Overview
The Olympus FE-4000 is a starter level digital camera. It scores highly for ease of use and unlike a lot of digital cameras in this price bracket the FE-4000 is small enough and slim enough to slip easily into a pocket.
This is a 12 megapixel camera. It has a 4x zoom lens with wide angle capabilities. Yopu can select from models in orange, pink, white, blue and grey.
Why Buy The Olympus FE-4000
This is one of the cheapest pocket sized cameras.
Main Features
Megapixels:
Zoom:
LCD Screen:
Dimensions:
Weight:
12
4x
2.7 inches
95.0 x 57.0 x 22.4mm
106g
Macro:
HD Movies:
Manual Controls:
Batteries:
Memory Cards:
4cm
No
No
Lithium ion
xD / MicroSD
Image Quality - See Sample Images Below
Outdoor Scenic Shots in Good Light
My first test shot is bright and colourful. If you look closer issues start to appear. A lot of detail is lost in lighter and darker areas of the photo. There is also a loss of sharpness as you move out towards the edges of the photo.
The quality of this photo is poor. Olympus has added an extra wide angle lens to the FE-4000. In my view trying to cram such technology into such a small lens for such a low price has lead to too much of a compromise when it comes to picture quality. There is a serious loss of sharpness in the more distant parts of the photo. There is virtually no detail showing on the boats and they show as small white blobs.
This is a better effort, but focusing slips towards the edges of the photo. There is also further evidence of loss of detail on the boats.
If you only plan to make snapshot sized prints you may find the sharpness of your shots satisfactory, but here there is a real lack of definition in this photo. This tends to flatten the perspective of the building in larger prints.
Portraits
I am not sure what has happened here. This shot lacks the crispness almost every other digital camera manages with this test shot. This is a very disappointing result.
This is an o.k. effort. The flash lighting is a little harsh in places, but you cannot expect perfection at this end of the price scale. There are one or two areas the light struggles to reach.
The FE-4000 does quite well here. It was taken on a fairly dark day with the lights on. I am happy with the outcome.
Macro, Colours and Noise
It is difficult to take macro shots with this camera if you are photographing anything with a reflective surface. The camera itself is highly reflective and can bounce a lot of light back onto the subject.
I like the colours in my test shots. They do not overpower and like other Olympus digital cameras they have a subtle look to them.
Noise creeps in quite quickly in darker areas of photos. This is true of a lot of digital cameras and I would have been surprised if the FE-4000 was able to cope with noise.
Summary
It is not often I come across a digital camera that disappoints me as much as the FE-4000 has. You might get away with it if you only ever make snapshot sized prints, but quality is simply not very good.
Style
The front of the camera has a highly reflective finish. The design is plain and unfussy. You can select from orange, pink, white, blue and grey.
Shutter Lag Times
Single Shot
Five Shots
Single Shot With Flash
Five Shots With Flash
Turn on Time
1.61 seconds
40.43 seconds
1.92 seconds
46.96 seconds
3.29 seconds
Ease of Use
Digital cameras do not come much more straightforward than the FE-4000.
Points I Like
Ease of use - low price pocket camera
Where it Could Improve
Picture quality - slow turn on time - very slow shutter lag times
Verdict
The Olympus FE-4000 is not a camera I can recommend. Picture quality is wide of the mark even for a cheaper pocket camera and shutter delay times could be a big issue.
Product Shots
Front View
Back View
Top View
Sample Menus
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Related Pages
Olympus FE-4000 Review Olympus FE-4000 Specification Olympus FE-4000 Sample Images Olympus FE-4000 Features Panasonic Lumix DMC FS62 vs Olympus FE-4000
Review Date
November 2009
