This is an excellent camera but it uses AA batteries instead of the LI-42B like the product description says... so I was upset when I payed $40 for a battery that I couldn't use!!!

Olympus FE-310 8MP Digital Camera with 5x Optical Zoom (Black)This camera is one of the best digital cameras I have ever used. It takes easy perfect Photos, and what you see is what you get. It has a menu that even a novice could use. It is really that easy. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who,in the past was afraid. A great product!

In your product description you said this camera comes with a lithium-ion battery IT DOES NOT this is the 2nd time I have purchased products with wrong descriptions!!! The last time some things were ambiguously written to sound like certain accessories came with that product they did not!!
The camera itself is great.................

Well I did a lot of homework before I bought this camera. I wanted AA batteries (I travel a lot with no outlets), at least a 5X zoom and some sort of image stabilization. The 2 gig card gives over 400 pics on the highest resolution so no worrys about downloading often on the go. The image stabilization is not active, what it does is ups your shutter speed so it's not really image stabilized. Battery life is good not great probably because of the large LCD on the back of the camera. A viewfinder would have been nice. All and all I doubt you could find a better camera for the amount of money. Pictures are great, 5X zoom is nice, optical zoom is great, digital zoom has only limited use because it sacrifices quality, but it does zoom way in. A nice feature is that if you wonder about how to set the camera there is a guide mode and a scene mode that will make it very easy for you.

I had read that the Olympus 2 Master disc was difficult to install, but, that is not true. It went in like a champ, and gives you everything you'd want to create your photos with. The Macro and Super Macro work excellent! The sntishake mechanism keep down alot of otherwise blurry shots. I haven't yet tried the panorama feature, but everything is explained clearly in the book, and just taking your camera and going thru step-by-step, you will see how easy it is to use!! It gives you all the info on the screen that you need, to take beautiful pictures. You can almost count individual hair strands on close-ups, and scenery pictures are gorgeous. You can't go wrong with this camera. I'm really glad I got it!!

This is my 2nd Olympus digital. I wanted something I could slip in a pocket, rather than hang around my neck all day. It's not too small for my sausage fingers, all I need to take fast, easy photos. The 310 is hard on batteries, I keep 2 sets of re-chargeables spare,but would carry more on a big trip. That is my only real criticism.

The camera is easy to use, has lots of great features, and best of all, the picture quality is great! You won't regret buying this one.

It does NOT come with the: LI-42B Li-Ion Rechargeable Battery and Charger as the description states. It merely had 2 AA batteries.

After I returned the Olympus FE340, I thought I'd found a winner with the FE310. The model out on display had a toggle telephoto on the back, and the sales clerk assured me that it wouldn't change back to default on my settings. Well, when I got the box home and opened it, to my surprise, the telephoto was that little ball thing in the front again, and again, if you turn off the camera, it will default to AUTO.

This one is going back too. I have now owned 7 Olympus digital cameras.

Here's my review of the FE340: I am a fan of Olympus products, and have owned 5 previous Olympus digital cameras. I was hoping this model would become my new primary photo machine. The price was right, I was attracted by the nifty BLUE color: But dissappointment set in after I took it out of the box. The two features that caused me to return the camera are:
#1) the telephoto control is awkward, a pin head sized ball on the front of the camera. I don't know why Olympus decided to get away from the eminently sensible toggle switch on the back which the right thumb could toggle while holding the camera steady with two hands.
#2) was the killer though. Whenever the camera was turned off, when you turn it back on it resets itself to the AUTO setting. It didn't hold my setting of FLASH OFF. That resulted in an embarrassing moment in a very solemn situation where expressly there was NO FLASH ALLOWED.
At that moment, I knew the camera was going back to the store.
I want a camera that holds MY settings, not reverts to the default.

Takes nice quality photos. The 5x optical zoom is looks great. If all you're looking for is a simple easy to use quality digital camera, then this is probably one of the best point and shoot cameras on the market.

I have had the Olympus FE-310 camera for about one month. The camera takes great pictures and is easy to operate. This camera seems pretty good overall. There are a few things that I wish I had known before I made this purchase however.

1. The 2 AA batteries do not last very long. The digital screen is easy to see, but drains the batteries far too quickly. You cannot turn off the digital screen without turning the camera off. Be aware that you may need one or more battery changes per day if you are shooting a moderate amount of pictures. This camera has frozen up twice because it needed a battery change immediately following my attempt to take a picture. When I started the shot the battery indicator showed full and then it failed to record the photo because the battery was dead. There is no midpoint on the battery indicator. I don't know if I got a bad camera or if everyone has the same problem.

2. This has been mentioned by another user but it is worth noting, this camera reverts to default settings each time it is turned on. There is no way to save your personal preferences. This is a big deal! Imagine being at an event where you need to shoot a picture once every minute or so with an adjusted setting. As I have said, leaving the camera on would nearly guarantee a battery change within an hour. Now each time you turn the camera back on you find yourself adjusting for flash off or whatever special setting you need while your photo opportunity escapes! Had I known about this weakness I would have purchased another camera.

3. The shutter button and zoom control are located in the same spot. It is a bit tricky to operate effectively but it can be done with some practice.

All things considered this would be a great camera if I didn't use it so often. I like it enough to keep it, but use caution if this camera is for work or regular moderate use.

This camera has a problem using NiMH batteries!
Because of the lower cell voltage the camera keeps indicating low battery, and stops turning on even with charged NiMH batteries.
The instruction manual states the camera will operate on NiMH batteries but from my experience it clearly won't.

This is a great little camera and has excellent features. Others have talked about the features so I will not expand on those, but I do want to add my voice to the growing chorus of people who have been suckered by Olympus to by this battery sucker.

The only batter you may have luck with is the Panasonic Industrial battery that it comes with, and can be purchased for a pretty penny online.

