In summary
A compact, high-resolution camera with plenty of enthusiast features and 24 scene modes. It produces detailed pictures with accurate colours and well-controlled saturation.Most of the controls and functions keen photographers want are provided in the new Olympus SP-350, which is smaller and less than half the weight of the C-7070 Wide Zoom. There’s a high-resolution CCD imager, P, A, S and M shooting modes and a versatile AF system with 143 selectable AF points. Sensitivity starts at ISO 50 and white balance settings can be fine-tuned to produce accurate colours under different types of lighting. . . [more]
Full review
Most of the controls and functions keen photographers want are provided in the new Olympus SP-350, which is smaller and less than half the weight of the C-7070 Wide Zoom. There’s a high-resolution CCD imager, P, A, S and M shooting modes and a versatile AF system with 143 selectable AF points. Sensitivity starts at ISO 50 and white balance settings can be fine-tuned to produce accurate colours under different types of lighting.
The SP-350’s much larger LCD screen makes checking shots easier than with the C-7070, and the LCD is backed-up by a small optical viewfinder. The SP-350 also offers RAW capture and RAW and JPEG images can be recorded simultaneously. Twenty-four illustrated scene pre-sets are provided, with some special underwater scene modes for users with the optional PT-030 underwater housing, one of a range of accessories the camera accepts.
‘Digital iESP’, centre-weighed average and spot metering are provided, with AE bracketing of +/- 1.0 EV across three or five shots – but not when shooting RAW images. Three autofocusing modes are also provided: ‘iESP’, spot, and area, with the latter selectable by moving the AF brackets around the LCD screen with the arrow pad. AF bracketing is an option in the Drive menu, which includes high- and low-speed modes. Sharpness, saturation and contrast adjustments are also provided, along with time-lapse recording.
The LCD screen can be configured to show key capture settings and you can overlay a rule-of-thirds or diagonal cross framing grid or small live histogram. Selecting Movie mode displays the available recoding time and selected resolution. Digital video stabilisation, which crops the image, is the only anti-shake option provided. Audio clips can be added to still images in capture and playback modes and the camera includes an Edit menu with settings for RAW EDIT (resolution, white balance, sharpness, contrast and saturation), Image Resize, Image Crop, Redeye Fix, Black & White, Sepia, Frame, Title, Calendar, Layout, Brightness and Saturation.
The lens has a threaded mount for filters and wide/tele converters, while the top panel sports a flash hot shoe for Olympus speed-lights. The camera comes with 32MB of internal memory plus an xD-Picture Card slot and you can shoot panoramas on special Olympus-branded cards.
As the review unit was a pre-production model, we can’t make definitive comments on its performance. However, initial testing suggests the camera is capable of producing detailed pictures with accurate colours and well-controlled saturation. Overall image contrast was a little high and exposures were biased to record shadow detail. Both led to loss of highlight detail in shots taken in bright sunlight. The flash appeared to be a capable performer and the white balance control produced above-average colour accuracy under a wide range of lighting conditions.
The camera applies automatic noise reduction for exposures longer than one second. Initial testing showed this to be quite successful. However, it took just over 15 seconds to process a RAW + JPEG file – which is pretty slow – and the camera locks during this time. [27]
Specifications
Image sensor: 7.18 x 5.32mm CCD with 8.3 million photosites (8.0 megapixels effective)
Lens: 8-24mm f2.8-4.9 zoom (38-114mm in 35mm format)
Zoom ratio: 3x optical, up to 5x digital
Dimensions (wxhxd): 99.5 x 65 x 35mm
Weight: 195g (without batteries and memory card)
Image formats: Stills – JPEG (Exif 2.21), RAW; Movies – QuickTime Motion JPEG with Sound (VGA/QVGA at 15/30fps)
Shutter speed range: 15 – 1/2000 sec (up to 8 min. in Bulb mode)
Focus system/range: CCD Contrast Detect AF with spot and iESP modes; AF area selectable from 143 points; range 20cm to infinity, macro to 2cm
Exposure metering/control: Digital ESP, spot and centre weighted metering; Auto, P, A, S and M shooting modes plus 24 scene pre-sets
White balance: Auto, Overcast, Sunlight, Evening Sun, Tungsten, Fluorescent (x3). WB adjustment -7 (red) to +7 (blue)
Flash modes/range (ISO auto): Auto, red-eye reduction, forced, off, slow sync (x2); range 0.3-8m
ISO range: Auto, ISO 50, 100, 200, 400.
Sequence shooting: 2 shots at 2.4fps (max.)
Storage Media: 32MB internal memory plus xD-Picture Card slot; internal memory holds 2 RAW or 5 JPEG high-resolution images or up to 109 VGA shots.
Viewfinder: Optical Real Image
LCD monitor: 6.4cm/2.5-inch colour TFT LCD monitor with 115,000 pixels
Power supply: CR-V3 lithium battery (or 2 x AA alkaline or Ni-MH batteries)
Retailers
CamBuy
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174 Canterbury Road 367 High Street
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Electronics Warehouse
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1300 801 885
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Ted’s Cameras
1800 186 895
Big range of cameras and photographic products with stores in most states and online.
Rating
Rating (out of 10):
- Build: 8.5
- Ease of use: 8
- OVERALL: 8.5