Olympus Stylus Verve 4MP Digital Camera with 2x Optical Zoom (White)
- 4 megapixel sensor captures enough detail to create photo-quality 11 x 15 prints
- 2x optical and 4x digital zoom; PictBridge enabled
- Capture video clips with sound; view images even in bright light with 1.8-inch HyperCrystal LCD
- Powered by rechargeable lithium-ion battery (included with charger)
- Resists damage from the elements with all-weather engineering
At 3.7 x 2.2 x 1.1 inches (W x H x D, excluding protrusions), the Verve is among the smaller digital-camera models available. Its metallic body is weather-resistant and made to withstand the normal tussle that people tend to put their cameras through when travelling around. The key philosophy behind this camera is taking advanced ergonomic styling and advanced technology to create a personal digital camera that’s a pleasure to use and own. At 4 Megapixel (effective), still images resound with sharpness, clarity, and color depth up to 2272×1704. The camera also has a QVGA video movie mode with a built-in mic (near the lens) and a built-in speaker (near the intuitive 1.8″ LCD monitor at the rear). Control knobs are minimized through advanced automation to produce a new level of user-friendliness with a simple 4-way navigation system. A multimode built-in electronic-flash is built-in. All images are stored on xD-PictureCard media. A USB-2 port is provided for rapid image transfer with a PC or Macintosh computer. It also is PictBridge cmpatible which menas that you can print directly to compatible printers wthout a computer. The Stylus Verve is available in 5 different colors – White, Silver, Red, Blue, Black – to suit your individual tastes and personality. The Verve is no ordinary digital camera. Its uniqueness and automated simplicity is aimed to synch with your diverse tasates and needs. If you’ve been shying away from joining the digital camera revolution, the Verve is a serious and attractive invitation for you.With its slide-away lens cover and aerodynamic design, it’s clear at first sight that the Stylus Verve is not just another digital camera shoved into a bulky 35mm point-and-shoot’s case. In fact, it’s a powerful, easy-to-use, four-megapixel wonder that features a large 1.8-inch LCD display that’s viewable even in full sunlight. The Stylus Verve even comes in six colors: blue, red, silver, white, black, and red.
Optics and Resolution
The Stylus Verve features a four-megapixel CCD imager, which can gather enough information to create images approximately as large as 1,714 by 2,286 pixels. In other words, you’ll be able to make photo-quality prints of your pictures at sizes up to 11 by 15 inches. The camera’s 2x optical zoom lens–equivalent to a 35-70mm lens on a film camera–combines with a 4x digital zoom to simulate the power of an 8x zoom lens, but only at lower resolution settings.
Movie Mode
The Stylus Verve can capture short video clips with sound in the movie mode setting. This feature won’t likely persuade anyone to abandon their camcorder, but it is a fun and convenient way to capture movement while you’re out taking pictures. The amount of video the Stylus Verve can store is limited only by the amount of memory available.
More Camera Features
Virtual Mode Dial with 10+ shooting modes 1.8-inch semi-transmissive LCD 130k pixel TFT) for taking and viewing pictures (no optical viewfinder) PictBridge enabled — print directly to any PictBridge-compatible printer, with or without a computer Semi-Transmissive TFT LCD’s are multi layered, which allows the image on the LCD to be viewed in direct sunlight situations. Quick View button allows you to review the shot you just took.
Image Processor
The TruePic Turbo image processor enhances color fidelity (the range of color, saturation, and brightness), signal-to-noise response (relationship of accurate electrical signals to unwanted signals like static disturbances creating noise), and high-resolution image clarity (sharpness) over other image processors while speeding up image data processing times. The end result is clearer and more color-accurate photos and noticeably faster startup and shot-to-shot recycle times.
Power
The Stylus Verve is powered by a lithium-ion rechargeable battery, which is included with a charger.
List Price: $ 249.99
Price: $ 249.99
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Good camera, slick look, but some problems,
This is my third digital camera I have owned, and my first Olympus digital camera. To start off with the pros, the camera looks really slick, especially when you get it in a color other than silver. The camera is small and lightweight and carrys with it plenty of functions for those that aren’t very photography-inclined. The photos that this camera takes are superb for being its size and the battery life is excellent. With a 512mb xD picture card I can take 523 pictures on High-Quality (2nd from best setting) and 180 on Super-High-Quality (the best setting). I don’t see much of a difference between the HQ and SHQ as I am not a photo-junkie, so taking 523 pictures on HQ is plenty enough for me.
The only problems I have with the camera, however, is that you cannot charge the battery inside the camera, and every time you take the battery out to charge it (or swap it with another) the settings clear and you have to set the camera back up and set the date all over again. One would at least think that a digital camera nowadays would have battery-backup on the memory. Guess not. Also, the camera does not come with very much storage. Although most cameras do not either, most others come with 32mb, while the Sylus Verve comes with only 16mb, so if you’re getting one of these cameras, be sure to purchase another xD picture card.
All in all, however, I feel that the pros outweigh the cons with this little camera. The camera is perfect for those of us who are not totally obsessed with digital photography. If, however, you are really into digital photography and want a camera, might I suggest looking elsewhere. But if you’re looking for your first digital camera, or just something to replace your old one, and you only want it for family vacations and whatnot, then this camera is good for you. Just be sure to pick up another xD card!
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|Small, good photos, OK flash,
I have used a variety of 35 mm cameras over the years, from SLRs to portables. My previous digital camera, a 3 megapixel HP 720, was too large to fit in a pocket. So I bought this for the wife for Christmas. We’ve been using it for almost 5 months now.
It is VERY portable. Luckily, I haven’t had any of the problems some of the other reviewers have experienced (broken lens cover). I did have the experience of the date reseting, but it hasn’t happened recently (maybe it doesn’t really happen on battery removal, but when you run the battery to empty).
In my experience the photos are very good. I regularly blow them up to 8×10 on our printer. But I agree there’s no point in using the highest resolution, maybe because we’re running into the optical limitations of the lens.
The weakest part of the camera so far is the flash. Digital cameras don’t have nearly the contrast ratio of film, so it’s important to avoid things such as shadows on faces for pictures in bright sunlight. In the past I’ve relied on the flash fill to take care of that. But with this camera, I’ve had little luck with that option — the flash doesn’t seem to be powerful enough to fill in those shadows. Most I can fix on the computer, but it’s a bit annoying, nonetheless.
I have used the video function on several occasions. As with my HP, the resolution isn’t nearly as good as my video camera. But the audio is very good. The unlimited time is a nice option. And it is HUGELY more convenient. Plugging it into the TV with the included cable to watch my daughter’s musical performance that I had recorded a few minutes earlier blew grandma’s mind!
All in all, I think this is a good camera. If you have the time to wait for the next generation of tiny digital cameras, that may be a wise option. But for now, I like the size and convenience of this camera. It slips into my pocket for almost any outing (but make sure the battery is charged!), and you’re ready to go!
UPDATE: After using this camera for 3 years, I gve it back to the wife and bought myself a digital SLR (Nikon D50). The Olympus is still working well. In fact I bought the wife a second battery. She carries with her everywhere in her purse and takes it aout a couple of times a month. The old photos I have taken are not as good as my new Nikon, but still very good. I found this to be a very good point and shoot camera!
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