The Olympus SP-320 is a seven megapixel digital camera with a three times optical zoom lens. Where it excels is in the range of features it offers for the price. It is more advanced than the vast majority of digital cameras you can pick up in this price range. The feature list includes fully manual exposure mode and the SP-320 is also able to store images in RAW format.
Although the camera can be used as a straightforward point and shoot camera its advanced setting means it is more likely to appeal to someone who is looking for a clear step up from a standard compact digital camera.
Image Quality
The overriding impression I get from the pictures taken with the SP-320 is one of a series of bright and well lit photos. This gives the shots a pleasant, vibrant feel to them. This is helped by the natural colours the camera is able to produce. This shows up in all the test photos including the dedicated test for colour. In my view the colours are more or less spot on. They are not overpowering and help to recreate the scene at the time each photo was taken.
My favourite photo is the outdoor portrait. In this shot the lighting and colours come together to produce a very natural photo. Focusing is also very good in the photo. There is plenty of detail to be picked out in the shot.
The indoor portrait also works very well. Once again the most noticeable feature of the photo is the level of brightness the camera manages to achieve. The only downside of the shot is the red eye that creeps in. This is something you can attempt to fix using the camera's built in red eye fix processing.
Taking a look at the other indoor shot, the picture of beer bottles taken in almost complete darkness is another success. Considering the conditions the camera does an excellent job with focusing and getting so much light into the picture.
For the outdoor scenic shots I analyse the levels of sharpness in each of the three shots. In the first one focusing is good without quite matching the very best. Focusing levels are more or less retained up to the edges of the shot though. This picture is taken using the zoom lens, but without it being fully extended.
For the second outdoor scenic shot no zoom is used and the lens is at its most wide angle setting. Here focusing is on a par with many other cameras, but the sharpness does drift away towards the edges. With this test shot I often see quite high levels of darkness towards the corners of the photo. The SP-320 manages to avoid this problem very well.
The third shot is taken with the zoom fully extended. Here the SP-320 does struggle more than I would like to see. This is especially noticeable towards the edges of the shots where the boats really lose their focus. In fairness this is quite a tough shot owing to the distance the boats are from the camera, but I would still like to have seen a better effort.
The macro shot continues the theme of bright, well lit photos. In terms of sharpness it is not quite top quality, but the camera should not let you down when shooting in super macro mode.
When it comes to noise at higher ISO settings the SP-320 handles ISO 400 well compared to other digital camera. When pushed up to ISO 800 though clear deterioration of picture quality shows.
Shutter Lag and Recycling Times
I was able to take a single photo in 0.48 seconds and five photos in 8.31 seconds. The time take for a single photo is a bit on the slow side without being alarmingly so. The time taken to take five photos is about average.
I also found the camera can be fairly slow to turn on and start up.
You can compare this camera to other models by taking a look at the Shutter Lag Comparison Table.
Features
The three times optical zoom lens has a focal length equivalent to 38 - 114mm in 35mm format. The capabilities of the lens can be further enhanced by adding a wide angle conversion lens (WCON-07F) and a telephoto conversion lens (TCON-17F). The maximum aperture of the lens is f/2.8 (wide) and f/4.9 (tele). There is also a five times digital zoom feature.
As well as a 2.5" LCD screen there is also an optical viewfinder for composing images with. This is a plus point as less and less digital cameras provide a viewfinder.
The built in flash unit has a maximum range of around 3.8m. This falls to nearer 2.2m when the zoom lens is in use. The flash modes available are Auto (automatic activation in low and backlight), red-eye reduction, fill-in (forced activation), fill-in and red-eye reduction, off (no flash). Flash exposure compensation can be used as well.
To help you improve the quality of the photos you take there are a wide range of pre programmed scene modes available. Whenever you choose a scene mode the SP-320 will use what it considers to be the optimum settings for the photo. The scene modes available are : Portrait, Landscape, Landscape and Portrait, Night Scene, Night & Portrait, Sports, Indoor, Candle, Self Portrait, Available Light Portrait, Sunset, Fireworks, Museum, Cuisine, Behind Glass, Documents, Auction, Shot & Select 1, Shot & Select 2, Beach, Snow, Digital Image Stabilisation, Underwater Wide 1, Underwater Wide 2 and Underwater Macro. There is also a panoramic function. This helps you stitch together panoramic type shots. In order to use this feature you need to use an Olympus brand memory card.
Spot and multi point focusing are available. The focusing area can be selected. You can also switch over to manual focusing. There is a standard macro mode that can get you in as close as 20cm from the subject and also a super macro mode where you can get to within 2cm of the subject.
