I bought a D-390 15 months ago. After 3 months of light use, the card had to be replaced. Another 11 months of light use and the camera actually shorted out: utterly dead and two brand-new batteries too hot to touch. When I talked to customer support, the guy even said that he's seen a lot of similar problems with the D-series cameras.

I thought Olympus would have eliminated defects in the manufacturing process long before now, but I was wrong. I would recommend that prospective buyers not trust Olympus entry-level digital cameras.

There IS a spot metering mode and there IS a way to start the camera up without the monitor being on....to the person who wrote the last review...read the manual: I got this camera 20 minutes ago and already know that much! Anyways---I think this a great camera for the price...I have a Fuji also and like this the same but clarity is better on the screen. As with ALL digital cameras, the batteries go quickly so get rechargeable ones!! But one question-- does anyone have trouble with the playback mode of pictures-do they appear fuzzy for like 3 secs then appear clear?? Thanks.

This is the perfect digital camera for first time users like myself, takes good pictures and has a simple menu system. Ignore the bad reviews here, the pictures are fine and I suspect the photographers are to blame not the camera!

I was looking for an inexpensive digital camera for my daughter, and the Olympus D-395 seemed to fit the bill. We ended up returning the camera, however, because it had some serious flaws:
- changing camera settings (picture quality, etc.) resets to the standard setting after turning the camera off. This means if you want pictures at a lower quality, you have to set this every time you start up the camera.
- the battery life is poor. Standard AA's don't last long at all (we did not try NiMH or other rechargeables).
- the response time from depressing the shutter to taking a picture is longer than any other digital camera I've tried.
- the on-screen menuing is very confusing and not intuitive. We always had to consult the manual to figure out how to do simple things like erase all pictures on the camera.

So even though the price is right, the camera is not, and I suggest you look at something a little more expensive and more capable.

i purchased this camera for my mother who is a real estate agent. she uses it to shoot photos of the homes, and for nights out with her friends. not being a technological genius, she needed a simple camera. for her, this camera is perfect. as mentioned in some of the other reviews, its a touch slow, but she never finds it to be a problem.

we didnt even know about the 2 in 1 and auto-stitching-panoramas that the camera/software bundle create - so that was a wonderful surprise when we discovered them.

because of its slowness in focusing and actual capturing, i wouldnt recommend this camera to anyone who needs to do anything really quickly - but for some people, like my mother, this camera is exactly what she needed.

My wife wanted a digital camera after her 35mm broke down. She was looking for something easy to use and at a sensiable price. After doing some research, I chose the D-395 as a X-mas gift for 2004.

Unlike Kodak that just got in the camera buisness because fewer consumers were using 35mm cameras, Olympus is a brand that has a lot of experinec with digital cameras. So the brand is well trusted. The pictures the D-395 takes are very good for a 3 Megapixel. When hooked up to a desktop, the camera works as an external memory drive. You can copy and paste pictures with a few clicks of the mouse. The software that comes with the camera is nothing compaired to Adobe Photoshop but will do for a beginer

The controls are easy to use and once you set the camera up the way you like it, you can just point and shoot. The settings will not change even after you have pulled the batteries out and stored it for a few weeks.

About the batteries, yes I do agree with the other reviewers, the D-395 will drain the required 2 AA batteries in a few hours but this is not any diffrent that any of the HP's and Kodac's my friends have. So add some recargables to your cart while you are here.

Bottom line, the Olympus D-395 is a camera for beginers but in order to get the most of it, or any other digital camera. One must be a bit savy with technology or willing to take the time to learn. If you are looking for a cheap digital camera that will take great pictures with you not having to learn how to use it, then you best just stick with the 35mm.

This is about the most frustrating camera I've ever used in my life. My sister recieved it as a Christmas gift and didn't use it on a regular basis, so I borrowed it when my main 35mm was damaged.

I got better pictures from the cheapest single-function 35mm I own. The D395 has a few manual controls, but nothing spectacular in the least. There's no way to adjust the shutter speed, aperature, ISO, flash strength, nothing.

To get to the macro mode, you have to go into the menu and switch it to macro, as opposed to most cameras having a button that switches macro on and off with one touch. That was a huge pain in the rear. The macro mode itself is pathetic. The only way to get a clear macro shot without a tripod and the work of moving the camera in the exact range, is to use the flash, which then produces glare on many objects that close.

In average lighting conditions, the WB, while on auto, kept shifting back and forth between modes. So, one picture would have a yellow tone to it, another would have a grey tone to it. The only time I ever got decent tones was if I used the flash. Which I guess is alright for most, but those who dislike using flash will have a hard time with this camera.

