Before you buy, read this primer which helps you figure out which product is right for you.
Choose a category:
Digital Cameras
 Please select a question about buying a Digital Camera from the list below.
1. How do I know what I need?
2. How important is the lens?
3. Why should I care about pixels?
4. Why is the viewfinder so critical to a digital camera?
5. What's the right camera size for me?
6. How does storage impact my picture-taking experience?
7. Are there any other features I should consider?
8. What you should know about Counterfeit Batteries
1. How do I know what I need?

Before deciding on a digital camera to purchase, you first need to figure out which one fits your needs.

A good practice is to make a list of the things you plan to do with the digital camera and the images you get from it. Do you want to make prints from your images? And how big? Do you prefer to have creative control? Or do you like the camera to automatically do the work for you? Do you like a camera that can fit in your pocket or do you favor one compatible with your 35mm lenses? Once you have these answers, you'll be that much closer to finding the digital camera that's right for you.

2. How important is the lens?

Of obvious significance is the lens that the digital camera uses. Olympus has from its first digital camera used lenses designed to meet the higher requirements of digital photography. A film or video type lens used by many early cameras was limited in the resolution or sharpness and color fidelity it could deliver. It is important that the camera you buy has a lens that will deliver clear, sharp, and colorful images.

Today, many of the ultra-compact models have a 3x optical zoom, but you can find greater optical zooms on compact models and digital SLRs (up to 10x). The optical zoom lets you get closer to your subject and using an optical zoom lens provides the best resolution possible.

There are also "digital zooms" to consider, which let you zoom much farther than the optical capability provided. However, the digital zoom merely "blows up" the image in the viewfinder and crops it, thereby reducing the clarity and pixel resolution of the image. 

3. Why should I care about pixels?

One of the most discussed elements in digital photography is pixel resolution. A digital camera's resolution is often measured in "pixels". Many people believe, "The more pixels a camera has, the sharper and smoother the images are". While this may have some truth to it, pixels really relate to the size you can print or display an image.

If you only want to have a photo-quality 4" x 6" print, you usually require a camera with a little more than a million pixels, or 1.2 megapixels. An 8" x 10" print requires at least 2 megapixels. And with a 4-megapixel camera, you can easily make 11" x 14" prints on your home inkjet or dye sublimation printer. If all you simply plan to do is to email your images, a digital camera with less than a million pixels will do, or one with the ability to capture the image at 640 x 480 pixels.

The actual image resolution (sharpness, smoothness and color fidelity) is a result of many factors including the pixel count, lens, focusing system and image processor used by the camera. It is "picture quality, not pixels" that is important. Buy the digital camera with pixels that meets your printing or display needs.

4. Why is the viewfinder so critical to a digital camera?

A well-designed digital camera will often offer two ways to view the subject you want to shoot - the Optical viewfinder and the more popular LCD display (viewfinder).

The Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) panel on the camera is essential. It helps you compose and review your still pictures (or QuickTime® movies) and to navigate through the camera's menu to use many of its features. But you can also use a camera with an eye-level EVF or optical viewfinder to save the batteries.

Like the camera's larger LCD this is an easy way to view the images and often shows you exactly what the image will look like when captured, just like an SLR viewfinder. Unlike the larger camera body style LCD, an EVF finder does not use a lot of battery power making it more efficient. Another added advantage to an eye-level optical or EVF viewfinder is you can turn the camera LCD off and conserve your batteries. 

5. What's the right camera size for me?

There are pretty much five options here: the high-end model, a creative camera, entry and stylish class or a digital SLR. The entry and stylish cameras fit snugly in your pocket or bag and gives you the freedom to take it anywhere so you can shoot pictures virtually anytime. A creative and high-end model is a bit bigger in size as well as being a bit bigger in features. They're still easy to carry so they can accompany you on vacation or in the field, and they provide more advanced features so you can have more control over your images if so desired.
The size of the digital SLR varies depending on the camera itself. There are models now that are just as small as compact zoom cameras, or you can find ones a bit larger. Regardless of size, though, these cameras will give you the ultimate control possible over your photographic experience.
6. How does storage impact my picture-taking experience?

One of the greatest benefits of digital photography is the ability to store electronic files on removable media. Removable media enables your files to be portable, easily transferred to a computer, and to be erased so the media itself can be used over and over again.

The most common form of memory is flash memory, meaning SmartMedia cards, CompactFlash cards and the xD-Picture Card. Flash memory has the advantage of size, allowing you to store more images than a floppy disk. Cameras using the floppy disks or even optical disks can put a strain on your camera because they need battery power to run the disk drive, so a camera with flash memory might be a better choice. 

7. Are there any other features I should consider?

These are the basic things to look out for and decide upon. And of course there are many other things that can affect your decision now that technology has come so far.

All Olympus cameras offer QuickTime® movie capability so you can make your own mini movies. One model also offers the recording of MPEG4 files.  Universal Serial Bus (USB) vs. serial port connectivity can be an issue too, depending on how quick a connection you want. And all Olympus cameras have Auto-Connect USB for an even easier connection. But as long as you can figure out the features of a camera that are important to your specific needs, you should have no problem deciding on a digital camera that's the right choice for you. 

8. What you should know about Counterfeit Batteries

Using Counterfeit Battery Packs with your Olympus camera might cause severe effects on the batteries, you camera and /or its performance.
Olympus always recommends to use genuine Olympus batteries for Olympus digital cameras. However, it has come to our attention that imitations of our Li-ion battery for Olympus digital cameras are being distributed in some areas and countries.

We have evaluated these imitation batteries and have determined that they are designed with insufficient attention to safety concerns. If you use these imitation batteries with your camera, the camera's performance may be adversely affected. It is also possible that excessive heat could be generated, or that the battery may leak, burst, or cause a fire. In extreme cases, the camera may be damaged or users handling the camera or battery may be burned.

In order to ensure safe camera operation, we believe it is important to reiterate the importance of using only genuine Olympus batteries for Olympus cameras. Please note that Olympus bears no responsibility for any camera problems, accidents, and damage of any nature that may occur due to use of non-genuine Olympus Lithium Ion batteries, including these imitations.

Please visit CIPA Website to get detailed information.
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