Question:
How do I take closeups of small objects?

Answer:
You’re talking about macro photography – the art of photographing very small subjects. 

Olympus cameras can focus on small, close subjects when shooting in Super Macro mode. Pressing the black flower icon on the back of the camera – when the camera is in Shooting Mode – accesses Super Macro mode. This displays a menu with three options: OFF, Macro (flower icon), or Super Macro (icon of flower with a lowercase “s”).  Use the up or down arrow on the menu pad to select Super Macro mode, and then press the [OK/FUNC] button to activate the mode. 

When Super Macro mode is enabled, the flower icon will appear along the left-hand side of the LCD. The focus is fixed and the flash is disabled while shooting in Super Macro mode. We recommend using the LCD monitor to compose your photographs when shooting in Super Macro mode.

Question:
I have a 7.1-megapixel Olympus camera. My picture files are about 1.2 to 1.6 megabytes and they take a lot of time to upload and view. Can I take pictures with fewer megapixels for simple uploading and viewing? Is there a way to change it manually? 

Answer:
The size of your images correlates to the Record mode that was used to capture them. Record modes (called Image Quality modes in newer Olympus cameras) determine the resolution and compression rate of recorded images.

The default Record mode in most cameras is high quality or HQ, and it’s optimized for 4” x 6” printed photographs. The SQ1 or SQ2 record modes are optimized for electronic transfer and posting on Web sites.
To switch record modes, turn the mode dial to any mode except Playback and then press either the [Menu] button or the [OK] button. Select the Record mode or Image Quality icon. Use the Up or Down arrow to select a new record mode, and press [OK] to activate the selection. Press [OK] again to exit the menu.

For existing images, you have the option to resize in the camera before transferring them to a computer. Resizing copies the image at a lower resolution. The copy is saved as a new file, preserving the original image. You can resize an image through the Edit submenu.

Question:
On my xD card, I sometimes get double exposures, or it cannot read the photo. What could cause that to happen?

Answer:
Your memory card has been corrupted. You may be able to restore its functionality if you reformat the card inside the camera; however, be advised that there is no guarantee that you will be able to retrieve the images that are stored on the corrupted card.

Olympus does not offer a service to recover data from corrupted memory cards; however, a number of companies do offer this service.  In addition, commercial software now exists that may help you retrieve files from a corrupted card. Olympus does not endorse any specific brand or product, but you can find many options by searching the Internet for “digital image recovery.”

If you are able to save any of the images, transfer them to a computer and store them on a drive different from the one that represents your camera when the camera is connected to the computer. Once you have saved all the files you can, format the card.

Question:
How long does the picture image stay on the card?

Answer:
Images and movies recorded on Olympus xD-Picture Cards are persistent. They will remain for the life of the card, until you remove them.

Transferring files to a computer does not delete the original files in the camera. To safely delete your files, use the camera’s Erase or Format function.  Be sure to save the files elsewhere before using these tools. Once deleted, the files cannot be retrieved.

Question:
I have an older camera. Do they still make the standard media cards (not the H or M variety) my camera will not work with H or M cards.

Answer:
Olympus is no longer manufacturing standard xD-Picture Cards. Our Type H and Type M xD-Picture Cardshave significant advantages over the older format, including faster write speed and greater storage capacity.
Many older Olympus cameras can be upgraded to support the Type H or Type M formats. Please reference our xD-Picture Card Media Compatibility Chart to see if your model can be upgraded. To view the chart, click here and then click the “View which cameras are compatible” links for Type H and Type M cards.

If your model cannot be upgraded, visit The Olympus Store. At the time of this writing, a limited number of 128MB standard xD-Picture Card memory cards are still available.

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If you have a specific tech support issue for which you need immediate assistance, please contact our technical support group by sending an email to distec@cs.olympus.com, or by calling 1-888-55-DIGITAL.