I have it. Believe me. The only thing that isn't that great is that it uses Smartmedia cards that really suck. Otherwise it's great. Just get a 128MB Smartmedia card with it and you're set.

I first want to say that I am a total novice. I probably have used about 1/10 of the features of this camera, and even then it's been great! I took some pictures of my daughter that would rival a professional photographer's headshots. I then printed them in black and white, 8 x 10, and they were superb! I did some of our two cats as well, and they, too, were excellent! I especially like the option of no flash. More often than not, I will choose this feature over flash indoors because the warm tones are amazing. The flash pictures can be cold in comparison. If you want to operate on a budget, here's what you can do: 1) Get a printer where you can easily figure out how to refill the black cartridges (color can be more difficult and the results unpredictable- who wants muddy skintones?) Check out atlanticinkjet.com. Then you can print black and whites at home, and go to your local Wal-Mart, CVS, etc. to get reprints and edits done easily without the hassle of worrying about replacing your color cartridges. 2) Get a Smart Media reader. They are relatively inexpensive, and they give you another option for quickly creating CDs that you can also bring to Wal-Mart rather than risking transporting your SmartMedia card and losing it or damaging it. 3) Use rechargeable NiMh batteries. They are cheap - about $7 for 4 of them. You will probably need at least 3 to 4 sets of 4. The chargers are also cheap. 3)Don't get conned into buying any package deals with lenses, etc.(this isn't an issue with buying from Amazon, but it can be with many Internet camera stores). You will pay a reasonable price for the camera, but a hefty price for the accessories. I know because it happened to me! So since I am a true novice with this camera, and still experiencing great results, I can recommend this camera. My one concern, however, and that may be a power issue, is that sometimes the camera initially shuts itself on and off. I also hope that the few times that I have forgotten to remove the lens cap have not been damaging to the lens. I am going to take the suggestion of several other positive users and use the adapter and UV filter which of course were bundled with all the over-priced accessories that I received. So, have fun, and enjoy getting to know this camera! And take lots of people pictures with no flash. Be aware that some will be blurry because you have to stay really still as does the subject, however, it will be worth it! Here is your accessory list:
1) Printer will easily refillable inkjet cartridges (Lexmark Z55 works great for black refill); 2) SmartMedia or card reader for more than one type of memory card; 3) 3 to 4 sets of 4 NiMh batteries -readily available at Wal-Mart and you should be able to use them to replace AA batteries in other electronic devices; 4) Digital Camera bag - you might get lucky and find it at Wal-Mart or similar store with many accessories included; 5) battery charger for 4 NiMh batteries - also cheap at Wal-Mart; 6) 46mm conversion lens adapter - mine is Sakar Digital for Olympic 2000/2020/3000/3030 models; 7) set of 46 mm filters including UV filter to fit on lens adapter-I have Digital Optics Super High Resolution Multi-Coated; 8) Lens Cleaner and Wipe Cloth; 9) AC Adapter - I purchased switching universal power supply and set it to 6.5V at laptopsforless.com for about $20 - you might need this if you run out of rechargeables and you don't have AA batteries on hand, or if you are connecting using the USB cable and don't want to waste your batteries. 10) 4 - 128 mb SmartMedia cards - each should store about 200 or so photos of good quality - they can be found at very different prices, so check around. Also, since it appears that newer cameras aren't sold with SmartMedia cards, you might want to purchase a few just for future use so they'll be readily available. I also have two lenses that were included with the fabulously expensive camera package. I haven't used them much, so I can't recommend them, but I'll try to update this review.

Have fun taking pictures!

I've owned this camera now for over two years and it's done the job over and over again. Chance are if you're looking at this listing at this late date since release, you're not an early adopter of technology, and you're likely looking for something that does the job well, and this definitely fits the bill.

When I bought the camera back in the day it was in anticipation of a 7-day wilderness hike I was embarking on during which I would have no access to power for charging the batteries. The fact that this model uses AA batteries makes it an attractive choice for those away from power sources for extended periods of time. In fact, I made it through almost the whole seven days without power on one charge of my Panasonic batteries that I bought separately. I then slapped in flashlight batteries for the rest of the trip to get me home. As for all digital cameras, I'd suggest going with rechargables rather than repurchasing lithiums.

Yes, this thing is bulky compared to others out there. I bought a LowePro camera bag to go along with it to hold all the camera-related stuff in one place. It's big, but no bigger than a comparable 35mm SLR and this camera gives you almost the amount of flexibility with its manual features and exposure control. I've used the camera with success in instances where speedy automatic performance was required especially wildlife and candid people snapshots. I've equally been satisfied with the planned landscape, nightime, and "artsy" shots as well. I even had good success getting funky images at a "glow-in-the-dark bowling" party.

