Olympus FE-250
Review Date : Mon, 24 Sep 2007
Author : WDC Team
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Sample Photos:
Olympus's FE range has always represented ease of use and good value, with each model becoming progressively more stylish
| Pros: | Size, Simplicity, Image quality at low ISO |
|---|---|
| Cons: | Noise at high-ISO settings, Navigation issues |
Olympus’s FE range has always represented ease of use and good value, with each model becoming progressively more stylish. The FE-250 currently heads the range, incorporating an 8MP sensor and 3x optical zoom into its diminutive body.
An ISO-based Digital Image Stabilisation mode compensates for the effects of camera shake, with the ISO range itself stretching to 3200 on a full-resolution setting and 10,000 in a reduced mode, making the latter only suitable for smaller print sizes.
The camera’s explanatory nature whenever a different function has been selected is a nice touch, which is in addition to the ‘Guide’ feature, displaying 11 common techniques and taking you straight to the appropriate mode on which to shoot them. Not only that, but 15 scene modes are also offered making the manual seem almost redundant.
If one criticism is to be levelled at the camera, it should probably be with regards to its optical zoom. With its predecessor boasting a 5x optical zoom in only a marginally bigger body, its inclusion here would have seemed to be a worthy compromise.
Images at ISO 64 and 100 are sharp, with good colour and little noise and even at ISO 200, noise is well controlled. There is a touch of fringing present but highlights are well controlled and retain good detail through their gradation.
Verdict
Olympus has really impressed with its FE-250 model and it would serve as a great camera for general use, being slim, stylish and producing great images.
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Latest comments
March 26 11:21
Visarut
With DSLR's your buying into a tessym and Canon is far and away the most expensive, closely followed by Nikon.Pentax, Olympus and Sony have many more features. They may be more expensive initially, but a soon as you start adding lenses, flashguns etc. they work out much cheaper for the same or Higher quality. You finish with a much more useful tessym for less money.Things to look for are a bright viewfinder, good build quality, adjustments of everyday things such as EV value, focus point, metering mode etc. without having to go into a menu. These are basic to using your camera for anything other than point and shoot'.Pentax and Sony offer image stabilisation in camera, so every lens you fit is image stabilised without a price premium. Pentax in particular have a massive range of older high quality lenses available for very little, all will be image stabilised.A second hand Pentax DS, which is now 5 years old, would be available at a lower price than a Nikon D40 or Canon Rebel, and is much more of a camera than either of them, it has a genuine pentaprism in the viewfinder which means a brighter image, much better build quality, the same Sony sensor that was used on the Nikon D80. The only downside is the lack of image stabilisation. Like all Pentax DSLR's it can operate as a focus trap' which no other make of DSLR can do.Chris