Olympus Stylus Epic Zoom 115 QD

Review Date
April 1, 2003

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
4.50 of 5, 2 votes

Reviewed by
mattvargus , Casual , from southwick

Price Paid
$130.00 at best buy

Photography Experience
2-5 years , People

Summary
i'm happy with the camera so far, but i'm unhappy with the horrible reviews i've been reading about olympus p&s cameras and their durability. my advice for anyone interested in buying an olympus, but is turned off the myriad of poor reviews, is to take a look at the reviews for all other point & shoot cameras in this price range. just about every top name brand has negative reviews of some sort. i bought a canon elph a few months ago, but returned it after reading several horror stories about their lack of durability. so i bought an olympus instread, only to find the same stories about the olympus on this website and others like it. so what i've concluded is that these reviews need to be taken with a grain of salt, because more than half of the people who write these reviews have had problems with their camera, are very frustrated, and use these review forums to vent their anger and displeasure toward their camera and it's maker. just remember that every company makes lemons, especially in this price range. but i think it's a risk worth taking because the odds are in your favor. just don't base your decision on these reviews.

Similar Products Used
canon elph lt

Review Date
January 10, 2003

Overall Rating
 3 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
1 to 3 months

Reviewed by
etyl prostoff , Expert , from Kyiv, Ukraine

Price Paid
$180.00

Photography Experience
2-5 years , Other

Summary
I used to test 2 of this cameras. first was tested in the market to see, what it can. the results were wonderful. I bouhght mju II zoom 115, but not that exemplier, that I tested, because I wanted to have a case and a watch, wich were come with another one. Than I exposed 4 different films, and realise, that my second camera were worth. Image quality was so bad, that I started cry! with flash there are much vignetting on it's widest, olso camera has a bad lens which gives blured fotos with bad resolution on all focus distances, little better on tele. Ofcause, maybe I was unsuccessful in choice, and bought a destroyed one camera. But in the service man said that my camera is ok, and have good autofocus and metter, and fotos are good enaugh for this range of cameras. In my opinion it's not so good as a product's of canon or pentax, which I tested also.

Strengths
amazing design, good fast af, good metter.

Weaknesses
bad optics, better on tele, but not enaugh.

Similar Products Used
rollei prego 90, canon super 155, canon super 120, canon zoom shot, pentax espio 135, nikon lt zoom 120, pentax pc-5000, olympus m-II zoom 80, olympus superzoom 800, kiev 35A.

Review Date
March 9, 2002

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
1.00 of 5, 1 votes

Reviewed by
markyu , Casual

Price Paid
$0.00

Photography Experience
2-5 years

Summary
A very good P&S zoom camera with just a few shortcomings. Recommended for anyone who wants an versatile yet easy to use, high-quality compact.

Strengths
Takes quite good photos almost all the time (I use ISO 400 or 800 film) - and the camera itself looks good, too! (Given its price, SG$335 with remote, it had better!)

Versatile zoom capability (neither frustratingly narrow nor impractically wide), very convenient for composing outdoor or well-lit indoor shots

Compact size, fits in small spaces

More features than I'd probably ever use in a P&S (the remote shutter release--which I've used--is great, as is the spot metering [I think this made possible at least a couple of otherwise no-go-for-P&S shots]), yet still very simple and easy to use

Weatherproof; not just a fair weather friend

Weaknesses
Slooow zoom (typical of P&S zooms), both in terms of largest f-stop and powering back and forth

Flash coverage tends to drop off at the edges (vignetting?) when taking group pictures with the lens at its widest

Lag time - I've missed some nice shots because it takes about three seconds from the time you yank the cover open to power it up before you can take the first shot; then, too, sometimes the shutter release feels slow off the mark

Flash mode and shutter release mode buttons not easy to use for some

Similar Products Used
Various other P&S cameras

Customer Service
Not needed, hopefully never will

Review Date
June 1, 2001

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Visitors rate this review
4.43 of 5, 7 votes

Reviewed by
Sumi Skellam , Casual , from Australia

Price Paid
$255.00 at Singapore

Photography Experience
11-20 years , People

Summary
I have the champagne-coloured edition of this camera, which is sold as the Olympus MJU-II Zoom 115 in Australia and Singapore. Interestingly enough, the sample cameras I looked at the store in Oz had a slower and 'jumpy' zoom at the far end - the problem was non-existent in the Singapore item which I bought. From my 2 test rolls, both indoor and outdoor shots turned out beautifully. I am very pleased with this camera. It is inexpensive, small, folds into itself completely (easy to slide into a handbag) and produces great results.
-Sumi

Strengths
Size - really compact
Does all it says it will do
Clear viewfinder (I wear glasses & had no problems)
Great focusing even in low light conditions
Excellent colour in resultant photos - used 200 ASA film
When there are really dark and really light skinned people in the same photo, the photo still looks great (without one person exposing as white-out or the other person reducing to charcoal)
No vignetting
Unobtrusive date stamping

Weaknesses
A slowish zoom but not as bad as reports on the previous version of this camera, I think
Only a 1 year warranty(International) from Singapore
The initial flash (which helps focusing in low light conditions) sometimes confuses the subjects of the photos, but, hey, they got used to it

Similar Products Used
Canon Sureshot Zoom XL

Customer Service
Haven't used it yet