Ironically, I got a digital camera because I took so few pictures with a film camera, and now I take far more pictures since the costs of film and developing are gone. I no longer need to wait two years to see what 24 pictures I took, I can see them instantly with the handy little screen. I have had focus issues taking pictures quickly or in dim light, but for simple point and shoot photography this is an easy-to-use camera. So, if you're someone who wouldn't describe yourself as any kind of photographer, but wants to take pictures from time to time, and you're just looking for an inexpensive digital camera that works as you'd expect but also has a few bells and whistles for when you're feeling adventurous, then the D-520 is a good choice.

If I could give this camera 0 stars I would!

As a teenager I'm not looking for anything too snazzy in a camera. I had a pretty cheap digital olympus that lasted me about 3 years and I loved it. No fancy modes, no high-tec fancy smancy mumbo jumbo... not that I wouldn't like a high-tec camera, just that I don't particularly need it. I just want a camera that allows me to take a few hundred pictures at a time, for trips with friends and the family, for soccer games, for concerts, the beach...ect... My old reliable camera broke last summer after I got thousands of great pictures out of it, and so for the last x-mas my mother (who didn't do much research, but with good intentions) bought me this PIECE OF CRAP...

If you like all the fancy ways to take pictures- there is a tiny possibility you might like this camera... It has all that...somewhat... no wait... not at all...
It maintains a pretense that its high-tec, but it's really just a piece of crap.
When I first got it I brought it with me on my trip to Paris and I was highly dissapointed that after I shot a picture it took literally 15-20 seconds for the flash to re-whatever and let me take another one. I missed about 70% of the pictures I wanted to take, and whenever people posed in my pictures- it took about 5 minutes for my camera to "let" me take the picture. NO CANDID SHOTS here.
Then halfway through the trip, I'd turn on the camera, the screen would pop up, I'd try to take a picture, the orange and green lights would flash and then it would simply turn off... I looked through the manuel and it says that this is simply a problem with the batteries (although the battery symbol came up as full) and so I bought a fresh pack and re-loaded them. And of course it continued to flash and turn off..

I'm not done- I took it to a camera shop, and the guy had no idea what was wrong- I missed pictures of half my Paris trip, a concert , and a beach trip with my friends all because of this horrible joke-of-a-camera.- I also spent the equivolent of the price of this piece of crap on disposable cameras that gave me horrible pictures.

BIG TIP- If you have a son or daughter and you're buying them a camera DO NOT buy this one just-because it's cheap(in case I haven't made myself clear), because they will hate it and resent you for not researching or caring about it...

I got this camera for my birthday a year ago. I have had a wonderful time using it, and I wouldn't have any problems with buying another Olympus. I am currently working on becoming a professional photographer, so it's time for an upgrade.

Good stuff:

Takes sharp, clear photos with great color in most situations.

Decent battery life, 2 AA's last for about 100 pictures.

Easy-to-use features, and handy digital on-screen photo index.

Bad Stuff:

Photos often come out blurry in night-mode.

Shutter Speed is a little slow, tripod is best.

All in all, I think this is a wonderful camera for anyone who enjoys taking everyday photos.

Olympus has an outstanding reputation in 35-mm and digital. I had owned an earlier generation Olympus Camedia so I did not hesitate to purchase the D-520 zoom as a pocket camera for quick snaps of our newborn daughter to email the grandparents. Easy to carry in a pant pocket, quality digital pictures, right?

WRONG.

I have a simple expectation of a camera...point it at an object, push a button, and capture the image. The D-520 only occasionally takes the picture when you push the button, sometimes not responding at all. When you have your infant sitting beside her dog, smiling, both dog and daughter looking at the camera, you have a very limited window of opportunity to snap the shot. The D-520 fails miserably.

I have no problems with the quality of the pictures taken, but the response time on the camera between pushing the button and the camera taking the picture is painfully slow. I have missed so many shots, while waiting for the camera to decide that it is ready to take a picture, that I have plan to chuck the whole camera into a landfill somewhere. Worthless digital disaster.

My suggestion, get a 35mm and never miss a candid shot again.

