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I base my 5 stars on how this camera has fit my needs and exceded my expectations. It's my first digital camera and I have read a lot of reviews about it. Everyone has their own list of pros and cons. I guess that they are all "true" for the person who has experienced them. I got into digtital photography after throwing out thousands of 35mm slides and photographs and swearing off of collecting phots any more. My 30 year old Asahi Spotmatic sits on the shelve. Then, I started to think about the digital concept. Why it's just a lot of electrons arranged in a lot of 1111111111s and 0000000000s. And so easy to "develope" and "throw out". Easy to carry in the forest and so convenient for taking pictures that I really have no intention to save or develope. Well, I do save a few...but just electrons, remember. I love it!
I cracked the LCD screen after a few months. Oh, fiddl-faddle! Well, what to do?
I decided to order an LCD replacement from Olympus and fix it myself. I thought..."what the heck, it's that or throw it out. So, I'll gamble the $70 for the LCD and try to repair it myself."
It was a little scary at first. But I did not care if I fatally messed up the camera. I took out all of the little screws I could find and pried the back off of the camera. There I found more small screws holding the LCD in place. There is a tiny two conductor cable with a tinsy two prong connector on it. Also, the LCD is attached to the camera electronics with a tiny ribbon cable. I took out more screws and used tweezers to disconnect the cables. The two conductor red and white cable has to be de-soldered and re-soldered to the new LCD. The LCD bracket has to literally be pealed off of the old LCD and reused on the replacement LCD. Will it work? It put everything back with no parts left over! And it worked!!!! Let me confess that I have worked in the electronics industry, so I am not too intimidated by the computer "guts" of this camera. However, I think it really was my "I don't give a hoot" attitude that got me through this repair.
Olympus Parts Department is not very easy to deal with. Some rude people and some helpful people. After gettting 3 different prices, each higher that the last, I ordered the part. I did not receive a new screen. It had a date tag on it from the previous year. No one said it was a used part on the phone ! It was back ordered and took two months to come in. I was so tired of dealing with Olympus that I used it and all has turned out well in the end.
I can shoot all of pictures that I desire and a movie or two on just the 16 meg card. I never print photos, so the 16 meg card will hold about 135 email quality pictures that I can send to friends and they can easily throw out. Who needs the clutter! I got a deal on a 64 meg card so I got that as a backup.
I love this camera. It does all of the good stuff that other reviewers say and more. I think that most negative comments are from people who are very particular about some feature or expect this camera to perform outside of its price range. It does a great job, is easy to use and repair, easy to carry (don't bump any concrete walls with the LCD) and has lots of features to explore.
Prices are going up with the pixel count. I don't want more pixels. Probably 1 would do for most internet photos. 2 would give good 4x6 prints. Where are these simple, cheap cameras ?
I guess they are where the simple, cheap cars are ??????????

1st, BELIEVE THE HYPE ! The image quality is TRULY AMAZING! GORGEOUS, TRUE to LIFE COLORS! They are about as close to a 35 mm photo as I have seen (including those from cameras costing 3-4x the price!). The salesman at my local WOLF camera store (who is very knowledgeable) was surprised that the pictures I developed were from a (3 MP) digital camera. YES-THEY ARE that GOOD. And I am not easily impressed (anymore).

2nd, I am by no means a "novice" when it comes to digital cameras. I have lost count as to how many cameras I have bought and sold over the years in my futile attempt at finding "the perfect camera". It is my belief now that there is no "perfect" digital camera that will fulfill ALL of your digital needs. You need to prioritize what's important. For example, if video with sound is very important to you, you can rule this camera out. However, if image quality ranks HIGH on your list, please keep on reading my review. I have tried all of the really tiny, expensive cameras and have ultimately, always ended up disappointed by its picture quality. My "BIG" camera (which I highly recommend) is the Panasonic Lumix FZ20. This has become the perfect "take anywhere" camera for me. I like it better than the Sony P200 that I paid over 3x for.

3rd, a term I just coined for this review is "megapixel smegapixel". Four years ago, I paid a thousand dollars for a top-of-the line 3 MP camera (Nikon Coolpix 990). To this day, that camera has taken some of the best pictures including those from 5 MP cameras like the Nikon 5200 or even 7 MP camera like the SONY P200. The thing is that the higher the megapixel, the higher the incidence of NOISE. 99% of us do not need a 7 MP camera. It's simply overkill and the pictures, ironically, often end up looking more GRAINY than a picture from a great 3 or 4 MP camera! Even though this is "only" a 3 MP camera, that is enough resolution to print up to 11"x14". So, don't get too caught up in the "megapixel race". You just end up paying a lot more for something that you don't even need! This camera proves that you don't need to spend $500 to get a great digital picture.

