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The Imaging Resource Quick Review Olympus SP-310 Digital Camera
Introduction
The Olympus SP-310 features a 7.1-megapixel CCD, 3x lens, and the availability of full manual exposure control in a pocket-friendly, compact size. (It does drop the external flash hot shoe sported by its "big brother," the 8-megapixel Olympus SP-350. Other characteristics are very similar between the two cameras though, so readers already familiar with the SP-350 can save themselves some reading and just skip down to the Test Results section below.) In addition to the camera's automatic and manual controls, the SP-310 offers no less than 24 preset Scene modes, including a QuickTime Movie mode. With its small size, nice selection of creative controls, and high resolution sensor, the Olympus SP-310 is an excellent all-around camera suitable for novices and experienced amateurs alike.
User Report by Shawn Barnett & Dave Etchells When you first see the product shots of the Olympus SP-310, it's not impressive. Its big grip on the right really looks silly, especially in the front shot. Holding and using the camera, however, gives a very different impression. The big grip gives you a far better hold on the camera than other small cameras in this class, yet the camera still travels well. One other factor immediately changed our opinion of the Olympus SP-310 though: the printed image quality. We'd reviewed the Olympus SP-350 a bit before the SP-310, and were quite a bit more impressed with it than we expected to be when we first set eyes on it. The Olympus SP-310 produced a similar experience, but we really missed the hot shoe feature from the 350. The Olympus SP-310 produced very nice-looking images, and did better than most compact digital cameras at ISO 400 (handy for indoor shots), but the loss of the hot shoe made the $60 savings in street price relative to the SP-350 seem hardly worth it. That's an admitted bias of ours that many readers may not share though: If you never expect to use an external flash with your camera, the SP-310 represents an excellent value.. As was the case with the SP-350 before it, the Olympus SP-310's printed image quality really surprised us, although it was a step down from that of the SP-350. For a small camera like this to produce decent quality 8x10 prints at ISO 400 is no small accomplishment. You won't be able to do that with all subjects, because certain grays do still produce some noticeable color noise, but most photos print just great at 8x10, which is the maximum most people will expect. See the Print Quality section below for more discussion on this. The only complaints we have about the camera are the slow write time to both internal and external memory, and the more pronounced shutter lag than we're used to. But if you're a patient photographer, or need a very good and small solution while traveling, you'll find the Olympus SP-310 a very satisfying camera to own, and a great bargain besides. (As we write this in mid-April 2006, the average street price is hovering right around $250, really an excellent price for a camera with the capabilities the Olympus SP-310 offers.)
Though the Olympus SP-310 is compact, it packs in a lot of detailed features, including full manual exposure control, 24 preset Scene modes, an 7.1-megapixel CCD, and a large, 2.5-inch LCD monitor. The SP-310's compact dimensions are perfectly suited for shirt pockets and small purses, with an automatic lens cover that makes it quick on the draw as well. The included neck strap is handy when shooting over a boat rail or while riding on a ski lift, but I'd recommend picking up a soft case to protect the SP-310's flat-black body panels from scratches. The Olympus SP-310 features a 3x, 8-24mm zoom lens (equivalent to a 38-114mm lens on a 35mm camera). Maximum aperture ranges from f/2.8 to f/4.9, depending on the zoom setting. A set of lens threads lets you connect Olympus' accessory conversion lenses, extending the camera's wide angle and telephoto capabilities. The SP-310 employs an efficient contrast-detection autofocus system, with focus ranging from 7.9 inches (20 centimeters) to infinity in normal mode. A Macro setting focuses as close as 11.8 inches (30 centimeters). There's also a Super Macro option that gets as close as 0.8 inches (2.0 centimeters), for real close-in shooting. By default, the camera uses an iESP autofocus area setting, which automatically sets the focus based on the subject's proximity to a range of AF points around the center of the image area. Through the Record menu, you can opt for a Spot AF setting, which will instead base focus only on the very center of the frame. There's also an Area AF mode, which lets you manually position the AF area just about anywhere in the frame. In addition to its 3x optical zoom, the Olympus SP-310 also offers 