Should You Buy an Olympus Digital Camera?

Olympus is one of the most popular digital camera brands as well as being well known for its .

If you are thinking about buying an Olympus digital camera then our handy guide provides you with all the key info at a glance. Our objective, impartial comparison of digital camera brands is compiled by analysing over 130,000 user and expert reviews and over 4,300 awards from hundreds of different review sites on over 1,900 digital cameras.

Olympus are recognised for their wide selection of mid-range and award winning digital cameras. Their digital cameras start at $75 for the VG-160 which has a weight of 125g, an optical zoom of 5x and is a compact digital camera and go up to $909 for the Stylus 1S which has a weight of 402g, an optical zoom of 10.7x and is a compact digital camera. The average price of a new Olympus digital camera is $386.

Is Olympus the Best Digital Camera Brand?

So are Olympus digital cameras any good? We give every digital camera a Kagoo Score by analysing its specs, reviews and prices and comparing this to its competitors. By aggregating this data across all digital cameras we are able to impartially rank all the digital camera brands.

Our detailed analysis taking into account all of the above factors found that Olympus is the 9th best digital camera brand out there.

Let's look at how Olympus digital cameras compare to the other digital camera brands across each of the key facets that make up the Kagoo Score.

Olympus have better reviews than the typical digital camera brand, with the average rating of a Olympus digital camera being 75%. Olympus also have a number of great features including rechargeable battery which sets them apart from the competition.

There's a smaller selection of Olympus digital cameras available compared to other digital camera brands, with only 24 Olympus digital cameras currently on the market in the US. Olympus digital cameras also tend to be cheaper than most other digital camera brands however they are still a less popular choice with consumers.

What Do the Olympus Digital Camera Reviews Say?

We've added up all the reviews for every Olympus digital camera to work out the average distribution of reviews for Olympus and then compared this to the other digital camera brands.

Expert Reviews

5 stars		494
4 stars		530
3 stars		69
2 stars		6
1 star		1

User Reviews

5 stars		623
4 stars		148
3 stars		51
2 stars		32
1 star		31

Over 93% of expert reviews and 87% of user reviews for Olympus digital cameras are 4 stars or higher. This compares to 89% and 88% respectively across all Digital Camera brands.

In the table below we compare the average review score given to Olympus digital cameras by some of the most popular technology review sites against their reviews for other digital camera brands. The best review score from each review source is highlighted in green.

Average Review Score	Canon	Nikon	Sony	Samsung	Panasonic	Olympus
	75% 422 reviews	73% 336 reviews	75% 209 reviews	74% 125 reviews	80% 83 reviews	78% 79 reviews
	80% 121 reviews	83% 137 reviews	82% 97 reviews	77% 41 reviews	84% 91 reviews	83% 52 reviews
	82% 126 reviews	82% 139 reviews	87% 60 reviews	82% 49 reviews	87% 43 reviews	88% 28 reviews
	79% 126 reviews	74% 135 reviews	80% 61 reviews	70% 42 reviews	82% 44 reviews	80% 30 reviews
	79% 107 reviews	77% 132 reviews	85% 52 reviews	79% 44 reviews	88% 43 reviews	88% 24 reviews
	75% 112 reviews	75% 90 reviews	83% 69 reviews	71% 42 reviews	84% 32 reviews	80% 23 reviews
	75% 105 reviews	71% 79 reviews	79% 57 reviews	67% 30 reviews	87% 39 reviews	78% 25 reviews
	77% 82 reviews	74% 75 reviews	76% 42 reviews	72% 30 reviews	84% 33 reviews	70% 12 reviews
	77% 76 reviews	70% 64 reviews	82% 46 reviews	70% 31 reviews	87% 29 reviews	77% 22 reviews
	80% 74 reviews	81% 73 reviews	81% 38 reviews	77% 29 reviews	86% 34 reviews	83% 20 reviews
	72% 94 reviews	74% 63 reviews	77% 46 reviews	69% 23 reviews	75% 19 reviews	78% 20 reviews
	80% 76 reviews	82% 62 reviews	82% 40 reviews	79% 31 reviews	83% 26 reviews	83% 14 reviews
	84% 79 reviews	87% 67 reviews	88% 41 reviews	85% 19 reviews	90% 22 reviews	87% 17 reviews
	88% 63 reviews	88% 51 reviews	88% 41 reviews	85% 31 reviews	88% 26 reviews	87% 21 reviews
	80% 59 reviews	76% 44 reviews	73% 28 reviews	73% 23 reviews	79% 18 reviews	83% 14 reviews
	87% 56 reviews	87% 36 reviews	87% 36 reviews	86% 8 reviews	88% 29 reviews	87% 17 reviews
	76% 37 reviews	80% 35 reviews	86% 35 reviews	70% 26 reviews	91% 27 reviews	85% 18 reviews
	84% 81 reviews	84% 37 reviews	85% 27 reviews	83% 2 reviews	86% 16 reviews	84% 13 reviews
	73% 62 reviews	74% 50 reviews	76% 24 reviews	76% 22 reviews	78% 5 reviews	80% 1 review
	75% 58 reviews	77% 39 reviews	80% 34 reviews	78% 12 reviews	80% 6 reviews	79% 14 reviews
Other Expert Sites	75% 2,418 reviews	75% 1,998 reviews	73% 1,425 reviews	70% 901 reviews	76% 768 reviews	74% 586 reviews
Average	79% 4,434 reviews	78% 3,742 reviews	81% 2,508 reviews	76% 1,561 reviews	84% 1,433 reviews	82% 1,050 reviews