For when you would like to appear in the picture there is a self timer. The delay is around ten seconds. A histogram is available too. This helps you to check exposure levels.
As well as a fully manual exposure setting you also have access to aperture priority and shutter priority settings. Shutter speeds can be set in a range between 15 to 1/2000 seconds. In bulb mode the shutter time can be extended to eight minutes.
Other advanced features include metering (Digital ESP metering, spot metering, centre weighted metering.), exposure compensation (+/- 2EV in 1/3 EV steps.), auto bracketing (Up to 5 frames in 1/3 EV steps), ISO sensitivity (64, 100, 200, 400 and 800) and white balance (Overcast, Sunlight, Evening Sun, Tungsten, Fluorescent1, Fluorescent2, Fluorescent3). In addition a white balance adjustment is available ((red ) -7 - (blue ) +7).
Continuous shooting is available. There are two types you can select from. The first takes two photos at a maximum speed of 2.4 shots per second. The next method takes up to ten photos at a maximum speed of 1.4 shots per second.
Time lapse movies can be recorded as well. These work by taking up to 99 shots at an interval set between one minute and one hour.
Further control is offered by features allowing you to adjust levels of sharpness, contrast and saturation.
After a photo has been taken there are a number of editing functions available to you. These include creating black and white and sepia copies, adding a short voice memo, creating a low resolution copy and cropping the photo. In addition there is a red eye fix and you can also adjust levels of brightness and saturation.
Movies can be recorded up to the capacity of the memory card. The maximum resolution is 640 x 480 pixels. Movies can be recorded at a top speed of 30 frames per second. Sound can be recorded and digital image stabilisation is available too. You can also zoom in and out while a movie is being recorded.
Olympus provides all the necessary cables and software to connect the SP-320 to a PictBridge compatible printer, television set and computer.
For underwater photography there is a case available (PT-030). This protects the camera to a depth of around 40m.
Ease of Use
On the whole I do not find Olympus digital cameras as easy to get along with as some other brands. When you also take into account the range of features the SP-320 offers you will need to set aside some time to really get to know this camera. Practice makes perfect though and the time will be well spent. Olympus do try to make the process a little easier by offering help text for a number of menu options.
Cost
You can pick up a Olympus SP-320 for around £150. This compares to around £165 for a Canon Powershot A620, £185 for a Fuji Finepix E900 and £210 for a Nikon Coolpix P4.
There is a scarcity of this type of digital camera and there is not a lot of choice around. The SP-320 is a fairly cheap option for this type of camera and offers good value for money.
Style
The camera has a fairly solid feel to it. In fact in terms of build quality I would say it is superior to cameras with similar specifications in the Canon Powershot range. It comes in a dark grey colour and has a good sized grip on the right hand side of the camera to help you hold it steady.
It has dimensions of 99.5 x 65 x 35 mm and weighs 180g.
Batteries and Memory Card
Power is supplied by two AA batteries. I found the camera to be quite battery hungry and I would suggest considering using rechargeable batteries with this camera. If you do decide to take this option make sure the batteries have an mAh rating of at least 2000 and preferably higher.
The camera is compatible with xD Picture Cards. Olympus has built 25mb of storage into the SP-320 so no card is supplied as standard with the camera. I was able to take 22 shots before the internal storage was full. I also found the indicator estimating memory space left to be wildly inaccurate. Before you can use the camera for any serious shooting I would suggest picking up a high capacity memory card.
Click here to save money on xD cards..
Points I like:
Design and style
Help text for menu options
Wide range of features
Good value for money
Where it is not so hot:
Heavy on battery usage
Summary
All points considered I like the Olympus SP-320. There are very few areas where I feel the camera struggles and it has many strengths. Picture quality is good, there are a wide range of features and the camera comes with a relatively low price tag.
Olympus SP-320 Front View
Olympus SP-320 Back View
Olympus SP-320 Top View
Sample Menus
| Olympus SP-320 Summary |
| Description: | Seven megapixels with a three times optical zoom lens |
| Ease of Use: | 7 |
| Features: | 9 |
| Colour: | 9 |
| Macro: | 8 |
| Indoors: | 8 |
| Value for Money: | 9 |
| Style: | 8 |
| Movie Mode: | 8 |
| Image Quality: | 8 |
| Build Quality: | 8 |
| Total: | 82 |
| Verdict: | There is a lot to like about the Olympus SP-320. It has an excellent set of features for a digital camera in this price range. Picture quality is good and it also has a solid feel to it. With few cameras around with this type of specification the SP-320 is well worth a close look. |
| Review Date: | August 2006 |
| Click for: | Specification Sample Images |
Although every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information on this site, please make sure you double check the feature set and specification at the point of purchase.
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