the pictures look great and the HD videos are impressive. OH, Oh, the panorama mode is absolutely fantastic! Just sweep across the scene and your done. And panorama play back from the camera is great. Which brings up playback using the camera. By hooking up a "D" type HDMI cable ($29 from Radio Shack) you can play back pictures and videos to a HD TV. At home I discovered my Panasonic TV remote would control the playback, at the resort I could not get the remote to work so I had to use the camera controls manually but better than nothing and it was fun reviewing the event with the family while there. It was nice not to have to carry my big laptop and cables and setups to play back images.

Another fun thing we did is we had the family movies from the 40s and 50s placed on DVD and while there at the reunion we watched it. While my older brother and sister narrated and made comments of where and who were in the silent movie I videoed the video and recorded their comments. I plan on taking the sound track from my video and add it to the silent movies on the DVD. This way I we can preserve so much that would have been lost. I would never have know that little old lady in the movie was my Great Great grand mother if my brother and sister had not pointed her out! I was able to record over an hour and fifteen minutes of continuous recording. It was at a lower resolution but all I waned was the audio and the some video to make sure I get it synced properly.

The camera is pretty responsive. Some comment on the wait time between pictures but remember people, your dealing with 16 megapixels! You really need a class 10 SD card to speed up the storage time. Cut that back to 8MP and cycle time is much faster. The wide angle is perfect for the indoor group shots. Let's be frank, no one in their right mind has the right to take 600mm telephoto shots hand held. However on a sunny day with the ISO kicked up I was able to get some impressive results just seeing what I could do with it. I believe many people don't know how to take pictures and just mash down the button like a cheap Instamatic without pausing in the intermediate position long enough to allow the camera time to focus giving blurry images. If the exposure button is used properly this camera gives excellent results.

The only beefs I have with this camera are minor. The biggest problem is the Mode dial moves too easily. Every time I pulled it out of my pocket I had to check the mode because it get changed so easily. It needs to be either harder to turn or have some kind of locking device. Also, the markings are hard to read if you are far sighted with out reading glasses. It would be nice to have it labled in multi colors so you don't have to put on your glasses to know where your at. Another comment is the bezel ring around the closed lens has a edge on it that is sharp and does not feel good and drags on the fabric of the pocket when pulling out. I may take some sandpaper and smooth that out. The last issue I have is the finish on the camera. I like to take candid pictures with out having people freezing up and not acting normal or those with camera phobia covering their faces or turning away when a camera is brought out. The finish on this camera is very shinny and chrome like. This thing sparkles and shines like a lit up disco ball in your hands! I was amazed how distracting it was for me when I was in front of it especially in sun light. I may do some buffing on it.

In closing, I love this camera!

Read Best Reviews of Olympus SZ30 16 MP Digital Camera, Wide-Angle 24x Optical Zoom with Multi-Recording Capability and Here

This camera has a lot of great features and some of the pictures I've taken are really good. I think the challenge with this kind of camera is learning which shooting mode works best to get the best picture in a certain situation. Some reviewers complained for example that it is slow -but in action mode, the response is practically instant. Some reviewers complained that the pictures aren't sharp -but I find it takes very sharp pictures if the focus is good. It's easy to be out of focus or blurry with a megazoom like this -but isn't that true of any zoom at 24X?

So far my thoughts on each feature are:

1. picture quality -great

2. wide-angle -great

3. Zoom -great

4. LCD screen -great

6. speed -great (in action mode, or burst mode)

7. button layout -good

8. video -haven't tried yet -but its 1080 HD so ...

9. panorama -good

10. flash -great

11. MR mode -why?

12. 3D mode -really need that?

13. Magic mode -why?

14. Battery life -great.

15. Super-macro mode -great.

16. In low light -good

17. Ease of use -great for simple pictures, for anything challenging, its okay with manual

18. Size and Weight -great

19. Menus -okay

19. Software -poor -I probably won't use that.

Negatives ...

1. Non-standard USB cable connector.

2. Can't shoot and charge at the same time.

Want Olympus SZ30 16 MP Digital Camera, Wide-Angle 24x Optical Zoom with Multi-Recording Capability and Discount?

This camera is EXACTLY what we were looking for! The zoom is awesome all options are very easy to use. The video comes out great & having the hand grip makes it feel very secure, but can still fit in your pocket. No complaints thus far -HOWEVER when ordering remember to order a memory card! NOWHERE on the Amazon site does it tell you what is included with the camera & an Amazon customer service rep could not tell us either! But we are completely satisfied with this product. Great for ameteurs on the go!