Other reviewers have touched on the fact that this camera has a lens cap which is an oddity in the digital camera realm, but was a required design feature given that it had to work with add-on lenses and filters. I haven't tried purchasing additional optics, but with this camera, it's an option as are external flashes. On the lens cap issue, I've found flipping off the lens cap is now second nature and doesn't detract from my enjoyment of the camera.

I like the menuing control to access the image functions which is similar across all Olympus cameras, and after my experience with this camera, I'd be inclined to stick with Olympus in the future. The newer C-7000 Zoom camera at 7MP and 5x optical zoom seems to be a their newer version of this camera for those looking for the latest and greatest. For those instead looking at something tried and true and more within their budget, this is the way to go, and I've often seen this C-4000 Zoom heavily discounted on the Net and elsewhere. If you're interested in more than just point-and-shoot, you can't go wrong with this.

I got my C-4000 after a recent trip when my, up til then, trusty 35mm SLR decided not to function and I lost 1 and 1/2 rolls of pictures that could not be replaced. Now with my digitals, I know that I have the pictures and will not lose nonreplaceable shots. The C-4000 is one GREAT camera with so many options it will be difficult to use them all. I highly recommend getting the "Referance Manual" from Olympus. This is much more complete than the users manual enclosed with the camera.

One method to protect the extended lens - yes, it does move out when the camera is turned on and can be a problem. This will also end the lens cap problem mentioned in some reviews. Get the lens adapter tube, an adapter ring and a UV filter. Leave them on the camera and there is no need to put the lens cap on and the lens will move inside the adapter tube and not get out of wack. It does make the front of the camera stick out a bit, but it is well worth it for the protection it affords.

I have an HP 435 point and shoot pocket size digital to carry around for quick shots, but for the absolute best results use my Olympus C-4000.

The camera has mostly pros and a few cons.

PROS:

1) Takes great photos. Picture quality either on the computer screen or on print is impressive.
2) Lots of options. You can adjust the brightness of the pic, the zoom, memory usage per pic, record video (without audio), and a bunch of other stuff.
3) Works on 4 standard AA batteries.
4) A 128MB smartmedia card can hold about 150 pics in good JPG resolution.
5) Very easy to download pics onto a computer.

CONS:

1) The camera is bulky. If you're in the market for an Olympus camera, consider the smaller and similarly priced Olympus D-565 with the same resolution (4.0 Megapixels).
2) The lens cap is manual. This can be a pain if you forget to take the lens cap off, and the camera gives up on you (someone here reported this).
3) If you're using 4 AA batteries instead of 2 powerful lithium ones, be sure to carry 4 more AA spares, since they run out very quickly.

While some people call this a point and shoot camera it is much more than that. It takes pictures of stunning crispness that easily enlarge to 8x10 with no problem. Using an adapter ring you can put filters on the camera. I added a circular polarizer to mine. This camera is trustworthy, reliable, easy to use and taking pictures with it can become a totally intuitive process. My only problem with it is a problem a lot of other similar cameras would have- and that is that the display screen is not protected from glare so sometimes under certain lighting conditions you cannot easily see the image you are taking. I compensate for this by taking "Hail Mary" type shots and most of the time I get useable images. I have also learned to take an extra set of batteries with me when doing a lot of photographic work in one day. I shot most of the time at ISO 400 and had no problems with noise. I did a lot of close-ups of flowers and got really nice images. A great little camera!

This camera delivers nice output, and the optical zoom provides some range.

While very happy with this item, there are a few drawbacks:

1. Nearly all controls are menu-driven. Some of the more commonly-used controls would have been nicer on rings/buttons.

2. The lens cap needs to be removed when the camera is turned on.

Still, exposure, focus and aperature controls are flexible, but more sophisticated photographers may find themselves wanting more, such as interchangeable lenses.

