none

It';s very existence

I bought this camera to use at events like the Rennaissance Faire (where my daughter works). I was very dissappointed. The Olympus was D.O.A. from day one it simply would not load the film no matter what I tried. The counter sales woman at hhe store told me that it was a rather common failure in the Olympus Stylus cameras. She recomended I get a full refund at the coustomer service desk an pick another camera. Which I Did, I'l let you know how I like my new Rollei Prego 160 as soon as I've had a chance to put it through it's paces.

Customer Service

Didn't bother.

Similar Products Used:

Petri 35-s, Leica CL, Minolta ??

Easy to use, focused, clear pictures

Zoom broke after only 3 months of owning it. Olympus wouldn''t follow through with their warranty. Can''t always get it to focus up close, or on what you want it to focus on.

We bought this camera to take pictures of our kids when our bulky SLR wasn''t convenient to take along. It took good pictures. But the zoom stopped working after 3-1/2 months, in mid-use while trying to take a picture of my daughter on her first rollercoaster ride. It was never dropped, never taken to the beach, and it never got wet. I sent it in to the manufactuer to be repaired since it was suppose to be in warrenty and they wouldn''t fix it. They said there was sand damage, there was no sand inside the camera. The camera wasn''t even taken to any place with sand. I have talked to other people who have had the same problem with this camera and then it breaking again in just a few months after being repaired. The camera itself takes good pictures, it''s easy to use. The pictures come out clear and focused. But Olympus wouldn''t follow through with their warranty. And if you buy a good name product you expect it to last more than 4 rolls of film. And you expect the manufacturer to follow through with their waranty. This is one of 4 of my cameras, the others I have had all of them for at least 10 years, so I know the camera did not break due to my neglect. I will never buy anything from Olympus again.

Customer Service

POOR, will never buy from olympus again due to not following through with warranty under normal use. Very dissapointed

Similar Products Used:

Older model nikon point & shoot. Vivitar AF255DB. Not so similar. Pentax K1000, Nikon N65, Pentax ZX-7

Compact size and light weight. Simple to operate and easy to load. Toggle zoom button is easy to use.

Autofocus lock doesn''t work well. Clamshell closure over the makes the lens is a magnet for fingerprints. Aperture/shutter speed combination is not sufficient for 170 zoom

Don''t buy this camera for the 170 zoom. At 170 zoom, it is hard to get sharp pictures. The aperture at 170 zoom is simply too small for low light conditions or fast action unless in bright sunlight. The resulting shutter speed is too slow for handheld shooting of any kind, especially sports. Also too easily, the autofocus picks up foreground objects that aren''t even in the viewfinder as the focus point. Overall, the 170 zoom is wasted and it isn''t very good for faster action photography.

Customer Service

N/A

Similar Products Used:

Canon AE1, Elan 7E, older Canon P&S

weight versatility zoom length

Hand held, there is lack of detail at the long end of the zoom, because of camera movement. There is no f-stop control, and the lens is not particularly fast.

This is a great little camera. We take it on vacation and while hiking and canoeing, since my good camera is heavy and cumbersome, and expensive equipment is also a ''mark'' for thieves. Our little Olympus does the job, within the limits of this kind of camera. I normally use it with the on-camera timer and a tripod, which dramatically improves clarity. Hand-held, at the long end of the zoom, resolution is poor, as with all cameras of this type. You won''t want to enlarge photos beyond about 5x7, even when you use a tripod and timer. With this type of camera you''re practically limited to ASA 400 or higher (there is no rule limiting the use of slower film, but at slower shutter speeds, movement artefact becomes more noticeable). When I look back at my pictures through the years, although resolution is a lot better with my good camera, I have taken more striking and memorable shots with little cameras, mostly because I had the camera with me when it was needed. This lens is not fast enough for good indoor soccer or hockey photos, and in that circumstance I reach for big glass. My main problem while shooting hand-held, is camera movement when I squeeze the shutter, and of course this is amplified with a longer zoom and a slower lens. For this reason,there are drawbacks to P&S zooms at the long end of the spectrum. You might consider a shorter, brighter lens, maybe a fixed focal length lens. By choosing a fixed focal length with a better lens, you get better photos at the sacrifice of focal length versatility. This is my second Olympus p&s camera, and I would reach for another olympus without hesitation. Overall I am happy with our little camera. However, it makes me appreciate my expensive equipment even more. Dave Holland

Customer Service

n/a

Similar Products Used:

Olympus fixed apeture, 1980''s vintage. Elan IIE with L-zoom lens set.

Small, reliable, good images at all zoom lengths. Sliding cover keeps lots of dust out.

Kind of dinky to handle. I was never comfortable giving to someone else to take a shot. The ergonomics of the right hand are especially poor.

