Review on 📸 Capture Stunning Moments with the Olympus Stylus 9000 12 MP Digital Camera: 10x Wide Angle Zoom, Dual Image Stabilization, and 2.7-Inch LCD Display (Black) by Emanuel Guffey

*Updated April 5, 2009 I bought this camera to replace my Stylus 1010 which I have had for a year. The Stylus 9000 solved pretty much all the problems I had with the 1010. Here are some comparisons. Physical characteristics: Placed side by side, the 9000 stylus is definitely bigger and heavier than the 1010, but that doesn't matter, especially after the 9000. It has a solid metal body compared to the plastic body of the 1010. The 9000 isn't as sleek as the 1010 either , but it feels better in the hand and the keys are higher up to make them easier to find with your fingers. say more important than with higher megapixels. In addition to the additional zoom, the 9000 lens is significantly more powerful and offers wide-angle shots. Memory Card: It seems that Olympus has finally overcome its proprietary stiff competition in XD memory cards. Both the 1010 and 9000 come with adapters to allow the use of micro SD cards. The problem with the 1010 was that for panoramic shots you needed an OLYMPUS brand XD card. With the 9000 this is not a problem as you can take panoramic shots from any card or even just the internal memory. The 9000 also recognizes the faster write speeds of Class 4 and Class 6 Micro SD cards. This solved one of the biggest problems associated with VGA video on the 1010 and its predecessors. Video: Both cameras offer 640 x 480 VGA video recording at 30 frames per second. This feature is typically limited to 10-second clips using regular memory cards. The only way to get around this with the 1010 was to make sure your camera had firmware update 1.1 and buy a more expensive Type M+XD or Type H card. But that's where the 9000 recognizes the higher write speeds of Micro SD Class 4 and you can record up to 20:00 minutes of video without having to buy one of those high speed XD cards. Screen: The 9000 features a hyper-crystal display which is much brighter and sharper than the 1010 Gen 1 display. I was very impressed with the screen's visibility at midday on a cloudless race day; I had no real problems taking photos or viewing photos. While this screen is a lot better than the 1010, it's still not perfect, especially since it doesn't have a viewfinder. Battery Life: Both cameras use the same LI-50B battery. I'll admit I haven't done any side-by-side scientific testing, but the Stylus 9000's battery life seems a little shorter than the 1010's. That's to be expected with a brighter screen, and it's kind of a trade-off. Maybe. It's hard for me to give an estimate of battery life here as everyone uses their camera differently, but I'd say the 9000 comfortably lets you shoot all day without needing a spare battery. (Unless, of course, you leave the camera on all the time, take hundreds of pictures, etc.) Operating software: Menu 9000 looks different to menu 1010, but the software interface is almost identical. The 9000 has a 'beauty' feature built in, but the camera takes a long time to process the image and this is best done on the computer using image editing software. I had an Olympus brand leather case that I could easily fit my stylus 1010, lens cleaning cloth and spare battery in. Because the Stylus 9000 is larger, only the camera fits in the same bag, so the $30 camera bag had to go the way of the old camera. I also tried the Olympus Premium leather case with the same results. So I'm looking for a quality case that I can fit all my accessories into. I will keep you up-to-date. It takes amazing pictures and is small enough to carry around even if you don't know if you need a camera. I personally think the price is a bit high at the moment and it would be a great camera if you could get it for less than €300. Which I'm sure will happen sooner rather than later.