Olympus SP-310 Review

By Movable Type Admin



Click for our main menu






Record Screens & Menus




Olympus SP-310

Here is a screen showing the SP-310's Auto record mode. This is a fully automatic mode that allows the camera to choose all settings (shutter speed, aperture, ISO sensitivity, white balance, etc.), while the Beginner benefits from point-n-shoot simplicity.



Olympus SP-310

Program AE mode with lots of settings enabled. The aperture is F2.8, shutter speed is 1/30 of a second and the "0.0" indicates that there is no exposure compensation. The "[    ]" in the center shows the autofocus area, the ISO is set at 64, saturation/contrast/sharpness are all at +1 and the flash exposure compensation is +0.3. Image quality is set at RAW 7-megapixels and the memory card has sufficient space for another 42 pictures.



Olympus SP-310

Aperture priority mode you select the desired aperture and the camera automatically adjusts for the correct shutter speed. A small aperture (larger f/number) increases the depth of field (range of focus), where a large aperture (smaller f/number) decreases depth of field. The realtime histogram has been enabled.



Olympus SP-310

Shutter-speed priority mode you select the shutter speed and the camera selects the correct aperture. Select a fast shutter speed to freeze fast-moving subjects or use a slower shutter speed to capture flowing water or low-light subjects. Frame-assist grids have been enabled.



Olympus SP-310

Manual mode you select both shutter speed and aperture values, the exposure value is displayed constantly (the "+0.7" in the upper right) so you can adjust the values to achieve the proper exposure. The "criss-cross" frame-assist has been enabled.



Olympus SP-310

Rotating the mode dial to the "Scene" position gives you access to 24 creative scene modes. Press the 4-way selector to change between these modes.



Olympus SP-310

The Shoot & Select scene mode lets you take a series of photos which are then displayed for you to select the ones to keep and deletes the others.



Olympus SP-310

Movie mode - The total amount of recording time available is shown by the green "00:20" in the lower right hand corner. This is SHQ 640x480 resolution at 30fps, the maximum recording time is 20 seconds. In the lower quality 640x480 @ 15fps or 320x240 size, the recording time is limited only by space on your xD card. The shaking hand icon indicates that we have the image stabilizer turned on. Audio is recorded with your movies. The optical zoom can be preset before recording but not during.



Olympus SP-310

When you press the Menu button in Movie mode, this Short Cut menu is displayed. Press Left to change the Quality of a movie, Up to enable or disable Digital Zoom, Down to enable or disable the Camera movement compensation, Right enters the Mode menu.



Olympus SP-310

Pressing the MENU button in any still recording mode brings up this menu screen. Using the Up, Down or Left buttons accesses the Shortcut menus for Self-Timer, Macro focus, and Resolution. You can use these menus to quickly change settings, and you can also set the desired value for these shortcuts with the Shortcut option under the Setup menu. Pressing the Right button takes you to the full Mode Menu (see illustrations below).



Olympus SP-310

CAMERA and PICTURE menu:

    Metering - Choose the mode (ESP, Spot, Multi metering)
    Macro - Closeup focus mode (Off, Macro or Super Macro)
    DRIVE - Single frame, Sequential High Speed Sequential or AE Bracketing
    ISO - Auto, 64, 100, 200, 400
    Self-Timer - On/Off
    Flash Intensity - Adjust the flash output -2.0 to +2.0
    Slow Sync - Slow shutter speed flash sync for front or rear curtain
    Flash Control - Internal + external, external only, slave
    Digital Zoom - Enable or disable digital zoom option
    Noise Reduction - Enables/disable noise reduction on long shutter speeds
    AF Mode - iESP, Spot or Area
    Focus Mode - Auto or Manual focus
    Fulltime AF - Enable or disable continuous auto focus
    Panorama - In-camera panorama mode, only available when using Olympus brand xD-Picture cards.
    Sound - Enable or disable sound recording with still images
    Timelapse - Set the number of shots and interval between shots.
    Quality - Image size and quality; RAW, SHQ, SHQ (3:2), HQ, SQ1, SQ2
    WB - White balance options; Auto, Sunny, Cloudy, Incandescent, Fluorescent (1, 2, 3), or Manual Set
    WB Adjust - Fine tune the white balance manually
    Sharpness - Adjust image sharpness; ± 5 points
    Contrast - Adjust image contrast; ± 5 points
    Saturation - Adjust the level of the color depth; ± 5 points




Olympus SP-310

SETUP menu:
    Reset - Reset all camera settings to default
    - Select the language for on-screen display
    PW On Setup - Sets the picture/sound displayed at startup
    PW Off Setup - Sets the picture/sound displayed at power down
    Rec View - On/Off, if On shows last image captured for about 3 secs.
    - Adjusts the Beep sound level (Off, Low, High)
    Beep - Choose theme and sound level of button operations
    Shutter Sound - Choose theme and sound level
    My Mode Setup - Set the parameters used in My Mode
    File Name - Continuous file numbering or reset
    Pixel Mapping - Checks the CCD imager for errors
    - Adjust brightness of LCD monitor
    - Set the time and date
    Dual Time - Setup home and away time zones
    m/ft - Set the distance scale at meters or feet
    Video Output - Select NTSC or PAL video format
    AF Illuminator - Turns the AF-assit lamp On or Off
    Short Cut - Change the assignment of the shortcut menus
    - Enable or disable the live histogram displayed on LCD
    Frame Assist - Display onscreen framing guide lines
    Custom Button - Choose properties of the custom button




Continue on to
Playback Features


Return To Our
Reviews Menu







Previous: Features & Controls
Next: Steve's Conclusion

Visitors of Steves can visit the stores below for real-time pricing and availability. You can also find hot, soon to expire online offers on a variety of cameras and accessories at our very own Camera Deals page.

Olympus USB Download Cable - USB - 1 x Type A Male - 1 x Mini Type B Male USB
SellerPriceIn StockSeller Rating
Sears$26.99

1276 reviews
Kmart$20.99

557 reviews
More Results