How Many Industry Awards Have Olympus Digital Cameras Received?

After checking thousands of expert review websites we found 294 industry awards for Olympus digital cameras. The table below compares the number of awards received by Olympus to other popular digital camera brands. The largest number of awards provided by each review source is highlighted in green.

Compare all award winning digital cameras

Number of Awards	Canon	Nikon	Sony	Samsung	Panasonic	Olympus
	105	111	53	40	38	28
	70	75	41	25	40	21
	33	58	33	13	56	37
	91	43	31		26	14
	28	28	18	13	16	6
	29	28	22	5	13	9
	26	18	24	4	23	8
	31	32	15	9	11	5
	22	21	17	7	23	11
	15	20	23	8	20	13
	26	17	18	9	15	7
	25	19	25	7	5	8
	20	19	10	5	16	1
	14	14	17	5	9	4
	20	9	13	8	3	7
	14	15	13	2	2	5
	9	9	14	3	12	3
	12	15	6	6	6	4
	19	14	6	3	2	4
	9	8	11	1	13	4
Other Expert Sites	340	291	231	115	154	95
Total	958	864	641	288	503	294

How Reliable Are Olympus Digital Cameras?

We checked over 130,000 reviews to find comments about the reliability of Olympus digital cameras. over 510 of these reviews mention reliability of which 83% were positive. Therefore the vast majority of Olympus digital camera owners and reviewers thought the product was reliable.

So, most people think that Olympus digital cameras are good quality. Now let's take a look at some of the reviews for Olympus digital cameras that mention reliability:

RELIABLE

Olympus has been bringing us some great compact cameras this year such as the the best waterproof camera of 2014–the Olympus TG-3 –and the Olympus Stylus 1

The Olympus TG-860 is a 16-megapixel compact camera that is waterproof to a depth of 15m

The Olympus Tough TG-3 is a worthy successor to the TG-2

sturdy body

The Olympus TG-3 is a rugged camera that can keep up with an active lifestyle

its combination of superb toughness

built in Wi-Fi

the Olympus Tough TG-3 will make a great pocket companion for outdoor adventures on land or at sea

waterproof outdoor cameras—continues its impressive

the feature set is robust enough to satisfy all

Olympus Stylus Tough TG-2 is the flagship rugged camera from Olympus

the Olympus Stylus Tough 8000 is a good choice

its rugged

robustly constructed imaging tool that is dependably responsive

Rugged devices

NOT RELIABLE

The PEN-F is a deliberately beautiful camera that's not just built for show

even if its lens wasn't quite up to scratch

more plasticky than the Pen E-P1

the lack of a built

The problem is reliability

It was very plasticky

Features to Look Out For On Olympus Digital Cameras

There's a number of great features to look out for on the latest range of Olympus digital cameras that set them apart from the competition. These include rechargeable battery.