5x Digital Zoom. Keep in mind though, that digital zoom simply enlarges the center pixels of the CCD and thus results in lower image quality. The 7.1-megapixel CCD produces high-resolution images, good enough for prints up to 16x20 inches with good detail and sharpness, as well as lower-resolution images for sending via email or for printing 5x7- and 4x6-inch prints. For composing images, the SP-310 offers a real-image optical viewfinder and 2.5-inch TFT color LCD monitor, which features a very bright and clear display. The optical viewfinder has no dioptric adjustment, and a slightly low eyepoint. The LCD monitor provides a fairly detailed exposure-information display, and a histogram option is available for checking the exposure graphically. There's also a framing guideline option, which divides the image area into thirds horizontally and vertically, or adds diagonal lines, to help you line up difficult shots. In Playback mode, the LCD monitor provides image enlargement and an index display. And the SP-310 also features a helpful Guide button. Hold down the Guide button when in menus and the screen displays a context sensitive help message. With the Olympus SP-310, you're never lost and don't have to remember what everything means. Just press the Guide button. Exposure control on the Olympus SP-310 is uncomplicated and straightforward, despite its optional full manual exposure control offering. The camera offers a range of exposure control modes, enabled by turning the Mode dial, as well as a wide selection of preset Scene modes for specific shooting situations. Most of the exposure options are controlled through the multi-page LCD menu system, which is fairly simple to navigate. An initial shortcut menu screen pops up before entering the main Record menu, offering quick-access options for the camera's White Balance, Image Size, and Macro, or you can choose to just enter the main Record menu itself. The SP-310 offers full Auto, Program AE, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, and Manual main exposure modes. Shutter speeds range from 1/2,000 to 15 seconds, with a maximum eight-minute bulb option available as well. In addition to the available shutter speed and aperture settings, the user can also adjust Exposure Compensation (to lighten or darken the image), ISO (the camera's sensitivity to light), White Balance (to adjust the color), a white balance adjustment tool, Metering (to read light from the whole frame or just the center), and Flash modes. The Olympus SP-310's built-in flash operates in Auto, Red-Eye Reduction, Fill, and Off modes. There's also an external flash hot shoe, for attaching a more powerful flash unit. Through the Picture tab of the record menu, you can also adjust contrast, saturation, and sharpening. The Olympus SP-310's Scene mode (accessed by turning the Mode dial to the Scene position) offers Portrait, Landscape, Landscape + Portrait, Night Scene, Sport, Night + Portrait, Indoor, Candle, Self Portrait, Available Light Portrait, Sunset, Fireworks, Museum, Behind Glass, Cuisine, Documents, Auction, Shoot & Select 1, Shoot & Select 2, Beach, Snow, Underwater Wide 1, Underwater Wide 2, and Underwater Macro. Each mode on the Olympus SP-310 sets up the camera for specific shooting situations, and a concise explanation of each mode appears on the LCD screen as you scroll through. Most of the preset modes are fairly self-explanatory, as they handle very distinct situations. However, the Shoot & Select modes deserve some explanation. Both take a sequence of shots but Shoot & Select 1 locks focus on the first frame (great for faces) while Shoot & Select 2 adjusts focus for each frame (better for sports and action shots). When you've finished the sequence, the images are displayed so you can delete the unwanted ones. Another option on the Mode dial is the My mode, which lets you save as many as four sets of custom settings. Other camera features include a Self-Timer mode, which provides a 12-second delay between the time the Shutter button is pressed and the image is actually captured. The SP-310 features three Sequential Shooting modes, which let you capture a rapid series of images while holding down the Shutter button. Actual frame rates and the total number of images will depend on the image size and quality settings, as well as the amount of available space on the memory card, but the burst length is limited to about four shots in large/fine mode. A High Speed Sequential option captures images at a faster frame rate, while an AF Sequential option sets the focus before each shot, thus slowing down the cycle time. As with many Olympus cameras, a Panorama mode is available on the SP-310 when using Olympus brand xD-Picture Card storage cards (but not cards from third parties), and records as many as 10 consecutive images to blend into one panoramic