Product Description

Shoot in rain or shine, at the beach or on the slopes. Sealed and coated in all the right places, the Stylus 820 resists water, snow and dust. It's amazing to see 5x optical zoom in a digital camera this thin. Previewing, composing, shooting and sharing are so much easier and more enjoyable with this bright, premium-sized 2.7-inch Hypercrystal LCD.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #15874 in Camera & Photo
• Color: Silver
• Brand: Olympus
• Model: Stylus 820 Silver
• Released on: 2007-09-10
• Dimensions: 5.51" h x 7.40" w x 3.23" l, 1.00 pounds
• Memory: 47MB
• Display size: 2.7

Features

• 8.0-megapixel CCD captures enough detail for photo-quality 16 x 22-inch prints
• 5x optical zoom; Face Detection technology
• 2.7-inch HyperCrystal LCD; Bright Capture technology for low-light photos
• All-weather body with seals and gaskets to protect from rain, snow, or sand
• Powered by one Li-Ion rechargeable battery (battery and charger included); stores images on xD Picture Cards (not included)

Manufacturer Description
Capturing beautiful images with the sleek, all-weather Stylus 820, thanks to the superior features such as Face Detection, Shadow Adjustment Technology, Perfect Shot Preview, Image Stabilization, and more. The 8-megapixel Stylus 820 also features a 2.7-inch HyperCrystal LCD, which is great for easily composing, editing and sharing images with friends and family. Additionally, capturing breathtaking landscapes is a snap with the in-camera panorama mode.

Stylus 820 Highlights

Image Stabilization for blur-free photos Digital Image Stabilization freezes the action with high ISO sensitivity and fast shutter speeds that prevent blurry images often caused by a moving subject. The Stylus 820 features digital image stabilization (DIS) and DIS Edit, which enables the user to retouch blurry photos right in the camera.

Stylish, ergonomic body design and all-weather durability Stylus digital cameras are renowned for their high performance, style and ability to withstand the elements. The Stylus 820 features a light-weight metal body with rubber gaskets throughout the interior to ensure that rain, sleet and snow will not get in the way of great photos. Additionally, the ultra-compact body is less than 1-inch thick.

2.7-inch HyperCrystal LCD The Stylus 820 features a 2.7-inch HyperCrystal LCD. Images are viewable on the LCD screen from 176-degrees, so photos can be composed from a range of angles and viewed by several people at once.

Face Detection technology Face Detection technology tracks faces within the frame and automatically focuses (Face Detection AF) and optimizes exposure (Face Detection AE) for sharp, brilliant portrait pictures. Even if your subjects are moving, the camera continuously tracks your subjects' faces without having to press the shutter button.

Shadow Adjustment Technology Shooting outdoors in bright daylight can be tricky because of the extreme contrast between dark shadowed areas and bright sunlight areas -- while the human eye is capable of detecting the nuances between dark and light and all the details in between, image sensors traditionally have not been quite as sensitive. The Stylus cameras address this challenge head-on with a new Shadow Adjustment Technology, which compensates for extreme contrast where the shadow areas are underexposed and lack visible detail. With the new technology, users can preview and capture images that have the same contrast as seen with the naked eye.

Millions of pixels for superior image quality The 8-megapixel CCD image sensor inside the Stylus 830 delivers high-quality images that are consistently sharp and vivid even when printed in large formats.

Get close to the action with 5x optical zoom

5x optical zoom in ultra-slim body design The Stylus 820 features new lens technology that enables the 5x optical zoom lens (36mm -- 180mm, F3.3 -- F5.0 equivalent in 35mm photography) to bring the action five times closer, and then tucks away into a compact body less than 1-inch thick.

Perfect Shot Preview mode Perfect Shot Preview mode enables users to preview and select various photographic effects on a live, multi-window screen before snapping the shot. The new feature allows users to see precisely what the image will look like when adjustments are made, ensuring users are capturing the exact image they want. It is an ideal way for novice users to learn about the effects of different photography techniques, such as zoom, exposure compensation, white balance and metering.

TruePic III image processor The Stylus cameras feature Olympus’ exclusive new TruePic III image processor developed for the demanding performance of Digital SLR (single lens reflex) cameras. Olympus’ enhanced TruePic III Image Processor produces crystal clear photos using all the pixel information for each image to deliver superior picture quality with more accurate colors, true-to-life flesh tones and faster processing speeds. TruePic III also captures crisp, clear images at high ISO settings, which are traditionally associated with increasing image noise or producing grainy photos.

In-camera panorama New in-camera panoramic photo shooting capability captures three images and stitches them together to create one amazing panoramic picture. Users can easily do this by pressing the shutter button and slowly panning across a panoramic scene. The second and third images will be automatically captured and stitched together with the first image -- resulting in one panoramic-size picture. To create the ultimate panoramic picture, consumers can use the Olympus Master Software 2 to stitch up to 10 images together to produce an even larger panoramic image.

