Olympus FE-300

Reviewed October 2007

Characteristics

A 1/1.72 inch (1.5 cm), primary colour filter CCD with 12,400,000 pixels of which 12 million are effective, allows the Olympus FE-300 to capture a maximum image size that measures 4000 x 3000 pixels.

A total of five image sizes are offered on the camera but, regrettably, only the maximum image size affords 2 compression levels:

The 12-megapixel CCD has a sensitivity range that starts at 50 ISO and which extends to no less than 6400 ISO (50, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200 and 6400 ISO), albeit that from 3200 ISO onwards the image size is limited to 3-megapixel. With the exception of the Program mode, the sensitivity is under the control of the camera, but does not exceed the 1600 ISO level, even when the DIS (Digital Image Stabilization) mode is used.

The 3X optical zoom of the FE-300 has a focal length range of 7.4 to 22.2 mm, the equivalent of a 35 to 105 mm in the 35 mm format, and is composed of 6 lenses in 4 groups including 4 aspherical lenses. Its maximum aperture is f2.8 at the wide angle end and f4.7 at the telephoto end.

The camera is equipped with a seamless 4X digital zoom, which is always on. The zoom is a standard digital zoom, capturing a portion of the centre of the full size image and then interpolating it to the currently selected image size, which results in a loss of image quality.

In addition, the FE-300 is equipped with what is termed a "Fine Zoom", that forces the maximum image resolution to 3 megapixel, but which takes advantage of the 12 megapixel CCD to crop the image so it appears to have been captured with as much as a 19X zoom, without any noticeable loss of image quality.

The FE-300's shutter range covers from 1/1000 to 1/2 second, in most modes, but the Night Scene mode is capable of a maximum exposure time of 4 seconds. Noise reduction is automatically applied to all images captured with a shutter speed of 1/2 second or longer, and to images captured at high ISO levels.

In addition to the functions that can be controlled directly using buttons on the camera, the FE-300 provides a menu which contains other settings. Pressing the Menu button displays the Top Menu, an icon-based access to the various parts of the FE-300's menu options. With the camera set to the Program mode, 5 icons are available providing access to:

• Image Quality: to select the image size and compression, as explained above.
• Reset: returns the camera to its factory settings.
• Setup: provides access to the setup menu (see the Interface and Software section of the review for details about the contents of the Setup menu).
• Silent Mode: which serves to mute all camera sounds.

And, at the centre of the screen: Camera Menu which contains the following options:

• White Balance: Auto, Sun, Cloud, Tungsten (incandescent), Fluorescent 1 (daylight), Fluorescent 2 (neutral), Fluorescent 3 (white).
• ISO: Auto, 50, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, 6400 ISO. With settings of 3200 or 6400 ISO, image size is restricted to 2048 x 1536 pixels or less.

• Fine Zoom: On or Off. Combines the optical zoom zoom with a cropping function that allows capturing a field of view comparable to a longer zoom than the 3X optical zoom of the camera (up to the equivalent of a 19X zoom) without the image deterioration associated with digital zooms. The image size, however, is limited to SQ1 (2048 x 1536 pixels — standard compression) or less.

• Sound (still pictures): On or Off. Allows adding a 4-second audio clip immediately after the capture of a photo.
• Sound (movies): decides whether or not sound is recorded with a movie (see the Ergonomics section of the review for more information about the movie mode and its options).
• Panorama: serves to capture a series of photos (up to 10 frames) so they can be assembled into a panorama using the software supplied with the camera. An Olympus brand xD card must be used for the mode to be useable. The camera displays a portion of the previous image so that the next can be overlapped, allowing the program to stitch the photos together.
• AF Mode provides three options:
  • Face Detect: the camera searches for a face in the frame and focuses on it.
  • iESP: the camera detects the focus using a wide area focus system that allows it to find the focus point, even if it is not at the centre of the frame.
  • Spot: focus occurs on the subject in the centre of the AF brackets.

When the camera is set to (Portrait) or to (Landscape), the menu is identical to the Program mode (see above) with one exception, the sensitivity (ISO) cannot be selected. While with the the Mode Dial set to the SCENE position, the options contained in the Camera Menu depend on the specific scene mode.

Set to Playback, the Top Menu presents 9 icons:

• Slide Show (still images only): starts an automatic slide show of the images in the camera.
• Play (movies only): starts playback of a movie.
• Edit (still images) has two options:
  • Resize allows creating a smaller copy of an image, either 640 x 480 or 320 x 240 pixels.
  • Crop: serves to save a portion on an image as a new image.
• Edit (movies):
  • Index: serves to extract 9 frames from a movie and save them as a new image.
  • Edit: allows cutting a part of a movie and either saving it as a new movie, or overwriting the original.
• Print Order: servers to select images for printing. The number of prints of each image can be set, as well as whether or not the date will be imprinted.

• Perfect Fix: presents four options to adjust images:
  • All: Digital Image Stabilization edit, Lighting Fix and Redeye Fix are all activated.
  • DIS Edit: automatically retouches unintentionally blurred images.
  • Lighting Fix: automatically brightens underexposed areas in an image.
  • Redeye Fix: automatically corrects an image affected by the red-eye effect.

• Playback menu contains three options:
  • Protect: tags images as protected to prevent an accidental erasure.
  • Rotate: changes the orientation of an image in ±90° increments.
  • Sound: allows adding a 4-second sound bite to an image.
• Setup: accesses the Setup menu (see the Interface and Software section of the review).
• Favorite: serves to select up to 9 Favorite images that are then stored in the internal memory.
• Erase: to delete one or all images.
• Silent Mode: On or Off. Turns off all camera sounds.

The Olympus FE-300 is equipped with 48 MB of internal memory, as well as with an xD card slot. The card slot is located underneath the camera, and protected by the solid door it shares with the battery. In North America, the FE-300 is retailed without a memory card.

As a guide, the chart below shows the image/movie capacity of the FE-300 using both the 48 MB internal memory, and an optional 2 GB xD card:

When the USB cable is used, the camera displays a four option menu immediately:

• PC (Mass Storage): to connect to a computer so that the camera is recognized by the OS as a removable disk.
• Easy Print (PictBridge): allows printing images one at a time when the camera is connected to a printer.
• Custom Print (PictBridge): allows printing images one at a time or all at once, or printing an index, or even multiple images on one page. Paper sizes can be selected, and a choice is offered for printing photos with or without borders.
• Exit: simply cancels the connection.

The A/V Out signal can be set to either NTSC or PAL systems using an option of the Setup menu.

The Olympus FE-300 is powered by Li-ion rechargeable battery (LI-42B). A wired battery charger, LI-40C, is supplied with the camera. The battery is recharged on the charger, not in the camera, and a full charge requires approximately 5 hours.