image. There's also a 2in1 mode for capturing two images displayed side-by-side in a full resolution file, and a Timelapse Photography mode for capturing a series of images at preset intervals. The camera's Movie mode captures moving images with sound, at either 640 x 480 or 320 x 240 pixels, at 15 or 30 frames per second. Maximum recording time depends on the resolution and available memory space. Another interesting feature on the Olympus SP-310 Digital is the ability to save images in groups or albums. You can save as many as 12 albums, each containing a maximum of 200 images. The Album option in the Playback menu accesses saved albums, letting you select one for playback. The Olympus SP-310 stores images on xD-Picture Cards, but does not ship with one. It does have 25MB internal memory, but you'll want to get a card along with the camera so you don't miss any important shots. Large capacity xD Picture cards are available up to 1GB, and I suggest buying at least a 128MB and preferably a 256MB xD-Picture Card. A CD-ROM loaded with Olympus' Camedia Master software accompanies the camera, compatible with both Windows and Macintosh platforms (including Windows XP and Mac OS X). Camedia Master provides minor image editing tools, and the ability to "stitch" together multiple images shot in panorama mode, as well as utilities for organizing images. A second CD-ROM holds the SP-310's more advanced instruction manual, which is more detailed than the basic manual that's included in book form. For power, the camera uses either two AA-type batteries or a single CR-V3 battery pack. I'd recommend picking up a set of rechargeable batteries and keeping two charged at all times. Read my NiMH battery shootout page to see which batteries currently on the market are the best, and see my review of the Maha C-204W NiMH battery charger, my current favorite. (Do note that early samples of the Olympus SP-310 had their battery cutoff voltage set too high to work well with NiMH batteries, a problem fixed by a firmware patch in later models. If your sample of the SP-310 seems to have poor battery life on rechargeable NiMH cells, visit the Olympus website to download the version 1.3 firmware update.) The optional AC adapter is useful for time-consuming tasks such as transferring images to a computer, but if you're using good-quality rechargeable batteries, you're never likely to need any other power source. Also included with the Olympus SP-310 is an AV cable for connecting to a television set, and a USB cable for connecting the camera to your computer to transfer images. Basic Features
Special Features
Recommendation
The Olympus SP-310 is something of a dichotomy: While it's quite narrow at one end, it tapers out to a big grip, an unusual shape, but it emphasizes the camera's big capabilities in a small package. Measuring 3.9 x 2.6 x 1.4 inches (99 x 65 x 35 millimeters), and weighing only 223 grams (7.9 ounces) with batteries and memory card, the SP-310 is perfect for travelers. Although the camera is quite small, it fits the hand very well, and the sculpted handgrip is substantial enough for a firm hold.
The Olympus SP-310's front panel contains the 3x zoom lens, built-in flash, and the self-timer / AF assist lamp. Also visible is the optical viewfinder window, with the camera's microphone just beside it. The inside lip of the lens barrel is threaded, for attaching the optional accessory lenses. A shutter-like lens cover automatically opens when the camera is powered on, allowing the lens to extend. The right handgrip is large enough for a good hold, and features a rubbery strip on its inside edge for fingers to cling to.
On top of the Olympus SP-310's right side is the tight wrist strap eyelet, which requires some finesse to slip the wrist strap through. Below that is a rubbery, plastic compartment door for the Video Out / USB and DC In connector jacks. Just below is the xD-Picture Card compartment, beneath a hinged plastic door.
The opposite side of the Olympus SP-310 is featureless, except for the secondary neck strap eyelet.
The top of the Olympus SP-310 features the Shutter button, surrounded by the Zoom lever, as well as the Mode dial.
The few remaining external controls are located on the Olympus SP-310's rear panel, along with the large, 2.5-inch, TFT color LCD monitor and optical viewfinder eyepiece. Next to the optical viewfinder are two small LEDs, that light to indicate focus and flash status. Above the top right corner of the LCD monitor are the Power, Flash/Erase, and AE Lock/Print buttons. The Display/Guide and QuickView buttons extend down the right side of the display. A Four-Way Arrow pad is in the lower right corner, with the OK/Menu button at its center. Its four arrows serve not only as navigational tools, but also adjust camera settings like Exposure Compensation, Flash, Macro, and Self-Timer modes.
