>I have a Nikon Cool Pix 5700 (sa-weet). It is probably bigger than that model Olympus, but it still isn't big. Very light weight. I currently am using a 256MB compact flash that holds 100+ 5 megapixel images.
>It too becomes a drive letter on your PC when connected, but I've never cared to use the camera as a drive letter. The camera as a memory reader is slower than an external memory reader. External memory readers are dirt cheap and they don't use the camera batteries. I've also noticed that the memory reader in my printer is slower too.
Interesting, I've been told that only the Olympus ones are supported mounted disk drives.
I just came back again from Future Shop. They showed me another model. Kodak as one that records sound when doing movies and is a compact version. However, it doesn't support mounted disk drive. That's what I am looking for. I don't want to have to install any software on the PC to download the images and movies.
Your camera has a depth of 4 inches, which is huge. The Olympus compact model has it at 1.4 inches. However, I found the D-5050 one much bigger as it is 2.7 inches. That's why I am hesitating to purchase it because of that dimension. Going at 4 inches dept is really too much for me. :)
The tech guy at Olympus told me that they are considering adding sound to the compact model. So, this would resolve the issue but when would it be released, that'a good question.
It seems that whenever there is sound supported, in most cameras, it is part of a model that has a bigger lense which makes the dimension of the camera to increase.
Those cameras also goes up to 4 to 5 megapixels, to obtain photo quality, and that also increases the cost. The D-5050, which is probably the one I will consider if no new compact model is released soon, is more than double cost of the D-520 compact model.
The base requirements that I need are in the following order:
Mounted disk drives
Sound supported in movies
Compact model
Extension card with at least 128mb
You did however mentioned me that we can have a 256mb. I'll have to check if Olympus support that one.
