"Embarassing" to admit, after having to eventually reread the manual a sum of about FOUR times and still not understanding the temperamental nature of this beast (since it still was not performing as predicted in writing), I gave up on reading. I decided to perservere with the settings to see which would happen to work. I was intent on having a good working relationship with my new friend, but alas, it did not succeed. After enough unsatisfactory shooting experiences, I soon returned it.

To begin with, this camera was bulky and awkward to hold, giving me a bit of the shakies during most shoots. The various button positions for the settings were hardly ergonomic -- more like calisthenics (even for us piano players). When I needed to ask someone else to take a picture with it of me and someone/thing else, I had to give a five minute lesson on how to use it, and these various individuals still couldn't get it to shoot no matter WHAT setting they tried. When it did take the picture, it took quite a while to complete and was rather noisy.

Often I had to change the potential photo's composition (if not photographable at ANY setting combination) to less than what I desired. Then, I usually found only ONE least expected setting that WOULD take the picture. When going through these jumping jacks for various focusing situations, the final pictures still most commonly came out too dark. I WAS using the right film speed for the indoor, well-lit environment according to standard guidelines I've followed for years with no trouble. Even in the few pictures that did turn out visibly discernable, the subject in the foreground looked way too overexposed and the background unnecessarily way too dark. Weird flash on this guy. After briefly using someone's manual camera a few years ago, I am convinced that the old archaic "complexities" of shooting with those cameras are in the end EASIER to use than some of today's overly-programmed, auto-"smart" cameras.

The major reason why I bought my first Olympus is because of their rare use of a total glass lenses, "enhancing" color results. The colors in the few pictures (after working through many rolls) that DID come out were so extreme and bright in contrast that they looked ridiculous to me. I also had those rolls processed simultaneously with film from another camera; and, those pictures did not show those same color results. So, I probably can't blame the developer.

Unsatisfied. NOT a user friendly step-up from your basic three-setting zoom cameras. I'm amazed that anyone can get good results with this otherwise cute camera, and actually admire the picture quality.