Bright Capture Technology for easy low-light photography There are times when a photographic opportunity is best captured with ambient light (e.g., when trying to capture the softness and warmth of a candlelit dinner or natural skin tones in subdued lighting). Olympus' Bright Capture Technology makes it possible to clearly compose and capture subjects on the LCD in low light. Specific scene modes for high sensitivity settings and rapid auto-focus enable even fast-action photos to be captured with low levels of available light. Plus, Bright Capture Movie lets consumers record the moments in the dark even after the candles are blown out!

Bright Capture Technology in Action

24 preset shooting modes make it easy to capture great images Stylus cameras make it easy to take great photos in a variety of scenarios and lighting situations. Simply select the desired mode for portraits, landscapes, night scenes, fast-action, macro and more.

In-camera editing With the new Perfect Fix, multiple editing features can be applied at once. The Stylus 820 features Red-Eye Fix and Lighting Fix, and also includes Digital Image Stabilization Edit and other in-camera editing features such as (red-eye fix) resizing, frames, text options, color brightness and saturation adjustments enable users to edit photos right in the camera.

Olympus Master 2 software Olympus Master 2 software provides the ultimate in digital imaging management. An intuitive user interface makes downloading to your computer quick and simple, and images are easily organized by folders or albums and searchable by date in Calendar view. Additionally, with one-click editing tools, such as red-eye removal, images can be touched up before printing or e-mailing. Online support, templates, firmware upgrades and other user services are just a mouse-click away. Use the optional muvee Theater Pack to create professional quality slide shows and DVDs from your pictures using any of several built-in templates.

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Customer Reviews

Good camera, expensive memory card

This is one of the few ultracompact cameras with a 5x optical zoom. It is very small with a large (2.5") beautiful LCD screen. It is also packed with useful features. I researched many ultracompact cameras and this one came out on top. The only caveat is that it takes an xD picture card (developed for Olympus and Fuji cameras), which is 3 times more expensive than an sD picture card. Also beware... some of the features of the camera, such as the panorama function, will not work unless you use an Olympus H type xD picture card, which of course, is the most expensive type of xD card. It is still a great camera, but it would be nice if somewhere in the official description of the camera, Olympus had included this information! Some great features:
'Available Light' mode for taking indoor photos -- useful when the flash washes out the subject, but the scene is too dark without the flash.
'Image Stabilization' for low light photos
'Sunset' which brings out the reds and yellows
'Fireworks' -- a great option that makes fireworks photos look fantastic
'Behind Glass' which reduces the glare and reflection of subjects taken through glass
'Documents' which increases contrast

Some features that are funky:
'Expression Edit'- this takes a photo and changes the expression of the subject, but makes them look more like a cartoon character
'Smile Recognition'- when you lock on the subject, the camera takes a photo when the subject smiles (I haven't gotten this one to work yet, but can't imagine using it very often either).

The menu system is very easy to use and there is an on camera guide to help you take better photos.

The BEST thing about this camera is the in-camera panoramic function! It is SO cool and easy to do. I love it.

If it wasn't for the xD card, I would rate it 5 stars. Because of the fact that you are forced to buy the Olympus xD card to get all of the functions to work, I rate it 4.5 stars.

The BEST camera for the $
This is a wonderful, compact, powerful digital camera. It has 8 megapixels & 5x optical & 5x digital zoom. I did a lot of comparison shopping before purchasing this camera & overall, for the money, this one is the best. It is very easy to use & takes beautifully clear pictures.

Poor Image Quality - Very Disappointed with this camera
I checked the posted reviews for this camera because it was becoming increasingly apparent that the image quality from my new 820 was poor. I wanted to see if others were finding the same thing. Reading the reviews by those customers who are getting poor quality images confirmed my suspicions. My observations have been identical with those in the reviews.

It is possible to take good photographs with this camera, the only problem is that you never know when it is going to happen! Sometimes they are good and mostly they are bad. I get a better percentage of good ones outdoors but they aren't all good. Indoors, forget about it. The poor quality images are grainy and look like someone drew them with crayons. A lot of the fine detail is just washed out.

The features, menus and large display are great, but the only reason for having a camera is to produce images. If they are lousy images, who cares about all the great features? What a disappointment this camera is.

I purchased the camera for outdoor activities where the camera could, on rare occasions, get wet. I wasn't expecting to have to give up on image quality. If I had it to do over again, I would look at the Canon line of compact cameras because they always seem to take great pictures and the video mode produces .avi files which play on Windows Media Player. I looked at the Nikons and they all seem to produce .mov video files that require you to install Quicktime on your computer. If Canon could just make a water resistant, compact camera, I would buy it immediately.