Weather proof
Superscope

Poor ergonomics
Mediocre lense
Size

I am really disappointed with this camera.

Lense - admit it, dispite its Carl Zeiss name, it's no sharper than the Minolta 28-70 zoom, with f3.5 at 28, nor is it sharper than the Olympus Epic Stylus, with f2.8 at 35. A f3.5 35mm lense such as the one on this camera is generic, easy to make, yet this one is not outstanding. The quality is not bad, but the other two are much better value with similar, or maybe better, quality.

Superscope - waist level view finder is kind of useful when you take pictures for crawling kids, or over head.

Ergonomics - ABSOLUTELY horrible. The buttons are way too small. The shutter release doesn't have a clear feeling whether its pressed or not. The lense is too close to the right side and interferes with your fingures. You have to twist your fingures in a weird way to operate the on/off switch. The superscope is leftside-right.

Size - this camera is much bigger than the Stylus Epic. Poor design and engineering.

In short, in each and every category, Explorer and Stylus out-performs this camera, and they are cheaper!! If I could return this piece of stupidity to store, I would.

A word on Philip Greenspun's glorifying review on this camera - this is a guy who praised Dodge Caravan, and bought a Toyota Sienna for himself; he glorified Acura NSX, and accused Ferrai drivers as dickless, but later took great lengh writing his elation in a Ferrari; he recommended BH Photo over all other vendors, but partnered with Adorama, one of his "if you want to get f*cked" companies. You got the idea.

Customer Service

Unknown

Similar Products Used:

Minolta Freedom Zoom Explorer 28-70
Olympus Stylus Epic 35
Canon Elan IIe

- sharp & contrasty lens!
- super-scope is awesome!
- very light and sturdy
- better viewfinder than Contax G1 (really!)

- it's too big for a fixed-focal lens p&s
- the flash settings resets every time you turn it off!
- VERY weak flash
- shutter is too sensitive

i love this camera! the zeiss 35/3.5 tessar is sharp and contrasty. it's not as sharp as my Nikon primes but--d***--it is really sharp for a cheap camera.

i'm not sure what the other reviewers are talking about, but i NEVER had problems with its autofocus...on my first roll of film using this camera ONLY ONE picture is out of focus. that shutter is a too sensitive (compared to an auto-focus SLR); but you'll get used to it...and it's nice that makes a very soft audible sound to indicate that focus and exposure has been locked.

as for the lens speed, yes the maximum aperture is f3.5 BUT it is way MORE hand-holdable than an SLR...

and the super-scope! amazing! this little feature has opened me up to new ways to capture an image.

one gripe? no, it's not the inability to set aperture manually. and it's not the flash, either...although i have to admit it's too weak (even when using a 400 speed film). it's that the flash setting is reset each time you turn it off! i usually shoot available light (with Tri-X film, yeah!!!) with this camera, and i turn the flash off...each time i turn it off and on again...voila! it's back to auto-flash on...

i love this camera so much i'm thinking of getting another one!

Similar Products Used:

None

Sharp lens, good metering, weatherproof, durable construction

Poor AF, clumsy infinity lock.

This has been a great camera for the last couple of years for hiking and skiing. I take slides exclusively and I get a lot of surprised comments when people hear it was a P&S camera because of the sharpness. That said, the AF is easily confused and you can't rely on it and the infinity lock takes multiple steps through a multi-function button to activate, and then it is only active for that one shot. If you are taking a lot of shots in a row that you want infinity lock it is very clumsy. The camrea is very durable and has survived many hard drops and weather extremes with no problems. The quartz glass on the viewfinders is very durable and hasn't scratched.

Similar Products Used:

None

Sharp lens, good autoexposure, lightweight, very small

Wish I could put a tiny UV filter on the lens because this is the camera I like to take on mountainous bike rides.

This point-and-shoot is a great tool as long as you know when to use it vs. when you need a manually-settable SLR.

I trust it enough to use slide film in it and it's light enough to take along "just in case" when I don't plan to do any photography or don't want to carry heavier equipment.

Similar Products Used:

Another, older T4

Great lens, light weight and easy to use features.

Not as water-resistent as the sport designation might lead you to believe.

Takes great pictures without much effort. I regularly take better pics than friends with bulky SLRs. I do lots of backpacking, and this camera has proven to be very durable and easy to pack. However, even though it says it's a sport camera, it can't fend off anything more than light rain.

Similar Products Used:

None

cheap, sharp

the shutter release botton is too sensitive. ugly design.

I bought this T-4 for my girlfriend because she broke her Canon Elph-2. She hates its design at first. but after the photo turn out, she always carries it with her "every day". I repeat, every day. It's so sharp, infact, better than Sigma 28-80 that she uses on her Nikon 5005.

Customer Service

n/a

Similar Products Used:

n/a

Very small, but Zeiss lens makes for great pictures.

None!

Great for traveling. I take two, one loaded with b&w, the other with color. They each fit in a pocket and I have hands free for video. I have many pictures from this camera framed in my house. Comes in silver as well!

Customer Service

Never used

Similar Products Used:

Olympus Zoom P&S

Very sharp images
Excellent colour
Compact and durable
Inexpensive

Superscope is a nice gadget but not a selling point for me.

I'm extreemly happy I decided to go with this camera as a starter, instead of shelling out hundreds more for a much more complicated SLR. Most of my friends who use Elan's and Pentax's with all the extra gizmo's carry a Yashica with them for those "just in case" moments when they don't have tome top fiddle with lenses and attachments.

Customer Service

None needed so far
Initial experience excellent

Similar Products Used:

Kodak Explorer

Sharp lens.

No problems.

Extremely sharp, contrasty lens. Good color rendition. The infinity setting is handy for landscapes. It can be used in rain and snow because it is "weatherproof." There is some light falloff (vignetting) in the corners, especially with blue skies. No manual overrides for exposure.

Customer Service

N/A

Similar Products Used:

Leica Minilux. Fuji DL Super Mini Zoom.

Excellent, cheap P&S with a sharp Zeiss lens. Weather sealed.

None.

Totally worth the price. I may be posting this review in the wrong place, I have the date back model. Regardless, it is an excellent, sharp P&S camera that is lightweight and cheap enough that you'll feel comfortable taking it anywhere.

Similar Products Used:

None