I have been using the camera in fully automatic mode at max resolution and I have tried a variety of different lighting conditions.

I find that the camera works flawlessly if I save images as TIFFs. If I use the JPG format and the conditions aren't quite right then the quality of the JPG image is exceedingly low.

The problem with the JPGs is missing/blank pixels. The missing pixels form vertical lines. The vertical lines usually occur every 2nd or 3rd pixel, and they fill all of the space with that particular colour. If the camera was pointed within ~60 degrees of the sun then the problem can become a general one throughout the entire photo (started with camera pointed at the ground, I was facing the sun around 5pm, took a little less than a quarter turn away and raised the camer to take a picture of my neighbour's porch & car - 90% of the photo was corrupted with bands of vertical lines).

Inside I took a picture of my cat on the scratching post. I tried it with and without flash. I took it in HQ, SHQ, TIFF and RAW. I have not looked at the RAW image before typing this but I can say both TIFFs were flawless and the (S)HQ images were unacceptable. The picture on the wall beside the scratching post has glass protecting the print. In the TIFF you can see the print and a partial reflection quite clearly. With the JPG formats the print was so badly obscured by the vertical lines that I could make out only the vaguest of details. The cat on the post was the focus point, and some areas of her body come through clearly, others are obscured like the print but to a lesser degree. The vertical lines also tend to appear at edges all around each object.

I've been checking forums like this one for reports of problems or dissatisfied customers but have found none yet. I am not dissatisfied (yet), but I am dissappointed that I seem to have gotten a dud.

I'll try taking it back to the store tomorrow. I am not going to wait for Olympus support to call me because I have only got until friday to get a full refund from the retailer if I am not satisfied.

C