The Olympus SP-310 has a reasonably flat bottom panel, featuring the camera's speaker, plastic threaded tripod mount, and the battery compartment. The tripod mount is too close to the battery compartment to allow quick changes when shooting with a tripod, though this likely won't be much of a concern for most users of this camera, given its very portable design.
The SP-310's user interface offers a wide range of exposure control options, though relatively few external buttons. As a result, learning to use the camera shouldn't take too much time. Pressing the power button opens the lens cover and extends the lens, while the Mode dial sets the camera's operating mode. The Four-Way Arrow pad on the back panel serves several functions and navigates through on-screen menus. It also scrolls through captured images in Playback mode. The LCD menu system accesses the rest of the Olympus SP-310's exposure options (like ISO, White Balance, Resolution, etc.). Even first-time beginners should get the gist of it after a few minutes.
External Controls
Zoom Lever (see image above): Surrounding the Shutter button on the top panel, this lever controls the optical and digital zoom (when the latter is enabled) in any record mode. In Playback mode, this button controls the digital enlargement of captured images and also accesses the index display modes.
In Playback mode, the Right and Left arrows scroll through captured images. When an image has been enlarged with the zoom control, all four arrows navigate within the view. Menu / OK Button (see image above): In the center of the arrow pad, this button calls up the settings menu in both Record and Playback modes. It also serves as the "OK" button to confirm menu selections.
Camera Modes and Menus
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Record Mode Display: The Olympus SP-310's Record mode screen always shows an information overlay that displays the exposure mode, flash mode, ISO, image quality, exposure information, and shots remaining on the memory card, among other camera and exposure settings. A brief battery icon also displays in the upper left corner, reporting the approximate charge level. Pressing the Display/Guide button cancels the information overlay except for the focus brackets. A third press returns the information display, while the fourth dismisses the LCD entirely. You can optionally enable a live histogram display (which replaces the pixel dimensions in the information overlay) or a "Direct" display, which highlights any strong highlights or shadows in the display.
Playback Mode Display: In Playback mode, you can choose to have more or less image information shown in the overlay display; but regardless of the amount chosen, the overlay disappears after a few seconds of not touching the controls, so you can always (eventually) see just the photo itself. A press of the Olympus SP-310's Display button blinks any overblown highlights or plugged shadows, in bright red and deep blue respectively. Using the zoom control, you can zoom out to a thumbnail display showing four, nine, 16, or 25 images at once, a calendar view, or zoom in and check fine details or focus.
Scene Mode: Indicated by the word "Scene" on the Mode dial, this mode provides access to no less than 24 preset Scene modes. Each choice is accompanied by an example photograph and an explanation of the mode's purpose (rather than show all of them at right, we're showing the first five as an example). Choices are: Portrait, Landscape, Landscape + Portrait, Night Scene, Sport, Night + Portrait, Indoor, Candle, Self Portrait, Available Light Portrait, Sunset, Fireworks, Museum, Behind Glass, Cuisine, Documents, Auction, Shoot & Select 1, Shoot & Select 2, Beach, Snow, Underwater Wide 1, Underwater Wide 2, and Underwater Macro.
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Record Menu:
Playback Menu: The following playback options are available through the Olympus SP-310's Playback settings menu. As with the Record Menu shortcut screen, the Mode Menu takes you to the full menu system for Playback mode.
In the Box The Olympus SP-310 Digital ships with the following items in the box:
Recommended Software: Rescue your Photos!
See camera specifications here.
Cycle times, shutter lag, battery life, etc. can be found here.
