Olympus SP-350

Reviewed October 2005

Introduction

The SP camera series is new for Olympus. So far 3 models exist: the SP-310, a 7.1 megapixel model; the SP-350, an 8-megapixel 3X zoom and the subject of this review; and the SP-500 UZ, a 6-megapixel 10X zoom camera, which will be reviewed in the coming weeks.

There are relatively few external controls, but these are well organized and easily manipulated as they are designed to be controlled with either the index or thumb.

The chromed 2-stage shutter release is at the top of the grip and is ringed by the zoom control, which not only serves to adjust the zoom but also to control how images are presented in Playback:

• as an index , the number of thumbnail images varying with the number of times the control is pushed to the wide angle side (4, 9, 16, 25 images per screen and finally a presentation that is based on the capture date),
• or, by pulling the control towards the telephoto side , an image can be magnified up to 10X.

The Mode Dial is towards the rear of the camera, positioned so as to stick out slightly past the back surface and making it possible to turn it with the thumb. The Mode dial has 9 positions, 8 of which are for capture modes:

	Set to the Auto Mode the SP-350 is in effect a point and shoot camera. All image capture parameters are selected by the camera.
	The Program mode leaves the camera in charge of selecting aperture and shutter speed, but allows control over all other photographic parameters.
	Aperture Priority makes it possible to choose the aperture, from f2.8 through to f8 when the lens is set to the wide angle, and from f4.9 through to f8 when the zoom is at the maximum telephoto setting, while the camera selects an appropriate shutter speed. When the selected aperture results in a correct exposure, the exposure and shutter speed are displayed in green on the monitor. When the selection would result in an incorrect exposure, the aperture and shutter speed are shown in red.
	Shutter Priority allows selecting the exposure time, from 1/1000 second to 2 seconds, while the camera matches it to an aperture. And, should Noise Reduction be activated in the menu, the exposure time can be extended to a maximum of 4 seconds (see in the Characteristics section of the review for a list of the options contained in the menu). As with aperture priority, combinations that would result in an incorrect exposure are shown in red, while those that will produce a good exposure are shown in green.
	Manual Mode makes it possible to select both the shutter speed and the aperture. With this mode, however, the shutter speed selection covers a range of 1/2000 second, when the aperture is at f8, down to a maximum timed exposure time of 15 seconds. In addition, a Bulb setting, limited to a maximum of 8 minutes, is also available.
	My Mode serves to save up to 4 distinct sets of shooting parameters that can all be recalled at once by selecting any one of the My Modes. (See the Characteristics section of the review for more information).
	Is the access to the SP-350's 24 Scene modes. Each Scene mode provides optimized camera settings for specific scenes: Portrait Landscape + Portrait Sports Indoor Self Portrait Sunset Museum Cuisine Auction Beach Under Water Wide 1 & 2 Landscape Night Scene Night + Portrait Candle Available Light Portrait Fireworks Behind Glass Documents Shoot and Select 1 & 2 Snow Under Water Macro
	The SP-350 is also able to capture Movies, with or without sound, at either one of two frame sizes: 640 x 480 pixels: at 30 frames per second for up to 20 seconds . or at 15 frames per second for as long as there is space on the memory card. 320 x 160 pixels at either 30 or 15 frames per second for as long as there is space on the memory card. When sound is recorded with the video — the microphone has a range of 1 meter (3.3 ft) — the optical zoom is locked at the focal length it was at when the recording started, and is disabled so as to prevent the zoom motor's sound from being recorded, but a digital zoom is available. Similarly, when sound is recorded the auto focus is locked at the first frame while if sound is not recorded, the AF remains active. Exposure is adjusted as the recording progresses, irrespective of the sound being recorded or not. Finally, an electronic image stabilization system is also available.

The last position, , is the Playback mode and when the dial is turned to this position prior to turning on the camera the lens does not extend.

All the other external controls of the SP-350 are squeezed above and to the right of the 2.5-inch (6.4 cm) LCD monitor with 115, 000 pixels.

To conserve power, the monitor is designed to dim after 10 seconds of camera inactivity, and turn itself off after 10 minutes of inactivity.

Although the monitor takes up much of the camera's back, Olympus has also included an optical viewfinder.

While the viewfinder is devoid of any indications for parallax or focus point, it makes it possible to use the camera when the monitor is too difficult to see clearly, or when power is running out. The viewfinder is flanked by two tiny LED, one at the top that lights red-orange while an image is being saved or to indicate that the flash is ready, and one at the bottom that lights green when the camera has auto focused.

A hot shoe is mounted directly above the viewfinder, and it can be used to mount the fully compatible but optional FL-20 or FL-36 flash units from Olympus, or compatible flash units from third party manufacturers.

Three buttons are aligned to the right of the viewfinder, the first on the left, labelled POWER, serves to turn on or off the camera.

The next two buttons have functions in both the capture and playback modes:

	In the capture mode, the first button serves to select the Flash mode. The mode selection is done using the 4-direction control, and the current mode is displayed on the monitor inside a yellow rectangle: Auto, Auto with Red-eye Reduction, Fill-in, Fill-in with Red-eye Reduction, or Forced Off.
	While when the camera is set to Playback or Quick View (see further) the button can be used to delete unwanted images.

The next two external controls are to the right of the LCD monitor:

controls the quantity and type of information superimposed on the LCD monitor. By default the display provides information about the battery's state, indicates the shutter speed and aperture when the shutter release is pressed halfway, the capture mode, the exposure compensation, the current image size and quality, and the remaining number of shots that can be captured.

The second button, below the DISP/GUIDE button, has only a single function:

While the camera is set to a capture mode it serves to access the Quick Review mode which makes it possible to see the last image captured, review all other images. The Quick Review mode is similar to the Playback mode. Images can be deleted and the playback menu can be displayed on the monitor.

The last control on the back of the SP-350 is the 4-direction arrow pad. The control is composed of four directional buttons arranged in a circle with a round centre button:

OK MENU calls up the menu for the current camera mode, and also serves to confirm selections made there.

And, while the camera is set to a capture mode, the right and left arrows of the 4-direction control also serve to set exposure compensation.

The 4-direction control is also used when the camera is set to Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, or Manual mode. Apertures are selected using the up and down arrows with the Aperture Priority mode; and shutter speeds are set using the right and left arrows in the Shutter Priority mode. With the Manual mode however, this is reversed and it is the right/left arrows that control the aperture while the shutter speeds are chosen using the up and down arrows.

The Olympus SP-350 benefits from a good ergonomic design that places all the external controls where they are the most easily reached, which in turn makes the camera easy to master.

Yet two drawbacks can be identified as well. First the SP-350 reacts a touch slowly to the controls, and second, although it offers a large size monitor, its resolution is not especially high and the image is not very detailed.