Canon EOS 6.3MP Digital Rebel Camera with 18-55mm Lens

I went digital 5 years ago. My first was one of the very old Olypus digitals; no removable storage, just a cable to the computer, 120 low resolution or 30 medium resolution shots and then the memory was full. The colors were always off, there was no zoom, and it was amazing that it worked at all. No wonder I also bought a pocket 35mm camera to take "real" pictures since the Olympus' were so small, grainy, and colorless. At least the 35mm had a datestamp option. 3 years later I bought the Canon PowerShot S30, then when I lost it (or had it stolen?) I replaced it with the S40. The PowerShot S50 sold today is the same body style with more pixels and a couple of annoyances fixed.

This camera is NOTHING like those cameras. I had plenty of complaints about the S30 & S40. My biggest gripe was missing the shot. I take pictures of children, especially at school functions. I would line up a wonderful shot, push the button... and they would move! They'd get up and walk away, they'd turn around, they'd crowd into the subject, I was missing 80% of my shots. About a year later, the shutter would finally click. So my hard drive is filled with so-so shots that would have been winners if that annoying delay hadn't gotten me... again!

No problem with the Digital Rebel. Press the button, focus is lightning-fast, then click goes the shutter. You look through the viewfinder to frame your shot, not at the back on those hard-to-read LCD screens. Several modes allow multiple pictures, just in case, such as in Sports mode. I am seeing such an improvement in my pictures since I got this camera a few weeks ago. First of all, they are always framed properly, because I'm not dealing with sudden motion after shutter release, nor am I dealing with an LCD for a viewfinder, or a "viewfinder" that makes me correct for parallax. Next, the colors are amazing. Third, 6.3 megapixels... when would I ever want that much? When I want to crop 80% of the picture and still print what's left!

It is great to have a camera with some heft that still doesn't feel like a brick. As everyone else says, get the kit lens. It is 18 to 55mm, so a nice wide-angle lens for group shots, etc. I find 55mm not close enough for shooting children; the S30/S40 I mention above has an 11-55mm range which I already knew to be insufficient for shooting kids. Thus I bought the Canon 28-200mm zoom lens and keep that one on the camera, only switching to the kit lens when I do big groups or a lot of similar portraits (that big zoom lens weighs four times as much as the body!)

Yes, it is an amazing camera for "under" $1000. Truth be told, I spent more than that on accessories; the 28-200mm lens was almost $500, with 6.3 megapixels you might as well buy the biggest flashcard you can, and that's 2 GB these days; you'll need a case, you really ought to buy skylight filters to protect those lenses from getting scratched, an extra battery is a really good idea... well, you see what I mean.

Still an amazing camera, especially after dealing with those tiny toys for all these years.

I've owned three digital cameras before this (a very small Sony, a Canon G1, and an older Kodak), and have been impressed with instant feedback received by viewing your photo 2 seconds after you took it, but was always left with the feeling that I needed to be able to change lenses and have more control over the process.

What I really wanted was my old Canon EOS 650 (35mm) camera to work with a digital camara back so that I could make use of my existing investment in lenses. Well guess what, that is exactly what the Digital Rebel provides!

Much to my surprise, all of my old EOS EF lenses work very well with this camera and I am getting much better results than I expected. This is a huge improvement over my other digicams better resolution, color, overall quality, and I am in awe of what I get with my long telephoto lens.

A few notes. First, buy the kit lens (18-55mm EF-S); for $100 you'll use the lense and it is an incredible value (certinaly worth 2 to 3 times the cost). Second, if you take many indoor photos you'll want an external flash; I went with Canon's 420EX unti as it provides E-TTL exposure (essentially, the amount of flash is controlled by what the camera meters through the lens a pretty amazing capability). Third, get a good amount of memory, like 2 512K card; its relatively inexpensive and by taking lots of photos you'll learn more about the camera's abilities sooner.

I am getting very long battery life (well into many hundreds of photos per charge), so unless you are headed off into the woods you may be able to hold off on purchasing a spare battery.

In summary, if you are an old 35mm EOS photographer, this is a complete no brainer since you get to use your lens investment. If you aren't, I'd highly recommend this camera anyway (and look into the Canon 70-200mm/f4 telephoto lense its extremely high quality and a reasonable price). Now smile and say "Canon".

Buy Canon EOS 6.3MP Digital Rebel Camera with 18-55mm Lens Now

canon's competitors must be scratching their collective heads wondering how canon has managed to deliver a true interchangeable-lens digital SLR for less than a thousand bucks. this is nothing short of a revolution in the d-SLRs world and it's hard not to get excited!

pros:

can't stress this enough: value, value, value a formidable d-SLR has landed south of the thousand dollar barrier.

6MP CMOS sensor.

excellent resolution matches canon's own EOS 10D.

seven manually selectable AF points fast and reliable.

2.5fps continuous shooting speed up to four images regardless of resolution.

accurate color reproduction.

images virtually noise free at ISO 800 and below.

very little redeye occurrence.

good metering, although no direct control of metering mode.

good manual preset white balance.

shooting priority play mode simply half-press the shutter during playback and you're ready to shoot.

supports RAW format.

excellent AF speeds, with virtually no shutter lag.

impressive shot to shot times basically you can shoot as fast as you can compose your shot.

good selection of exposure modes.

orientation sensor for automatic image rotation.

playback magnification up to 10x.

allows computer controlled shooting with included software.

feels solidly built despite the plastic body.

easy to use, integrated controls and displays.

bright, high resolution LCD.

fully compatible with canon extensive lens line.

excellent battery life (but i still recommend getting a spare).

excellent printed manual and supplied software bundle.

cons:

to minimize cannibalization of 10D sales, the 300D has been pre-programmed to have less flexibility (forced AI focus, forced evaluative metering, etc).

no spot metering.

low noise levels at ISO 1600.

no flash exposure compensation.

cannot fine-tune white balance.

make sure you don't open the memory door while the camera is writing into the flash memory or else you will lose everything that's left in the internal memory buffer.

plastic body with compartment doors that should be meatier.

LCD has no anti-reflective coating.

reduced continuous shooting rate and buffer size (2.5 fps for max 4 images) vs the 10D.

ISO sensitivity not displayed on viewfinder status bar while being changed.

no flash memory provided so add a few $$ to your budget to get at least 128MB.

proprietary battery again, a few more bucks for a spare.

there's nothing in the market that can touch this camera today. if you're shopping for a camera in the thousand dollar range, make sure you take a close look at the 300D.

i hope this helps you with your buying decision. peace.

Read Best Reviews of Canon EOS 6.3MP Digital Rebel Camera with 18-55mm Lens Here

I've had the Rebel for about a month now, and it's been an amazing blast up the photography learning curve for me. It is my first SLR, though fortunately my third digicam, and ... well, wow, what a great camera to learn on.

