Olympus SP-320

Picture Quality / Size Options
There are two places to enter the picture quality, size and format options on the Olympus SP-320. The first and quickest way to enter this menu is to select the menu button on the back of the camera, and from this first menu display, select the left arrow on the four-way control which accesses the icon (which certainly isn’t an obvious icon for casual users) that represents the Format menu. The second way to enter this menu involves the user pressing the same menu button followed by the mode option from the first menu display (accessed via the right arrow on the four-way control). Once the mode menu is selected it is then necessary to scan the submenus until the Picture menu is selected. Once open, the Picture menu provides the same Format menu discovered using the aforementioned shortcut. Sound complicated? It is.

The Format menu is multi-tiered and not the simplest in terms of navigation, but while overly complex, it does provide a number of format and size options. The Olympus SP-320 shoots in DCF Exif 2.21, JPEG, PIM3 and RAW formats, although RAW files can only be captured with the highest resolution of 3072 x 2304 SHQ or HQ. Other resolution settings for the SP-320 include: 3072 x 2048, 3:2/SHQ or HQ, as well as the following resolutions with quality settings of High or Normal: 2592 x 1944 SQ1, 2288 x 1712 SQ1, 2048 x 1536 SQ1, 1600 x 1200 SQ1, 1280 x 960 SQ2, 1024 x 768 SQ2 and finally, 640 x 480 SQ2 at High or Normal quality.

When it comes to video capabilities, the Olympus SP-320 offers QuickTime Motion JPEG footage with resolutions of 640 x 480 at 30 fps SHQ, 640 x 480 at 15 fps HQ, 320 x 230 at 30 fps SQ1, and finally, 320 x 240 at 15 fps SQ2. Audio is recorded via an in-camera mono microphone and can be monitored through the in-camera playback speaker.

Picture Effects Mode
The method of accessing picture effects is also complicated. Firstly, the menu button must be selected, followed by the mode menu option (accessed via the right arrow on the four-way control) and finally the Picture submenu. Accessing these controls is anything but logical, intuitive or straightforward, though that should be obvious by this point. The three digital effects to be set during shooting allow control over sharpness, contrast and saturation levels.

Secondly, another list of settings can be altered once the camera is placed into playback mode. The Playback menu must be entered, followed by the menu display, followed by the Playback Picture submenu. Within this submenu are two options of sepia or black & white. Canon’s compacts offer you far more options, such as the My Colors feature, with far less hassle.