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Hi Everyone!

Today I am going to share with you my review of the Olympus SZ-15. I was very curious about this camera because my first point & shoot camera, over 20 years ago, was an Olympus and I loved it! I remember feeling the Olympus brand made the best user friendly and reliable point & shoot film camera on the market. Now I was being given the chance to test this digital point & shoot and see if Olympus had maintained their quality after all of these years.

With my review of cameras I like to provide a rating based on my mother using the camera without reading the manual. My Mommy rating for the Olympus SZ-15 is definitely a 4 out of 5 which means this camera is really easy to use without reading the manual. I think the only thing that would make this camera easier to use would be if it could read your mind and know exactly the type of picture you wanted to take and would shoot it...ha! Olympus inserted easy to understand descriptions on the camera as you make menu selections (probably a smart business decision since most people don't read the manual anyway). I found the on-camera menu descriptions very easy to understand and the location of buttons and their respective features logically placed. The Olympus SZ-15 is definitely a point & shoot camera that photographers of all ages and experience can quickly pick up and take great photos. Once you get accustomed to using this camera to take basic pictures there are 11 Magic Filters that allow you to take very creative photos.

One feature that really surprised me about this camera was the zoom lens capability. Generally I would classify myself as a zoom "hater" when using a point & shoot camera - I've always felt that zoom lenses on point & shoot cameras do not deliver good pictures. The Olympus SZ-15 has officially converted me to a believer in using its zoom lens to take good photos of subjects that are really far away. I put the Olympus SZ-15 to the test by going out and shooting in a variety of scenarios and was really impressed with the results.

Below: wide shot of soccer field

Below: same scene at the soccer field but I used the zoom

Below: site-seeing in Philadelphia

Below: wide photo of statue in Philadelphia

Below: same scene in Philly but I zoomed in to the statue in the distance

Below: zoomed in even closer to the same statue

Below: same statue...I can read the words carved into this statue!

Below: zoom in of the moon!

Below: wide photo of the QVC sign that is located at the end of this road.

Below: same scene but now I zoomed into see the QVC sign at the end of the road. This sign is over 300 yards away!!!

The final reason why I really like the Olympus SZ-15 is the price! When I help friends and family shop for a point & shoot digital camera I always suggest they consider a camera that is priced under $200. I have four rules when shopping for a point & shoot camera: small, easy to use, delivers good pictures, and affordable. I believe it is important to keep your point & shoot camera under a $200 budget because I always recommend you accessorize your camera purchase with a camera case, an extra battery, and extra memory cards. There are some really amazing point & shoot cameras that are $500 but I can't justify the expense when you could spend a little bit over $500 to get a digital SLR camera.

The Olympus SZ-15 is easy to use, packs an awesome zoom lens, and is priced just right...Olympus continues to build a point & shoot camera that delivers great results.

Thanks for reading my review of the Olympus SZ-15 camera, if you have any camera questions please be sure to post them here and I will do my best to get you answers.

CG