I'd like to just run down the "cons" listed by a different reviewer below (or above? how do they order these things? ;-):

"to minimize cannibalization of 10D sales, the 300D has been pre-programmed to have less flexibility (forced AI focus, forced evaluative metering, etc)"

* This general point is true, but it is rarely an issue for me, at least. You can override evaluative metering, you can fool it into Servo AF mode (and the "sports mode" pushes it into Servo AF mode as well), etc. The only thing I miss is mirror lock-up, for long-exposure dusk shots ... but hey, that just isn't worth the $600 and .75 pound tax I'd pay for the 10D.

no spot metering.

* Not true. Locking exposure (holding the '*' button) yields spot metering in most modes, though the "spot" is about 9% of the FoV.

low noise levels at ISO 1600.

* The Rebel has the same sensor and image processing goo as the 10D, and the 10D reputatedly has some of the lowest noise at any given ISO. ISO 1600 is pretty darn fast, some noise is inevitable.

no flash exposure compensation.

* Yeah, this stinks a bit -but at least you can get it with one of the EX flashes.

cannot fine-tune white balance.

* Not sure what "fine tune" means here -you can set it to "Custom white balance" and read off of a white source (e.g. white card, paper), and it retains that custom setting (even through on/off cycles of the camera).

make sure you don't open the memory door while the camera is writing into the flash memory or else you will lose everything that's left in the internal memory buffer.

* Never have run into this being an issue -opening the memory door is quite an unnatural action, I can't really see it ever happening accidentally, and the big red flashing light would be a reminder not to do it intentionally.

plastic body with compartment doors that should be meatier.

* Metal (zinc) would be heavier, and the Rebel is plenty durable -I crashed my mountain bike at 20mph with this sucker on my hip. I rolled onto it and cracked the filter, bent the lens, but the body was only scratched a little, and continues to work perfectly.

LCD has no anti-reflective coating.

* My theory has always been that you can't see diddly on the LCD anyway. The real benefit on the 300D is that you can set the pic review mode to show the "info" screen, which includes the histogram -this is VERY useful for checking to see if you have the exposure right without having to squint at a tiny LCD screen and guessing.

reduced continuous shooting rate and buffer size (2.5 fps for max 4 images) vs the 10D.

* Again, another thing you get with the additional $600 ... but compared to the other digicams I've owned, this one feels like a rocket!

ISO sensitivity not displayed on viewfinder status bar while being changed.

* It is displayed on the external LCD, however. I do wish that it was always visible on the LCD (not just when changing), as it's a little too easy to set it to, say, 400 in some low light situation, and then forget it's there and only remember when you note, several days later, that "wow, that shutter speed sure is short ..."

no flash memory provided so add a few $$ to your budget to get at least 128MB.

* Included flash cards are virtually always too small and basically get tossed.

proprietary battery again, a few more bucks for a spare.

* Are there any "large" cameras that take, say, AA's? Not many ... the BP-512 that the Rebel uses is a SWEET battery, too, in terms of life.

Want Canon EOS 6.3MP Digital Rebel Camera with 18-55mm Lens Discount?

I have been intrigued by this camera since its release. My old camera is a Canon PowerShot S30 (3.2MP). I wanted to buy an SLR to advance my photography skills and capabilities. When this beauty came along bearing a price tag under $1,000 and received prestigious acclaim I knew I wanted one. But I decided to delay for a few months, waiting to see what competition would arise, and how quickly the price would drop. That competition presented itself as the Nikon D70. Ultimately, I decided to get the D-Rebel because the price-to-quality ratio is exceptional; the ~$300+ more for the Nikon doesn't seem justifiable for what I think are negligible factors. Besides, my PowerShot has served me well and I'm used to the Canon system.

I've played with mine in the field for two days. Last weekend was my introduction day and I made a lot of mistakes -camera shake, off-focus, underexposure. Today I went back to the same spots [in similar weather] and received much better results by using my tripod, setting the exposure compensation to +1/3 (most of the time) and sometimes forcing a longer shutter than 'auto' suggested. My photos went from dull to incredible with a few easy adjustments. If your photos come out poorly always exhaust the manual solutions before blaming faulty camera construction.

If you're moving up from a [Canon] SLR, many of the characteristics of the D-Rebel will be familiar. If, on the other hand, you're used to a P&S like myself some things will be awkward. For example, using the viewfinder instead of the LCD monitor to compose shots; using the Main Dial and LCD panel to implement settings; and manual focusing. My PowerShot allows manual tweaking, but it is usually easier to let the processor handle certain functions. The SLR is different -it invites you to play.

I have read complaints about the camera's construction. Indeed, it is an all-plastic body, whereas the D-Rebel's big brother, the 10D, is magnesium alloy. But I think this will be an insignificant point for most people; the plastic body is sturdy enough to handle a day's work. It has a nice firm rubber grip on the right side. A friend has an EOS Elan 7 (n or ne) and the weight is approximately the same.

I also know some people don't like the fact that the D-Rebel uses the flash as an AF-assist lamp -particularly because once the flash pops it will take a flash exposure. But the solution is simple enough: push the flash back down. The camera automatically re-evaluates the shutter speed, maintains focus and takes the shot. You will need to have it on a tripod for the shot to be successful, though.

After a lot of reading and searching for components to make up a great system, I ended up buying: Rebel with 18-55mm lens; EF 55-200mm II USM lens; 1 Gb Sandisk Ultra II CompactFlash; 420EX Speedlite flash; Sto-fen Omni-Bounce diffuser (for 420EX); Tiffen 58mm Deluxe Enhancing Filter Kit; Samsonite Worldproof 3.2 Download SLR bag; Tamrac Small Lens Case. (I wrote a review for the Samsonite bag. I think it's fantastic for carrying all my gear. I use the Tamrac bag when I want to travel light.)

Here's a stupid mistake I made that I'd like to enlighten others to, so that they may avoid doing the same. When I first tested the camera most of my shots were indoors and required the flash. In many of those shots I noticed a black blob. I thought maybe my flash was defective. The manual says there are certain conditions where the flash may be obstructed. My solution was simple enough: two of my fingers were in the way. With my PowerShot, I had become used to lifting my ring and pinky fingers away from the flash and lens so they would be out of the way... now doing it put them in the way of the flash. Sometimes the simplest answer is the right one.

Here are two things I feel quite fortunate to have learned (i.e., stumbled upon), as I did not read this in any review.

