Takes this high-spec, low-cost camera
for a spin
One of many new cameras announced by
Olympus at CES 2012, the SH-21 is a robust compact that boasts a 16-megapixel
backlit CMOS sensor and 12.5x optical zoom lens with Image Stabilization.
Billed as the ideal travel companion for globetrotting photographers, the
versatile 24-300mm (35mm equivalent) zoom range offered by the lens, along with
additional features like 7fps continuous shooting and Full HD movie recording
ability all add up to what appears to be a very well-rounded little camera
judging from its initial specifications.
In the flesh, the SH-21 isn’t the daintiest
compact we’ve handled, but in this case, that’s no bad thing. Its
chunkier-than-average dimensions sets it apart from the impossibly slim fashion
oriented set of compacts, making it look and feel more like the sort of camera
that could take a bit of punishment during a life on the road. Refreshingly,
unlike a lot of the perfectly-smooth, slippery compacts we’ve reviewed recently
(which seemingly have been designed with aesthetics rather than practicality in
mind), the SH-21 offers a gently curved and textured front grip which in
conjunction with a further textured thumb pad around the back allows for a firm
grasp on the camera.
The sturdy outer shell adds a sturdy feel
to this well-balanced compact, which is only let down by the little plastic
mode dial mounted on the top panel. Otherwise, all of the controls feel
well-made and correctly proportioned.
The front plate houses a built-in flash
unit, AF-assist lamp and the lens housing, which protrudes slightly from the
surface of the camera when it’s powered down, but doesn’t prevent it from being
easily slipped into a pocket. The positioning of the flash unit is somewhat
unusual, being placed just above the front grip (rather than on the opposite
end, which is where you’d usually find it on other compacts). This means that
you have to be careful about the placement of your index finger when grasping
the camera, to avoid obscuring it: this is essentially a minor complaint, but
one niggle to be aware of nonetheless.
The
new SH-21 slots neatly into Olympus' Traveler range and provides compact design
with a long, versatile wide-zoom lens and high-resolution 16MP sensor
The top panel – accented by a complementary
glossy gun-metal grey strip to enhance the otherwise matt black finish of our
test model plays host to a tiny illuminated power button, zoom-lever encircled
shutter release and small plastic mode dial, in addition to the stereo
microphones that are employed when shooting HD movies.
The mode dial offers 8 different slots,
comprising iAuto, Program Auto, Photo with Movie Clip, 3D, Panorama, Hand-held
Twilight, plus access to 16 scene modes. There’s also a shortcut to a bank of
Magic Filters a popular feature that we’ve seen incorporated into many recent
Olympus launches. The latter provides 10 different filters comprising Pop Art,
Pin Hole, Fish Eye, Drawing, Soft Focus, Punk, Sparkle, Watercolour, Reflection
and Miniature each of which produces a distinctive look that allows you to
customize your shots in-camera. Scroll through the menu and you get a live
preview of how the scene in front of the lens will look with the effect applied
a useful feature that speeds up the selection process.
Manual controls
The modes that the SH-21 provides are
largely automatic in nature by default, however there is the opportunity to
operate some of them manually if you prefer. For instance, when selecting the
camera’s 3D shooting mode, you’re given the choice of automatic functionality
whereby you take the first shot, then the camera will automatically take a
second one once it’s detected that you’ve lined it up correctly or you can take
control of it when you’re ready for this action to occur instead. Similarly,
you can allow the camera to record a quick succession of shots as you can
around a wide scene, after which it’ll present you with a panorama seamlessly
stitched and ready to print. Alternatively, you can opt to take each shot under
your own steam, using the ‘old school’ method of aligning each successive frame
with a ghost image of the last (at a resolution of 2-megapixels). Finally,
there’s the opportunity to take full-resolution individual shots that are ready
to export to a PC for manual stitching in your software of choice.
Macro
mode is very useful to take a photograph of an image smaller than your hand
iAuto is a fully automatic exposure mode
that quickly analyses your subject and selects the appropriate scene mode and
combination of settings to suit the situation, while the scene mode menu gives
you the opportunity to decide for yourself instead. The useful Hand-held
Twilight mode automatically boosts the sensitivity to help combat camera shake,
plus there’s the option of allowing the camera to record a short movie clip
either side of a still shot using the Photo with Movie Clip feature: invaluable
if you like to mix things up when making creative slideshows to share with
friends and family for example.
In addition to the albeit a little limited opportunities
for manual operation of some functions, he SH-21 provides more advanced
enthusiasts with a Program Auto mode, which lets you dictate settings like the
flash mode, macro setting, self-time, exposure compensation, white balance, ISO
and drive mode. All of these are available in a quick-access on screen menu for
speedier operation, with further options stashed in the main menu system.
The back of the camera is largely dominated
by its 3-inch touchscreen, with a stack of glossy buttons neatly arranged to
the right. A one-touch movie button takes the top spot and provides easy access
to the SH-21’s Full HD move function. Below, there’s a playback button,
scrolling four-way d-pad, Menu and Help buttons. The up and down keys double as
Info and Delete buttons, with the former allowing you to toggle between options
like keeping the screen clear of icons and shooting information, or turning on
features like a handy compositional grid and live histogram.
The central OK button inside the scroll
wheel calls up the previously-mentioned quick on-screen menu when in shooting
mode presenting you with different settings for speedy alteration. In addition
to these hard controls, the SH-21’s touchscreen offers further features that
prove useful in some situations not least Touch Shutter and Touch AF
functionality. The former lets you tap the screen in the area you want to
camera to focus and it’ll automatically fire off a shot without you having to
press the shutter release: useful for fast-moving situations when you don’t
want to miss any of the action. The latter disables the shutter release
functionality and just allows you to touch the screen wherever you want to
position your AF point, after which you fire the shutter when you’re ready to
take the shot. This is perfect for situations where the AF system might be confused
for instance, in busy scenes with multiple potential subjects as well as for
creating off-centre compositions.
Verdict
The combination of physical and touch
controls add up to a reasonably slick shooting experience. However, the lack of
touchscreen operation once you’re in the menu system is a little odd all you
can use it for is focusing and flicking through shots in playback. The metering
system is largely accurate, although some scenes can trick it into overexposing
brighter detail on occasion. This can be compensated for to some extent by
employing the Shadow Adjustment or HDR features. Colours are generally
faithful, although the WB system does struggle with images taken under tungsten
lighting in particular, producing overly warm tones. Nosie is well-controlled
up o ISO 800, although a slightly aggressive noise reduction system does rob
images of some fine detail from ISO 400 upwards. With a bit of a mixed performance
overall, the SH-21 delivers in terms of the features it has to offer, but the
image quality under anything other than decent light leaves room for
improvement. Nonetheless, the SH-21 offers a slightly-better-than-average
overall package for a good price and delivers plenty of attractive features for
travelers.
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Specifications
·
Price: $285
·
Megapixels: 16
·
Sensor: 1/2.3-inch CMOS
·
LCD: 3-inch, TFT Touch-Panel, 460,00-dots
·
ISO: Auto, High Auto, ISO 80-3200
·
Video: Full HD, 1920x1080 (30fps)
·
Memory cards: SD, SDHC, SDXC
·
Dimensions: 105.4 x 59.4 x 30.6 mm
·
Web: www.olympus.com
·
Total: 7/10
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