We ran the Olympus SP-310 through our usual battery of tests, and have summarized our findings here. To see the full set of our test images, with explanations of what to look for in them, see the Olympus SP-310 Sample Pictures page. For a complete listing of all our test and "gallery" shots, go to the Thumbnails page. A collection of more random, pictorial images can be found in the Olympus SP-310 Photo Gallery. Not sure which camera to buy? Let your eyes be the ultimate judge! Visit our Comparometer(tm) to compare images from the Olympus SP-310 with those from other cameras you may be considering. The proof is in the pictures, so let your own eyes decide which you like best! LensZoom
The Olympus SP-310 zooms over the equivalent of a 38-114mm range, fairly typical for its class. Though a little soft at wide angle, the SP-310's lens performs quite well, with fairly good corner sharpness. (There's some softness, but it doesn't extend very far into the frame.) The 5x digital zoom takes it out to 15x total, albeit with the loss of quality that you'd expect. Macro
The Olympus SP-310's macro captures a slightly large minimum area in its normal macro setting, at 4.99 x 3.74 inches (127 x 95 millimeters). In Super Macro mode, however, the SP-310 captures a very tiny minimum area measuring only 1.02 x 0.76 inches (26 x 19 millimeters). Detail and resolution are both high, both at the normal and Super macro settings, with moderate blurring in the corners from the lens. (Most cameras have some softening in the corners in macro mode.) The flash throttles down pretty well, though with some falloff in the corners of the frame. (Plan on using external lighting for the Super Macro mode though, as the on-board flash won't accommodate the close shooting range.) Distortion This is the tendency for the lens to bend straight lines outward (like a barrel--usually at wide angle) or inward (like a pincushion--usually at telephoto). The Olympus SP-310's 1.2% barrel distortion at wide angle is quite high, and noticeable in full wide angle shots. At the telephoto end, the SP-310's 0.2% pincushion is low.
Chromatic aberration
Chromatic aberration is rather high at wide angle, showing about 9-10 pixels of very bright coloration on either side of the target lines, but decreases to low levels at telephoto focal lengths. (This distortion is visible as a very slight colored fringe around the objects at the edges of the field of view on the resolution target.) Corner Sharpness
The Olympus SP-310 produced soft corners in some shots, most noticeably with the lens at the full wide angle position. Corners were slightly soft at telephoto, but as shown above, not much softer than details at the center of the frame. Even the worst case softening at wide angle was confined to the very corners, not affecting much of the image at all. SensorExposure and White Balance Indoors, incandescent lighting
The Olympus SP-310's Auto white balance had a little trouble with the incandescent lighting in this shot, and produced a strong red cast. However, both the Incandescent and Manual white balances produced pleasing results with only slight warm casts - I felt Manual was the most accurate, but some users may prefer the slightly warmer tone produced by the Incandescent setting. The camera required about average positive exposure compensation, at +1.0 EV. Overall color looks good, though the blue flowers are dark and purplish. (A very common outcome for this shot.) Our test lighting for this shot is a mixture of 60 and 100 watt household incandescent bulb, a pretty yellow light source, but a very common one in typical home settings here in the US. Outdoors, daylight
Outdoor shots generally showed nearly accurate exposure, though with slightly high contrast and very bright highlights. Exposure accuracy overall was slightly better than average though, as the camera required a bit less exposure compensation than we're accustomed to seeing with consumer digicams under these conditions. See full set of test images with explanations Resolution Our laboratory resolution chart revealed sharp, distinct line patterns down to about 1,200 lines per picture height vertically, perhaps 1,300 horizontally, with extinction at around 1,700. (The camera also produce slight color artifacts at lower line frequencies, visible in the full-sized res target shots.) Use these numbers to compare with other cameras of similar resolution, or use them to see just what higher resolution can mean in terms of potential detail. Beware that while you might be able to make out what looks like distinct lines at numbers higher than those we've mentioned here, the camera is just doing its best to continue interpreting the lines. If you zoom in and follow them from the wider portions, you'll see the lines converge and reappear several times, so the lines you see at 1,500 and higher are really only artifacts generated by the camera's imaging system.
