In summary
A well-built digicam that combines good point-and-shoot performance with an affordable price.A minor upgrade to the Mju 800, the Olympus Mju 810 is $100 cheaper, slightly smaller and lighter. The lens doesn’t focus quite as close but more resolution options are provided for still and video recording. The control layout has been redesigned and the shutter and on/off buttons are now smaller and rectangular. But buttons remain small and too much toggling is needed to access menu settings. . . [more]
Full review
A minor upgrade to the Mju 800, the Olympus Mju 810 is $100 cheaper, slightly smaller and lighter. The lens doesn’t focus quite as close but more resolution options are provided for still and video recording. The control layout has been redesigned and the shutter and on/off buttons are now smaller and rectangular. Buttons remain small and too much toggling is needed to access menu settings.
Some functional changes have also been made, notably a refinement of the blur-reduction mode to provide ‘Digital Image Stabilisation Edit’. It works by boosting sensitivity and uses post-capture processing to correct blurry images caused by hand-shake (we suspect by edge-sharpening). It’s effective, but only with minor blurring.
The new model’s ISO range now extends to 3200 but only for 3MP resolution. Our tests showed images became noisy and unsharp with this setting. Shutter speeds have been reduced by a stop and the two-second self-timer delay is eliminated. The flash range is slightly less but the flash burst rate is marginally extended.
The test camera produced bright, colourful pictures with a wider than average dynamic range. Digital zoom shots were sharp but slightly affected by JPEG artefacts. White balance performance was generally good, despite the lack of a manual measurement setting. The flash required at least ISO 400 sensitivity to light up an average-sized room. Image noise was evident at ISO 800 and became serious by ISO 3200.
Imatest showed the Mju 810 to be capable of producing high (but not outstanding) resolution at ISO levels up to 800. Colour accuracy was generally good and saturation levels were modest. Lateral chromatic aberration and distortion were negligible. We measured an average capture lag of 0.75 seconds, which reduced to 0.3 seconds with pre-focusing. The burst mode captured shots at 0.25 second intervals. [28]
Specifications
Image sensor: 7.18 x 5.32mm CCD with 8.3 million photosites (8.0 megapixels effective)
Lens: 7.4-22.2mm f2.8-4.7 zoom (35-105mm in 35mm format)
Zoom ratio: 3x optical, up to 5x digital
Dimensions (wxhxd): 97 x 56.2 x 22.7mm
Weight: 145g (without battery and card)
Image formats: Stills – JPEG (Exif 2.2); Movies – QuickTime Motion JPEG/WAV (VGA/QVGA at 30fps)
Shutter speed range: ½-1/1000 sec (night scene up to 4 sec).
Focus system/range: TTL AF with contrast detection; range 60 cm to infinity; macro 30-50cm; super macro 10-60cm.
Exposure metering/control: Digital ESP and spot metering. P, A. S modes plus 20 scene modes
White balance: Auto, tungsten, overcast, daylight, fluorescent light
Flash modes/range (ISO auto): Auto, red-eye reduction, fill-in, off ; range to 5.2m
ISO range: Auto (ISO 60-400), ISO 64, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200.
Sequence shooting: 4.2 frames per sec. up to 12 frames
Storage Media: 28.4MB internal memory plus xD-Picture Card slot; internal memory holds
LCD monitor: 2.5-inch TFT LCD monitor with 230,000 pixels plus BrightCapture Technology
Power supply: LI-12B rechargeable lithium-ion battery
Retailers
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Rating
Rating (out of 10):
- Build: 8.5
- Ease of use: 7.5
- Image quality: 8.5
- OVERALL: 8.5