After a few years of struggling to have a winner, someone at Olympus has gotten on a roll. The FE-240 is a great camera for someone wanting a bit more zoom, but in a very small package.

The first thing you'll notice is the slim body, thinner than most 3x zoom cameras. The finish is nice, and camera appears solid in your hands. The 5x zoom has average smoothness and noise. That little extra reach can really make all the difference.

The selection dial makes this a joy for someone new to photography. There's an excellent photo & description of each mode, and a very helpful "guide" setting.

The only "cons" on this camera are that it uses the xD memory card instead of the easy to find SD cards, and that it doesn't have an anti-shake system (the anti-blur mode uses a high ISO).

It would be hard to find a camera even close in both function and style in roughly the same price range. But look at the black finish, and you'll really fall in love!

I purchased this camera because of the 5x zoom and the large display. I find that there is no viewfinder and the LCD display is nearly impossible to use outdoors. I bought this to replace a Canon SD-200 and find that it doesn't compare. I am very disappointed with this purchase.

I wrote a review of this product over a month ago and am extremely diappointed that Amazon doesn't recognize it. What are your "review guidlines". a low rating ?

I've had this camera for about two months now and it has come in handy. At first though the pictures i were taking lacked quality but after adjusting settings and realizing that its not a great for low light indoor pics on automatic mode, this camera has turned out to be a success for a good price with good picture quality and easy navigation. The two things i don't like are the average to sub par battery life and the fact you have to set red eye on before each picture which doesn't bother me much since its an easy proccess.

I enjoy the enhanced version of this digital camera. It is easy to use and easy to understand. downloading pictures is excellent

I bought this 9 days ago, along with a 512MB Olympus Brand xD memory card. I was amazed at the size and the features. My first digital camera in 1996 was an Olympus, and my expectations were so much higher now... I'm right on the verge of returning it...why?

A. The manual is weak, mentions memory card only in passing. But lost near the bottom of a page, it does say
"memory card - see advanced manual".
In a hurry in my hotel room to fire photos, I must find and fire up my laptop to use this "advanced manual on a CD". This is a classic symptom of missed deadlines when they burn CDs to cover for poorly written manuals, likely conceived before the product was even manufactured.

B. Missing pixel in top right corner of black display shows 'green'. Right out of the box, a very visible, imperfection

C. Odd Modes, seem promising but fail
I. Fireworks mode!! Wow, how long have I wanted this!! Now at 4th of July fireworks, the photos come out like doubleexposure on slow film. Nice effect, if you like Monet, but not expected from a camera.
II. Still haven't figured out the cryptic green lines in 'Panorama' mode.

D. Last straw... taking photos of fireworks, experimenting to find the best mode, I must wait for a PROGRESS BAR "processing....." for 5-15 seconds between photos, Not even my 1996 Olympus made me wait that long.

E. Bonus... the battery charger and power cord is bigger than the camera. The battery looks just like a cell phone batter.... $60-$99 at Amazon... $22 for 2 on eBay.

F. Comes with video cable for slide shows on your newer television or laptop.

G. Beautiful, helpful, although somewhat crowded display.
The zoom indicator is very good, showing white until you reach max then a red area to indicate you've moved from optical to digital zoom.

H. Fits nicely in hand, with supplied wriststrap so you can be ready at all times for a extemporaneous shot.

I. Has a threaded spot for a standardc tripod, a video mode (AVI) and some nifty preset modes. HOWEVER when you move to any new setting and back to whence you came many of your settings are gone, ESPECIALLY turning the flash OFF or "always on" ... seems to always go back to Red Eye mode... a very time consuming and sloooow mode.

Bottom line, cute, handy but well beneath the Olympus reputatio. I believe that it suffers from poor or non-existent Q.A., a mad dash to market leaving QA for the client to discover on theirown.
It needs,
1. a couple smaller resolutions mode, i.e. 800x600 and 1280x800
2. One really good manual
3. Option to charge the camera via USB cable attached to computer
4. Inspection on production line for things like missing pixels in LCD
5. absolutely NO "processing time" while saving photos at lower resolutions.... time between photos should be far less than it was in 1996!!
6. Optical View finder

This is the SLOWEST camera I have ever used. It takes forver to write to the xD card. The images are very noisy (lots of grain) even outdoors. The indoor shots are almost un-usable. The only good thing about this camera is that, if used outdoors, the color and sharpness are good. I used this camera for 100 shots (mostly outdoors), but decided to return it. I got a Canon SD750 instead. Can't beat a Canon!