(1) When using a [Canon] digital SLR you need a "Type II" lens. Lenses have always induced aberrations of light, which would create 'ghosts' and other weird things. But 35mm film is produced with a coating that prevents them. When you use a D-SLR, however, that coating is not on your sensor, so those light artifacts appear again. So Canon created the "Type II" lens, where the aforementioned coating is on the glass. The only problem is that there are only a handful of these lenses at this point. Unfortunately, this dramatically weakens Canon's claim that you can use "over 50 lenses" on your D-Rebel. While technically true, you probably wouldn't like the results. (Popular Photography magazine ran an article about this, which is on their site.)

(2) Don't fall for tricky CompactFlash advertising. I bought several Viking Components CF cards for my PowerShot. They always worked well and I almost bought a big one for my D-Rebel. Then I considered the Lexar "40x" because they have a good reputation. "40x" sounds good, eh? The Sandisk Ultra II works at 60x! At the Large-Fine setting, this will save you one-third second of write-time. That is big when you think about action photography. The Sandisk card can write 3 images when the Lexar can only do 2. The Vikings are worse; they can't even write one image/second!

I am exceptionally pleased with my purchase -not with just the D-Rebel, but the whole system. It pays to do your research and decide what's right for you. Personally, I think I put together an excellent 'amateur SLR' package that will allow me to grow and explore for a long time. Hopefully you will feel the same with a D-Rebel over your shoulder.

Schlage WCW100 LiNK Wireless Network Camera

This is my 3rd attempt at Internet monitoring of my home. I started with Panasonics, then moved to Logitech's WiLife system and now I've had the Schlagelink up & running for 2 months.

I abandoned the Panasonic because it was way too finicky to keep the weblink going. Constant tinkering & calls to tech support were required (tho their tech support people are tops). Their cams were pretty good with better resolution than the Schlagelink; they also feature pan & tilt, absent on the Schlage.

The WiLife looked promising, was simple to set-up & had very good resolution with both indoor & outdoor cams; these added a minimal degree of zoom to the mix. Unfortunately, they are electrically really skittish and any kind of interference knocked them out, sometimes fatally. I had bought 8 cams before I gave up.

Now the wireless Schlagelink is a bit coarser image and is essentially fixed, but it has never gone off line and looks stupendous on the iPhone app. Interestingly, while all my other Schlagelink modules (3 door locks, 3 thermostats, 3 light controllers) rely on the wireless bridge included in the starter kit, the camera runs independently of the bridge. Even better, if your wireless goes down for a bit, it will reconnect when the wireless is up again & in a pinch it can even "borrow" a neighbor's wireless if available.

I'd like to give it 4.5 stars because of the limited resolution & lack of features, but as it fully delivers what it promises, I'm going to go all the way.

This will be a quick review. A lot of people had complaints with the resolution of this camera. What happened was Schlage was limiting the resolution and really compressing the data link through the bridge in 2009-2010 for whatever reason.

In 2011 they announced at CES they will allow high resolution down-link (its now an option) @ full 640 x 480 resolution at 30 frames. The feature is now enabled and works great. The camera's resolution has greatly improved and looks much better.

Now they need to add IR, motorized, and outdoor cameras to their line up!

Buy Schlage WCW100 LiNK Wireless Network Camera Now

I have 3 of these but there is no practical use for them. easy setup. At times they become "disconnected" and must be powered down and brought back up (great when I'm not home I'll have to get the pets trained to do that).

When I log on I usually see an empty room or a door. Two minutes is the max you can view at a time.

If you are engaged with something unless you can run to a pc / phone and login, you will miss whatever it was that occurred (such as an attempt to guess the codes of their locks). Currently there is no way to record what it sees it cannot even take a picture and email it. The company's response when asked if they will add this "we are researching it (for over a year now)". The locks are great, cameras may be ok for observing people family members (creepy I'd suggest a web cam where they KNOW you are watching) or pets in a room (that is fully lit and a very narrow view), but do not depend on any form of recording or pictures for any event with other devices.

Read Best Reviews of Schlage WCW100 LiNK Wireless Network Camera Here

This camera is a great addition to the Schlage Z-Wave system. The camera is an on-demand camera that can ge engaged from your smartphone. When I view it on my smartphone it looks fine. It is meant as a surveillance camera and not an HD camera. I agree that with technology today, the quality should be better. However, the downside of that is you will pay for that in speed and data charges on your phone. I primarly use the camera from my smartphone as I bought the Schlage system to keep an eye on my dogs and the comings and goings of the dog nanny while I am away on business trips and vacations.

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Unfortunately this is the only camera that works with the Schlage Link system. That's about the only good part of this camera. This is a low quality camera that does not allow you to record, notify on motion events, or email you an image of motion detection. These are very basic functions of other IP cameras. To make matters worse, they don't allow you to login into the camera any other way than to pay Schlage $12 / month and use their website.

The Schlage Link system works on iPhone but they haven't updated the app in over a year, and it doesn't work natively on iPads, or utilize iOS 4's backgrounding or display.

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Optoma TX330, XGA, 2200 ANSI Lumens, Multimedia Projector

We bought this for our company to use at the many trade shows we exhibit at each year. After our other (much older) projector finally bit the dust, we did some research online for high-quality, portable projectors and found that this model of the Optoma had the greatest number of positive reviews. We can see why--it is easy to use, the image quality is spectacular, and it's super portable. At the most recent trade show where we were exhibiting, we received quite a few compliments on how clear the projected image was on our booth. The Optoma is a fantastic product, and we look forward to using it for many more trade shows to come!

Purchased for use in professional presentations at technical meetings.

Could not be more pleased simple to use, unbelievably small, light weight.

But best of all are the outstanding brightness and resolution.

Have owned several projectors, but this is the best and least expensive of all!

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Camax 5.6" 1280*800 Pro HD Field DSLR Camera monitor HDMI, CVBS with Peaking

The Camax 5.6" external HDMI Monitor work very well with my Nikon Cameras.

I have it attached to my TriPod leg so that I can view my Videos while shooting 360 degrees

The 1280x800 display is better sharpness than the Camera LCD and it also has focus peaking.

Basic monitor. No battery nor power supply. 7-24 volt DC power supply I had in the basement. Will take some cam corder batteries. Good price point. Picture quality acceptable.

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Canon EOS M 18.0 MP Compact Systems Camera with 3.0-Inch LCD and EF-M18-55mm IS STM Lens

I've been weighing the mirrorless option heavy and finally made the plunge to keep it in the Canon family. I Received this camera and have been playing with it and enjoying it for it's purpose. Let me state this, I own a Canon 5D Mark III as well, so I can only speak on my intentions and reasoning for wanting the Eos-M. I had no intentions of buying this camera as a back up body, nor would this be the camera I would recommend for others who are in the market for one. However, image quality wise, it could be. If you've made the Canon investment in gear, and could use something a little more light weight, sort of pocket friendly, and portable that has the capability to be used with your other canon gear.. It's a no brainer. This camera to me is the Hobbyist/enthusiast Canon gear owners good, to best friend.

