Nice little package, easy to use
Written: Oct 05 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Compact, light, simple, 3x optical zoom, USB cable
Cons: So light it feels a little flimsy; LCD could be larger (only 1.5")
The Bottom Line: Has all the features of larger cameras in a small package and attractive price.
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| nmurat's Full Review: Olympus Camedia Brio D-150 Zoom Battery Charger |
The Olympus D-150 Brio is my third digital still camera purchase and second digital Olympus. The first camera was back in 1997 and is now a dinosaur and I bought the Olympus D460 back in December 2000.
Unfortunately the D460 was stolen and I decided to go back into the market for a mid-range easy to use Digital Camera. The D460 had cost $300+ at the time and this was a good price point to go for. In short, I think the Brio is a better buy.
The D150 Brio is priced at around $299 and I did some research on how it compared to the others out there. In general, the D150 has the same features of it's larger siblings, just smaller in. More info below:
Look and feel
The D-150 Brio has nice look and feel, especially in the front. When you slide open the front cover the lens and flash pop out. The shell of the camera is mostly hard plastic expect for the front cover which has a more metallic feel. On the negative side, while the hard plastic makes the camera light, it feels a little flimsy and I wouldn't want to drop this guy (or any camera for that matter) on a sidewalk.
Size
The D-150 Brio is first and foremost very compact. Much smaller than any of the Olympus cameras and many of the other digitals out there. At 4.4x2.4x1.4 inches and 6.5 ounces it's not much larger than leader in compact digitals, the Canon Elph Series (eg S100). In terms of comparison, think of a throw-away Kodak with a flash. It easily fits in your pocket for when you are out and about.
Zoom
The D-150 has 3X Optical zoom (remember, optical is always better than digital) as well as a 2X Digital zoom (a digital zoom simply enlarges the size of the image pixels so you lose quality). You can use them separately or together. The optical zoom is easy to use just like any traditional 35mm point and shoot. The digital zoom is a little more cumbersome as you must go into the on-screen menu and turn it on (0, .5, 1, 1.5, and 2x). With it on you can still use the optical zoom on top of that.
Features/On screen menu
There are actually only few buttons on the camera itself - which makes it clean and neat. In addition to the expected zoom and shoot buttons on top, there is an up/down/right/left arrow type circular setup as well as LCD on/off and finally an OK/Enter button. All the features are accessed through the on-screen many shown on the 1.5 in (diagonal) LCD display.
The features themselves are fairly basic but I've found out over the years that you rarely use the gimmicky ones anyway. Nevertheless it has all the important features that you would generally expect. There's a macro/close up mode, burst/continuous shooting, self timer, multiple flash modes (red eye, force on/off, flash sync), and a programmed exposure mode.
In addition to the usual traditional photo features, you can also toggle the resolution of the pictures taken (see below)
Resolution/memory
The Olympus D-150 Brio comes with an 8MB SmartMedia card and has a maximum resolution of 1.3 Mega Pixels.
At that resolution you take 24 pictures on the 8MB card. Now, it has been my own experience that if you are a casual photographer who is mainly looking to take pictures to later email them or post them on the internet, you can easily shift down to a lower resolution (640x480) and you'll still be very happy. This can be done in the on-screen menu. By doing that, you also get much more mileage out of your memory card as you go from 24 to 82 pictures. It's something to keep in mind...
USB port
The addition of the USB port to digital cameras has been a great boost to usage and simplicity. In the past you had to connect to a Serial Port which made transferring pictures to your computer very slow and arduous. With the USB port, the camera becomes like an extra disk drive attached to the computer and you slimpy drag and drop the pictures, which are conveniently already in JPEG format. Piece of cake and super fast! The USB port is in my mind a must for any digital camera unless you own a SmartMedia/Flash card reader.
Note that you will have to install the USB drivers for the camera using the provided CD ROM, but it's quite simple.
LCD Display
The LCD display is 1.5 inches in diagonal. It's a little small in my opinion compared to the more traditional 2 inches, but the screen itself is sharp with good colors.
In summary . . .
The Olympus D-150 Brio packs in all the important features of an upper-mid digital camera including 1.3 mega pixels, 3x optical zoom and USB port, but keeps everything in a small package.
The camera is also fairly simple to use and makes a great camera for the casual photographer that still wants quality.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
nmurat
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Location: New York, NY
Reviews written: 16
Trusted by: 5 members
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