Review based on a production Olympus μ DIGITAL 800
Olympus unveiled its first 8MP compact, the µ Digital 800 / Stylus 800 Digital, back in May 2005. As well as offering one of the highest pixel counts in its class the Stylus 800 is 'weatherproof' and uses a unique technology, 'Bright Capture', to boost sensitivity immensely (up to ISO 2500 in some modes), ensuring a bright screen image and blur-free non-flash photography in very low light. Otherwise specification is fairly standard for this type of camera. The camera is known as the Stylus 800 Digital in the US, and the µ ('Mju') DIGITAL 800 in Europe and SE Asia, so you can have a camera with a silly name wherever you live in the world. We'll use the Stylus 800 name in this review mainly because it's easier typing that than trying to remember the key combination for µ.
* weatherproof equivalent to the IEC standard publication 529 IPX4
| Street price | • US: $380 • UK: £280 |
|---|---|
| Body Material | Metal + plastic |
| Sensor | • 1/1.8 " Type CCD • 8.3 million pixels total • 8.0 million effective pixels |
| Image sizes | • 3264 x 2448 |
| Movie clips | • 640 x 480 15 frames per second • 320 x 240 15 frames per second • 160 x 120 15 frames per second • Motion JPEG • Duration limited by card capacity (streaming) |
| Lens | • 38-114mm (35 mm equiv) 3x optical zoom |
| Focus | • TTL autofocus with contrast detection • Auto iESP autofocus • Spot autofocus • AF lock • Macro: 0.2 (W)/ 0.3 (T) - 0.5 m • Super macro: 3cm |
| Metering | • Digital ESP metering • Spot metering |
| Shutter speeds | 4 to 1/2000 sec |
| Apertures | (W) F2.8 - F8.0, (T) F4.9 - F8.0 |
| Shooting mode | • Program |
| Sensitivity | • Auto • ISO 64 • ISO 100 • ISO 200 • ISO 400 • ISO 800 and 1600 for Indoor and Night shot mode (2048 x 1536 or lower) |
| White balance | • Auto • 6 presets |
| Continuous | • Normal: 1.3 fps up to 4 frames (HQ) • High Speed: 4 fps up to 10 frames (SQ1) |
| Flash | • Auto, red-eye reduction, on, off • Range: Up to 3.5 m (Tele) / 6.5 m (Wide) in Auto Mode. Up to 7.2 m (Tele) / 12.8 m (Wide) with ISO 1600. • Guide no: 10 |
| Storage | • Approx 21MB built-in memory • xD-Picture Card (optional) |
| Viewfinder | none |
| LCD monitor | • 2.5" HyperCrystal LCD • 215,000 pixels |
| Connectivity | • USB 2.0 Full Speed • A/V out |
| Power | • Lithium-Ion LI-30B rechargeable battery • Charger supplied • Optional D-7AC AC adapter (dummy battery) |
| In the box* | • Camera |
| Other features | • TruePic Turbo processor |
| Weight (excl card) | 211 g (6.9 oz) |
| Dimensions | (103mm x 57.5mm x 33mm (4.1 x 2.3 x 1.3 in) |
* Supplied accessories may differ in each country or area
If you're new to digital photography you may wish to read the Digital
Photography Glossary before diving into this article (it may help
you understand some of the terms used).
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Conclusion / Recommendation / Ratings are based on the opinion of the reviewer, you should read the ENTIRE review before coming to your own conclusions. Images which can be viewed at a larger size have a small magnifying glass icon in the bottom right corner of the image, clicking on the image will display a larger (typically VGA) image in a new window. To navigate the review simply use the next / previous page buttons, to jump to a particular section either pick the section from the drop down or select it from the navigation bar at the top. DPReview calibrate their monitors using Color Vision OptiCal at the (fairly well accepted) PC normal gamma 2.2, this means that on our monitors we can make out the difference between all of the (computer generated) grayscale blocks below. We recommend to make the most of this review you should be able to see the difference (at least) between X,Y and Z and ideally A,B and C. |
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This article is Copyright 2005 and may NOT in part or in whole be reproduced in any electronic or printed medium without prior permission from the author.
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