Finally, like all cameras, there are the "cons" which other people have alluded to - namely, the short battery life and relatively long shutter speed. If you are trying to capture a toddler on the loose, this is NOT the camera for you! But I find it more than acceptable.

IMPORTANT: NOW, FOR THE MAJOR ISSUE OF BATTERY DRAINAGE - I read ALL of the reviews on Amazon IN FULL and no one has yet mentioned that it can also use CRV3 battery which lasts longer than rechargeable "AA" batteries. Or even better, that for $30, you can now purchase rechargeable CRV3 batteries !!!!! My favorite is the one by MobyPower, sold here -

http://www.thomas-distributing.com/mpc-c301.htm

Also, I always use use a Card Reader to download photos from my cameras instead of draining battery power. I'd recommend you buy a separate card reader - they are very inexpensive and will save you lots of money on batteries!



Fianlly, I paid less a tad over $100 for mine. In my humble opinion, dollar for dollar, this is simply ONE of the BEST DIGITAL Cameras out there. Whether you are entering the exciting (but often intimidating) world of digital photo,or you need a great Second Camera, this camera should more than satisfy you, without leaving a dent in your pocketbook!

IMPORTANT UPDATE : As of April 2005, If you want video with sound, you can buy their NEW 5 MPG D-595 camera for only $50 more !

I was looking for a 3 megapixel camera in the price range of $150. This camera definitely fits the bill and is totally worth it. You'll just need to invest in a good set of rechargeable batteries because standard AA's won't last long. Other than that, this little camera is impressive.

The D-540 is not the most stylish-looking camera, the body is plastic, but the pictures it captures are remarkable.

I recently went to Aruba and took this camera. The pictures turned out sharp and vibrant.

I've had experience with Olympus and Nikon digital cameras before the D-540. I think this is one of the most encomical 3+ megapixel point-and-shoot cameras out there. I highly recommend it.

1. Pictures come out VERY crisp and clear. Love them!!!
2. Size is fantastic. Can put in a small purse and carry around.
3. Batteries get used up at a ridiculous rate. Even after I bought rechargeable batteries with 2300 MAH, they still get used up too fast!
4. Price is great.
5. Very easy to transfer pictures to computer.
6. Sleek look.

Overall: Although I really love the output quality of my pictures, I would not buy this camera again. It is just too much worrying about when the batteries are going to die so I always have to cary 8-10 batteries JUST IN CASE!!!

I was looking to spend a couple hundred dollars on a camera but not expecting to get much for the money I had. This little camera far exceeded my expectations. Get great buy, especially for the price. Easy to use. Very nice quality of pictures.

A number of reviews have complained of short battery life. I discovered that there is a rechargeable lithium pack now available for this camera. I ordered it with a special charger from an online source, and am now satisfied with the battery life. Also,the lithium battery pack does not lose its charge like the NiMH batteries do.

Having already used my Mum's Olympus C-100 (1.3M) for about a year, I decided to take the plunge and buy a camera of my own. After extensive searching through many reviews, I was pleased with what was written about the C-310 Zoom (UK version of the D540). Part of my work involves very close up shots and I have had some excellent results using the super-dooper-zoom feature. I don't print many photos but they look spectacular on my laptop screen and I can zoom in really far before the pixels become apparent.

My one beef is the battery life. I have since read a couple of reviews that claim the 'low battery' indicator comes on too soon. If you're clicking like crazy and using the LCD screen, it will drop quite quickly. I tend to set up my shot with the viewfinder, use the screen to double check the framing then turn it off and shoot.

I also picked up a valuable tip on memory cards. Get the largest card you can afford and shoot away. That means more battery power for shots - you can weed the rubbish ones when you download to your computer. I have a 256MB card and I have never filled it - I think the most photographs I took were 273 out of the possible 320+ HQ images.

I have also used this camera to produce stereoscopic pictures with excellent results when printed.

A little over four years ago I bought another Olympus camera, a C-390. I was fairly happy with it. I even liked the Camedia software that came with it enough to buy the full version. It had it's pros and cons, but this is not a review of the C390.

Why, may you ask, am I writing about an older camera in a review of the D540? Because in every aspect, except size, this camera is by far the inferior. It's so slow that most of my pictures of my kids are of the sides or backs of their heads. Here's my normal photo taking process: First, I half press the button on the camera to get it ready, then I call the kids to get their attention and when the look I push the button all the way in. By the time the picture is taken they have normally looked away, or gotten up and left. The camera might be ok for studio settings, but useless for "capture the moment" type photography.

As bad as the delay is, it's not the worst feature. The worst feature is it's battery consumption. The C390 mentioned above can take hundreds of photos on it's four AA NiMh batters, of which I have several sets. One would expect a camera that takes half the number of batteries to be able to take at least half the number of pictures. One may even hope that in the intervening years of improved circuitry and design that maybe you could take more than half the number of pictures. One would be wrong. Very, very wrong. Typical battery yield is a measly 20 to 30 pictures.