This is a well-thought-out product. Produces high resolution images, very easy to use, it's a handy compact shirt-pocket size, and 5X zoom really gets you close to the action. Smooth brushed metal case is comfortable to hold. Be sure to purchase a 1GB high-speed memory card to hold 700+ images.

We love the camera, I ordered it for my summer student that was staying with me and he just has only good things to say about it. As listed, promptly shipped, thank you!!

We got this camera at work. I was impressed with the looks and the small size and the light weight. It's half as thick as my Canon S400. However, when I tried to use it, it became quickly apparent that is not suited for field use. With my Canon I am accustomed to holding the camera with my thumb and middle finger and working the controls with my index finger all in one hand. I had a hard time holding on to this camera, I had to use the wrist wrap in case I dropped it. Also, my thumb kept hitting the menu button and I got that annoying screen. The camera is too small and "slick" to hold with one hand. I was also unable to work the dial with my index finger, too small and too tight. On the positive note the image stabilization really works as all of my pictures were sharp despite my shaky hold, you obviously need it for a camera this size. I'll stick to my S400 for now.

I really like this camera it has great options and the zoom takes good clear pictures.

For $159, this is a nice camera. Compact, pocket-sized, that was important. Most cameras this tiny have 3X optical zoom; the 5X here puts this one ahead. Most controls are intuitive. It has plenty of point and shoot settings, I'm still experimenting to find what works best in poorly lit indoor settings. This is a great camera for typical point and shoot folks like me. Downsides: I miss the viewfinder you get on bigger cameras, and I cannot figure out how to tell how many pics remain and how much battery life remains. The manual is about useless. Overall, I'm pleased with my purchase.

The camera is very easy to use, but the picture quality isn't great. I have a Sony Handycam with digital camera(1.5 Megapixel) which takes better picture (may not have the resolution).

Overall a good and very handy camera for the price I paid. Amazon did a good job in shipping it promptly.

From an another point and shoot camera, I opted for Olympus FE-240 in spring 2007. It is not difiicult to use, but pictures taken in indoor are very much deceiving. When I compare those pictures taken by other cameras at the same place and the same time, I am really frustrated...

I purchased this camera in late June and had the greatest luck. It takes great action shots of kids playing soccer! But as time wore on the camera started to not function properly. And I rarely use this camera and have been especially good care of it. It now will only take one picture at a time. Where as it used to take picture and you only had to wait one second for the screen to clear. But now I have to completely take the battery out to get the camera to turn off. All the buttons freeze up. Maybe I just have a lemon in this camera, because everyone else's reviews are great. Overall good camera for the price. But not I'm not impressed at all. If you are looking for a good camera. Go for a sony or Nikon.

Pretty neat little camera, I bought this as a Christmas gift and it arrived really quickly. Comes with USB cable, wrist strap and battery charger. Holds 12 high res pics without a memory card, and about 100 low res. I recommend a memory card in addition. Good item for the price.

Here I go again! Just 5 weeks after my wife and I bought the Olympus FE-340 and FE-290 on the same day (see my other reviews), we decided to go ahead and buy another digital point-and-shoot. No, nothing was wrong with the earlier two cameras, we just decided that since they were very inexpensive, why don't we buy another one and just stuff one in each of the 3 cars in our household? That way, we don't have to keep reminding ourselves to bring a camera whenever we go somewhere. And since we were so impressed with the FE-340 and FE-290, there was nothing else on our minds but another Olympus. We have already gone thru a lot (as in a lot!) of cameras in our 26 years in the hobby and we've outgrown that desire for all the bells and whistles that can be found in other brands and models in this category. Let me make one thing clear to you: just the fact that you're searching for cameras in this category means that YOU WON'T USE THOSE ADVANCED FEATURES you're looking for in other models. I am definite that you'll never get out of the all-auto mode in 99.99% of your shots! If you do, I am also sure that you won't even be searching in this category! C'mon! The real purpose in looking for a point-and-shoot is just exactly that - so you can just point-and-shoot! And for that, this FE-240 is more than adequate - nice optical zoom range, nice LCD size, nice button placements - all at a price way more inexpensive than inferior models from other brands!