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The camera takes reasonably good pictures when it works, however the basic design and construction make it unreliable. Olympus markets the Stylus as a tough camera suitable for outdoors however the operating design is poor. Notably the battery compartment is where your thumb holds the camera, frequently opening the battery door and interrupting operation of the camera. The power ON/OFF switch is under the sliding cover. It is very sensitive and failed within 9 month. Olympus did a poor job with this design.

As the first time digital camera buyer, I loved the price and size. Photos are as good as it ought to be (IMHO, this is a given - Olympus is a name to reckon with in the world of imaging). Photos taken by Canon and Olympus looked the same.

Pros - It is sexy and beautiful (the metal case is really cool), very attractive size (fits in my shirt pocket), great battery life (have charged only once so far - I have clicked over 50-60 photos so far), rugged (I do not carry it in a camera pouch), easy interface (very intuitive - on the contrary, found Canon to be a bit complicated), media is xD Card (great size compared to the bulky CompactFlash); xD Card is also is superfast.

Cons - The only one I can think of - xD Card is expensive - I had to pay about $40 for an Olympus 256 MB xD Card on eBay.

I've had this camera since June 2003 and was so happy with my purchase... until, last week during my precious vacation, the camera died (exactly in the same manner as described previously by someone else) and I have to throw it out of the window (or pay $150 for the repair).I also did the blunder of recommending this camera to my friends(after 6 months of my purchase/use)... now I'm really regretting!!!!

It was working perfectly until this happened, when both the green and orange lights started flashing simulatenously and the camera stopped responding. Replacing the battery(as per the manual) did not come to the rescue and I had to buy a "use and throw" camera for $10 that was far more reliable that this piece of junk!

i'm not a professional photographer and mostly use this for pictures of my family and friends during holidays or when i'm bored. It's very simple, stylish, compact, lightweight, and it has some easy to use features. on the other hand, and this may be my fault, almost all of my pictures are slightly out of focus. there have been about ten out of 300 pictures that have been perfectly clear, most of which are taken of my cat. Now for my purpose this doesnt affect me too much, so its' not a huge deal, but i guess you get what you pay for.

I am a freelance writer and when I can't get a photographer to come with me on jobs, I have to take photos myself. This is where my Stylus 300 comes into play. The editor of one of the magazines I work for was very impressed by the quality of this camera. Some of the photos I have taken with it have been published in various publications. <br /> <br /> The only con I have is that the quality of photographs taken indoors with poor lighting are not very good. <br /> <br /> In addition, this camera is perfect for me due to the style and size. I don't have to lug around a huge camera bag with it, I can just put it into my jacket pocket. This came in handy during a recent ski trip. I would and have recommended this model to friends and family.

I have had this camera for about a year and a half. The first six monthes I had it I loved it, its cute and takes really clear pictures, and is pretty easy to bring anywhere. After using it a few times a week for six monthes the slide cover stopped working, and I would have to try two or three times before it would open or close for me. I would recomend if you buy this camera to always carry it in a case, the images have started to become less and less clear, perhaps due to me not using one. I enjoyed the camera while it lasted, but I'd recommend going with a different brand if you're looking for a longlasting purchase. (but I guess for the price it's being offered at now is more reasonable.)

I like the camera so much I bought three of them. Takes great pictures and is perfect for a novice. It doesn't have the features of my Sony but is more than adequate for a "point & shoot".

I was very pleased with this Olympus camera. I can't believe I found a camera that small and feature packed for so little! The camera was bought as a birthday present, and I am starting to wish I had got one for myself! I like how you can download pictures to any computer without the use of a software program. Great Product!

For the snapshot photographer, you'll get great results with this little guy. It's almost hard to take a bad picture with it. And, with a little care, you can take really great pictures.

The cards are easy to use, and the camera can take some serious abuse and shrug it off. I'm very happy with it. I wish it was less expensive, though.

