Olympus Stylus 800 8MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom review

With 8 megapixels and a 2.5-inch LCD screen, the Olympus Stylus Verve 800 takes the lead in the fleet of Stylus digital cameras. It takes a big leap in the megapixel war with a 1/1.8-inch CCD rather than the 5-megapixel, 1/2.5-inch CCD found on the Stylus 500. The new Stylus 800 offers more manual control, faster burst and startup times, and better performance in low light.

DPReview.com today posted their Olympus Stylus 800 (Mju 800) Digital Review and wrote-

"It's hard to know how to rate a camera like the Stylus 800. On the one hand it's responsive, well-specified, well made, well priced and has a fantastic screen. That it's weatherproof too is a significant added bonus if you like to shoot in challenging environments. On the other hand the results are - if we're going to be very critical - disappointing, especially if you use any setting other than the best 'SHQ' mode (the artefacts mentioned above are much worse in 'HQ' shots than 'SHQ'). To be honest, if you're printing at 'normal' sizes (say under 10 x 8 inches) you won't see most of the issues mentioned - there are after all 8 million pixels in each image, and the typical buyer will no doubt be very pleased with his or her bright, punchy pictures. Even the 'Bright Capture' modes (which actually offer ISOs of up to 2500) have benefits, and are perfectly usable (often in situations where you simply couldn't otherwise take a shot at all) - as long as you don't mind pictures that look like blown-up camera phone shots.

So, if you're looking for a nice, weatherproof camera capable - with careful exposure - of very sharp, very colorful results (providing you use the best quality setting) the Stylus 800 is well worth a look. If you're a pixel-peeper, purist or post-processing junkie I'd have to advise you give this one a fairly wide berth and look at one of the 7.2MP cameras still on the market. "

Olympus Stylus 800

Olympus Stylus 800 Features:
- High-resolution 8 megapixel CCD.
- 3x optical/5x digital/15x total seamless zoom.
- Large 2.5" HyperCrystal LCD provides a sharp, clear picture even in bright conditions.
- All-weather construction for everyday use, rain or shine.
- Bright Capture Technology for enhanced previewing and image quality in low light.
- Built-in Help GUIDE for easy operation.
- 24 shooting modes, including aperture priority and shutter speed priority.
- QuickTime Movie Mode with audio.
- Enhanced flash working range, 21.3 ft. with Program Auto (W), 42.0 ft. with ISO1600 (W).
- Remove red-eye or easily convert your color photos into sepia or black-and-white with built-in editing features.
- Album function for up to 12 individual photo albums stored directly on the camera's xD removable media.
- TruePic TURBO image processor.
- Direct printing capability to PictBridge-enabled printers.
- 32MB internal memory (21.3MB available memory).
- xD-Picture Card compatible.
- Print up to 11"x14" and larger.
- Auto-Connect USB provides easy, direct connection to almost any PC.
- Li-Ion rechargeable battery.
- Includes OLYMPUS Master Software CD for enhanced image editing capabilities.