Nice little compact camera

Nice camera, quite funky looking and its very portable, not to bulging in the pocket. Although the only problem i seem to be having is that the face detection only detects one face out of like 6 people for example, but its not something i use to often anyway. And also i find sometimes the pictures tend to be a bit out of focus, but only in low light, so its somewhat understandable. All in all, its a good camera if your looking to take it out on nights out and festival events, but if your into arty type photography, go for a Canon or Nikon, as it lets you down when you want to do something fancy.

Awsome

I got this camera for my son . It was his first. Since i got it he has been snaping away and printing them off. And they are all very good quality pics the internal memory is great but doesn't hold much i recommend it to anyone who is looking for there first camera.

very pleased!!!

Got this as a pressie !!!!
I had an earlier model which wasnt great ... but so far I like this camera .
It looks fab - love the pink but the other colours cool too.
Small , lightweight - very now.
Simple to use and takes quality pictures ... can't really fault it if all youre wanting is a quality 'point and shoot' camera that doesnt break the bank !!!!
Basically I love my new toy !!! Bet this is going to be very popular .

This is a superb camera

Ive never actually owned a digital camera before i bought this one. Within 30 minutes of owning it i was taking photos. Ive had this camera for well over a year now (maybe about 20 months). Its still doing what i bought it for. Ive took some nice pics with this and experimented with its macro, black and white pictures etc. Ive took it on holiday captured sunsets, sunrises it goes everywhere with me. It goes to the shop at times even. Ive took it to gigs and took some good pictures. Ive used this almost everyday. I love this camera its served me well and although im thinking of upgrading im still going to keep this gem. The battery life is excellent also. Its well worth the money.

Excellant

I have had this for a while now and have got some great shots, the sports setting is great for catching fast moving objects, in my case motorbikes. The setting for detail close up is excellant for getting detail shots of roses and in one case a ladybird. Video quality is very good and the optical zoom works well, especially for wildlife shots, I've blown these up onto canvas for the living room and found no pixelation. The only downside is the flash which can over expose sometimes leading faces to be drawn of colour, but that rarely happens if you watch lighting conditions.
Overall, very good camera.

Superb first camera

I purchased one of these little beauties to replace my wifes Fuji Finepix that had started to play up.
Sam isn't really very good with cameras, and she finds my Canon a little complicated to use.
She started using this one straight out of the box, and the picture quality is superb.
She especially likes the large LCD viewing screen, and the face detection makes setting up a photo a breeze.
We have recently returned from a touring holiday in Scotland and I have to be honest...I was using the 570 more than my own camera as it fits so easily into your pocket.
A great camera, superb picture quality, easy to use and carry....what more could you want?

Brilliant

i am studying art and this camera is perfect. its versatile, has a range of features and is relatively easy to use.
my brother takes photography very seriously and recently bought an SLR for about 3x the price of the NV7 but they are very similar in quality, and features such as the super macro on the NV7 definitely rival, if not beat, that of the SLR.
often times its a bit worrying taking a good camera out and about with you in case it gets damaged, but the NV7 is a sturdy thing and because its price is affordable in terms of camera standards, you can risk damaging it in order to get a perfect photo- i've been taking it around with me constantly since i got it a few months ago, got loads of brilliant shots that i never would have with a normal camera- and its still intact.
a lot of reviews talk about problems with noise - i've only had problems with this on a setting with high ISO, and even so its barely noticable. my advice would be to use it to your advantage, shots in black and white work nicely with noise.
overall, amazing camera.

Cool but a little big in the pocket

I have a few pro DSLR cameras but bought this as a"work" cam. I like it the design its good and solid and the pics are fine. I have not had problems with noise some other reviewers mention however I work in Africa and there is usually (well in the daytime anyway) plenty of strong sunlight so low iso=low noise. Gripes: The lens cap keeps coming off esp. in the pocket, so I secure it with thick elastic bands. The zoom is quick but the zoom button seems to have a mind of its own. I didnt get a manual with the camera but its easy to work out and I like the touch buttons. Dont put the camera in your back pocket,if you sit on it, you will probably have to have your hip replaced.Anyway, as I said I like it and its retro look. I would most likely buy it again given the choice over again.

Excellent camera for daily use

I have used Sony cybershot previously. Baugth W80 again to continue my good experience with sony. the camera is very easy to use and have many features if you want to play around.

double blurr removal technology makes sure tha tyour pictures are sharp and clear.

For night time pictures use ISO feature and a camera stand: you'll get SLR level results.
Camera fits in pocket, Battery life is ok, you should carry extra battery when willing to take many shots. Probably this is issue with all digital cameras.