I have had this camera since July 2003. Now I am about ready to buy a newer, different camera. Overall, this is a good camera for someone who wants a simple, easy to use, 3.2 megapixel camera. Being 3.2 mp, it gives great quality for 4 x 6 photos. If you are someone who wants a standard digital camera and are not intent on taking artistic photos in clubs, or high -definition landscape photos, then this is for you.
As a run down:
PROS:
+Sturdy casing (I have dropped it and it is fine)
+Many photo options (if you need them, i.e. manual white-balance, macro mode, self-timer)
+On auto mode as soon as you slide the cover open (ON) so you can point and shoot
+Water resistant (great for all my travels)

CONS:
-The slide cover (though initially I thought it was great that the camera lens has extra protection from dust and the lens retracts completely, the slide door has started to malfunction. A few times, I slide it open and the camera doesnt even turn on. After another try, it is okay. Consider, that I have used this camera very frequently in the past 2 yrs so I am not completely surprised)
-Dim Light conditions produce bad photos when object is far away, i.e. people on beach at sunset
-Dark conditions produce bad photos (when on night mode, the exposure is just longer, which creates extremely blurry photos)
-Video mode is ONLY 16 seconds and no sound

If you don't have the need for the newer 5mp+ cameras, then go ahead and buy this camera for a cheap price off amazon or similar because it is a decent camera for day-to-day shots if you are not picky. (I guess I have developed into a picky photographer!)

I liked the size of this camera, it is very small and take good picture. The only thing that I did not like about it is that it has the option of taking movies but without audio!!! but otherwise it's a good camera :)

After having my camera for less than 6 months and taking numerous blurred pictures, the camera finally stopped working all together because it would no longer turn on when opening the sliding lense protector. After sending it back to olympus who wanted 150 bucks to fix it, fat chance!, i took it to a local camera guy who told me that this problem happens to this camera all of the time. And whats worse, olympus refuses to sell the part that is needed to fix it. Currently my camera guy is waiting for a junk olympus to come in (i'm sure it wont take too long) and he will extract the needed part. Problem is, that it will probably have the same problem as my camera! Until then, I wait and take no pictures. One thing is for sure though, I will NEVER EVER buy a product from Olympus, a company that treats its customers so badly and with such little respect.

The reviewer Katphish correctly noted many of the good points of this digital camera, especially lightness and quickness of use. I, too can whip the camera out of my "shirt pocket" and squeeze off a shot in about 10 second or so.
BUT, to me, the biggest disadvantage to this camera is not lack of manual controls, but lack of acceptable iris abilty. If it opens to f3.5 I would be very surprised. The shutter compensates in lower light conditions by staying open longer --much longer. The previous Olympus model I owned had a much wider iris ( maybe f2.0 or f1.6) and I was able to take many sharp interior low-light shots with no problems ( Hotel lobbies, a yummy food dish, person across table, night shot of street ambiance), with no problems. Sure, the flash attachment would sometimes be ok, except for the intrusive flash. It may be just me, but with the Stylus 300, too many shots come out blurry, even when braced. What was standard in the older model, becomes very difficult in this one. The many cute features of this camera are made slightly difficult by having them buried in layers of menus. One can't always carry the manual with them, to say nothing of spending time to look up, say, how to delete one pix without accidently deleting them all. Some everyday situations and controls can be memorized, but well, isn't the camera supposed to be for folks "on the go"?

Good points:
(1) Reasonable price
(2) Very handy to carry and light weight
(3) Lithium battery - Once charged this lasts for a long, long time (I don't know exactly how long, but I think you can take some 80 pictures for atleast 3 times and download them. Even after this you can reliably carry the camera for more pictures - it's that good!!)That way you can save on batteries cost also.
(4) The picture quality looks nice on the computer

Bad points:
(1) When you want to view the pictures you have just taken, you have to press a button twice like we double click on the mouse. Sometimes, its a little annoying to do that as it is not as exciting as just clicking on a mouse.
(2) Although there are number of mode options available, night mode is not very straightforward to operate. It needs some special skill to hold on the click button for a second or so, and then again click it (not exactly double clicking). Once you get skilled with that, the pictures come out very clear.

Overall, I liked the camera.

Believe the reviews that the slider will break after time. The camera worked ok for about 2 years, but now the slider won't activate the lens. Very poor design. The camera also is horrible at night or with low light. The battery life is realy bad. Will only last for about an hour. Now I'm stuck with all the extra memory cards and batteries for an Olympus. Even so, I still won't purchase another Olympus!

The picture quality on this camera is impressive. Even after three years and many bounces on concrete. I must have dropped this camera at least 10 times and the thing is solid as a rock. The picture quality is unbeleivable as well as many people look at the 3x5's and say, "this isn't a digital" The only reason I gave it less starts is because it doesn't have a built in date feature, or a built in microphone. The date feature is super convenient when you want to capture certain events.

