Olympus VR-320 Review

3.0

October 24, 2011 | Mark Goldstein |

Buy a VR-320 Silver Digital Camera (14 Megapixel - 3" LCD - 12.5x Optical Zoom - Optical, Electronic IS - 4288 x 3216 Image - 1280 x 720 Video - Motion JPEG AVI - HDMI)

Lowest Price: $78.86

Conclusion

We can't shake the impression that the VR-320 is a modest camera at a modest price, and, apart from the fact that it's cheap and offers a decent focal range to boot (in theory, if not always in practice when it comes to some distinctly shaky imagery at the telephoto end), there is little beyond that to get overly excited about.

Value for money is only just that if the actual goods live up to their promise, but we got distinctly soft shots shooting at the extremities of the VR-320's optical zoom range in broad daylight. Yes, we were mostly shooting handheld, but still, which member of the VR-320's beginners market is going to be carrying a tripod around with them for added, blur-reducing support? Blown highlights and visible pixel fringing compound the problem - not always, but a significant proportion of the time.

On a more positive note, the VR-320 is really as easy to use as pointing and shooting, the Magic Filters are once again great fun and lift this camera up slightly in our estimation, while iAuto mode mostly gets it spot on, so - with the caveats as outlined above - beginners will be satisfied.

Ultimately for more serious practitioners the lesson learnt here is that if you really are serious about the best combination of a pocket sized camera chassis, yet a broad focal range, you'll want to budget on spending around £100 more.