Olympus FE-115 Zoom Review

The FE-115 features a 2.8x optical Olympus zoom lens with a 38mm-106mm (35mm equivalent) focal length and a maximum aperture of f3.0-f/5.0. This is an all-glass lens constructed of 7 lenses in 6 groups.

When powered down the lens retract inside of the body and is protected by an automatic lens barrier.

The contrast detection autofocus system has a range of 19.7" (0.5m) - infinity in normal mode. The Macro mode coverage is from 7.9" " (0.2m) - 19.7" (0.5m) and Super Macro focuses as close as 0.8" (20mm).

The built-in speedlight has modes for: Auto, Red-eye Reduction and Fill-in. The maximum working range in wide angle is 2.3ft (0.2m)-12.5ft (3.8m); Tele 1.6ft (0.5m)-7.2ft. (2.2m) in telephoto. The flash squelches down nicely for macro exposures.

The 1.5-inch (38mm) color LCD has 130,000 pixels and is used for framing, review and accessing the menu system. There is no optical viewfinder.

Controls on the back: The zoom controls, function as the Index and Magnify buttons in playback. The Mode Dial has positions for: P-Auto, Movie, Image Stabilizer, Night Scene, Landscape and Portrait. The "red camera" button is for Record mode, the "green arrow" button is for playback. The OK button accepts menu selections. The 4-way controller is for navigating menus, changing settings and selecting playback images. Press "up" to set exposure compensation, press "right" for macro focus, press "left" for the self-timer and press "down" to reset settings. Below the LCD is the Delete button, the MENU button and the Flash mode button.

On top is the Power on/off button and the shutter release.

On the right side are the I/O ports: USB 2.0 (full speed, not high speed) data port. DC INput for optional AC adapter. Video Out is NTSC/PAL selectable.

The FE-115 stores its data with an internal memory of approx. 28MB and on xD-Picture Cards. xD cards are currently available up to 1GB in capacity.

The FE-115 is powered by two standard AA type batteries (alkaline, NiMH or lithium). We recommend NiMH AA rechargeables for both financial and ecological reasons. For infrequent use, the one-use lithium batteries are the best choice as they offer a very long shelf life. Check out our Rechargeable Battery Page for info and prices on high-capacity NiMH AA cells.