See full set of test images with explanations Sharpness & Detail
The SP-310's images are slightly soft overall, though detail definition is still pretty good. The camera's internal image sharpening does coarsen fine details somewhat, but resolution overall is quite good. (Edge enhancement creates the illusion of sharpness by enhancing colors and tones right at the edge of a rapid transition in color or tone.) Noise-suppression systems in digital cameras tend to flatten-out detail in areas of subtle contrast. The effects can often be seen in shots of human hair, where the individual strands are lost and an almost "watercolor" look appears. The crop at far right shows this in the larger areas of darker midtone and shadow, though individual, brighter strands are quite visible. ISO & Noise Performance
The Olympus SP-310's lower ISO settings produced fairly low noise, with only slightly blurred detail in the dark areas. Even at ISO 200, noise is only moderately high, though details are a bit blurred. At ISO 400, noise is higher with less definition in the finer details, but the grain pattern is small and tight, so the resulting images look surprisingly good when printed at large output sizes. (See the Output Quality section below.) Extremes: Sunlit and low light tests
Sunlight: The Olympus SP-310 performed fairly well here, considering the deliberately harsh lighting in the test above. Contrast is a little high, but midtones are reasonably bright. Shadow detail is moderate, and the highlights hold onto a bit more detail than average as well. I chose the +0.7 EV exposure because of the overall appearance, though the shadows and midtones are a little dark. At +1.0 EV, the highlights were too bright, resulting in a less balanced exposure. (In "real life" though, be sure to use fill flash in situations like the one shown above; it's better to shoot in the shade when possible.)
Low light: NOTE: This low light test is conducted with a stationary subject, and the camera mounted on a sturdy tripod. Most digital cameras will fail miserably when faced with a moving subject in dim lighting. (For example, a child's ballet recital or a holiday pageant in a gymnasium.) For such applications, you may have better luck with a digital SLR camera, but even there, you'll likely need to set the focus manually. For information and reviews on digital SLRs, refer to our SLR review index page. ColorSaturation & Hue Accuracy
The other important part of color rendition is hue accuracy. Hue is "what color" the color is. The SP-310 performed well in regard to hue, though it did shift cyan colors toward blue and red toward orange. (The cyan-blue shift is quite common, apparently a way digicam makers achieve better-looking sky colors.) Still, good color overall.
(See our Olympus SP-310 Photo Gallery for more shots taken with the camera.) ViewfinderCoverage
The SP-310's optical viewfinder was quite tight, showing only about 79% of the final frame area at both wide angle and telephoto lens settings. However, the LCD monitor showed close to about 100 percent frame accuracy. FlashCoverage and Range
Flash coverage was slightly uneven at wide angle, though a little more uniform at telephoto (just a little falloff in the corners). In the Indoor test, the flash on the SP-310 underexposed our subject at its default setting, requiring a +1.0 EV exposure compensation adjustment to get bright results, about average for this shot. The camera's Slow-Sync flash mode produced more even lighting, but required a larger than average exposure boost at +1.7 EV to get a bright shot. The longer exposure here increased the orange cast from the background incandescent lighting, however.
The Olympus SP-310's flash is brightest at eight feet, but incrementally decreases in intensity from there. At the furthest test distance, flash power is quite dim. This short flash range is somewhat typical of compact digital cameras, although we'd expect to see a bit better performance from a camera the size of the SP-310. Output QualityPrint Quality Testing hundreds of digital cameras, we've found that you can only tell just so much about a camera's image quality by viewing its images on-screen. Ultimately, there's no substitute for printing a lot of images and examining them closely. For this reason, we now routinely print sample images from the cameras we test on our Canon i9900 studio printer, and on the Canon iP5200 here in the office. (See the Canon i9900 review for details on that model.) The SP-310 was a bit of an unusual camera when it came to printed output, in that the perceived sharpness of its prints seemed to depend very strongly on the local contrast of the subject. High-contrast details really popped off the page, but areas of more subtle contrast tended to look rather soft. This can be a good thing in portrait shots, where it would tend to de-emphasize minor skin blemishes, but soft foliage could come out a little mushy-looking. The camera's default image sharpening also tends to coarsen fine, high-contrast details slightly. This makes prints at 13x19 inches look a little coarse, but output at 11x14 and under looked great. High-ISO shots are always the toughest challenge when it comes to print size, and the SP-310 did very well there. Its shots at ISO 400 were a little noisy when printed as 8x10s, but were well within a range that most consumers would be satisfied with. At 5x7 inches, ISO 400 shots looked great by almost any standard. Color-wise, the Olympus SP-310's images were bright and snappy-looking, without looking overdone: Strong reds and blues do get oversaturated, but in the subjects we shot, the oversaturation wasn't particularly objectionable, and in fact should be quite appealing to the typical consumer. Timing and PerformanceOlympus SP-310 Timing