If you're reading this because you're considering purchasing this camera, my advice is DON'T....there are much better cameras available for the money. I have owned this camera for about 8 months now, and though it does take good pictures, sharp and clear, it does have a lot of drawbacks....
1) The lens cap falls off continuously, and it is just quite frankly, almost impossible to keep it on.
2) The shutter delay makes catching the exact shot you want almost impossible, I've used this in concerts and by the time the shutter snaps, the moment is gone. For me, it is really SLOW.
3) The red eye reduction simply does not reduce red eye. This camera seems actually worse for having red eye than some cheaper point and shoot cameras.
4) It is not the most intuitive camera I've had. I owned a Kodak 3400 before this, and it was much more intuitive. Olympus spends more time in the instructions telling you how to attach the lens cover cap to the camera than they spend telling you how the menus work.
5) The software that comes with the camera is specific to Olympus cameras only, and you must purchase additional software (from Olympus) upgrading to Camedia Master Pro software IF you wish to email any of the photos you take. I thought this was a big ripoff. And the photos you download into the software are locked within that software and are not easily transferred into the My Pictures on your C drive. In other words, it is pretty lousy software, though to be fair, it is easy to browse your photos in it and the editing feature is easy to use. But the red eye reduction tool is simply useless, and believe me, you need it with the pix you take on this camera!
The camera is very light and uses rechargeable batteries, and the battery life is good. I simply hoped for more, because I paid over $350 for this camera new, with an additional SmartMedia card, which you will definitely need, because the 16MB that comes with it is not enough.
The viewing screen becomes easily smudged, and you will find yourself wiping it after every photo, esp. if you wear any makeup at all.
This is my review, but I felt compelled to write it so others might not make the mistake I did. I'm looking to upgrade already to something better, with more optical zoom esp. The optical zoom this one comes with is so inadeqate, though you are able to zoom and crop the photos without too much loss of image quality.

I have had this camera now for about 2 1/2 years. It sits on the shelf. I have replaced it with a Pentix Optio 33 WR (water resistant).

First off this camera takes beautiful pictures. Crisp with correct color. The macro shots are wonderful too. There is a design flaw with the lens cap as mentioned below, but it can be rectified with an aftermarket lens cap called an olycap.

But the beautiful outdoor pictures are negated by the slowness in focusing and acquiring images indoors. Indoor focusing is very hit or miss, most often resulting in soft focused pictures. Actions shots are impossible, and by action I mean trying to catch your toddler doing something cute. You press the exposure button and sometime in the future the camera will shoot. My wife hates it.

If you want to shoot outdoor scenes, and macros of flowers and bugs its a great camera. Anything else, you take your chances.

Happy shooting!

. . .decided to purchase an Olympus as my first digital. While it's true there are many more manual settings on this camera than some might like, when I got into jewelry making and needed to close in on my subjects these options were appreciated. It did take awhile to find the exact combination of settings that worked best for this kind of detail but once I did the results were satisfying. (I'm hardly what you'd call an 'expert' photographer so if I can use this camera and get good results, most can with patience)

No problem with the lens cap staying on, to date - it has tabs on each side you pinch to remove, pinch to snap it back on. Also has a lens cap strap that attaches to the camera strap so you don't lose it.

The Camedia lithium battery packs that came with the camera performed well for me, a moderate camera user (somewhere between occasional and high use). I keep the batteries in the camera when downloading pictures directly into my computer and still got decent life out of them. (Some prefer to save battery life by not doing that)

I'm upgrading to a higher MP camera now but am definitely looking at Olympus again.

I've owned this camera for about 3 years now and have lots of experience with it. Here are my observations:

Pros:
- Great picture quality
- Good battery life
- Durable (I've dropped it several times with no ill-effects)
- Good manual controls once you figure out how to set them

Cons:
- Big & bulky
- Horrible delay. From the time you hit the button and the time the picture is captured is at times up to 2 seconds. This is unacceptable. I've missed way too many shots because of this. This alone is reason enough to consider other options.
- Menus are not intuitive at all and require lots of trial & error or actually reading the manual ;) Other cameras I've played with make the controls more intuitive.
- After you finish downloading pics to your computer and then turn it off the darn thing insists on cycling through a full lens extention before shutting down. You can hear the lens grinding away against the lens cap until you remove it to let it do it's thing...

I'm going to be selling my camera - replacing with the Casio Exilim EX-Z600SR 6MP. Can't wait for it to arrive!

This is the second camera I have purchased from Olympus that has broken down soon after the warranty expired. The camera itself is great for beginers, even if it's a bit bulky. The quality of the pics is great! Alas, it saddens me to see the quality of this once great company deteriorate to the point that their products seize to work a few weeks/months after their warranty expires... Yes, there are lemons out there, but two cameras? What are the chanses of that? The first Olympus camera that failed on me was the C4000, when a week after the warranty expired the flash died on me. At least I got a good year more with that model (even if I was confined to day shots)... now, the 770 has totally died on me... it seems like the microchip/bar controlling the off-playback-auto-movie modes has malfunctioned on me as it is only turning off and into playback mode (even on camera/video mode)... no use sending it back to the factory as I don't have any warranty and y'all know how much they charge for repairs on digital cameras. So, if you do buy Olympus, get the extended warranty!

Nothing left to use but upgrate... this time i'm getting the darn extended warranty... oh, and yes, I went for the Sony Alpha 100.... first dive into dSLR... can't wait to get the lenses this week to test it all out... more on that later.