Every ready batterys? Camera won't work at all. Duracell? I get around 10 pictures on each set. Only the panasonic industrials work "ok".

I complained to Olympus and they denied any issue, only saying I needed to use a good enough AA. Buzz off to them! It should work with any AA, not special AA's!

I am now waiting for the class action lawsuit so I can get my money back as the store I bought this at won't take it back anymore. - its older than 1 month.

Can't give a detailed review at this time but I did want to tell anyone considering this as an entry level e-camera that you can't go wrong. Excellent results. I'm a long time old-school SLR user and this is my first adventure into non-film picture taking. I bought the 2 GB memory card at the same time and installation was easy. Excellent quality pictures especially on the "motion" setting for action shots. Buy this and you'll be happy.

I have owned Canon Cameras for the last 5 years, and switched to try something new and a little cheaper. This product takes great pictures, and wonderfule videos! Now I wont miss out on things in my sons life that could've been caught on tape!

I've had my new camera for about a month now and I like it. Its not the best thing out there but it works. The only thing I don't like is the fact that it goes through batteries like crazy. The images and videos are great. It think its a great camera for beginners.

Is this an amazing camera with perfect controls that sips batteries? Nope. But at about $120 it is an amazing camera; Crisp pictures and videos; reasonable buttons/usage; nice sized. I will admit that it does drain batteries FAST, but I've used rechargeable batteries for awhile so it's more an annoyance than any huge drawback.

I know that this is a great camera. What don't work for others, works well for some. The battery life is good. Instead of me being cheap I keep xtra batteries. Anything that's battery operated will eventually die out, so buy xtra. The images are fantastic, the features are second to none, and the price is just right for what you're getting in this camera. There will always be people who will find a problem with something
and come out disappointed, but you get what you pay for. GREAT CAMERA!

It has been great fun so far using the camera. ideal for beginners, and great picture taking.

great camera. I bought it as a birthday present and its awesome. i love the clarity of the pictures and the ease of using this cam. great!!!!!

I purchased this for my daughter's graduation. She has been enjoying it immensely. I do recommend purchasing a 2 gig memory card when you purchase the camera.

This camera is perfect for my every day need. As a private investigator, I often have to take discreet pictures and download the photos to an electronic report or email. This camera allows me to set the picture size to 640x480 before I take the picture and this allows my electronic data to be easily transmitted. That is less editing I have to do after I download them on my computer. The 8MP camera allows me to take clear shots in any kind of lighting conditions. The 5x zoom allows me to take clear photos from a distant and this is necessary in my line of work. Last but not least it's pocket size.Olympus FE-310 8MP Digital Camera with 5x Optical Zoom (Black)

I have found this little camera to be very easy to use, and lots of fun. Controls are conveniently placed, making for ease of operation. I recommend this product.

Great camera and the kicker is that it has an audio-video featutre...great. I have an older model and they are both wonderful.

Like any camera in this price range there will be some drawbacks, but for for a digital novice its ease of use and overall performance are tops. Battery life with disposable lithiums is more than adequate for normal travel use or a day at the beach or theme park. Extended zoom a big plus. Great budget camera.

My son writes this review:
I got this camera for my birthday and it is wonderful. The x5 zoom is extremely good. I took a picture of a ship that was between 1/4 to 1/2 of a mile away and the picture looked like I took it from a few yards away.
I do recommend getting the 2GB chip for the camera. I get about 870 pictures and half an hour of video with the chip.
The only bad thing that bugs me is that the camera gulps down battery juice so I think that carrying at least 2 extra pairs of batteries is good.
In all, this camera is wonderful!!!

DID NOT LIKE THIS CAMERA. HAD A FEW PROBLEMS WITH IT. MOSTLY IT WOULD KILL BATTERIES VERY FAST(OR IT WOULD SAY BATTERIES EMPTY).IF YOU TOOK THE BATTERIES OUT AND PUT THEM BACK IT WOULD BE ALRIGHT FOR A WHILE BUT THEN IT WOULD START AGAIN. IT TOOK GREAT PIC'S BUT I WAS ALWAYS HAVING PROBLEMS WITH THE BATTERIES. I TRIED A FEW DIFFRENT TYPES BUT NOTHING SEEM TO WORK. I SENT THE CAMERA BACK AND THEY SENT ME A REPLACEMENT AND THAT ONE HAD THE SAME PROBLEMS. DO NOT BUY THIS CAMERA.

this camera was my first digital camera and it has been great. It has great focusing and takes large pics. Each pic is 3264x2448 pixels

After searching and searching, and searching for a digital camera online, I decided on this one b/c it was a high MP and a fairly low price. It did take nice pictures, but I was bummed about having to get the special Olympus cards which are quite a bit more than what you can get a regular SD card for most anywhere. I'm still learning how to best use all the different settings it has. The fireworks setting worked great this 4th of July except when my hand was a little shaky! :)

Small enough to slide into a pocket or purse without noticing a lot of weight added. Overall, not a bad little camera.

The Olympus FE-310 works as advertised. It is easy to use and takes great digital pictures. OH Yeah, I would not hesitate to buy this camera again.

Three stars is generous for this camera and deserved only for its portability and price. I took the FE-310 to my 30-year reunion, and it was the only disappointment of the evening. In low light, it took only mediocre photos. I tried every setting and couldn't get photos I thought were worthy of an 8 megapixel camera. All the portraits had red eye that had to be edited out afterward. Many photos were out of focus. I still kept the camera for a month, taking photos in different settings, indoors and outdoors, and still I felt the photos should have been better for an 8 megapixel camera. I returned it and got my money back. This camera would make a good gift for a child or for someone who just wants easy snapshots without much regard for resolution. As a $100 camera, it suits that purpose just fine.