This is our first digital camera and, if the lighting is good, the pictures come out beautiful. Unfortunately with children, we do not always have the opportunity to adjust the lighting to get a great picture. When this happens, the pics ALWAYS turn out grainy or blurry (and the flaw isn't noticable on the LCD screen. Only after you download or print is when you see it). It really is disappointing because we have taken many pictures that would have turned out great if not for this problem. My parents have a Canon Powershot (not positive on the model) and they never have this problem--always beautiful pictures. I would definitely suggest that anyone in the market for a digital camera look at a different brand, or at least a more recent model.

I really liked this camera for the first year that I owned it, and then the slider (which reveals the lense) broke and now I have a really hard time taking pictures. If you barely bump the slider when the lense is open, it will think you're trying to close the camera and it will turn off. Also, the lense will slide open when the camera is in my purse and turn the camera on and off. This really kills the battery.

Otherwise, I really liked the camera. The battery life is great and it is really lightweight. I love the fact that it is weatherproof, and have tested this characteristic many times. It's a pretty tough camera (other than the slider breaking). I have taken it all over the world and back again, and it's still taking great pictures.

Since the slider is broken, I'm planning on getting a new camera... another Olympus, but one with a different lense-protection system.

I just got back from Kenya, and this camera captured all my moments with the highest quality. Ive gotten compliments from people commenting on the photo quality of the pictures and how great it is (in addition the the beautiful scenes I captured). Compared to my friends' cheaper digital cameras, this by far is worth the $250+.

PROS:
- Beautiful design and very sleek, sturdy and small. Comes with a handle you can put around your wrist, which comes in handy
- Has many features and modes for use in different situations. Althought the AUTO mode is sufficient for most situations, if you learn how to use all the different modes (which I admit, Im still figuring out) you can take better quality pictures
- Being a college student who takes the camera out with me a lot when Im very inebrieated and because I am a clumsy person, Ive dropped the camera several times, including on concrete. Its held up beautifully with minor scratches
- Its also water resistant for spills
- It has digital zoom which allows you to take pictures of things that are pretty far away. Although the pictures come out more fuzzy than normal, It allowed me to get sufficient pictures of things that I could only see through my high powered binoculars

CONS
- You definietly need to get a bigger memory card with this camera since the one it comes with only takes about 24 picures. Although. this is the case with most digital cameras nowadays
- The fuzzy digital zoom pictures (see comment above)
- If you forget to completely close the lens door, when you take out the camera again the battery is drained. Also, lately Ive been having trouble with the lens getting stuck in place when it comes out and retracts, but I have the sinking feelings that that is correlated to the drops that the camera has undergone (see comment above)

Overall, I did a lot of research when looking for a digital camera and although this does run a little but more pricy than all the $100 cameras that are out there, I think the camera is very well worth the money, and even a steal for the quality of the camera.

5 STARS!!!

Loved the camera... until it broke! This was my first digital camera purchase and I bought Olympus because I've had good experiences with the brand previously. The camera takes good pictures, is lightweight, looks good and I enjoyed it for about 18 months when the slider broke. I am not hard on equipment so believed this to be a manufacturers defect and called Olympus who stated they will fit it... for $150. Great... I'll get it fixed and then have it break again 18 months later? Not a real good deal. What I've got now is an expensive paperweight. I'll put my money where it'll do the most good... in another camera and probably not an Olympus! It doesn't matter how good something is if it doesn't work. Anyone want a real pretty paperweight?

After falling in a river with my last digital camera (don't ask) I wanted a durable camera that I wouldn't kill myself over if I lost or broke. This was my concluded answer and thus far I've been pretty happy. I will say this though; as far as I can tell you can't view pictures in a gallery format without closing the lense and shutting the camera off. You can see the picture you just took and leave it on, but not all of your photos. I didn't think this was a big deal but I find it annoying. Also, the buttons on the camera are very small and built low to the frame of the camera. This makes it good for durability because they won't snap off or crack from getting bumped or such, but, they are kind of hard to push. Also, the screen is smaller than I realized and the zoom is practially NOTHING. It didn't really seem like it on the pictures I viewed, but it's pretty tiny. I was surprised at the memory capacity of the camera though, being a smaller megapixel it of course requires less memory space, but a 256 mb memory card holds around 325 pictures. I think this is a good camera and is very functional for someone who just candidly takes photos. NOT for a photographer buff.