Samsung Digimax A7

I bought the Samsung because it was on offer for £115 and had both a large MP capacity and looked good. Having received it I have found that it is very easy to use and has very good picture quality from the restrcitions in 7MP and price band. Although it may be considered quite 'chunky' compared to equivalent cameras of the same specification, for the type of person who just uses a camera for personal use and wants large photos at a good quality(up tp A4 size print outs). The price currently being offered is extremely cheap for the quality of image and I would recommened tis camera to anyone who is a digital camera 'virgin' or unsure of what to look for. For best quality photos set camera to 3072x3204 and SuperFine quality.

Awful power consumption but nice build quality

Olympus has gone down in my estimation due to this purchase. The first time it was used the batteries died after around 20 pictures. I then used the more appropriate 2500NiMh batteries and they performed even more poorly. I could not even play back my photos or transfer them to PC on fully charged batteries before the 'low battery' icon flashed and the camera switched off. I returned it to the retailer (not Amazon) and they sent it back to Olympus for repair.

Amazingly Olympus returned it to me saying there were"no faults". I put a new pair of fully charged batteries in, switched it on and lo and behold the battery indicator flashed before I could even take a photo. I got my money back when returning to the retailer and demonstrating all this with a battery tester to hand. I can't imagine how poorly trained the technicians at Olympus are. That said, the look and feel of the camera was good and the pics that I initially took weren't bad.

A great compact mega-zoom camera with great capabilities.

I have had my TZ3 for around two weeks and have been playing with the settings (of which there are many) and taking lots of test shots. I am very pleased with my purchase. Although it's not the prettiest or smallest of compact cameras its well designed and very functional. The feel of the camera in your hands is fairly substantial and easy to hold, making holding it steady a little easier than the smaller and lighter cameras out there. The LCD screen is excellent and very clear. I have not needed an optical viewfinder yet and the camera has a setting for the LCD which makes it viewable from an acute angle when the camera is above your head for example.

The optical zoom capability (10X) of the camera was its biggest selling point for me along with the generally excellent reviews it had in the media. It has not been a disappointment. Although I'm no photographer I am trying to learn about how to take good pictures, composition and setting up exposures and white balance etc for best results. The TZ3 allows great flexibility for trying out various settings, there are so many it's almost confusing, but with a little playing and taking test shots you soon find out what to use in what situation. For those who are less technical (nerdy) about cameras theres a simple (idiot) mode which sets everything to automatic and just allows the minimum settings for point and shoot flexibility.

The menu system on the TZ3 is very easy to use, although the plethora of settings means that sometimes you end up forgetting what it's set on. Getting to the settings is easy though and some of the more well used ones can be accessed whilst the screen is still on the"viewfinder" meaning you don't lose sight of the shot you're about to take.

The optical image stablisation on the camera (Mega-OIS) has two settings, one which stabilises the image on the LCD screen and one which only stabilises the when the picture is taken but does a slightly better job of it. The display OIS is needed when trying to take pictures of a small object at maximum zoom. I took a good picture of a small bird in a tree quite a distance away. The camera was on maximum optical zoom and trying to get the bird in the centre of the focus field (spot focus setting) was very difficult, however the image stabilisation enabled me to do so and the picture came out very well with the bird in focus. Trying this without the OIS would have probably ended with the leaves or the sky only being in focus! The camera does not have a manual focus so the"targeting" of the viewfinder is very important when the shutter button is half pressed!

The zoom capability of the TZ3 is truely excellent for a compact. I have compared my shots with that of my Dad's very highly rated Ricoh Caplio R6 camera (7.1x optical zoom) there's an obvious advantage in zoom capability of the TZ3 but also we found the zoomed image quality is better overall. The high quality Leica lens probably has a lot to do with it. The lens also allows wide angle shots (28mm) which is great for getting more into each view (more friends, more landscape, more building).

My experience with the macro mode has not been great though. Good shots are possible but I find that sometimes the TZ3 has difficulty focusing on very small objects. Eventually after taking a few shots a good picture is possible but I'd say Macro is not the camera's strong point, the Ricoh Caplio R6 produced excellent macro shots enabling extreme closeups which put the TZ3's well in the shade.

The TZ3 has modes which enable unusually long exposures for a compact camera. Up to 60 second exposure is possible in"starry sky" mode. With a tripod this makes clear pictures of starry skies or nightscapes possible. I have not really tested the ISO settings on the TZ3 but I have not noticed any noisiness in the pictures I have so far taken.

The motion picture and sound recording is very good, and can be set at widescreen format and 30fps meaning smooth motion. The TZ3 does not allow zooming during motion capture however, unlike the TZ1. This can be an advantage though as sometimes watching motion with too much zooming in and out is very distracting!! All the settings (focus, white balance, zoom level etc) are set when you push the shutter button to start recording. Generally I have found this fine for the short clips I have taken.

I am pleased with the TZ3, it's a great camera and hopefully will last me a few years. It only drops a star because of the Macro mode - I would have given it 4 1/2 stars if I could as dropping a whole star does seem a bit mean. The biggest test will be trying to get good shots of the wildlife when I go on safari in Africa later this year.