At the end of August 2005 Olympus added two more cameras to its 'SP' range of 'creative compacts'; the 8 megapixel SP-350 and the model reviewed here, the 7 megapixel SP-310. The SP-310 - on paper at least - offers a compelling mix of point-and-shoot ease of use and advanced photographic features - including RAW capture - at a very competitive price point. But is it any good? Read on to find out.
Let's start with the main selling points:
- 7.1 million pixels
- 3x zoom lens (equiv. 38-114mm)
- 6.4cm/2.5” LCD monitor
- Auto, Program, Aperture & Shutter Priority and manual exposure
- 24 scene modes
- iESP auto focus , spot with option to select AF area with 143 points and manual focus
- Super Macro mode up to 2cm
- Histogram function in shooting and playback modes
- Recording in JPEG or RAW formats
- Very long battery life (up to 510 shots)* and uses standard AA batteries
- TruePic TURBO image processor
- 32 MB internal memory plus xD-Picture Card slot
- Movie recording with sound
- USB Hi-Speed AutoConnect
- PictBridge compatible
- Availability of lens converters WCON-07F, TCON-17F and underwater case PT-030
* Under ideal conditions using the included CR-V3 battery pack
Olympus SP-310 Key specifications
| Street price | • US: $333 • UK: £270 |
|---|---|
| Body Material | Plastic |
| Sensor | • 1/1.8" Type CCD • 7.4 million pixels total • 7.1 million effective pixels |
| Image sizes | • 3072 x 2304 |
| Movie clips | • 640 x 480 @ 30/15 fps • 320 x 240 @ 30/15 fps • Up to the capacity of the memory card • QuickTime Motion JPEG |
| Lens | • 38 - 114 mm (35 mm equiv) 3x optical zoom |
| Focus | • Spot • iESP autofocus, AF area is selectable (from 143 points) • Manual focus with enlarged focusing area • Macro: 0.2m (W)/ 0.3m (T) • Super macro: 2cm |
| Metering | • Digital ESP metering • Spot metering • Center-weighted |
| Shutter speeds | 15 - 1/2000 (up to 8 minutes in Bulb mode) |
| Apertures | (W) F2.8 - F8.0, (T) F4.9 - F8.0 |
| Image Parameters | • Saturation ± 5 • Contrast ± 5 • Sharpness ± 5 • RAW edit • Red-eye reduction • Sepia mode • Black & white mode |
| Shooting mode | • Program |
| Sensitivity | • Auto • ISO 64 • ISO 100 • ISO 200 • ISO 400 |
| White balance | • Auto • 7 presets • Manual (custom) • White balance fine tuning (7 steps, Red - Blue) |
| Continuous | • High speed mode: up to 2.4 shots per second up to 2 images • Normal mode: up to 1.5 shots per second up to 8 images |
| Flash | • Built-in • Modes: Auto, red-eye reduction, fill-in, off, fill in and red-eye reduction • Range: 3.8 m (wide) / 2.2 m (tele) • Guide number: 7.5 • Flash output level control (10 levels) |
| Storage | • xD-Picture Card (optional) • 32 MB internal memory (24MB available for image storage). |
| Viewfinder | Optical real image |
| LCD monitor | • 2.5" TFT LCD • 115,000 pixels |
| Connectivity | • USB 2.0 Full Speed • A/V out • Optional AC adapter C-3AC; |
| Power | • 2x AA battery (NiMH, NiCd, alkaline, lithium) or 1x lithium CR-V3 • Optional adapter |
| In the box* | • Camera |
| Other features | • DPOF |
| Weight (excl batt) | 180 g (6.3 oz) |
| Dimensions | 100 x 65 x 35 mm (3.9 x 2.5 x 1.4 in) |
* Supplied accessories may differ in each country or area
If you're new to digital photography you may wish to read the Digital Photography Glossary before diving into this article (it may help you understand some of the terms used).
Conclusion / Recommendation / Ratings are based on the opinion of the reviewer, you should read the ENTIRE review before coming to your own conclusions.
We recommend to make the most of this review you should be able to see the difference (at least) between X, Y, and Z and ideally A, B, and C.
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