I was given one of these cameras as a gift as a replacement for my beloved Sony 3MP camera. It started out well enough, this took some alright photos until I had it for a week. The camera would not focus correctly, if you zoomed in with it the picture would come out extraordinarily blurry. Some photos I took of friends had a strange hue over them and were blurry to say the least.

Another problem I ran into was that the battery life in the camera wore down extraordinarily quickly. If you use this camera with flash the battery will wear out after about 10 photos.

In addition when taking a picture the camera would pause for about 5 seconds, the screen would turn black, show the picture I just took for less than a second, turn black again for a few seconds and would then show what I was aiming at.

Let's just say I went back to using that old Sony camera I had...I still can't belive how disappointed I was by a camera that was made by one of the best companies in the buisiness.

This camera is not one for anyone who wants a reliable camera for everyday use. This is nothing more then a cheap attempt at making a halfway good digital camera. For about the same price you can pick up a Sony 3.2MP Cybershot, which from personal experience is excellent, or for about $10-$20 more a nice Canon 3.2MP Powershot.

I gave my Nikon digital to my daughter when I purchased the Olympus because I wanted a camera that was more 'weatherproof'. We spend quite a bit of time at the beach and involve ourselves in some watersports (kayaking). I did not feel comfortable with having the Nikon even near anything wet. Upon examining the Olympus, I suspected that its 'weatherproofness' was pretty weak. The hatch covers for the battery and usb port are quite flimsy and way too easy to open accidentally. Although the covers do have 'o' ring type seals, it was obvious these will not hold back nominal splashing water. Also, the lens slide is very vulnerable to sand -- so taking the slide off and cleaning the slide grooves has become routine. Mechanically, the camera just seems cheap --unlike the less expensive Nikon that feels solid.

Using the camera is much more involved than the Nikon. I didn't appreciate Nikon's menu setup/controls until I used the Olympus. It drove me nuts -- and still does.

On the plus side, the pics seem fine. And unlike other reviewers, I find the battery life is pretty good. I do have a couple of back up batteries that are always charged, so no problem. The chip holds lots of pics.

I have had many regular Olympus cameras in the past (all 35mm) and have always thought highly of Olympus quality. Olympus just did not meet the standards I expected when it came to this camera.

I love the security of knowing the camera is water resistant, and the battery life is so good I have hardly ever used the second battery I purchased.

But... it has a big flaw, one in common with other Olympus products. If you hand the camera to someone to take a picture... 99 times out of 100... they will accidentially turn the camera off. The slide switch is annoying, overly sensitive, and very very fragile. If (or when) it breaks the repair charge is a minimum $125.

Flash pictures are another issue... they always come out with wierd yellowish colors. Overall I'm just barely satisfied with this model, and very unhappy when compared to my prior (stolen) Canon PowerShot.

I own this camera for about 2 years. The problem is the lens cover slider track.The metal track has just worn away just from opening and closing the lens cover.Now the lens cover will not stay on the camera causing the battery to die.This is a manufacturing defect

Great little camera...for a year. We bought this for our kids to use, but ended up using it ourselves. We liked the compact size, that it was all-weather and it took decent pictures. We stopped using our better, larger camera...until we started experiencing the dreaded slider issue. Just after the warranty ended the camera started turning off at random -- we discovered that any little bump or nudge to the slide cover will shut the camera off. And it's nearly impossible to hold the camera without touching the slider. We were quoted a price of $89. + tax + shipping for an authorized Olympus repair, but we'll probably opt to purchase a new camera without the slide cover.

I was actually quite happy with this camera for the first few months. It went everywhere with me, was compact and took what I thought were pretty good photos. However, the slider began to loosen up after nine or ten months, just before the 12 month warranty period expired. I checked around to get an estimate on 'tightening' the piece and found that minimally it would cost at least $100.

As Olympus advertised a customer satisfaction trade in policy, I e-mailed them. I waited a few days for an answer, and e-mailed again. When I still didn't receive an answer, I phoned. I did this a number of times as I couldn't seem to get around the voice mail system. When I finally did get through to a human, the folks there didn't seem to know who I should speak to. I was put through to voice mail again and left another message. I did this three more times, and of course, never got a call back, and my warranty expired.