Preparing for 4 weeks of trekking in the Himalayas, I looked for a small, light camerat capable of taking slides that would do justice to the spectacular scenery of Ladahk and Zanskar. I wanted both wide angle and lots of zoom without having to carry and fiddle with cases and lenses. And I wanted complete reliability - the trip of a lifetime and no backup camera. Unable to find any reviews of the Olympus Stylus Zoom 170, I went with it anyway based my experience with other Olympus point and shoots. I shot 34 rolls of mainly 400 film, including 22 rolls of slides, while walking and camping across 320 kms. of very rugged mountain trails at altitudes up to 17,000 ft. We faced several dust storms, no rain and the temperatures ranged from 32C. during the day to around freezing at night. This camere was trouble free, always ready for duty and only used up two batteries. (The flash was not usually needed, but Iwas opening and closing it all the time because of the dusty trails.) The pictures, both slides and prints, turned out sharp and the colours, vivid. Although travelling with a visual artist and a professional wilderness photographer, my little Olympus point and shoot was not at all intimidated. In fact I was often able to whip it out and get shots that were gone by the time the professional equipment was ready. I am very satsfied with the images this camera produced. I am sure that when we get together at Christmas to compare photos, I will be very intereste to see how, those from my Zoom 170 will look beside the professional images of my fellow trekkers. I am not afraid

Customer Service

N/A

Similar Products Used:

Nikon SLRs, Olympus point and shoots

active/passive autofocus system, ED aspherical lens, better metering/focus, better color, intelligent flash, buttons/feel is logical and easy to use.

The visual confirmation is a little slower to move than the 140, which makes it seems like a time exposure, no other weaknesses

I have an Olympus 140 and wasn''t satisfied with the picures-- the focus was not sharp at times, especially when taking subject where there was backlighting, or when using the spot meter. I read the 170 had active/passive focusing where 140 was passive; also the 170 had ED lenses which were supposed to decrease color dispersion. Spoke to several sales people who weren''t able to say what exactly these features were and whether they would be worth buying the 170. I left two messages for Olympus, asking if the 170 was in fact new technology or just a 140 with a longer focal length. Well I finally took my 140, and borrowed the 170 and put a roll of Fuji 400 in each and took a range of pictures, indoor and out with both. In fact the 170 did better, especially indoors, giving better color, and better exposure with backlighting and when using the spot meter. It was noticable on 4 of 12 photos (per me and 2 of the sales people at the store). It was somewhat less sharp, of course, at 170 than the 140 was at 140 (but I didn''t use a tripod or support. So I bought the 170 to take on a trip next month. The 140 is good but the 170 is worth the extra money (I bought the deluxe model with visual confirmation and panorama, but not in the kit, which saved 35$ (you lose the three year extended warrenty, case, and battery).

Customer Service

Haven''t ever used with any Olympus

Similar Products Used:

140 Stylus, Olympus 3000 Zoom (dropped in lake-- was the best camera I ever owned-- on par with my SLR), Canon 120 (flash pictures look like an old instamatic-returned), Samsung 140 (buttons too tiny

powerful zoom,crisp clear pictures,workable red-eye reduction,weather proof,excellent autofocus system,
sharp pictures

a bit heavy(not a big deal)
the diopter dial is awkward to adjust
a bit expensive (but worth it)

This camera takes great pictures.What else is there? I returned the Yashica Zoommate 140 after 6 months of problems to exchange it with for a Olympus Stylus Epic Zoom 170 Deluxe. (read my earlier review on the Yashica) The store exchanged my camera with no problem.I learned from previous reviews that the Stylus Epic, Stylus Epic Zoom 80 and the Stylus Epic Zoom 115 were rated very high. Although there has been no previous reviews on the Stylus Epic 170 I decided that I could purchase this camera with great confidence in knowing how those other Stylus Epics made out.I was not disappointed. The red eye reduction really works.Using 400 film my flash photos looked great. Mine is the Deluxe model . The deluxe adds a panorama mode and a visual confirmation finder which darkens the viewfinder to provide you with insurance that the shutter has been released.This adds about 30 dollars to the camera. I could have done without these but the lower model was not available.Other than this the two models are identical. This camera has a multiautofocus system so the camera set the correct focus even if the subject is not in the centre of the frame. I'm so glad I got this camera.Some of my pictures look like postcards. This is the camera to get.

Customer Service

Did not use

Similar Products Used:

Yashica Zoommate 140

Strong 170 zoom.
Excellent lense.
Sharp pictures
Excellent red-eye reduction

Slightly heavy.
None to speak of.

This is a new line of camera that Olympus has put out. A friend of mine purchashed one and after seeing the results of his pictures I knew this was the camera for me to get.Pictures are sharp.
Camera may be a little heavy but has a solid feel to it.This camera is great.I'm glad I own one.You can not go wrong with this camera.

Customer Service

Nil

Similar Products Used:

Samsung,Manoltia 70 zoom cameras