I own three (3) Olympus digital cameras (D-360Z, C-730UZ, & D-520) and I cannot recommend the D-520 camera. It has an unbelievably long flash cycle time that makes it almost useless for indoor shooting. I'm talking 10 to 15 seconds after taking two or three pictures on fresh rechargeable batteries! (and I buy Olympus batteries) If you're at a graduation or other event you basically have one chance to get a picture because your child will be off the stage and back to their seat before the flash recycles and you can take another picture. It also seems to think you need a flash in bright sunlight and so you have to manually turn the flash off if you want to take pictures outside and not wait for a flash that you don't need to recycle.

My Olympus D-360Z never had a problem like this. I thought the D-520 would be a better camera but it isn't. Perhaps its because there are only two batteries instead of the 4 that the D-360Z and C-730UZ have. When you do finally get to take a picture the pictures are crisp and clear with good color balance. I tend to use this camera for outdoor shots only and I keep the flash turned off. If you do a lot of indoor shooting, you may be disappointed with this camera.

I bought this some time ago and have pretty much regretted it. The Olympus D-520 is fine if you're a e-bayer who takes occasional pictures of junk you sell but I wouldn't recommend it for pictures of real life and certainly not as a tool to document an expensive vacation. You're kids will hate you for not getting their precious moments on stage.

Reaction time is slow. It has a red-eye reduction flash. The delay between that and the real photo is so long half my pictures were of everyone walking away.

The battery also kills me. It's fine for about five photos and then blinks out in a few seconds if you don't take a photo fast enough. "OK, everyone smile. Ready? Oh, sorry, the camera turned itself off. Stay right where you're at..." Argh

I awoke on Christmas Day three years ago to find this sitting "under the tree." Actually, it was inside on the kitchen table. Anyway, I was truly delighted! Digital cameras were the new thing and the 35mm cameras were being tossed out the door. I felt like I was up-to-date with technology. This camera has taken many pictures so far. It has gone everywhere from the redwood forests in California, to the sunny beaches of Florida. I find it to be really fun. Unfortunatly, as I continued to take pictures, I slowly realized how limited this camera was. I was dissapointed to find that I cannot control the shutter exposure. Also, I am dissaponted that I cannot switch lenses. So, simply, I find that this camera is not for me. Though, what did I know when I chose it! Though I am saddened by its many limitations, this camera never failed to serve me well. It is wonderfully portable, and the battery life is better than many other cameras I have used. Also, it is very user-friendly. Usage is very simple; from choosing picture resolution, to drive swapping, to alternating exposure. I am a big fan of Olympus, and I believe that for it's time, this was a fabulous camera!

I've had this bad boy for over 4 years and have taken it all around the world with me, and its worked like a champ; a true workhorse. For being 2 megapixel, it sure takes sharp pictures. only gripe I have with it is it goes through AA batteries like no other. But besides that, it's great. I love this camera with all my heart and would recommend it to anyone. The

me [...] from Dhaka Bangladesh, I have collect this Dgcam on november 2002 from florida, after 6-8 months research on amazon & other website. at that time it was the best option I found. Ive reviewd once on jan 2003, now I again want to say over it... because some people is show their irritation over it.

Battery life
Ive shoot over 4000 picture by it. now I use Energizer lithium battry and continue shoot with flash(W/F)i can get 60 snaps, and shoot with rest i can get 120-180 snaps. I've 2000 mA Nimh rechargable for saving money. with rechrgble it shoot about 100 continues snap i guess more mA can get more. when u r on sunlight turn off the auto flash or use continues shooting mode for quick shooting.

Picture quality
This cam has an lacking of Light absorving some of new cam and even Mobile cam can adjust in dark but it cant, so i avoid dark, and use night scene/flash mode when need. without this problem its pic is very nice even sometime better than sony DSC T7. some people try to take click and shoot u people go to auto focus 35 mm film camera or SLR. every dgcam has take the adjusting time.

examples
my pictures are available on www.webshots.com album: named "fimarun" and "mamun2a" and www.bdshots.com album : runu, mamun2a, al mamun, fiha etc. ... have a nice time