The Good: I love the image quality, size, and build quality of the camera and even the 22mm itself is a much better build then expected. It doesn't feel cheap. The touchscreen is pretty good and responsive, if you don't mind a few prints on the screen trying to assist the focusing. Also I love the relief of not carrying my battery gripped 5D around with me for all of the smallest things, and missing something worth capturing because of it. This camera has been a blast, and I've worn it around my neck on several occasions and even the people with me haven't noticed.

The Bad: Slow maneuvering around the menus, as there are limited physical buttons and no turn dial (But this may get faster as you get use to the touchscreen). No built in flash (When this camera is said to target those coming from point and shoot cameras), No view finder (But after a couple of shots.. I wasn't missing it), And no direct lens mount Ef-s or EF (and mainly this is because of the outrageous price for the adapter). But all of this is tolerable... Sort of. I wont complain about the auto focus speed as to me, it's really not that bad. I have seen faster, and even faster focus speeds on this camera alone. But then again, I use a 85mm 1.2L quite a bit on my Mark III and that lens can almost make any focus speed seem fast.

I did purchased the 16GB Eye-Fi card and use it to transfer images straight to my cellphone for quick editing if needed, and uploading to any social network services I use. I have no idea why it did not cross someones mind at Canon, to include wifi and/or Gps, when I've have heard time and time again about one of the excuses for not having a built in EVF was that this camera should attract those who are familiar with taking cellphone images.

In the end, a built in Viewfinder, wifi, gps, flash and a cheaper if not free lens adapter would have been nice. But even so, I am happy with my purchase, and I've read enough to understand its purpose or my reasoning for wanting one, and have actually been more impressed then what I've originally expected. I do not think anyone would be in their right mind to purchase this camera for sports photography, and if you've taking pictures with almost any modern smart phone today, the focus speed may never be a issue to you. If you already own or are familiar with a Canon DSLR, this camera will feel right at home with the options and setup. And if this is a new world to you, you might want to read the manual, or watch a video to get yourself familiar first. Great buy for me!!!

I really really really really really wanted to love this camera.

**UPDATE**

I am a professional. When I saw the EOS M and I was excited that it's a small portable multi-use camera that I could use as a carry-around as well as for work as a back-up camera using the lens coupler. The perfect addition to a mobile rig, the EOS M would be great as a second camera for shooting interviews when attached to my lenses.

When I bought it and held it, I was even more excited. It's built EXTREMELY well, feels solid, great finish. It's a camera I really like to touch.

Once I turned it on, this was the first Canon that didn't quite feel like a Canon. The interface felt rough. Just finding how to set it in manual focus mode required reading the user's manual (and multiple menu pages as mentioned by other reviewers). The LCD touch-screen interface and lack of physical dials (especially for AF/M focusing) makes it more difficult to add an LCD loupe to the camera which would be amazing.

Snapped a couple of photos and they looked beautiful (Hey, the 3-year old 7D sensor is still magnificent) and the lens looked sharp with beautiful bokeh. Color was well rendered.

But what's this... Brrrrzzzzzzzz..... YUP. I can clearly and loudly hear the autofocus motor while shooting a movie, especially during quiet scenes. Yeah ok, you're supposed to use manual focus for movies. Agreed. But not when the camera specs claim it has continuos focus for movies. The motor is LOUD. This is a strange first entry by canon. I REALLY WANT TO LIKE IT.... Not happy face. Not sad face. More a perplexed face. After flipping through the manual I saw a mention about this. Canon suggests using an external mic rather than the built-in stereo mics.

I loved seeing photos of a 70-200mm lens attached to this thing. Then I thought... wait, I can't press this camera against my face to balance its weight. Holding that big lens 6 inches away from my face to shoot would set my whole center of gravity off. I really do miss having a viewfinder so I can stabilize the camera.

Main disappointment was at night, casually shooting in a restaurant, where the focusing speed was beyond unacceptable. A full 3-4 seconds of focus hunting, WITH focus assist on, before it would fire the shutter. On my second night of ownership, I left the camera at home and that's a pretty bad sign as I love really diving into new gear. The terrible low light focus of the Fuji X100 seemed acceptable compared to the EOS M. Back when I got the X100, I loved using it so much I practically went to bed with it. As much as I hate to admit it, the EOS M felt like it fired more slowly than my S100, even during the day. That shouldn't be so. Not at $800.

Then... $70 for a tiny battery? $200 for the coupler? These are Pro prices... without Pro performance. Me: perplexed face.

I ended up returning the camera. Some of these issues may be fixed with a firmware update, others will need Canon to really study their competition.

A bit bummedmy first real disappointment in a Canon product.

Buy Canon EOS M 18.0 MP Compact Systems Camera with 3.0-Inch LCD and EF-M18-55mm IS STM Lens Now

I picked this camera up on my last trip to Japan 3 days after it came out there. In Japan they only sold a kitchen sink bundle for the first few weeks which included the body, 22m lens, 18-55m lens, EF Lens adapter and the Speedlite 90EX flash.

This camera takes fantastic pictures! But there are two shortcomings that are incredibly annoying. First of all the camera takes a good second (or more) to focus for a camera this expensive this is almost unacceptable. My Canon G11 was focusing faster... Second there is a (beautiful) touch screen on the back of the camera. This touchscreen can also be used as a shutter as in: touch the touchscreen to take a picture. Now the product manager/developer who decided it was a good idea to put the control to enable/disable the touch shutter onto the touchscreen needs to be fired. When I walked around various Japanese cities with the camera around my neck it happened with regularity that the camera would bump up against my body, turn the touch shutter on and then continue to take pictures every time it bumped against my body. SERIOUSLY ANNOYING with no way to disable. I really hope there will be a firmware update to fix this (there is a menu setting to enable/disable the touch screen shutter I have no idea why the additional control on the screen itself).

When doing post processing of my photos I did notice that I had quite a few of them with the focus slightly off. Guess the automatic metering didn't always pick the right spot to focus on but then again I could have easily fixed that by using spot metering.

Now various other reviews (e.g. on Engadget) mentioned the missing mode dial compared to DSLRs or even G-series cameras. To be honest I haven't missed it that much during two weeks of intense shooting.

Also I haven't scratched the surface on what this camera can actually do but I did find that for taking HDR pictures the built-in mode only really works for static scenes. With moving objects the camera can't really build a great HDR so if there are people in a scene it's definitely better to process manually on the computer.

There really isn't much to say about the two lenses or the flash that came with the camera they do the trick. And I have no EF lenses to try the converter with.