Any dark object in any photo taken without flash looked extremely grainy, had an RGB pixellated look to it, and everything surrounding it looked dim because it threw off the auto WB.

My sister doesn't seem to mind the quality of the photos she takes with the camera, because she doesn't know anything about photography and keeps it on auto mode with the flash on. So, this camera would be okay for those like her, but I've compared her photos with similar photos from my camera in terms of quality of tone and clarity and everything, and the camera is still sub-par. I guess if you don't pay a lot of attention to how clear a picture is or anything, this camera might work for you. But if you want the ability to manually change things and get good pictures, don't bother with it.

I stuck with Olympus because I just loved my D-400. Good points on the D-395: easy to use. Easy to transfer photos to computer or printer. Good color on default settings. Decent features (have not yet explored all of them!). Small, fits in purse or pocket. Uses AA batteries. Not so good, but fixable points: Small XD card supplied with camera; bought a 128 replacement. Like all digitals, eats batteries; bought rechargeables. Bad points: No optical zoom. I find the digital zoom to be useless. Shutter button confusing for some, it has different options for simple push or firm hold push - if you hand this camera to a friend to take your picture, they usually won't get the shutter to work on the first try. Have not had much luck with the red-eye reducer, but I use software in my PC to fix it. Other: Description claims photos up to 17"; I like to print at 300dpi - I have gotten 8x10 OK but I get the best clarity up to 5x7. I would think average users want 4x6 prints, and this camera delivers. If you plan to use this for specialized computer-edited works you will want a camera with more options like an Optical zoom and more MP. For the price and the features you get it's a great starter camera.

My hasband has taken over 5,000 pictures in the past year and a half with this camera. He has had no problems, which I certainly can't say for my more expensive Fuji piece of crap! He wishes you could take more pictures consecutively (with no pause between pictures), and wishes the zoom was optical rather than digital, but other than that...he has even been using the same card, and this little camera just keeps on ticking!!!

I've had this camera for 2 years now and rarely use it. I went skiing this past week and used up 8 batteries for 13 pictures. They were only the regular energizer batteries but this was ridiculous.

takes very nice pictures in ideal lighting conditions. the macro is good as well.

would recommend it for a beginner.

We bought this camera on sale just before our first child was born. A month later we learned it was on sale because it was discontinued, and with good reason. It doesn't live up to the Olympus legacy. Disposable cameras are more reliable then this joke of a product. What a disapointment it was to find the long pause in betweeen shutter clicks. Not to mention the slow shutter speed. "Careful! if you move ever so slightly the picture is blurry." is a common phrase at our house if someone wants to take a picture for us. You can forget about trying to capture smiles of a happy toddler. I hate this camera and wish I had not been penny wise and dollar foolish. get a Kodak, HP or canon and go on.

I bought this thinking it would be a great compact camera just to stick in my pocket and snap a few pics. That is about all it is good for as long as you are in the bright sunlight.

If you need to use the flash or there is an overcast sky you pics will come out fuzzy; same if you need a flash. The only time I got a sharp picture was in full sunlight.

The shudder speed is EXTREMELY SLOW!!! If you are taking a moving picture...forget it! You had better be taking a picture of a sleeping turtle to be able to catch the picture. Also, saving the picture to memory card takes a good 5-7 seconds. Be sure to get your picture the first time because everyones smile will be a frown by the time you get to the second picture!

Overall, I am extremelt dissapointed at the performance of the D-395!

I bought this camera about 2 years ago and never used much as I am technology challenged - did a few things with it, and was OK. However, we had family Christmas and memory card was filled after 23 pictures. I read all the manual, and then bought a 1GB card to install and got Card Error. Took it to a major retailer, who said camera would only support a 256 card and good luck finding one. Nowhere does it give you what memory card capability it has. Took on AK fishing trip in Aug before this, and never used as I took another one (old fashioned film) with me. Thank God, I didn't rely on this one as my primaryOlympus D-395 3MP Digital Camera. As retailer told me, I have a "Paperweight"!! I upgraded to a Stylus 730 and installed the 1GB card and am waitng to see how it works.

A good camera for what it offers. I got this camera for less than $50.00. It does eat regular batteries but I started using Lithium and have used the same set for several months now.
Other than that it is impossible to find memory cards since this is an older camera. Stores about 30 pics at the highest level. Not recommended if you don't have somewhere to download your pics. Although my friends are glad they don't have to look at hundreds of pics from my travels ;)