I finally did get through and explained my story. I was told that I could trade in the Olympus Stylus 300, which had cost me just under $300, however, the only trade in I would be allowed would be to a singular, more costly camera and that for another $350, Olympus would "trade" up and I could have that model. When I said I thought that was ridiculous, I became subject to quite a tongue lashing, along with attitude from the Olympus rep. When I told him I was not pleased, and that any additional money I spent would go towards a different camera from a manufacturer other than Olympus, he became abusive.

I am now shopping for replacement cameras, and have been to two stores, neither of which stock Olympus equipment. When I asked why, I was told that Olympus' lack of customer service and failure to honor warranties were the reason.

This is the first review I have ever written, and it's fair to point out that I was quite happy with my little Stylus for the first nine months, however, owing to the manufacturer's lack of concern, snarky reps and failure to honor printed guarantees, I can say that I will never again purchase anything Olympus.

Buyer beware....

Pictures were never as great as expected. Finally, after 2.5 years
it died due to the "sliding cover failure" syndrom.

Overall the camera is a good, sturdy camera. I've had it for 3 years, and it hasn't suffered from the defective slider syndrome. However, the picture quality significantly worsens when you don't use flash (for example at a museum, or certain exhibits). The image is very blurry, no matter how steady you keep your hands.

If not for this factor, I would have given the camera a 5.

The camera was average in my opinion. Did what you would expect from a camera in this range, but never liked the low lighting pictures. I was always concerned about the sliding door, as it seemed like a bad design from the get go. Well the door broke yesterday and now I see these reviews of the problems others have had. It confirmed my suspicions. Since it's an older camera now, continue to use it, but sooner or later the sliding door will get you. Now I'm trying to figure out a way to take the door off and rig it, so i can still take pics.

I own another camera just like it. The seller sent me a damaged camera and has refused to refund the cost. I would never buy anything form her again.

We have had this camera for almost two years, possibly longer. This little camera was a good for our workplace to take photos of people for reference. Overall, the quality of the photos can go up to 3.2mpg, good enough for a 11x14 photo, but all we need is 3x5-4x6 maximum, so excellent for this. Also it features a 3x optical (still low end standard zoom today) and a 4 x digital zoom (which relies on megapixels). total zoom 12x, not bad for this little design. The price on this right now is excellent for the features, the software still very similar to the newer stylus models (710,740,750,760,810,and 1000). This does not have a digital image or optical image stabilization, which was not available from olympus at this price range back in 2003. It does featrue the panoramic feature available with type m and type h olympus brand xD cards (a code that comes with the branded card unlocks the code in the master software on your computer). What this feature does is allow you to stitch up to 10 photos together seamlessly for a 360 degree view if wanted. Neat. Check this out as an everyday use, on the go camera. It is weather resistant (sealed to prevent splashes ect, good in rain). Good entry level camera for kids today.

This is the first digital camera I have owned, and I have used it for 4 years (only one battery!). I always wondered what I was doing wrong when the pix were so blurry with the flash off--but now that I read the other reviews, I see I'm not the only one! And my sliding door has the opposite problem--I can't shut it, and my camera will not turn off. I'm ready for something much better, with a stablizing feature, but this camera was a pretty good basic way to enter the world of digital photos.

I am so mad I purchased this camera. The design is really bad. The slider is a pain, and from reading these reviews...I am just on egg shells every time I slide it open to take a picture. It is not a very simple camera to use. Sometimes it take good pics but usually you have to hold it perfectly still to get them perfect. I definatley prefer my mother-in-law's Power-Shot by Cannon. I wish I would have spent a bit more and purchased that model! Hind sight is 20/20... Take my advice and tons of others...Skip this one.

I've had mine for years. I take it everywhere with me. I've even dropped it a few times. It still works wonderfully. The only problem I have with this camera is that you have to hold it still so it doesn't take blurry photos. (I think it takes a while for the aperture to close.)

in my family we used to have digital nikons and film olimpuses:) when we bought this one no one liked it: slow switch, eats batteries so fast, does not have "memory" for the last selected flash options, need special memory card and so on and on... so this camera was thrown in to big bowl with stuff in the corridor and stayed there for many years occasionally being used to take random photos. Now i looked at photos taken by this camera and i cannot say tat they are bad, no actually they are better then many ones taken with newest cameras. Though, i never will get another olimpus camera, unless it is a film one.