Added 2013/05/08:

I just returned from another trip to Asia and after this trip I would no longer recommend this camera. It simply doesn't focus fast enough to capture things quickly e.g. when driving in a car and trying to take photos of the outside. Also I can't tell you how often my wife (or anyone else) ended up in my frame because it took more than 1 second to focus and take the shot. I know that's more "snapshot" photography but nevertheless I'd like to have that option.

Added 2013/06/27

Canon just released a firmware update 2.02 that claims to increase focusing times 2x 3x in OneShot AF mode. I just applied it and within the room I'm in it seems to do what it says. Now I'll have to test the new firmware in the wild to see if it makes this camera more suited to my style of photography.

Read Best Reviews of Canon EOS M 18.0 MP Compact Systems Camera with 3.0-Inch LCD and EF-M18-55mm IS STM Lens Here

Here are my two cents on the EOS M + 22mm f/2 STM kit lens. I'll point out that I'm a semi-pro, and I bought this camera as a more casual/portable alternative to my 5D Mark III and heavier L glass.

The main thing I will say about the EOS M is that it's just plain fun. It's portable, it takes great pictures, and has all the pro features I need to give me the confidence that, in a bind, I could leave my big camera at home and come back with perfectly usable shots. Plus, there's just something liberating about using a more casual camera...I love my 5D III, but I seem to set higher expectations for myself when using that camera and it's nice to be able to just get out and have fun.

Anyway, here are some thoughts on the EOS M:

1. Auto-focus If any one thing could be blamed for the less-than-stellar reviews of the EOS-M, this is it. When I first heard about how slow the AF was, I immediately decided that this camera wasn't for me. It made me think of my crummy old cellphone camera, which would hunt for a few seconds in low light then finally take a blurry shot. I'll say that while the AF can be slow, when it *does* lock -unlike the cell camera -you WILL get a great shot. Furthermore, you can maximize AF performance by using the "FlexiZone Single" mode, setting the AF Operation to "ONE SHOT AF", and disabling Continuous AF. I'd also suggest leaving the "Touch Shutter" option disabled, but that may just be a personal preference. [Note: Supposedly the MagicLantern folks are working on homebrew firmware that will fix some of the AF issues, but I would not recommend buying any camera based on the vague promise of some future update.]

2. Image Quality Image quality is great, but it's no 5D Mark III. If you're expecting 5D3 level images from this then you're in the wrong place, but with some care it can produce shots a pro would be proud of. What I noticed most when compared against the higher end cameras would be contrast range and saturation. Some of this could just be the lens, but I haven't yet had a chance to put on something like my 24-70 f/2.8L or 50mm f/1.2L. I plan to do that soon and will update the review with my results. If you shoot in RAW you'll be able to overcome a good portion of the contrast/saturation problems with Photoshop and CameraRaw, but even so I've had to be more careful with blown highlights (particularly specular highlights) on the EOS M.

3. Video Quality I'm generally impressed with the video performance. That said, expect to use manual focus if you want anything near professional-level video. I haven't tried this with a focus peaking monitor yet, but I'm not even sure the camera would be fully functional after losing the touchscreen.

4. ISO Performance The ISO performance is pretty good. Again, it's no 5D Mark III but up to at least ISO 1600 it's not something you can't fix in Photoshop. My biggest complaint with ISO is the fact that you can't seem to use anything finer than full stop increments. Am I missing something?

5. Touch screen I had mixed feelings about losing the majority of my physical buttons and switches in favor of a touch screen, but it is growing on me. The settings I use the most are all easily available via the screen (shooting mode, aperture/shutter speed/ISO, exposure compensation) or through physical buttons (menu, quick menu, exposure lock, drive mode, etc.). One thing that took me an embarrassingly long time to figure out was how to zoom on the image preview screen...using my fingers to pinch and zoom seemed completely foreign coming from the 5D3, but it works well.

6. No view finder This doesn't bother me as much as I thought it would, but I do embarrass myself by occasionally lifting the M to my eye.

7. Features I love the fact that, feature wise, this is very similar to Canon's high-end DSLRs. I had this little camera attached to a wireless strobe system in my home studio, and it just worked. The user interface was familiar, the settings and options were similar, and the results were fantastic. It's also got all the shooting modes (M/Av/Tv/P) that a pro would expect, plus the full auto and "scene intelligent auto" settings that allow you to hand the camera off to a random passerby to get a family shot for you while on vacation.

8. Ergonomics The camera is small and light, and I can stick it in my jacket pocket and "almost" forget that it's there. That said, the small size makes me wonder how easy it will be to hold with heavier glass attached via the EF/EF-S adapter. I'll provide info on that when I get around to it as well.

In short, as long as you don't come into the game expecting pro-level performance and quality, you will not be disappointed. It does exactly what I got it for: it gives me a way to leave my 25 lbs. camera bag at home on occasion, while still delivering great shots that I'm not embarrassed to share online. Plus, for someone who's already invested a great deal of money on Canon glass this makes even more sense. Sure the AF is slow, there aren't many dedicated lenses for the M mount (yet), and it's not a replacement for a high-end camera...but I didn't go in expecting any of that, and so I came out happy.

UPDATE

I've had a chance to use some of my EF lenses on this camera, and here are my results:

1. Canon 16-35mm f/2.8L Good focal length range for a cropped sensor, AF speed comparable to the 22mm f/2 STM.

2. Canon 50mm f/1.2 AF speed comparable to the 22mm f/2 STM, aperture opens all the way to f/1.2 if you were wondering.

3. Tamron 18-270 Di II VC PZD AF is unusably slow, don't bother.

4. Canon 18-135 f/3.5-5.6 IS STM A great pairing with the EOS M, this is on my camera 90% of the time.

5. Canon 100mm f/2.8L IS Macro The EOS M is great for macro. The cropped sensor gives you that extra bit of reach, and the small size and light weight make it easier to maneuver into tight spaces. I'm having a bunch of fun walking around outside my house with this setup.

Want Canon EOS M 18.0 MP Compact Systems Camera with 3.0-Inch LCD and EF-M18-55mm IS STM Lens Discount?

I'm new to the mirror-less camera party, but Canon is even later. I have learned a lot since I bought the camera and thought it worth while to share. First off, I'm a pro photographer and was looking for something compact that delivered high quality RAW images without pulling out my DSLR. I had the Canon G1x and found it to fall short and read that the EOS M delivered. True enough, image for image the EOS-M delivers higher quality results and that is where it ends. I fear Canon did not think this one thru. It falls way short of the other mirror less cameras on the market. The LCD screen is fixed and impossible to see in the sunlight and it dose not have a view finder. Those are the two biggest drawbacks, both I hear will be fixed in the next update. If your in the market for a mirror less camera Sony is years ahead of the curve, that would be my first choice if I was to buy today. If you already own Canon Lenses there is an advantage to the EOS because with an adapter you can use many of the canon lenses. I have put the EOS on a Canon 600mm f4 and it works, but really why would you? TIP if you looking to buy soon: Wait! Canon is updating the EOS-M in the next few months and I expect big changes, also Sony is updating there NEX-7 in the next month or so as well. I expect both to offer at least 24mpx sensors. Hope that helps.

