Review of the Olympus Mju 820

www.olympus.co.uk
With inevitable dire winter weather looming on the horizon, it would be nice to know that your photography needn’t be put on hold. Olympus has provided an affordable remedy to this with the weatherproof Mju 820.
Available in four colours, the stylish model offers a range of features in line with its competitors. The 8MP sensor is accompanied by a 5x optical zoom and an impressive 2.7in HyperCrystal LCD screen. The body of the Mju 820 is characteristically wedge-shaped and results in an ergonomic thick end that serves nicely as a handgrip. In terms of usability, it’s quite a mixed bag. Scene modes are easily located and whilst shutter lag is minimal, shot-to-shot speed is lacking.
Images are a tad soft but fringing is well controlled. Exposures and white balance are consistent, but noise is a problem over ISO 400.

Our Verdict
A mixed bag of a compact that impresses little aside from its weatherproof capabilities.

What We Like
Wetherproofing, Wedge-shaped design

What We Don't Like
Soft, Noisy images, Muddling interface

Features: 16
Design: 18
Performance: 16
Image Quality: 16
Value: 16
What Digital Camera Score 82%