Review Of The Olympus FE-3010 Camera
Digicam — By Ricky on September 7, 2009 at 8:45 amSum ‘n’ substance:
Thumbs up: Deadly design; tough in build; vivid colors; good white balance; not much in weight; not a complicated device to use; not at all expensive.
Thumbs down: Images are not sharp; sloppy in performance.
Inside the trunk: Resolution: 12 megapixels ; Color Support; CCD Optical Sensor; Total Pixels: 12,700,000 pixels; Effective Sensor Resolution: 12,000,000 pixels; 4x digital zoom; 3x optical zoom electronic image stabilizer; Built-in flash; auto focus adjustment; LCD display – TFT active matrix – 2.7 inch; Connector Type 1 x USB , 1 x Composite video/audio output; Integrated Memory of 19 MB; Video Capture: AVI – 640 x 480 , AVI – 640 x 480 , AVI – 320 x 240; weight: 4.4 ounces; priced at : $123.95 – $139.99.
The whiz-kid speaks: The FE-3010 is a one of a kind camera, because you won’t find another camera in its range clubbing up such a poor performance as well as an inferior picture quality into one. But it’s not all bad though, it is cheap, feather weight, easy to operate and has an attractive design.
Razzle –dazzle: The FE-3010 is sturdy in construction and the finishing is pretty smooth. It is pretty sleek and thin and can easily fit in your pant pockets. It comes in three colors: black, silver and pink. All look more expensive than they actually are.
The power button and the shutter release are at the top of the camera. At the back left, we have the 2.7 inch TFT-LCD screen and the back right houses the zoom rocker; the Display/Info button; Shooting mode and Playback buttons; a square four-way directional pad is beneath the shoot and playback buttons. The OK/Function button is at the center of the pad; just below the pad are the Menu and Delete/LCD backlight boost buttons.
Inside dope:
The menu system of the FE3010 is attractive and easy to use. The sub-menus drop down into more detailed lists which make it easier, not that the 3010 has much to offer. The FE 3010 continues to use the xD cards like in its older models, so the memory storage can reach a maximum of only 2GB. Olympus, however, have provided a tiny adaptor to use the micro SD cards as well. One of the features of the 3010 is, unless you save your settings it switches into its default mode which is the program-auto. This mode gives you the option of controlling the exposure compensation, the ISO, white balance, flash as well as the timer. The FE3010 is also perfect for the point-and- shoot job because it can adjust its white balance and exposure perfectly.
There also is an intelligent auto mode that chooses the perfect scene mode for the job. But if you insist on doing it yourself, then there are 15 modes to select from and 3 underwater modes. Don’t get me wrong, the camera isn’t waterproof, but it can be , if you buy a waterproof Olympus casing which costs nearly as much as the camera itself.
And to add to the feature list there is a movie-mode shot in basic VGA and an image-stabilization option that can help boost the ISO.
The capture rate of the FE 3010 is something extraordinary; it really is quick enough to capture a snail doing a marathon race. From a cold-start, the cam took a whole 2.5 seconds to click its first shot. The shutter was extremely lazy too, clocking a time like 0.9th of a second in well-lit conditions and 1.2 seconds in low-light. So obviously, there will be no ‘burst-mode’ or a ‘continuous shoot mode’.
The picture quality of the FE3010 was average. Although images were bright and vivid in color, they lacked in sharpness, big time. Olympus has got to realize that there is no point in having high resolution, if the in-camera processing drops the IQ down a stack. But then at that like that price, what more can you expect from a camera like that.
Nitty-Gritty: The mild way of putting this would be; this camera is something that you’ve got to steer clear of. The 12 megapixel resolution in the camera is not helping any manner. If you need to click pictures of mountains and other such motionless land-scapes or even a dead body at a low- budget, then the FE3010 is up for the job.
The only thing that Olympus has got to offer in this camera beside the price is the good performance with its white balance adjustment and a compact design. Do not let the feature list, fool you, because once you actually start using it you will be left more than disappointed, slightly depressed?, may be.
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11 Comments
My sense says that if you want good looking camera, no matter what performance is, you can choose it. I won’t.
This camera puts out some nice looking photos. But there is no perfect camera, so you have to decide what is most important to you. Such a deadly design and tough built is something you won’t find in any other camera.
Extremely compact so it fits in your pocket, high tech enough to dance with its bigger counterparts. This little camera does it all. I have been comparing and contrasting multiple cameras but found this one perfect for me. Anyways…great review.
First, it is my opinion that the Olympus FE-3010 is absolutely the best camera you will find in its price class. Sure, there are more expensive models from other brands…but such features mentioned in your article can only be in Olympus camera.
The Olympus has the best quality kit lenses of any camera maker, and that the Olympus claims that lenses designed for digital produce better quality images than any other camera. Your review is very impressive….defines Olympus..perfectly.
Several of such reviews sound like they are talking about a different camera than the one I’m using. But your content seems interesting. May be I can think of buying this camera from my next salary. ..!! Thanks Ricky
I would like to say that I am very pleased with this camera. It’s simply loaded with features as you have described in your review. There are a couple of people which state that the pictures look blurry but I guess the camera isn’t set correctly.
I have recently purchased Olympus Fe-3010 camera and I am very happy to possess this. Thanks for the great review. Please post more reviews on Olympus products. I would love to give my experiences with the products.
I am an accomplished amateur, with quite a bit of experience. I got my first “real” camera as a teen in the 1990’s. My last one before my current camera was an Olympus. I don’t have this version of Olympus. Your review tells me to buy one for me…soon.
The camera is superb…without any doubt. But I do not have much experience with cameras or digi cams…!! I will have to learn how to use it. Thanks for the informative post. I will be coming to your blog regularly to read more reviews. Thanks.
I want to give it a shot for sure. I have collection of cameras….and love to show them off. I think there is no harm in adding this one to my collection. Great article! Keep it up dude. I am really impressed.