The problem was so bad that I was convinced there had to be some sort of circuitry problem, and I sent it in for repair. I just received it back today marked "No problem found." As I told every employee of Olympus that I spoke with, yes, I am using NiMH batteries. Typically, they had a very good response to my problem - that I should use NiMH batteries. The returned camera came with a little pre-made flyer stating that I should use NiMH batteries, I'll get much better results.

In summary, if you plan on using this camera in some sort of low-quality studio, or for taking pictures of things that don't move AND you can do it somewhere close to a charging station with enough batteries to always have a set in the charger, then this might be the camera for you.

I purchased the Olympus D540 about a year and a half ago and it worked fine at the beginning. It had no lag, started up quickly, and took pictures fine. Then I noticed wear that came from nowhere. Cheap parts. The camera took an unusually long time to startup, even with brand new batteries. It flashed black every time I turned it on. Eventually, it just stopped working altogether. I've tried replacing the batteries, and I've tried Olympus for help, but they have absolutely nothing. They have the worst website information I've ever seen. They didn't even have a FAQ of common problems as they're too busy releasing new cameras with cheaper parts every 3 seconds to pay attention to their current customers. This camera sucks. If you're looking for something that will last and not break down on you, then you should be looking somewhere else. This has completely soured me on digital cameras since it seems that all of them break down, are horrifically expensive especially considering you need a memory card, battery charger, warranty, dock if you want to print, ink, etc. The memory card included with the camera could only hold 20 pictures!! I had to purchase another one for $40. I'd suggest that you stick with regular cheap cameras. Until they start making digital cameras cheaper, stop releasing new ones and lowering prices for old ones, providing more in the package, and offering better technical support, I'd say don't bother with them at all.

I received this camera as a present for Christmas last year. I was very excited, but soon found this camera's flaws. When taking a picture, the time you must wait to take another picture is too long. Sometimes, my camera shuts off and turns itself back on again between pictures. When attempting to capture a shot, this is extremely annoying. Also, when the camera's flash is turned off, I've found that the picture quality is less. I bought rechargeable AA batteries to go with this camera, but after inserting fully charged batteries and taking 2 pictures or so, the battery light is already red. Obviously the battery detector in the camera has something seriously wrong with it since it always tells me the batteries are dying, when in fact I can continue taking more pictures. The xD memory card this camera comes with only holds 19 pictures, so I purchased a 256 MB card, but now regret it because the next camera I get will not be Olympus so, it does not use xD picture cards. This camera is also bigger than a lot of the models out there. It takes up too much room in my purse. The only things I really like about this camera are the picture quality and how easy it is to download the pictures onto my computer. I just plug it in with the USB plug it came with, hit a couple buttons on my computer, and boom, they're all there. Overall, I do not reccommend this camera to anyone. It was fun to use at first, but there are so many things about it that annoy me.

I have had this camera for a couple of years, we paid a lot more for it when it first came out. It takes pretty good pictures although if the flash isn't on, they turn out blurry. I don't know why this happens, but it makes it difficult when needing to snap the shot without the flash on. I have noticed that regular batteries don't last even one day in this camera, although the Lithium ones last several months. It is worth it to spend the extra money on them. I have learned that making the size of the photo smaller makes the pictures look a lot less clear when you try to develop them. It is defaulted to the 3rd largest setting and it's for a reason, they're the ones that turn out clear, very clear in fact. I really like it, takes great color shots and even does great in the Sepia setting. The camera is very user friendly and even when it's pitch dark, the flash lights up the area and takes great pictures. Also, the flash hasn't given us any "White out" pictures, it seems to have just the right amount of flash for almost any picture. I really like this camera, it isn't top of the line, but for the price that it is now, it's a great buy. I really like it's durability also, a few weeks ago at a family gathering, my little sister pushed me in the swimming pool not knowing that my camera was in my pocket. I took out the memory card and batteries and let it sit on a dry towel all night, it dried out and works great to this day. I even developed some pictures I had on the memory card and didn't have a problem at all. She was worried, feeling that she would DEFINITELY have to replace my camera, but it was a trooper, it works great to this day, took a few extra days for the LCD screen to dry out completely, but it did. I gotta say, this camera is AWESOME in that respect. Hope this helps.

I have purchased two of these cameras at seperate times as gifts because of the excellent quality and easy to use features of this model. Only one drawback i have encountered is the battery life is relatively short if using standard batteries .Owners may want to think about upgrading to rechargable lithium batteries.

