Olympus SP-350 review

Shooting speed
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)

Typical shot-to-shot time

Time to first shot

Shutter lag (typical)

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-N1

1.6

1.8

0.3

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX1

1.4

3.8

0.6

Olympus µ Digital 800

1.7

2.0

0.6

Olympus SP-350

2.7

1.6

0.7

Nikon Coolpix P1

4.0

5.2

0.7

Canon PowerShot SD550

2.0

1.6

0.7

Image quality
Image quality is good but not great. The camera produces vivid colours, and the dynamic range favours slight underexposure, which sometimes results in clipped highlights; however, exposures are generally accurate. But images lack detail, and although noise remains relatively low throughout the ISO range -- even without noise reduction turned on -- details become even softer as light sensitivity increases. We noticed some purple fringing, but it wasn't particularly offensive.

If you're looking for a full-featured, moderately priced high-resolution camera, the Olympus SP-350 certainly qualifies. But if you're concerned about performance or photo quality, it's probably worth spending a little extra on a competitor.

Edited by Lori Grunin
Additional editing by Kate Macefield