Olympus FE-46 12MP Digital Camera

The Olympus FE-46 Digital Camera is loaded with features and functions that make taking pictures as creative as it is fun. A 5x optical zoom and AF Tracking merely head up the list of exciting advances on this full-featured camera. The camera automatically tracks the movements of energetic photo targets like kids and pets and continuously adjusts the focus and brightness to capture them sharply, with ease.

Whether you’re enjoying a wedding or a fun weekend afternoon, the new Olympus FE-46 digital camera will consistently capture extraordinary, in-focus pictures of your family and friends. Inside its new premium crystal shell finish, the stylish FE-46 packs 12 megapixels, creative in-camera Magic Filters like Pop Art and Pin Hole that make your images stand out, and new AF Tracking that keeps kids, pets, tossed wedding bouquets and other fast-moving objects in focus.

• Superb image quality with a high-resolution, 12 megapixel CCD. No worries about losing clarity or detail when making enlargements or when cropping.

• Powerful 5x optical zoom brings you super close to the scene or the action without having to move at all.

• The LCD Backlight Boost Button combined with a 2.7", High-Resolution LCD vastly improves your ability to effectively compose and share photos even in direct sunlight.

• xD-Picture Card compatibility along with an optional adapter for microSD memory cards lets the FE-46 enter new worlds of electronic storage.

• Intelligent Auto + Shadow Adjustment Technology identifies the scene and adjusts the settings for picture perfect results every time.

• Advanced Face Detection enables you to shoot group portraits with as many as 16 people in the shot, for the sharpest people pictures you can get

• With AF Tracking, the camera automatically tracks moving subjects and adjusts the focus and brightness settings to capture those subjects in sharp detail.

• The Digital Image Stabilization feature uses higher ISO and faster shutter speeds to capture sharp, blur-free images, even when you're chasing moving targets.

• Shoot VGA movies with sound and share them with all your friends, family and coworkers. Or better yet, share your movies on YouTube, using the included Olympus Master 2 Software

• Magic Filters give you the flexibility and creativity to be flexible and creative in your photo efforts by applying filter effects such as Pop Art, Pinhole or Wedding.

• There are 20 shooting modes built right in, so that you can photograph just about any kind of scene you'd like-everything from sports photography to macro photography and many other photo specialties in between.

• Perfect Fix makes perfect pictures possible by activating two different editing features, post shot, to correct red-eye and lighting - no software necessary.

• An ISO up to 1600 delivers razor-sharp, crystal-clear exposure, regardless of subject movement or low-light conditions.

• If you feel the need for a little extra advice, the camera's on-board Help Guides will briefly describe the camera's features and settings at the touch of a button.

• Olympus FE-46 Digital Camera
• (2) AA Batteries
• USB Cable
• Audio/ Video Cable
• Quick Start Guide
• Manual CD-ROM
• Wrist Strap
• Olympus Master 2 Software CD-ROM
• Warranty Card
• MASD-1 (microSD Adapter)
• Olympus 1 Year Warranty

Cheap usable digital camera, November 18, 2009

By Steve Ayres "bearuk" (London, England)

This review is from: Olympus FE-46 12MP Digital Camera with 5x Optical Zoom and 2.7 inch LCD (Pearl Black) (Electronics)

In brief, if money is tight then this is an ok camera. If you want good quality images then you don't want the FE-46, save for something better.

My canon G9 camera recently suffered a lens error which is common to Canon designs, the lens popped out and stuck leaving the camera unusable.

I wanted an inexpensive replacement camera in case my Canon was not repaired in time for Christmas, and saw the Olympus FE-46.

It's a camera made to a price, and it's priced very keenly. You should accept that the price means a lot of sacrifices have been made. To begin you will find you need to buy a memory card as Olympus doesn't include one (although they do include a micro SD to XD converter in the box).

The LCD display is large and easy to see. There are a number of different modes, such as fully automatic; SCN - which offers portraits, night shot, fireworks, action etc.; iauto - which attempts to guess the type of scene; and the totally worthless 'digital image stabilization'.

Olympus apparently aren't alone in blatantly lying about image stabilization in their cameras. Image stabilization is a great feature that allows you to take sharp photos in lower than usual light. This camera doesn't have it. The Olympus 'digital image stabilization' simply increases the sensitivity of the sensor, allowing a faster shutter speed to reduce blur. Increasing the sensitivity of the sensor gives noisy, unusable images.

On the subject of image quality the Olympus is poor. My images (taken at 12MP / fine quality) aren't sharp and lack detail; the colors are washed out and there is color fringing around objects.

Admittedly my Canon G9 was a much more expensive camera, but these days almost everyone has a phone with a camera built in, and Olympus has to compete with these devices at this price. Apart from the pixel count the FE-46 has nothing special to offer, the picture quality isn't good enough to make carrying a seperate camera worthwhile.