Olympus XZ-1 10 MP Digital Camera with f1.8 Lens and 3-inch OLED Monitor (White)

After shooting with this camera for about a month now, I'm still glad I bought it, but I am a bit disappointed with the video.

I heard some bad reviews about the XZ1 video, but you seem to get some bad reviews with any camera. Here's what I found with mine:

1) Auto-focus on video is pretty much unusable. You get random focus jumps during the video even when you and your subject are barely moving. I tried all sorts of settings changes to deal with this, but I found none that work reliably (except manual focus).

This is not as bad as I thought it would be. I find that most of the videos I take are short and don't require focus adjust. But it does require you to switch between auto for stills and manual for video. Kind of defeats the purpose of having a dedicated video button. I find I some times mess up when switching and wind up taking stills in manual focus, or getting a random bad video. Seems to me that Olympus must know the auto focus is hosed. Why not make video manual-only? Or at least give a menu option to set that up?

2) You get some vertical lines on the video and while in 'preview' if you have a bright light source in the frame. They do not show up in the still pics though. It's not outrageously bad, and other cameras have the same issue, but I figured I'd point it out.

So short answer is if you must have great video look elsewhere (try maybe the Panasonic LX5?). The XZ1 video is good enough for me to use when I HAVE to have a video, but that's about it.

But the stills on the XZ1 camera are fantastic. It really shines when taking pictures of kids indoors with so-so lighting and no flash. And if you like taking close ups of flowers, prepare to be amazed. I got some amazingly crisp shots just pointing and clicking in full auto mode.

For me the kicker that got me to buy the XZ1 over the LX5 was the cheap underwater case available for it:

Olympus PT-050 Under Water Housing for Xz-1 Digital Camera

I'm dying to take it underwater. Maybe I'll post some pics when I do.

Some odds and ends:

The XZ1 doesn't come with an external battery charger, so you need to charge the battery in the camera. That is unless you buy one of these for like 5 bux. It works just fine and so cheap. And generic replacement batteries are available on Amazon for cheap. Haven't needed one yet, but I may get one before I go on vacation.

Premium Battery Charger with Car Charger Adapter for Olympus LI-50B Digital Camera & Camcorder

High Capacity LI-50B Replacement Lithium-Ion Battery for Olympus Stylus Tough 8000, 6000, 1030 SW, 9000, 1010, 1020 Digital Camera

The lens cap is a bit annoying if you are not used to the removable type caps. I was considering buying one of those auto-retract ones, but I don't want to add bulk to the camera. Instead I just attach the cap to the camera with the included lanyard. It pops off when the lens comes out.

Edit 5/27/2012 Here's some thoughts after using for a few months:

I'm really liking the full-auto mode more than I ever thought possible. Unless I'm doing something very unusual, I'll use this mode for all my stills. Even for macro shots it works really good. It's great to go hiking and be able to stop for 10-15 sec and still get a decent shot of that pretty flower. With my last camera it would be a 1-2 minute stop with me fiddling with the controls and my friends whining. I posted one of these quickie full-auto flowers to Amazon.

I've noticed that indoor low light shots have pretty poor automatic white-balancing. You can use "capture white balance" to correct it, but not in "full auto" or "low light" mode which are my 2 favorite modes for taking stills. Also this takes time to do, so mostly I don't bother. Right now my solution is to either live with the bad white balance or if I have a real "keeper" shot, I'll use post processing to clean it up a bit. The included olympus software is not half bad for stuff like this.

For video I've learned a few more tricks to deal with it, but it's still not ideal. I notice that the auto focus problems are much less severe if you are outside on a bright day, so if this is the case, I feel comfortable taking videos in full auto. Also if I plan to do a video where I'm deliberately moving the camera a lot, I will use auto since you don't notice the focus hunting as much with lots of camera movement. For indoors or where the camera will be still, I have my "P mode" on the dial set to manual focus permanently for video use. So the steps to go from still to video are:

1) switch dial to P

2) Hit 'info' and adjust focus if needed

3) start video

Quick, but not that quick.

Edit 9/03/2012 Finally got to try out my underwater case in Hawaii. Unfortunately I got sand in the camera lens on day 2 of my trip, so I only got in one day of snorkeling with it. I'm looking to get it repaired by Olympus so I'll update later on how that goes. I added some samples to the page. 2 full frame (5mp) shots and 2 100% crops.

Overall I was very pleased with the underwater pics. Even when it was overcast and I was diving down it seemed like the shutter speed "auto selected" by the camera was almost always faster than 1/100, so I got very few blurry fish (unlike every other camera I've ever used). The colors seemed to be improved with using the underwater mode vs normal auto, but I'm sure they could be better with manual white balance (which I did not try).

Was pretty torn between this and the Panasonic Lumix LX5, but ended up with this one because I already owned an Olympus camera that used the same battery and also had an external charger, so I'd essentially have an extra battery already. Also, a big selling point on this camera was the lens, even though I'd have preferred the 24mm wide angle on the LX5, the depth of field you can get with the lower aperture range on the XZ-1's 28mm lens seemed better, plus the aperture was more favorable throughout the entire zoom range of the XZ-1. After using the camera for a little while, I was very impressed at the image quality it produced. Overall, it was a great camera, but I ended up returning it because the price dropped over 60 dollars from the time I bought it before the return window closed, and I found an LX5 for only 306 dollars from amazon warehouse deals. It seemed to me that the difference in price was well worth whatever differences there were between the cameras, and I knew I'd prefer that 24mm lens. However, after having the LX5 for a few days now, I cant quite reproduce the excellent image quality and depth of field I got from the XZ-1. But, with the difference in price, I may just end up living with the LX5, it's by no means any slouch, and I think the menu system and flexibility of the options is better than the XZ-1. And as much as people seem to love that control ring around the lens, I didnt find that I missed it at all with the adequately intuitive controls on the LX5.

One last thing, be aware that the white version of the XZ-1 appears to be made with more plastic, as from what I understand, the body of the black version is metal. So to me, the build quality of the white version wasnt as good, and as cool as I thought it looked initially, in practice, I felt like a bit of tool when using it in public and would definitely go with the black version if I were to ever purchase again.

