HTC
CNET editors' review
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CNET editors' rating:
stars
Very good
Detailed editors' rating
- Reviewed on: 09/23/2002
- Updated on: 10/16/2002
- Released on: 06/01/2002
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| The D-550's flash pops up when you open the sliding lens cover. | Roll your finger over the four-way arrow pad to access common features. |
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 The Virtual Mode Dial, a convenient and innovative navigation tool, makes it easy to explore different modes. |
The D-550 was the first of Olympus's cameras to be endowed with Virtual Mode Dial, just another in a series of improvements that the company has made to its digital-camera user interface. This innovative navigation tool, which is accessed by pressing the clearly marked Scene Programs arrow, presents a circle of icons on the LCD that can be quickly rotated to select one of seven options, including Program Auto, Movie, and any of five different scene modes.
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 Choose from five preset scene modes. |
Sharpness and contrast adjustments, exposure compensation, spot metering, selectable light sensitivity (ISO), and an uncompressed TIFF mode are among the many options available for fine-tuning image quality. For the more adventurous, there's a continuous-shooting mode that refocuses for each shot, a two-in-one picture mode that saves two shots in one frame, and a 3:2 aspect-ratio option.
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 Included accessories |
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 The D-550's battery life beats the rest. |
Shot-to-shot time using the flash and the default high-quality setting averaged about 3 seconds, but, as is typical, uncompressed TIFF images took approximately 16 seconds to save to the SmartMedia card. Those are respectable times on both counts but not record breaking.
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 Input/output ports |
Overall, in our tests, the D-550 Zoom produced images with accurate colors and even exposure. The Program Auto setting very capably dealt with difficult lighting situations, from sunsets to a black cat against white curtains. Although the D-550 tended to handle highlights better than deep shadows, we were generally pleased with the camera's ability to capture fine detail. Some noise was visible in our images shot with low light, and upon close inspection, several of our test shots exhibited some purple or light-green halos around the edges of objects shot against strongly contrasting backgrounds. Most images, however, were pleasing and certainly of good quality for a camera of this class.
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 The 3:2 aspect ratio selection (grayed area) delivers less image on the top and bottom than the standard aspect ratio. |
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 Overall, the images are pleasing. |
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 Purple fringing becomes noticeable in high-contrast scenes. |
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Where to buy
Olympus Camedia D-550 Zoom:
$6.99
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Amazon.com Marketplace
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$6.99 | Yes |
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