I'm sorely disappointed in my purchase. I trust in amazon and I was swindled by aa-wholesale (Chaya Korn). I purchased from it an Olympus digital camera by Amazon on the 1st of June. I couldn't use the camera because the zoom was not properly working. I wrote aa-wholesale in order to see how we should handle this problem, and they wrote me that I send the camara back to them so I did it. The camera was returned by USPS on the 22nd of August. Then on the 29th of September aa-wholesale wrote me that they were shipping my camera back to me but it never arrived. I wrote a lot of e mails asking the tracking number and aa-wholesale never answer. I called to aa-wholesale and they only put excuses and never send the camera back to me. I was waitting for 6 month and I don't have answers. It was the worst experience and it was the last

I've had this camera nearly a year and it does a good job in normal use. Excellent picture quality to work from editing-wise.

I noticed most reviews complained about battery life/status indication.

The Olympus D540 camera is not rated for AA battery use (At least I hope not). I think this is because the camera needs better power flow than AA batteries are able to provide. After first replacing the stock batteries with regular Duracell AA, the battery indicator started flashing within 2-3 pictures.

Upon closer inspection, the battery compartment specifies (2 qty) LR6 batteries or (1 qty) CR-V3 battery back. One CR-V3 has lasted more than 6 months of regular usage- lots of family pictures.

Regarding another issue I saw on another post about NO-FLASH pictures, I've also noticed pictures in low-light/indoor taken with the flash forced off are blurry. The camera seems to adjust exposure time in these low-light/indoor conditions and any shake or tremor blurs the picture.

That's one of the beauties of digital cameras. When you see this happen, just use the flash which shortens exposure time eliminating blurry pix.

Enjoy-

this is absolutely THE best camera i have bought. (i've had a minor problem getting it to work with my computer, but it was soon fixed.) The pictures are sharp and clear, and it comes with so many features! It is absolutely a ONE OF A KIND camera, and i wouldn't trade it for anything!!!

I'm 20 years old and love photograhy in general. This camera was my first ever digicam and was received about 2 years ago.

I've been using it for so long and still discover new things I can do with it, and new features. I can't say one negative thing about this camera, even if I wanted to. It's been reliable, easy to use, and takes absolutely lovely pictures! I have heard negative things about Olympus in the past but chose this camera anyway, and am very glad I did. It hooks up effortlessly to my new laptop, and transfering digital images to your computer is so simple and easy to do. I have a 256 card in it so that it holds tons of pictures.

Back when this camera was first introduced, it's larger screen was far more rare among other cameras. The screen is very nice and clear. The shooting modes offer a wide range of choices for any shot you could want to take, I especially like the landscape and movie modes. I can take over 5 minutes of video (without sound, the movies on this camera do not have sound).

The zoom is easy to operate and the lense has a cover that wraps over it when closed for protection. 3.2 MP is PLENTY for almost any shot you could need, and some of my pictures have come out so beautifully, you would've thought that they were professionally done. I will post a few photos I have taken with it in the "customer images" section.

One thing I adore about my camera is the total and complete EASE of operation. Anyone could use this, whether novice or professional. My grandfather has loved photography and been a photographer for many years, and he also agrees that this is a great camera with great features.

When I decide it is time for an upgrade, you can bet I will look at Olympus cameras again, the only other I would buy is a Canon, which are also fantastic. For the price however(I'm a college student with a double major and work only part-time, so money is tight), Olympus is the way to go. The ratio of quality to price is untouchable.

I've taken this camera to college, on vacation, out for nights with my friends, and just used it around the house... and it's performed beautifully each way. The fact that it is compact and light enough to not be cumbersome, yet still feels sturdy, makes it easy and un-obtrusive to bring anyplace you go.

If this camera will be as good to you as it has to me, don't have any worries. It will last a while if you take good care of it. It's been a joy to use. Just make sure you buy lithium batteries (AA's simply DON'T cut it), and you're good to go.

When I was looking for cameras, all I wanted was a easy point-and-shoot. Nothing fancy. I bought this one because of the price. I wish I could return it!

Problems:

horrible battery life- lasts about an hour at the most
when i went to hawaii, i had to put new batteries in every place i went.

really long shutter lag- even taking still portraits of people is a drag

bulky- weighs you down, not a pocket camera

I got this camera as a gift from a friend. As my second digital camera this guy has been working hard taking pictures

Pros: Small and comfy in hand, simple to use, easy to put in new batteries and memory cards

Cons: Like other before me it seems to use up battery charge quickly although I have solved that problem by buying new rechargeable batteries. Shutter speed is not as fast as I would like it to be.

Overall view: Great camera for a beginner!

This camera is a reasonable second hand purchase with good availability on eBay. US$55 including postage with a 128 MB xD memory card in Australia.

The camera is small, yet solid. The functions are easy to use for basic requirements. The more advanced requirements take a little while to get used to. The flash and the zoom work well.

When purchasing second hand cameras look for one that comes with a bag, if not, the camera is likely to have been exposed to some rough treatment.