Photo gallery: Olympus FE-320Entry-level point-and-shoots are usually characterised by their lack of features or less-than-desirable styling. But for the 8-megapixel Olympus FE-320, its budget price tag doesn't mean the company scrimped on the shooter's design and features. The slim profile and respectable specifications make this snapper suitable for those who want a no-frills digicam to start exploring digital photography. However, the firm should really consider abolishing the use of its proprietary storage media, or at the very least, take a leaf out of Fujifilm's book with a dual-slot for SD cards.
Design
The FE-320 had us fixated the moment we unboxed the set. The slim styling and faux metal body are a good combination, and it should sit well in ladies' bags.
The dedicated shooting and playback buttons, and the mode dial.
On the right side of the point-and-shoot are a ledge and a minuscule lip that allows your finger to hook on for better grip. But what impressed us most was the dedicated shooting and playback mode button on the rear. Most budget shooters typically map these two functions into one button and that can be confusing for the novice.
The mode dial's ridged edges could be accessed only from the top, and although we thought it would be clumsy or awkward to operate, it didn't take us long to get used to this design, and soon we were sifting through the menu with ease even with one hand.
A nice touch that Olympus delivered was to include a small pouch for the camera. Although it may not have any padding, it still provides adequate protection against scratches.
Features
For an entry-level shooter, the FE-320 has a fair bit of features that distinguish it from the rest of the pack. For starters, the 2.7-inch LCD is comparable even with mid-range point-and-shoots, and it was quite easy to view even under sunlight.
The 3x optical zoom lens covers from 36mm to 180mm (35mm equivalent). This is an acceptable range for snappers in this class, but the Fujifilm FinePix comes with a 5x optical zoom, giving a tad more reach for those who want to snap from afar. The lack of a wide-angle lens means that taking group portraits may prove to be a challenge, especially when you have space constraints.
There is relatively little noise and the exposure is quite accurate for this shot taken with the Night Scene mode.
Like most budget shooters, the FE-320 doesn't come with hardware-based image stabilisation (IS). Instead, it utilises digital IS, which ramps up the ISO sensitivity and a higher shutter speed to compensate. We wouldn't advise using this mode because chances are you'll end up with grainy shots. Try to use a tripod or find support when you are shooting in dim environments.
Like Sony's Smile Shutter, Olympus has its own Smile Shot Mode. Once activated, the camera will automatically evaluate the scene and focus accordingly. The moment it detects a smile, it will snap three consecutive shots. This worked well when we tested it and the response was intuitive.
Face detection must be activated via the AF Mode menu. Once turned on, the camera starts to hunt for faces (up to three). When it detects a profile, it will lock onto it and track this as it moves within the frame. The face detection sensor lags a bit but otherwise it works fine.
The shooter has 13 scene modes. Besides the usual Night Scene, Sport and Fireworks mode, it also has a few interesting presets like Auction (Web-friendly resolution) and Behind Glass (great for taking note while shopping). There are 14 on-board guides to tackle common situations like "shooting moving subjects". All you have to do is to select that guide and the settings will be automatically optimised for that.
Dynamic range is not one of this shooter's strong points as we can see from this shot — details in highlight areas are lost.
Although the FE-320 seems nice and dandy so far, we have a gripe with its choice of storage media. Olympus seems bent on using the less-popular xD-Picture Card to store images, and we really hope it can pick up a point or two from Fujifilm which implemented a second slot for SD cards in the FinePix J50. Although high-capacity flash media are often given free when you buy a shooter, it can be cumbersome to find a suitable card reader for the xD-Picture Card.
Performance
For an entry-level point-and-shoot, the FE-320's performance is commendable. It took a quick 2.3 seconds to start up and the shutter lag measured half a second. Time-to-first-shot clocked in at 2.6 seconds. These figures place the Olympus at the top of the charts when it comes to speed for budget shooters.
Focusing was zippy for high-contrast subjects, but as with conventional point-and-shoots, the camera struggled in dim environments or low-contrast scenes.
An ISO comparison table for the various sensitivities.
The Lithium-ion battery's life for the FE-320 is respectable. We gave it a full charge and brought it along for a weekend's worth of shooting and snapping about 180 pictures, and there was still two-thirds left on the battery gauge.
Image Quality
It came as a surprise to us that the FE-320 has a lowest sensitivity of ISO 64 because this setting is usually reserved for higher-end models. The sensitivity ranges from 64 to 3,200, but we would advise keeping it at ISO 400 or below. At test shots of ISO 800, the noise suppression kicked in, and while it did keep digital artefacts at bay, it also smeared away plenty of details.
The exposure meter is generally accurate, but don't expect it to be perfect. Like most point-and-shoot units, it can be easily fooled by bright areas and underexpose the picture. As dynamic range isn't one of this shooter's strong points, we often got images with burned highlights or details lost in the shadow regions.
The Night Scene mode worked pretty well, and with the help of a tripod, we were able to achieve decently exposed night shots. We could have left it in Auto, but generally the presets are optimised for specific scenes and thus more accurate as well.
Flash output was well-balanced. Skin tones appeared to be natural and a good amount of background details were captured as well.
Conclusion
It's a pleasant surprise how well this shooter performed for an entry-level unit. The interface was friendly and included useful features not commonly found in point-and-shoots of this class. At AU$249, it is priced similarly to Fujifilm's FinePix J50, but the FE-320 has a lot more features and looks more stylish, too. However, the choice of xD-Picture Card didn't go down well with us. Otherwise, this would have gotten a higher score.
