Olympus Camedia C-8080 Wide Zoom Digital Camera

If anyone is thinking of buying one of these, then all I can say is GO AHEAD.
Buy one that has been well loved and you will not go wrong.As far as quality
is concerned there probably is no better bridge camera that has been produced.
Built to last with a lense to die for the images are stunning.This model broke
the mould and if there is a such a thing as a digital ICON camera this will be
the one.I have had mine 2 years now,and would never consider parting with it,
how can people sell theres? Still for you its a good thing they are.
Go and capture some great moments you now have the right tool to do so.

What do I like? The nice weighty feel and comfortable grip in your hands, buttons in the right place, excellent verstaility, but best of all the fantastic pictures that this camera produces. They compare easily with pictures from cameras many times more expensive. Olympus have produced a masterpiece in this one.

This is my second example, my first one was purchased new in 2004. It has provided me with excellent service from 2004 to the beginning of 2008. I've taken over 42000 photos and many short video clips during this time.

Likes
Very nice lens, f2.4 at the wide end and a very respectable f3.5 at the long end
Colour rendition is very good, very minimal distortion, good resolution
Nice form factor, easy to hold steady, controls easy to use
Exposure is spot on most of the time, even in difficult conditions
Flash coverage and exposure is very good, the camera will adjust the ISO settings intelligently
Battery life is excellent, typically over 200 shots per charge and 120 ish with the flash, replacement batteries are easily available
Quick flash recharge
Physical build quality is excellent

Dislikes
Focussing is slow and increasingly inaccurate as the light levels fall
Write times to the CF and XD cards is slow, just under 1Mbs, especially noticeable in RAW mode
noisy zoom

Othe notes
My first 8080 died with a zoom error after four years of intense use and the only thing I found to replace it ? Another 8080 !!! Thats how good I think it is. I've compared it with the Nikon 8800, Nikon D200 with standard zoom kits lens, the Canon 300D/350D with standard kits lens.

The Nikon 8800 doesn't get close - exposure and lens quality is one or two steps lower, even with the image stabilisation, it isn't as good.

Until you get to the decent, L series (or prime) equivalent lens, they don't even get close to overall picture quality, yes the DSLRs do have better dynamic range and quieter sensors, but unless you get to more extreme conditions, most people will get better results with the Olympus C-8080, most of the time.

Camera History
Olympus OM40 (prime and zoom lenses)
Nikon F601 (prime and zoom lenses)
Mamiya 7 (medium format prime lens)
Canon S40 (digicam)
Olympus C-8080 (bridge digicam) x 2

My ideal next camera ? It doesn't exist yet. If the manufacturers stop chasing megapixels and concentrate on improving the lens and sensor performance, I will stay with non DSLR. My ideal camera will be an updated C-8080, a semi-pro non DSLR with the same lens optically, but quicker focus and zoom. Improved focus engine that works better in low light. Increased dynamic range, higher ISO with lower noise. Image stabilisation will be nice. Increased buffer size, quicker write times to CF or SD-HC cards. Manual zoom ring, manual focusing ring. Improved video specs, HD 720p video at 30fps will be brilliant. A vari-angle screen would be a bonus. More esoteric wants are inbuilt GPS or at least bluetooth connectivity, so that I can pair it with a BT enabled GPS module, so that I can have the co-ordinates and time embedded into the EXIF data.

Megapixels ? I'm happy with 8. Its the practical and technical sweet spot for the lens and price I'd be willing to pay. If the pixel count is increased,let the sensor get larger, then you'll also get the benefit of a wider angle at the short end.

Its worth looking at the Canon Powershot G6 and the Fujifilm FinePix F31fd, both excellent cameras that haven't been superceded by their successors.

Oops, I've talked more about a non-existent camera than the 8080,oh well, bottom line, I don't know of any other digicam past or present that is as good overall.

It has a build quality second to none and a lens to match. A bargain if bought used on ebay as its very tough construction makes it difficult to abuse. This camera gives the user every degree of control he would need, the metering is faultless, long battery life, colours are natural and is a classic design which should soon appreciate in value

If you are looking for a camera thats fantastic at what it does, Then look no further, so easy to use in auto a child could take great pictures, i have just bought another i now have 2, one just as a spare, because they really are that good, ive been into photography for over 20 years,trust me you cant do better for the price, it has never let me down, there will never be a day that i dont have one,"NO MATTER WHAT" if your looking to get a camera do yourself a favour a get one of these, your pictures will be full of life and look very profesional

hope these few words incourage you to get one, go have easy fun and enjoy top quality pictures, REGARDS, FUNTIMEROLY

If you can find a decent unit of this - go for it. The only reason not to buy one is if you have to have SLR, you must have new fancy stuff - like face detection or stabilisation or if it is too heavy for you - it is heavy.

I often browse the digital cameras and dream that one day i will get one, that dream came true better than i could have imagined a good discription amd photos sold it but could i afford it, Yes i won it and prepaired to get it fixed with a 12 month warranty, a new battery and charger all for less than the others on auction so my dream came true thanks to ebay.

Excellent quality camera for very little money. Good handling and extremely well built. Pictures are superb the only downside is slow auto focus. To get the best out of this camera you need to understand a bit about photography, it works fine on Auto but is much better when you use the many controls.

I needed a camera that was reasonably compact but not to small, I find very small cameras difficult to handle, prone to camera shake and toy like.additionally millions of pixels crammed into a small sensor do not produce clean shots. The c8080 feels solid, is a joy to use and produces excellent results. looking back at pictures I have taken with top end film cameras including Contax with Carl Zeiss lens I can see no discernable difference in sharpness. In terms of overall picture quality it is equivalent to my Nikon D70. The menu system takes a while to understand but eventually with regular use becomes intuitive. For the enthusiast amature looking for quality A4 prints there is no need to spend more than £150 on a used C8080.

Great Camera, easy enough for the beginner with enough for the more experienced photographer. Takes great pictures which are really high quality. Well made with a multitude of options for lenses etc from Olympus. The basic package is good enough for me though. Highly recommended; now discontinued (inexplicably) but a great second hand buy.
Probably discontinued because with an additional 'L' in it's name it would have been the 'Clamedia'!

The Olympus c-8080wz is one hell of a camera for a compact camera and I have no hesitation in recommending it to everyone. The results are quite stunning and it is the last step before you go up to a SLR camera and that is if you still want to because you will spend a fortune purchasing extra lenses for a SLR. (GOOD HUNTING FOR A C-8080wz.)