"Picky Details" for the Olympus Stylus 600 digital camera
(Timing, Power, and Storage Info)

Timing

When you press the shutter release on a camera, there's usually a lag time or delay before the shutter actually fires. This corresponds to the time required for the autofocus and autoexposure mechanisms time to do their work, and can amount to a fairly long delay in some situations. Since this number is rarely reported on (and even more rarely reported accurately), and can significantly affect the picture taking experience, I routinely measure both shutter delay and shot to shot cycle times for all cameras I test, using a test system I designed and built for the purpose. (Crystal-controlled, with a resolution of 0.001 second.) Here are the numbers I collected for the Olympus Stylus 600:

The Olympus Stylus 600's performance is average to above average across the board. Its start up time of 2.2 seconds is on the fast side of average for a camera with a telescoping lens. Shutter response is a good bit faster than average at the telephoto end of the zoom range, and average at the wide angle end. If you "prefocus" the camera by half-pressing and holding down the shutter button before the final exposure, it's exceptionally fast, with a shutter delay of only 0.08 second. Shot-to-shot cycle times are above average, at about 1.44 seconds for large/fine JPEGs. Continuous-mode speed is on the slow side of average, but is comparable to that of other compact camera models. The flash takes about six seconds to recharge after a full-power shot, also about average for this class of camera. Connected to a computer, download speeds are fast enough that you probably won't feel a need for a separate card reader. Bottom line, the Stylus 600 is responsive enough (particular at wide angle lens settings) to handle most family photo opportunities.

Power

The Olympus Stylus 600 uses a custom rechargeable LiIon battery for power.

Storage Capacity

The Olympus Stylus 600 stores its photos on xD memory cards or in approximately 7.8 MB of internal memory, and no card is included with the camera. (I strongly recommend buying a large capacity xD memory card (at least a 128 MB card, preferably a 256 MB one), to give yourself extra space for extended outings.) The chart below shows how many images can be stored internal memory at each size/quality setting.

Download Speed

The Olympus Stylus 600 connects to a host computer via a USB interface. Downloading files to my Sony desktop running Windows XP (Pentium IV, 2.4 GHz), I clocked it at 854 KBytes/second. (Cameras with slow USB interfaces run as low as 300 KB/s, cameras with fast v1.1 interfaces run as high as 600 KB/s. Cameras with USB v2.0 interfaces run as fast as several megabytes/second.)