Buy Olympus XZ-1 10 MP Digital Camera with f1.8 Lens and 3-inch OLED Monitor (White) Now

***

update: I really enjoy this camera. It is fun to use and very adaptable to any shooting situation. I find myself shooting a lot more in Manual than I expected. The exposure indicator on the front makes that possible to have the right shutter speed and aperture combo based on your ISO selection. iAUTO mode does a great job for those who feel more comfortable with no adjustments. I took about 300 shots (600 writes to a 16 GB 30MB/sec SanDisk Ultra SD card, 1 RAW and 1 High Res Jpeg at the same time) before the battery gave in. The 3" OLED screen is good enough to "talk back" to the Texas bright sun, which was one potential concern since it does not come with a viewfinder and I did not want to spend the additional money for the available optional unit. I also recommend to buy a second battery Olympus LI-50B Rechargeable Li-Ion Battery for Select Olympus Digital Cameras Retail Packaging(http://www.amazon.com/review/RP3Y4CKKCDRCB/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm) and the following leather case COSMOS Black Leather Case Cover Bag For Olympus XZ1 XZ-1 Camera + Cosmos cable tie(http://www.amazon.com/review/R2ZTHOZ11ALJ2M/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B005IJTNI8&linkCode=&nodeID=&tag=). If closer than ~2 ft to subjects, set the AF to Macro. You will still have zoom. In super Macro zoom is not possible, but you can take pics of bugs as close as ~ half an inch. The camera has settings for bracketing in exposure settings and white balance. You can also set custom settings for one mode dial position. What a versatile, complete, fun, high quality compact camera! Beginner or pro, this camera is great for making good shots when the DSLR has to stay at home.

***

INITIAL REVIEW:

I just received this today, purchased it after playing with one my friend just received, really was impressed, and for $199 on Amazon it is a steal deal and a complete no-brainer! And since I was looking for a serious compact camera that also gives me DSLR capabilities like choosing shutter speed, aperture, ISO or all...or absolutely nothing ... this is the perfect camera. And with the fast lens from f1.8 to 2.5 over the complete zoom range, the lens is worth the $199 alone as any DSLR owner can attest to. I am using this as my back up camera for the Nikon D7000 DSLR that I am privileged to own and used exclusively over the past 15 month ... and my cell phone (which doesn't cut it ... better than nothing, a 8MP camera cell phone). This camera is also for those times when I simply cannot justify taking the D7000 with, which happens seldomly, but when it does, this camera fills that void beautifully.

So for those who have no clue about cameras: You cannot go wrong with this camera. You cannot find a more simple and feature rich camera with PLENTY of quality mega pixels than this one (10 MegaPixels is enough) at such a low price. $199 is a lot of money for many, but the quality of this camera makes the price laughable. You will be happy you purchased it. Buy it. You will invite me to your family picture for this recommendation...(you don't have to) (Note: The current suggested retail price from Olympus for this camera is $499 as of November 2012, and rightfully so).

For those who know everything about cameras: You will agree from the lens specs alone, from knowing what Olympus produces, knowing that the image sensor is large for this compact camera (Large, High-Sensitivity 1/1.63" CCD Sensor). It is build of the highest quality materials targeted for a much higher price bracket. You also will agree that the XZ-2 isn't worth $400 more. Buy it. You will want to send me a post card for this recommendation.

This camera is very heavy due to the high quality build. The front half shell is a type high end powder coated steel or aluminum shell while the back half shell feels like a powdercaoted surface, but it's made of a high quality plastic.

All control elements are of high quality. Easy to see. Easy to use. Intuitive. You get a quick feeling for it. The rear OLED 3" screen is nice and the user interface is appropriate to the principal mode dial on the top right of the camera. If you want to see all the adjustments you could adjust, then put the mode dial to 'M' (manual control) and you can dial with the rear dial/selection control through the menus (always enter the adjustments by clicking the right side of the dial where the flash symbol is; then you you can select adjustments on a symbol strip to your right and select the options on the bottom symbol strip of the display ... you'll see, it is quite intuitive). The objective ring also lets you dial through options of the menu. The ring's function changes also depending on the mode dial...for example mode dial on 'M' (Manual Shooting) the objective dial controls the aperture from f1.8 to f8.0...mode dial on 'S' (Shutter Priority), the objective ring control the exposure/shutter from 1/2000 sec to 60 seconds...mode dial on 'Aperture Priority', the objective ring controls the aperture from f1.8 to 8.0 (as 'M')...mode dial on 'P' (Program auto sets aperture and exposure), the objective ring controls the ISO from ISO Auto, 100,125,160,...to 6400. In the scene mode on the mode dial you can use the ring to select all the different scene modes. Very easy to use.

I think after a while it becomes natural to select your settings quickly and accurately, because it is very intuitive. The user interface is really ingenious.

The flash release is very fast and might scare you the first time. You will seldom need it because of the low light capabilities of the lens. Also to note is that the mode dial has a dedicated automated lowlight mode, where the camera is already optimized for night shots or in little light conditions. The flash can also be metered full, 1/4, 1/16, 1/64 besides forced off, red eye reduction, normal flash.

The lens cap that comes with the camera takes getting used to it. It's magnetically held and pops off if one simply turns on the camera if you forget to take it off. Both ways work. There is an Olympus cap that opens up mechanically upon turning on the camera and the objective driving out to photo modeOlympus LC-63A Lens Cap for XZ-1 Digital Camera. There are third party ones too. I don't own it, won't need it myself.

There are accessories available, like a TCON-17 teleconverter lens expanding the tele to 190mm (in 35mm comparable terms)Olympus Tcon-17 1.7x Telephoto Converter Lens. for ~$200. A viewfinder can plug into the hot shoe for about $250 Olympus VF-2 Electronic ViewFinder (Black).

For me the accessories like the teleconverter lens and the viewfinder make no sense. The camera costs $200. If I NEED the eye viewfinder (which is very nice to have), I have to just use my DSLR. It doesn't make sense to me to have this camera with a million accessories. It takes away what I purchased it for. It's got to be in the 'box'. Not to mention, for $600 you can buy a DSLR these days. My old Olympus SP-350 had one build in (that camera is for sale now, but you are better off to buy this XZ-1).

The camera did not come with a SD card, so make sure you buy one. I bought a SanDisk Ultra 16GB which has a transfer rate of 30MB/sec which is plenty. Don't stick a crappy low end SD card into the camera. It will take away from the speed of this camera (or any camera when writing to the chip). Use 15MB/sec min, 30MB max. 45 MB/sec (San Disk Extreme) is overkill. It's inexpensive 'film'. With 16 GB you can shoot over 1300 RAW pictures (uncompressed pictures) or more than 2770 10MP fine JPEGs (1/4 compression rate). In other words, plenty of pics. Or you can record RAW and JPEG at the same time (~890 shots). NICE!

