Another spanner in the works is that the scene modes are only accessible by rotating the mode wheel to SCN. Changing to a different scene preset requires turning the wheel to another setting and back to SCN, which is very inelegant. The superfluous playback button might have been better employed to call up the scene modes.
Olympus still haven't got the memo that xD cards aren't as handy as the near-ubiquitous SD and SDHC cards. Fujifilm is supporting both memory formats in their newer cameras, but Olympus is sticking with the proprietary xD. To add insult to injury, you have to buy Olympus own-brand xD cards to use the panorama stitch feature, which is pretty laughable.
Performance
Thankfully, the 1200 has barely any appreciable shutter lag. It's
not so great on shot-to-shot time, taking 2 or 3 seconds to be ready
for another picture with the status light blinking for 5 seconds after
every image. Its 2.5 frames per second in burst mode is good, but you
only get 25 images and all at lower resolution.
As a point-and-shoot, the 1200 is efficient. Exposure is well-balanced and naturalistic even when available light is weak. Portrait mode gives a warm skin tone, even with the flash. Dark tones aren't as rich and solid as they should be, giving low-light images a slightly washed-out effect, but it's reasonably safe to use the flash in darker environments as it isn't as harsh as some we've seen.
Image quality
Image
noise, the eternal bane of compact cameras, peers around the corner at ISO 400. Above
this setting, it's combatted by the camera's automaic noise
reduction, which has the side effect of softening detail. Images at ISO
1,600 are nastily speckled but the noise reduction actually gives a
nice balance of softness over noise to create passable images. At the
highest speed, ISO 6,400, images are both too soft and too noisy.
Conclusion
The Olympus mju 1200 is certainly capable and stylish. It's perfect
for those search of a good-looking, pocketable point-and-shoot, and
don't want to worry about the mechanics of photography. It's pricey,
though, heading down the Canon IXUS route of style and megapixels demanding a premium despite a paucity of features. At least the Canon IXUS 860 IS has a bigger screen for a similar price, as does the Kodak EasyShare V1253.
Edited by Jason Jenkins
Additional editing by Shannon Doubleday
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