Although its most basic specs make the Olympus FE-110 seem like a junior version of the current top FE-series model, the 6-megapixel FE-120, more than a million pixels separate the two cameras. More importantly, the Olympus FE-110 mounts an entirely different lens, has a chunkier body shape with a different control layout, and offers more than a dozen fewer scene modes. Where the FE-120 offsets its ho-hum features with good image quality and a bargain street price, for about AU$100 less, the FE-110 delivers only mediocre images and strips the features to the bare minimum. It's more akin to the superbudget FE-100.
Newcomers to digital photography probably won't mind this Olympus's skimpy feature set, which includes a 2.8x zoom lens and a tiny 1.5-inch LCD that washes out easily in direct sunlight. Its 28MB of internal memory actually provides enough space to capture nearly two dozen images at maximum resolution without the need for an xD-Picture Card, and its limited scene modes take care of the most common photo situations. Budget-minded novices looking for an easy-to-use starter camera can save a few dollars by buying this model rather than the more desirable FE-120.
Design
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 A four-way controller and a few buttons are among the minimal controls on this camera. |
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Aside from the shutter release, the only control on top of the Olympus FE-110 is the power switch. All the other buttons and knobs are arrayed underneath and to the right of the 130,000-pixel LCD (which has 50 percent more pixels than the 1.8-inch LCD on the FE-120). The viewfinder is adjacent to the recording and playback mode buttons, which have orange and green LEDs next to them to let you know which mode you're using. The mode dial has just six positions, for the Program Auto, Portrait, Landscape, Night Scene, Self Portrait and Movie options.
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 The mode dial and the zoom toggle both fall under your right thumb. |
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The four-way cursor control pad with central OK button offers double-duty functions, including self-timer (left), macro (right), exposure compensation (plus or minus 2EV in 1/3EV steps) and, in a daring move, reset (down).
As an aid for neophytes, an onscreen explanation accompanies each scene mode and cursor-button function when you select it. The explanations range from useful ("EV: Adjust image brightness"; "Self-Timer: Takes picture after 12 seconds") to painfully obvious ("Landscape: For shooting landscapes").
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 You can change flash settings, delete photos and activate the menu system with these buttons below the LCD. |
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Menu settings are mercifully sparse -- because there aren't too many options to choose from -- and are limited to eight functions in recording mode: image quality, time/date/language setting, sleep time, image backup (to xD-Picture Card), video-out mode (NTSC or PAL), memory and card formatting, and pixel mapping to remove dead sensor photosites. Key setup parameters are also available from the playback menu, which adds PictBridge print-order options, protection from accidental photo erasure and the option to specify either four or nine thumbnails per screen during picture review.
White balance, light sensitivity (ISO 64 to ISO 400), focus and exposure are all set automatically and cannot be adjusted.
Features
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 The Olympus FE-110 saves photos in 28MB of internal memory and on xD-Picture Card media. |
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The FE-110 automatically sets exposure for you from 1/2,000 second to 1 second at F3 to F5, except in Night Scene exposures, which can run as long as 2 seconds. Like the other cameras in the FE series, this one runs on two AA batteries of various types, which give the flash enough power to produce even exposures out to 3.8m (ISO unspecified). Flash options include automatic, red-eye reduction, forced on and forced off.
This is not the ideal camera for minimovie buffs; it records coarse 320 x 240-pixel clips at a jerky 15fps with no sound capture.
Performance
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 Pick up some rechargeable AAs to get the most out of the FE-110. |
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The tiny LCD was nothing to write home about, either. It washed out in bright daylight, exhibited a lot of ghosting and didn't gain up enough to make composition easy under dim illumination. There is no optical viewfinder to supplement the LCD. The Olympus FE-110's electronic flash provided even coverage all the way out to 3.7m and red-eye reduction was admirably effective.
The Olympus FE-110's image quality is not as good as its FE-120 sibling's, but it was still acceptable coming from an entry-level digital camera. We were pleased with the good exposures the camera produced, with lots of detail in the shadows and highlights, despite a tendency to blow out the brightest portions of the image. However, JPEG artifacts became noticeable when we enlarged the images and optical problems such as purple fringing were evident around backlit subjects. Colors were neutral and a little undersaturated, with a warm cast both indoors and out. Noise levels were OK at ISO 64 but got out of control in dimmer light as the camera automatically boosted sensitivity up to the maximum ISO 400
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10/06/2007, 05:11 AM
rating
2/10
I am not happy with it at all
Pros: Nothing. i bought it for 100 bucks from a guy who stole it from some where i guess.
Cons: poor quality picture, bad battery life(it blew up a new set of Duracel in just 5 shot).
very bad transfer rate to pc.
takes ages to get ready to take a picture.
I would say, its a total disaster.
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24/12/2005, 01:35 PM
Not so good
1st timer digital user, was told this camera is great for 1st timers and excellent value for money. I agree the picture quality is not as good as others I have seen. Very diappointed particually whith in doors.
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