Digital Camera Home > Digital Camera Reviews > Olympus Digital Cameras > Olympus Brio D-150

Olympus Brio D-150 Olympus squeezes a 3x zoom lens into its slim, pocketable 1.3 megapixel "Brio" design. Select a topic Reference: Datasheet D150 Sample Images --------------------------------- 1. Intro and Highlights 2. Executive Overview 3. Design 4. Viewfinder 5. Optics 6. Exposure & Flash 7. Shutter Lag & Cycle Time Tests 8. Operation & User Interface 9. Camera Modes & Menus 10. Image Storage & Interface 11. Video, Power, Software 12. Test Results & Conclusion --------------------------------- Print-Friendly Review Version Additional Resources and Other Links Reader Comments on D150 Review --------------------------------- Digital Camera Comparometer (TM) --------------------------------- <-- Digital Cameras (Home) <-- Digital Camera Reviews Index <<Design :(Previous) | (Next): Optics>> Page 4:Viewfinder Review First Posted: 7/11/2001

Viewfinder
The D-150 offers a real-image optical viewfinder and a color LCD monitor for composing images. When the camera is powered off and the lens cover is fully closed, both the lens and optical viewfinder window are covered to obstruct the photographer's view. An autofocus / autoexposure crosshair is imprinted in the center of the viewfinder display, to help line up shots. Two LED lamps on the left side of the viewfinder eyepiece indicate when the flash is charging or charged (top orange lamp), as well as when the autofocus and autoexposure mechanisms are set (bottom green lamp). Though the D-150 doesn't offer a diopter adjustment, it has a moderately high eyepoint, which should accommodate the majority of eyeglass wearers.


The 1.5-inch, color TFT LCD monitor is turned on and off by the Display button next to the LCD monitor. An information display reports the image quality setting and number of available images in the lower left corner of the LCD, as well as the Flash, Self-Timer, Macro, Exposure Compensation, Drive mode, and White Balance settings, when engaged. A green battery icon displays temporarily in the top center of the monitor when it's switched on, reporting the current level of battery power, and a telephoto / wide-angle range indicator appears on the right side of the monitor when Digital Zoom is engaged and the Zoom lever is pushed past the maximum optical telephoto range.

The LCD monitor does not include a backlight for sunny shooting conditions, so we found it a little difficult to see the full image in bright sunlight. However, the settings menu features an LCD brightness adjustment, which increases and decreases the monitor's contrast level. In Playback mode, the LCD monitor offers a nine-image index display mode, as well as a 2x playback zoom for enlarging captured images. To conserve battery power, the monitor automatically shuts down 60 seconds after the camera becomes idle.

In our tests, the D-150Zoom's optical viewfinder was a little tight, at 89% frame coverage, but better than average. By contrast, the LCD viewfinder checked out at a near-perfect 98%.