I was completely new to the digital camera market, and after reading many reviews, I decided to get the Olympus mju-300. It is a very stylish little camera that is weatherproof and I now don’t know how I lived without it.
Taking photos. This camera not only looks good, but is small enough to fit easily into my handbag, so I carry it everywhere. That means I never miss taking a photo of the unprompted little things that the children do. It is a very simple camera to use, just open the front cover, point and shoot. It uses a system of easy-to-follow menus to change the settings. To be honest, I didn’t read the instruction manual until
many months after I had bought it, and then only to see what else it did. There is an option to take photos one after another, but this isn’t much use inside, or on large images, as it takes too long for the flash to recharge, or the camera to store the large image. Having said that, this wouldn’t be a feature I would use regularly.
My one issue with the camera is the time it takes between pressing the button and the photo being taken. This isn’t an issue with views, but can be annoying when trying to take photos of moving objects. One way around this is to half press the button, which sets the focus, but when you press the button the rest of the way the photo takes immediately. I don’t know if this is an issue with all digital cameras or just this one.
Flexibility: There are a number of settings that you can change on this camera– you can alter the size of the image file, so that you get pictures suitable for printing, or smaller ones for e-mailing. There is an option to reduce the size of the image file within the camera, but I found the resulting loss of picture quality to be too great to have a usable image.
This is a great ‘point and shoot’ camera, which is exactly what I wanted. However, if you want more from you camera, and want to change settings (aperture, shutter speed etc), and be artistic, this isn’t the camera for you.
Downloading pictures Downloading pictures is simplicity itself. You plug the camera into the USB port on your computer, and the Olympus software will open. You are prompted to download images (you can choose all or some) and a few moments later it is all done!
Editing pictures The software supplied was excellent. I haven’t used the full range of options, and it isn’t a substitute for full picture editing software (if that’s the way you want to go), but it is very easy to use. I regularly use it to crop and rotate my photos. What it won’t do is cut and paste parts of photos onto others, rub out blemishes, or more advanced options. However, if you are casual photographer, this may be enough for you.
Picture Quality As a general rule, I take all my photos on the highest quality setting. These produce excellent 6” x 4” prints, and look fantastic on the computer screen. As all my photos have gone in an album, I have not yet experimented with larger prints.
Accessories I am not a photographer, but rather someone who likes to catch moments in their life on film. The accessories supplied were a little sparse, and it would have been nice to have a cover or bag. In addition, the 8MB card supplied with the camera is good for trying it out, but I immediately went out and bough a 64MB card (about £30), which holds about 26 photos at the highest quality. Had my budget stretched, a 128MB card would have been better. Obviously reducing the picture quality increases the number of photos that you can store on the card. A 64MB card will hold about 70 of the second highest quality (of 4), which gives perfectly good 6” x 4” prints. The camera comes with a rechargeable battery and battery charger, and I haven’t had any issues with the battery life.
I love the flexibility and ease of use of this stylish little camera, and the easy to use software supplied. I would definitely recommend this camera to anyone who wants a ‘point and shoot’ camera. The only downside was the price, but this appears to be coming down.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Advantages: Excellent value for money, good range of features, high quality camera and photos Disadvantages: No manual adjustment of exposure duration, only short videos possible, with no sound
Advantages: Showerproof. Great pictures. Fast transfer. Works OK with my 512Mb XD card. Reasonably quick autofocus and flash Disadvantages: Build quality concerns: Plastic switches. Weak zoom switch. Silver colour soon wears -off all switches. Sliding front has switch which often fails due to dirt/dust. Noticably slower startup when using a large (512Mb) card. Short videos. No sound.
Advantages: Excellent value for money, good range of features, high quality camera and photos Disadvantages: No manual adjustment of exposure duration, only short videos possible, with no sound
Advantages: Gorgeous design, weatherproofing is a plus, easy to use Disadvantages: Few override options, no sound on the video mode, loses out in the value stakes these days
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Apr 8th, 2004
very helpful by (100%):
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