The Olympus SP-310's overall performance is on the slow side of average, though its startup time is pretty good at 1.5 seconds. Shutter lag at wide angle is a little laggardly at 0.88 second, though it speeds up slightly at telephoto. "Prefocusing" the camera by half-pressing and holding down the shutter button before the final exposure results in a more zippy time of 0.144 second. Shot to shot cycle times are decent if not impressive, at about 2.17 seconds for large/fine JPEGs, and it only captures up to four shots this quickly before it has to slow down to an irregular pace of around 4.6 seconds per frame. Continuous-mode speed is slower than average, at about 1.28 frames/second, for up to four shots in succession. Switching to High Speed mode speeds up the process a good bit, to 0.4 second or 2.5 frames per second, but you're limited to only two frames per series. The flash takes about eight seconds to recharge after a full-power shot, also somewhat slow. Connected to a computer, download speeds are very fast, so you won't really need a separate card reader. Bottom line, while not a first choice for sports or other fast-paced action, the SP-310 should handle average consumer shooting needs pretty well, though you might want a faster continuous mode (or one permitting more shots in a series) for kid photography. Battery and Storage CapacityBattery
The Olympus SP-310 uses two AA batteries for power, and ordinary alkaline batteries are included with the camera. The table above shows maximum run times based on our power measurements and "standard" 1600 mAh NiMH rechargeable batteries. (Note though, that current high-capacity NiMH cells can easily deliver 25% more capacity than the cells referenced. - A run time in capture mode of almost 220 minutes is quite good, particularly for a 2-cell camera.) To get the best run times from the camera, you'll definitely want to pick up a couple of sets of high-capacity NIMH AA cells, and a good-quality charger. (NOTE: In our testing, we found the Olympus SP-310 to be very finicky about battery voltage, to the point that it would run for only a very short time on NiMH rechargeable cells. When we contacted Olympus about this, we learned that a firmware patch would adjust the camera's cutoff voltage to a lower level, appropriate for NiMH batteries. If your sample of the SP-310 seems to have poor battery life on rechargeable NiMH cells, visit the Olympus website to download the version 1.3 firmware update.) Storage
We strongly recommend buying at least a 128MB card, preferably a 256MB one, to give yourself extra space for extended outings.
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White Balance: Sets the color balance to Auto, Preset (Daylight, Cloudy, Sunset, Incandescent, Fluorescent 1 [Daylight], Fluorescent 2 [Neutral], or Fluorescent 3 [Cool]), or Manual options.
Camera:
Flash Exposure Compensation: Adjusts the built-in flash power from -2 to +2.
AF Mode: Lets you choose the autofocus area, either iESP, Spot, or Area.
Timelapse: Enables the Timelapse photography mode. If enabled, you can set the number of pictures (from two to 99), as well as the interval between shots (from one to 99 minutes).
Image Size/Quality: Sets the image resolution and quality level. Choices are:
Memory Format: Formats the xD-Picture Card or internal memory, erasing all files (even write-protected ones).
Reset: Resets all of the camera settings to their defaults.
Volume: Controls the speaker volume, with choices of Off, Low, or High.
Pixel Mapping: Checks the camera's CCD and image processing functions, maps out bad pixels. (You shouldn't need to do this more than once a year or so.)
Video Out: Sets the camera's Video Out signal timing to either NTSC or PAL.
Custom Button: Customizes the function of the AE Lock/Print button, to one of a list of exposure options.
Edit: Goes straight to image editing menu tab.
Protect: Write-protects (or removes protection) from the currently displayed image. Write-protection locks the image file so you can't accidentally erase it or change the file in any way (except by formatting the card).
RAW Data Edit: Allows minor editing of files captured in the RAW data format, saving the result as a JPEG image.
Sepia: Converts the displayed image to sepia tone, giving it the appearance of an old-fashioned picture, and saves the converted image as a new file.
All Erase: Erases all files (even write-protected ones).
