Olympus Traveller SZ-14

Poor sound quality – I bought this camera because I wanted a small camera that can both shoot quality photos as well as good HD videos. The image quality of this camera for both photos and HD video is excellent. However when I watched the HD videos back I noticed a lot of camera noises being recorded. The sound in general is very poor and you can hear both the zoom and the auto focus in your video recordings.

At first I thought there was something wrong with my camera however after some googling I found out that other users have the same problem with this camera. Also when I recorded my daughter playing the piano the sound was distorted. Unfortunately all the reviews of this camera forget to mention anything about the sound quality being recorded! I returned this camera to the shop I bought it from and changed it for a Samsung WB250F which has both excellent image quality and good (noise free) sound quality. Image quality Poor sound quality

Great Compact. Camera – I've always been told to either go with a Canon or an Olympus. This time round I went with the Olympus sz14 and I can honestly say it's the best camera I've ever owned. I'm not a great photographer and I'm always on a tight budget when it comes to buying cameras. I picked it up from eBay for only $135, but I would still pay the average price of $160. This camera has a great lense and plenty of zoom. The pictures turn out great even when you zoom right in. I've only ever used the auto setting as I'm not very adventurous and I've noticed I have a bit of trouble when the camera detects faces, as the camera usually does a double flash, so I try to focus the square box a little bit away from the face and don't have a drama after that. The camera is very quick and responsive. For what you are paying you can't complain wide lense, great zoom, great pictures could be me, but have a bit of trouble when it detects faces.

This is now my go to camera – I initially purchased this camera for a trip to the zoo because I didn't want to lug my DSLR around all day. My requirements were a decent picture and zoom with the convenience of a point and shoot while still being lightweight and easy to use. I spent some time researching online and looking through the various options in the shop and had actually decided on a different brand when I saw the 24x zoom on this one and ended up making the choice on whim.

During the trip the camera did it's job faultlessly and I loved being able to zoom right in on animals that were quite some distance away without the hassle of changing lenses. However, it was once we had returned home and the photo's downloaded that I was totally sold. They were crisp and clear with beautiful colour, something I didn't expect from such a small camera. I've test printed a couple of photos and was very happy with the results.

Downloading the pictures is very easy with the provided software, which lets you organise them by date or event. You can also update any firmware easily with a click of the mouse. The camera itself is very easy to use straight out of the box, all I did initially was set the date and gps but there is a whole lot more you can do if you want to spend some time getting to know the finer details. Like most compacts it does have a rechargable battery but you are given two options, USB or power point, with both plugs and cables provided, so no concerns if you're away from the PC when you need a recharge.

Overall I'm very impressed with this camera and would recommend it in particular to anyone who is likely to want some extra distance out of the lens. It would be great for travel/holidays. Zoom, quality of photos, ease of use, recharge options. There can be a small delay in taking the photo while the camera focuses but it's obvious once you're aware of it. Just be sure you hear the 'click' to ensure the photo is taken.