Even though the Olympus XZ-1 Digital Camera was not on the market until 2011, there was word about it and statements well before then. Olympus, which has quite a good reputation in the camera market, was quite successful at getting the photography world interested in this new, supposedly cutting edge digital camera. Now that it is finally here and available to everyone, we can take a close look at it and decide how good it really is.
There are a lot of people who have never purchased a high-end, full-featured digital camera before and are lost when it comes to “technical stuff.” For this reason, it’s important for these devices to be user friendly to beginners as well as experts, and the XZ-1 gets a high rating in this department. Case in point: you can set the XZ-1 on “Intelligent Auto” and be confident that the camera will automatically select the correct settings for your image from among several different modes. It can discern between macro, low-luminance conditions, sports settings, and portrait or landscape orientation. This feature is really great for the novice user of a digital camera. But, like a majority of experienced photographers, once you become familiar with what the different modes produce, you will most likely prefer to set the them yourself.
The Olympus XZ-1 has a slender, chic design which is very classy and stylish.
You can choose between metallic white or black; either way, this compact digital camera looks as good as it functions. The really slim 25.5 mm depth of this camera will be alluring to people who prefer the compact and slim look that is so stylish with the smart phones and various gadgets out there today. While you would not want to opt for a camera that comes with a high price tag, just for its look, the XZ-1 has a shiny design that matches its features excellently. Whether you are a real photographer or not, in this way, you can carry it around and even look like one.
For those of you that need long battery life with your camera, the Olympus XZ-1 does not provide this particular feature. In one test, the XZ-1 was able to take 320 shots before the battery had to be recharged, which is a respectable number for this kind of camera. The battery actually takes about three hours to recharge, so be sure to have it properly charged prior to any important trip that you may be taking. The camera that you choose, if it’s battery life is not that long, may lead to you buying a second replacement battery which could cost a little bit of money. These issues, however, are just part of owning a digital camera and aren’t unique to the XZ-1, which actually has a better than average battery life.
If you are in search of a digital camera, there are several decent debates as to why the Olympus XZ-1 could be an excellent choice. Then again, you should figure out if you want to purchase this kind of camera for the asking price and if you are really that interested in taking quality photographs. If you desire to have a small digital camera that is simple to operate, then the XZ-1 (minus a few blemishes) is well worthy contemplating over.