Digital Camera Review

Digital Camera Review

Sep 28, 2005 - By Noam Reuveni
The Olympus Stylus 800, known in Europe as the µ[mju:] Digital 800, comes equipped with an 8.0 megapixel, 1/1.8-inch CCD and Olympus’ Bright Capture Technology. A member of the long line of Stylus cameras, first introduced to film-based point-and-shooters in 1982, the camera is built for the automatically-reliant crowd with 22 automatic shooting modes. But it also includes several manual controls and a fast burst mode, which should broaden its appeal to more advanced users. Like the rest of Olympus’ Stylus line, the Stylus 800 is weatherproofed with rubber seals within its body. This enables the camera to endure raindrops and splashes, but it certainly can’t be taken swimming. The 4.1 x 2.3 x 1.3-inch Stylus 800 has a 3x optical zoom lens that fully retracts into the camera’s body and is protected by a sliding door that locks shut. There’s no optical viewfinder; instead the Stylus 800 relies on a bright, 2.5-inch screen. The Stylus 800 has a suggested price of $449.99, but ships for as low as $355.95 online; however, it doesn’t include an xD-Picture Card.
Advertisement

Likes
- Aperture and shutter priority control
- Nice LCD screen
- Reasonable control of noise (in auto ISO)
- Fast burst mode
- Panorama shooting
- Splash-proof design
- Bright, large LCD screen
- Expandable controls  
Dislikes
- Menus
- Images were a bit soft
- Exposure values set by the camera were off slightly when in less favorable lighting
- Forced tradeoff for most impressive features (full burst and increased sensitivity)
- Weight and unbalanced feel
- Unattractive look
- Auto focus isn’t responsive at times
- Short battery life       

Conclusion
The Olympus Stylus 800 is a decent camera, albeit at a serious price. While the expense brings an 8 megapixel sensor, a host of features, and some intriguing technology, the camera’s looks and awkward feel are significant drawbacks. And the intriguing technology comes at a price. The camera’s 8 megapixel potential resolution (which is likely responsible for a bulk of the cost) is not available when users wish to utilize the impressive 4 fps high speed burst mode or increased low light capabilities. Rather, users will have to switch down to a resolution setting that is less than 50% of the camera’s maximum potential, producing images that are only fit for 4 x 6-inch prints.

With 22 preset modes, the camera is best suited for the automatically-reliant crowd, but it does include a reasonable degree of manual control as well, such as aperture and shutter priority settings. The large, bright 2.5-inch LCD screen handles bright situations well and compensates for the lack of an optical viewfinder. The camera is weatherproofed with rubber seals, although not quite as durable as a whole as some other rugged point-and-shoot models. During testing, the camera also consumed batteries at a remarkable rate, and with no included AC adapter, users may find themselves waiting a while as the batteries juice up.

During testing, the camera controlled noise reasonably well in automatic mode, a definite advantage for snapshooters; however, the images will be a bit soft and colors will stray from their natural hue. This should not disappoint the target audience, as novice users looking for a camera to grow into won’t be disappointed, but those who often shoot rapidly moving subjects and would like a manual shooting mode will find the slow auto focus and lack of control a serious drawback.

Overall Impressions Page 11 of 13 Specs / Ratings
Olympus Stylus 800 Digital Camera Review Navigation
   

Advertisement