The Olympus FE-100 is an entry level digital camera. It is easy to use and is aimed at anyone who is looking for a straightforward point and shoot digital camera. The FE-100 is a four megapixel digital camera with a 2.8x optical zoom lens. There is nothing complicated with this type of camera and you can be taking pictures with it as soon as you have taken it out of the box and loaded the batteries.
Image Quality
In many ways my test pictures are exactly what I have come to expect from a digital camera such as the FE-100. The camera clearly performs a lot better outdoors in bright conditions than it does indoors.
Starting off with the outdoor scenic type photographs they are quite impressive when you take the price bracket this camera is in into consideration. The pictures are bright and I like the colours too. This helps to give the pictures a vibrant feel. In terms of sharpness the pictures are very good towards the centre of each shot, but there is a clear deterioration in focusing as you move away from the centre. As you would expect the camera also finds it difficult to pick out detail in the brighter and darker areas of the scenes.
In a similar way to the scenic shots the dedicated test for colour produces a positive result. Again there is a brightness and a strength to the colours that I like. This bodes well for picture taking in general.
The outdoor portrait has a bit of a dull feel to it. This is certainly due in part to the cold conditions that the photo was taken in, but I would still like to have seen a bit more warmth in the picture.
I am quite happy with the macro shot. If close up photography was one of you main reasons for buying a camera then I would not go for this one, but you should be able to take decent macro shots when you need to.
By contrast the indoor pictures are well below par. Although this tends to be typical of some cameras in this category there are others available that are able to perform this part of the job a lot better. Both the indoor portrait and the shot of beer bottles taken in almost total darkness are poorly focused. The pictures are also a lot darker than I am used to seeing.
My final test is usually for noise or a decrease in picture quality at higher ISO settings. As ISO settings are controlled automatically by the FE-100 I have no way of setting them as I require. Therefore I am unable to run the test.
Shutter Lag and Recycling Times
It took 1.07 seconds to take a single photos and 19.65 seconds to take five photos. Both these times are slow, even when compared to the times produced by other entry level models. There is a clear danger you will miss shots when there is any movement when using this camera.
You can compare this camera to other models by taking a look at the Shutter Lag Comparison Table.
Features
The 2.8x optical zoom lens has a focal length equivalent to 38 - 106mm in 35mm format. The maximum aperture of the lens is f3 - f5. For close up shots the camera can focus from 20cms from the subject. This is supplemented by a super (digital) macro mode that lets you get to within 2cms. There is also a 4x digital zoom feature.
For composing and reviewing images there is a 1.5" LCD screen. There is no viewfinder.
To help you take good photos there are a small number of scene modes. When you use a scene mode the camera will use what it considers to be the optimum settings for the type of shot you have selected. The scene modes are Portrait, Self Portrait, Night Scene and Landscape. In addition to the scene modes there is a panorama mode. This helps you to create panoramic shots. To be able to do this you will need to buy an Olympus brand xD card. This feature is not available with any other make of card and cannot be used when you are storing photos in the camera's internal memory.
The built in flash unit has a maximum range of 3.8m. This falls to 2.2m when the zoom lens is in use. The flash modes you can use are auto, red eye reduction, always on and always off.
You can shoot movies with this camera. The maximum resolution is 320 x 240 and the maximum speed is 15 frames per second. The duration of each movie is only limited by the capacity of the memory card. Sound cannot be recorded with the movie and zoom is not available either.
For when you would like to appear in the picture there is a self timer with a 12 second delay.
Metering (centre spot), white balance, sensitivity (ISO 64 - 400) and shutter speeds (2 - 1/2,000 seconds) are all controlled by the camera. You do have access to exposure compensation (up to +/- 2 EV in 1/3 EV steps).
Olympus provides all the necessary cables and software to connect the FE-100 to a computer, television set and PictBridge compatible printer.
Ease of Use
With its limited range of features the FE-100 is one of the easiest digital cameras you could possibly find. Key controls for zoom, macro, image review and scene mode are all located on the back of the camera. This means that it is rare you will need to access the menu system. When you do need to do so you will find there are only a very manageable number to choose from.
Cost
You can pick up an Olympus FE-100 for around £100. This compares to around £90 for a Canon Powershot A410, £100 for a Sony DSC S40 and £100 for a Fuji Finepix A400.
As you can see you have a fair amount of choice around the same price. In my option the Canon Powershot A410 and the Sony DSC S40 offer much better value for money.
Style
The FE-100 is not the slimmest digital camera I have ever seen, but viewed from the front it is quite an attractive camera. There is a grip on the front to help you hold it steady while taking a shot. The depth of the camera (38.5mm) means that it will not be easy to slip it into a pocket.
It weighs 140g and has dimensions of 87.5 x 62.5 x 38.5mm.
Batteries and Memory Card
The camera is powered by two AA batteries. Although Olympus do not provide any battery usage statistics I can tell you this is one of the most battery hungry cameras I have tested. Therefore it is well worth considering using rechargeable batteries. Not only will they keep down running costs, but they will also last longer. Please note when buying rechargeable batteries they should have an mAh rating of at least 2000 and preferably higher.
Olympus has built 28mb of memory into the FE-100. That is quite generous for a four megapixel digital camera. I was able to take 33 photos before the memory became full. It is still worth considering buying a larger capacity memory card to go with the camera though.
Click here to save money on xD cards..
Points I like:
Ease of use
Where it is not so hot:
Shutter lag
Battery usage
Small LCD screen
Outdoor photos
Summary
The Olympus FE-100 is excellent when it comes to ease of use. If you are looking for a digital camera that is relatively inexpensive and will be used almost exclusively outdoors then it could be a camera worth considering. You do need to take into account the issue of shutter lag though. If you would also like to take indoor picture or pictures in lowlight in general then you are advised to look elsewhere.
Olympus FE 100 Front View
Olympus FE 100 Back View
Olympus FE 100 Top View
Sample Menus
| Olympus FE-100 Summary |
| Description: | 4 megapixel digital camera with a 2.8x optical zoom lens |
| Ease of Use: | 9 |
| Features: | 6 |
| Colour: | 8 |
| Macro: | 8 |
| Indoors: | 5 |
| Value for Money: | 7 |
| Style: | 7 |
| Movie Mode: | 7 |
| Image Quality: | 7 |
| Build Quality: | 7 |
| Total: | 71 |
| Verdict: | Finding a really good entry level digital camera is very hard to do. Although the Olympus FE-100 performs well outdoors in good light it is poor indoors. Also watch out for shutter lag and battery life problems. |
| Review Date: | March 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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