The first pictures I took are incredible. Look at flickr.com/groups/xz1/ for pics XZ-1 owners took. Low light pictures are amazing without flash. At ISO6400 the camera behaves just like film would. It's incredible one can take pictures with this camera at that sensitivity.

This camera is amazing. It's fun. It's real quality. It is unique from the design. The user interface is well thought through, the controls are first class. It's ideal for the beginner with the potential to grow and become a better photographer the easy way. It's a serious camera for professionals when one cannot take that DSLR or doesn't want to.

It takes HD video too, but if you want video, buy a video camera. Don't expect this to be a video camera. It's not. But it is, kind of.

Video recording format: AVI Motion JPEG

Recording time: HD: 7min, SD: 14min

Video file sizes: Maximum 2GB

Video with sound: Yes

Built in microphone type: WAVE

External microphone option: Yes

Don't judge a picture camera for video. If it has video great. If the video is great that's even greater. But this is a camera for pictures.

I had my Olympus SP-350 for over six years now. This XZ-1 will be my new companion for a long time to give me the best non-DSLR option.

And yes, the XZ-2 is not worth $450 more. For that advice you can give me half of the difference and I invite you to a beer.

Here are the complete specs for your convenience from Olympus for those who know what they are looking for. For all others, you cannot go wrong!

It truly is a Xtra Zip #1 pic machine haha!

Camera Type: Compact

Effective Megapixels: 10 MP

Image sensor type: CCD High Sensitivity

Image sensor size: 1/1.63"

Image processing engine: TruePic V

ISO range: Auto: 100 800

Manual: 100 6400

Movie: 200 1600

Low Light: 100 3200

Lens focal length: 6.0 24.00mm

Film lens equivalent (35mm): 28 112mm

Widest aperture: Wide(W) F1.8; Tele(T) F2.5

Optical zoom range: 4x

Digital zoom: 4x (16x maximum combined zoom)

Nearest focusing distance: Normal 0.6m

Macro: 0.1m (W); 0.3m (T)

Super Macro: 0.01m

Viewing screen type: OLED

Viewing screen size: 3"

Screen resolution: 610,000

Secondary viewfinder: with optional VF-2

Image stabilisation: Sensor Shift

Autofocus system type: Contrast detection AF system

Focus modes: Manual focus, Single AF, AF Tracking, Face Detection AF, Macro mode, Super Macro mode

Low-light AF assistance: AF Illuminator built-in

Metering modes: ESP light metering, Spot metering, Centre weighted metering

Scene modes: Portrait, e-Portrait, Landscape, Night Scene, Night+Portrait, Indoor, Self Portrait, Sport, Sunset, Fireworks, Multi-Exposure, Cuisine, Document, Beach & Snow, Under Water Wide, Under Water Macro, Pet

Panorama recording: Yes

3D recording: No

Creative filter system: Art Filters (Photo & Movie)

Photo Magic Filter types: Pop Art, Soft Focus, Grainy Film, Pin Hole, Diorama, Dramatic Tone

Video Magic Filter types: Pop Art, Soft Focus, Grainy Film, Pin Hole, Diorama, Dramatic Tone

Shutter speed range: 2 1/2000s

Self timer: 12/2 seconds

Remote: with optional RM-UC1 Remote Cable

Flash type and power: Built-in

Flash hotshoe for external flash: Yes

Compatible external flash units: with optional FL-36R, FL-20, FL-14, FL-50R

Wireless flash capability: Yes

Wi-Fi Compatibility: No

GPS: No

Electronic Compass: No

Date imprint: No

Memory card type: SD/SDHC/SDXC

Internal memory: 54.6MB

Photo recording format(s): JPEG, RAW+JPEG

Video recording format: AVI Motion JPEG

Recording time: HD: 7min, SD: 14min

Video file sizes: Maximum 2GB

Video with sound: Yes

Built in microphone type: WAVE

External microphone option: Yes

Computer interface (Cable type): USB 2.0 High Speed

AV interface (Cable type): HDMI (CB-HD1 Type D); AV cable (CB-AVC3)

Battery type (model): LI-50B

Battery charging: In-camera via USB

Battery charger: with optional LI-50C External Charger

Battery life (CIPA standard): Approx. 320 shots (with 50% flash on)

Manometer: No

Dimensions WxHxD: 110.6 x 64.8 x 42.3

Weight: 275g

Box content: XZ-1 Digital Camera, USB Cable & Charger, Instruction Manual, [ib] Software CD, Audio/Video Cable, Wrist Strap, Lithium-Ion Battery (LI-50B), Warranty Card.

RRP AUD: $499.00

Underwater housing option: Yes

Read Best Reviews of Olympus XZ-1 10 MP Digital Camera with f1.8 Lens and 3-inch OLED Monitor (White) Here

Amazing camera. F1.8 makes photos like if they were taken with a DSLR. If you attach a RICOH lens protector will interfere with the flash, but you wont need to use it anyways, night times pictures are stunning. I have the lumix LX3 and the olympus take much better photos, though it has a narrower lens (LX-3 24mm, really wide photos)

Like other reviewers said the video quality is no match for current lumix cameras with AVCHDLite, or even the iphone 4, but that's not the point of having a camera.

Want Olympus XZ-1 10 MP Digital Camera with f1.8 Lens and 3-inch OLED Monitor (White) Discount?

This is my first Oly camera I've been a Canon fan entirely. I'm replacing a $130 point and shoot with this XZ-1 because I unfairly compare these things to my wife's Canon 5D and an old Canon SureShot I had in the $400-range that performed admirably.

My primary desire in this camera was the low-light sensitivity of the lens. At 1.8, it allows me to use flash less, and stick to lower ISOs to eliminate days. Most of the pictures I take are not in the full sun as I'm sure many of you can relate with. The camera performs pretty well at 1.8, though it is a far cry from the 1.8 85mm portrait lens on the Canon 5D (DSLR). However, it can take some comparable images with less flexibility as is expected in this format. The key to making the best use of this capability is to use more manual settings. Full auto will result in the camera leveraging higher ISOs first so as to maintain the fastest shutter speed possible. Most people should be able to take a steady picture at 1/60 with a subject that isn't moving a great deal. The auto settings in the camera think you need 1/125 and so adjust the ISO gain accordingly.

The other beaut of a feature is the built-in ND filter. You have to enable it through a menu, unfortunately, but it can be a real boon in sunnier settings where you happen to also want a larger shutter (lower fstop).

The only aspect of the camera that I really don't like is the auto focus in video mode. For some reason, the video will periodically blur and refocus every 15 or 20 seconds.

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