I bought my Olympus D-620L four years ago, in November of 1999, just about the time that digital cameras were beginning to attract the interest of novice camera users. My camera has been a workhorse since then, helping me capture excellent photos for use on Ebay as well as in some brochures I've produced for small businesses. My friends have newer and fancier models, but my photos turn out as well as theirs do, and seem far easier to shoot. Unfortunately, last week my beloved old D-620L developed a problem when using the built-in flash. The flash doesn't flash until a second or so after the photo has been taken, so unless I use the camera outdoors or with good indoor lighting, the photos are too dark to use. I returned the camera to Olympus for repair, knowing that an out-of-warranty fix was probably going to be pricey. Well, I just got the estimate to fix it: $262.00. I'm guessing that's a standard fee that Olympus charges for any repair because before I mailed in the camera, someone I spoke to in the Olympus customer service department said that I'd probably be looking at "$262.00 to fix any problem." Still, I sent the camera to Olympus, hoping that the repair would be less than the estimate. It wasn't, so I'm having the camera returned without having the repair done. It doesn't make sense to put that kind of money into a camera that's 4 years old, even though I don't want to buy a new camera at this point. So, my old D-620L will be used for outdoor shots only until I make the move to buy another digital camera. I don't need a 3, 4, or 5 megapixel camera, movie capabilities, or many of the other bells and whistles that are standard on most digital cameras today. But I do want a camera that looks and feels like a camera, not a toy, and one that has a decent viewfinder and zoom. Until that perfect camera jumps up and grabs me, I'll be making do with my Olympus D-620L. By the way, the only reason I rated this camera with 4 stars instead of 5 is because of the steep cost of repairs after the camera is out of warranty. To be fair, however, the sky-high repairs on an out-of-warranty camera are probably a universal problem. Canon has a similar policy; my fairly new, barely out-of-date Canon Z155 died on me not long ago, and the repair estimate on that thing was MORE than the cost of the camera when purchased new. I ditched the camera.

This camera is one of the best digital cameras for Magazine quality work. It is an SLR camera (you look through the lens). It has aperature and shutter-speed settings and USB and Serial attachments. You have three different quality (Standard, High, Super High) settings as well as date stamp possiblities. Great to focus and zoom! Looks professional too.

This was a nice camera when it was first released, but what's with the PRICE?!?! Tell me it's a typo!

For that price I'd rather pick up a Minolta Dimage 7i!!

JMHO,
StMute

Pick this camera up and you'll be reminded of the heft of older, metal-bodied 35mm film cameras. It seems that the SLR setup has added a significant weight burden, while supposedly lending better optics to the camera. In this price range, most digital cameras now offer potent optical zoom lenses (7-10x not uncommon), while the 620 makes do with a marginal 3:1 setup. In addition, while most offer resolutions in the 3+ megapixel range, the 620 is a 2.1 megapixel camera. While there are some user-controlled features that make it fun to use, it is still pretty much a computer chip controlled digicam with a particularly slow autofocus system. In this price range, I'll take the Olympus 700 anyday!

I remember when my office bought this camera back in 1998 for three times the price. I thought it was a great camera then, but even now it's fabulous. I love being able to focus in on small objects or use the wide angle to get the big picture. And with the extra 8 megs of smart media, it's like carting around three more rolls of film. The batteries only take three hours to recharge and they last. All in all, it's everything I wanted and more.