Olympus FE-300

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http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/digitalcameras/0,39030233,49293718,00.htm

Reviewed 15 November 2007

Reviewed by Will Greenwald

Pixel count isn't everything. While a 12-megapixel picture can potentially hold more details than an 8 or 10-megapixel picture, that doesn't mean it always will. As you try to cram more and more pixels onto a small sensor, problems like noise tend to overtake the picture. Conversely, if you put fewer pixels on a large sensor, like the 6-megapixel Canon EOS 350D digital SLR, photos tend to come out looking much better even at the lower resolution.

At around £160, the Olympus FE-300 distinguishes itself as one of the lightest, least-expensive 12-megapixel cameras currently available. Unfortunately, its pictures pale in comparison to those from some higher-end, lower-resolution cameras.

Design
Measuring about 22mm thick and weighing just 115g without battery or xD-Picture Card, the FE-300 fits easily into nearly any shirt or trousers pocket. Despite its small design, the camera sports surprisingly accessible controls, with large, flat buttons that rest comfortably even under large thumbs.

It lacks a viewfinder, but the camera's 64mm (2.5-inch) LCD screen can be read clearly from nearly any angle. It includes a modest 35 to 105mm-equivalent f/2.8-4.7 3x optical zoom lens. A wider wide angle would be nice, but this zoom range is typical for a camera this size and price.

Features
While the FE-300 lacks manual exposure controls, it offers an otherwise pleasant selection of features. Olympus' new Perfect Shot Preview mode stands out among these features as one of the most useful aspects of the camera. This mode lets you preview how your picture will look under four different EV compensation or white balance settings.

If you shoot in awkward lighting, Perfect Shot Preview can really help you take a proper shot without much trial and error or menu-hunting. You can even preview how movie clips will look at different quality settings and frame-rates, though the highest quality 30 frames per second-VGA movie mode will almost always be your best choice.

White balance and ISO sensitivity settings offer some control over your photos. In addition, the camera comes with 14 scene presets to complement its automatic, program auto, ISO-boosting/shutter-quickening digital stabilisation and movie modes.

Finally, like most current digital cameras, the FE-300 includes a face detection mode that can find your friends' faces and adjusts focus and exposure based on them when shooting portraits or group shots. The camera's menu lets you set sensitivity as high as ISO 6,400, but lowers the pixel resolution to 3.1 megapixels when you shoot at ISO 3,200 or ISO 6,400.

Performance
The FE-300 performed slowly in our tests, pausing for several seconds between each shot. After a 2.2-second time from power-on to first shot, we could snap a new picture once every 3.6 seconds with the onboard flash disabled.

With the flash turned on, that wait bumped slightly to 3.8 seconds. Shutter lag wasn't great, lagging 0.9 seconds with our high-contrast target and 1.6 seconds with our low-contrast target, which mimic bright and dim shooting conditions, respectively. Like many FE-series cameras, the FE-300 lacks a burst shot mode. While the 3.6-second wait between shots compares poorly with most other cameras, other 12-megapixel point-and-shoots also tend to be slower than average.

Image quality
Despite solid colour reproduction, the FE-300's pictures ultimately disappoint. At ISO 50 or ISO 100 sensitivity, pictures look reasonably sharp and crisp, though fine textures tend to look a touch smoothed down. At higher sensitivity levels, however, the camera's flaws really start to appear.

Shooting speed (in seconds)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)

Typical shot-to-shot time

Time to first shot

Shutter lag (typical)

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T20

1.3

1.3

0.4

Canon Digital IXUS 950 IS

1.7

1.2

0.5

Canon Digital IXUS 960 IS

2

1.3

0.5

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX100

2.3

2.4

0.6

Olympus FE-300

3.6

2.3

0.9

 
Surprisingly high levels of noise appear at ISO 200, and at ISO 400, grain consumes nearly all fine details. At ISO 800, noise destroys details to the point where the camera's 12-megapixel pictures would look disappointing coming from an 8-megapixel camera. By the time you get up to ISO 1,600, all fine details disappear into blotchy smears.

For Web sites, emails, and smaller prints, the FE-300's photos should be fine in most cases. If you plan to blow up or crop down your pictures to any significant extent, though, you'll need to shoot in ISO 50 or ISO 100 to avoid a major drop in detail.

For a 12-megapixel camera, the FE-300's pictures simply don't live up to what they could be. While they are more expensive, compact 8-megapixel shooters like the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T100 and Canon Digital IXUS 860 IS produce pictures that can be made into larger, nicer-looking prints than the FE-300.

Conclusion
The Olympus FE-300 impressed us as one of the smallest, least expensive 12-megapixel digital cameras out there. Unfortunately, its slow performance and poor image quality makes us reach for our older 8-megapixel stand-bys.

If you really want a 12-megapixel shooter, drop the extra £50 or so for a better model like the Canon Digital IXUS 960 IS or the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX100. If price, not resolution, is your hot button, consider instead a solid 8-megapixel camera like the Canon Digital IXUS 950 IS or the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T20. Their comparable picture quality and significantly faster performance represent better values, even if with their lower resolutions.

Additional editing by Shannon Doubleday