Olympus iS-50 vs. the Olympus iS-30

I would greatly appreciate it if anyone can speak to the differences

between the Olympus iS-50 and the Olympus iS-30. Moreover, any

general comments (pros and cons)on either or both would be great.

Thanks in advance,

Bob

Oh, what the heck, I'll just copy my reply from the Camera Equipment forum...

"Dunno 'bout the similarities/differences between those two models but I can offer some general observations.

"I like the iS-series. A lot. I firmly believe the Olympus ZLR concept (zoom lens reflex) with non-interchangeable zoom is what most people really need when they by a low end whatever-brand SLR with interchangeable lenses and then never buy another lens to replace the kit zoom.

"I believe it enough that when my mom found the Minolta SLR outfit I gave her too confusing I swapped it for an Olympus iS-2, one of the best in that series. She fell in love with its ease of use and terrific results and, three years later, still uses and loves it.

"In fact, I once borrowed her iS-2 as a backup to my OM-1 outfit when I was shooting an assignment for which I had no time to prepare. As it turned out I shot equally with the OM-1 and iS-2 because the autofocus, autoexposure and quick acting zoom enabled me to capture action I'd have missed with my all-manual equipment and prime lenses.

"The optics are terrific, the flash system is very capable and some interesting accessories are available for these cameras. I'd like 'em better if the top tier models like the iS-3 offered a faster zoom - a 35-105/2.8 ED aspherical zoom on that camera would sell me on it, no doubt.

"Consider, also, that most P&S digicams are designed and used very much like the iS-series (which Chinon also used in a long-discontinued series): non-interchangeable zoom; capable built-in flash; compensation and bracketing controls; macro mode. The only real difference bewteen the iS-series cameras and, say, my Olympus C-3040Z digicam is the prism on the former and LCD screen on the latter. Most consumer grade digicams follow the same design paradigm, proving it's successful."