Olympus Rechargeable Battery

A rechargable battery means tht the battery pack in the camera can be recharged, meaning no need to constantly replace them with other batteries.

Olympus digital cameras that have a rechargeable battery include the Olympus OM-D EM10 ($649), the Olympus TG6 ($349) and the Olympus PEN E-PL8 ($280).

What is the Best High End Olympus Digital Camera?

Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II

20.4MP

5184 X 3888 PIXELS IMAGE RESOLUTION

4096 X 2160 PIXELS VIDEO RESOLUTION

1s CAMERA

2.8 MINIMUM

25,600 MAXIMUM ISO SPEED

498g

3" SCREEN

If you're looking for a high end Olympus digital camera then the Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II takes some beating. It has a Kagoo Score of 74, but is a bit more expensive at $599.

Features We Love:

High megapixels (20.4MP)

4096 x 2160 pixels video resolution

ok minimum aperture number (2.8)

High maximum ISO sensitivity (25,600)

Image stabiliser

A fully featured but only moderate value for money 498g camera, with the latest technology. It has an image stabiliser and a touchscreen, supports Wi-Fi and features bluetooth. Our review analysis indicates that this camera has good features, it's very good-looking and a good body shape.

80 Features	Fully-Featured
67 Popularity	A Less Popular Choice
64 Value for Money	Good
74 Kagoo Score	Very Good

Olympus OMD EM-1 Mark II Review | Northern Lights with the EM1 Mark II

Olympus OMD EM1 Mark II review: 4k video compilation (handheld)

Olympus OMD EM1 Mark II review

Olympus EM1 mark II auto focus test in low light conditions

Olympus EM1 Mark II - Caratteristiche & Review

Olympus EM1 Mark II - Caratteristiche & Review

The cheapest price that we could find for the OM-D E-M1 Mark II in the US is $599.00 but in total we found only 2 prices for it.

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What is the Best Budget Choice Olympus Digital Camera?

Olympus PEN E-PL8

16.1MP

4608 X 3456 PIXELS IMAGE RESOLUTION

3x OPTICAL ZOOM

FULL HD VIDEO RESOLUTION

3.5 MINIMUM

25,600 MAXIMUM ISO SPEED

1s CAMERA

326g

3" SCREEN

3x DIGITAL ZOOM

At only $279.99 and with a Kagoo Score of 79 the Olympus PEN E-PL8 makes a great budget choice.

Features We Love:

Tiny optical zoom (3x)

1920 x 1080 (Full HD) pixels video resolution (1920x1080 pixels)

ok minimum aperture number (3.5)

Image stabiliser

Very short camera shutter speed (1/4000s)

An award winning and fully featured 3x optical zoom camera, with a good price. It has an image stabiliser and a touchscreen, is 3D and supports Wi-Fi. Our review analysis indicates that this camera isable to produce good images, good-looking and compact.

91 Reviews	23 Reviews + 2 Awards
82 Features	Fully-Featured
78 Value for Money	Very Good
79 Kagoo Score	Very Good

Multiple reviews mentioned that Olympus PEN E-PL8 has good expert reviews with an average expert rating of 79%, based on 23 reviews.

Olympus 30mm f3.5 macro autofocus speed test with EPL8

Unboxing & Hands On OLYMPUS Pen E-PL8 | First Impression Olympus EPL8

Test Camera video and Photograph olympus epl8 + olympus 45mm f1.8 (By Tanadet)

Unboxing & Hands On OLYMPUS Pen E-PL8 | First Impression Olympus EPL8

The cheapest price that we could find for the PEN E-PL8 in the US is $279.99 but in total we found only 1 price for it.

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