Product Description

Digital photography made easy! Built-in help guides, one-touch Operations, preset scene modes, and a large LCD are just a few of the features that make using the FE-280 simple and fun. This amazingly slim, sleek, full metal body is so thin that you can fashionably fit it in your pocket, take it anywhere you go, and never miss a photo-op. Prevent and correct blurry images without a computer! Digital Image Stabilization mode freezes the action with high ISO sensitivity and faster shutter speed to capture sharp images even if you or your subject is moving, while Digital Image Stabilization Edit uses built-in gyro sensors to track camera movement so you can fix blurry images right in the camera.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #37648 in Camera & Photo
• Color: Black
• Brand: Olympus
• Model: FE-280 Black
• Released on: 2007-09-19
• Dimensions: 5.51" h x 7.40" w x 3.15" l, 1.00 pounds
• Memory: 48MB
• Display size: 2.5

Features

• 8.0-megapixel CCD captures enough detail for photo-quality 16 x 22-inch prints
• 3x optical zoom; Face Detection technology
• 2.5-inch LCD; Perfect Shot Preview mode
• Bright Capture technology for low-light photos
• Captures images to xD memory card (not included)

Manufacturer Description
Digital photography made easy! Built-in help guides, one-touch Operations, preset scene modes, and a large LCD are just a few of the features that make using the 8-megapixel FE-280 simple and fun. This amazingly slim, sleek, full metal body is so thin that you can fashionably fit it in your pocket, take it anywhere you go, and never miss a photo-op. Prevent and correct blurry images without a computer! Digital Image Stabilization mode freezes the action with high ISO sensitivity and faster shutter speed to capture sharp images even if you or your subject is moving, while Digital Image Stabilization Edit uses built-in gyro sensors to track camera movement so you can fix blurry images right in the camera.

Stylus FE-280 Highlights

High-resolution, 2.5-inch LCD screen Composing shots and sharing images with friends and family is easier than ever thanks to the FE-280's large, high-resolution LCD screen. Additionally, the backlight boost button increases the LCD from bright to a super-bright setting, making it easier to capture and view images in challenging environments such as direct sunlight or low-light situations.

Face Detection Technology Face Detection Technology tracks faces within the frame and automatically focuses (Face Detection AF) and optimizes exposure (Face Detection AE) for sharp, brilliant portrait pictures. Even if your subjects are moving, the camera continuously tracks your subjects' faces without having to press the shutter button.

Expanded control and easy operation In some situations, consumers may want more creative control when composing images. The FE-280 offers Program Auto Mode. Located on the cameras’ mode dial; this option enables consumers to easily adjust ISO and white balance. Additionally, the FE-280 features in-camera Help Guides, making digital photography simple and fun for users of all ages and skill levels. A tutorial "shooting guide" educates users on tips for achieving specific effects, such as "shooting into backlight" and brightening subjects. The shooting guide not only provides detailed descriptions for various situations and environments, but also sets the camera with the touch of a button, making the transition from learning to taking great pictures instantaneous.

Perfect Shot Preview mode The FE-280 features a Perfect Shot Preview mode, which enables users to preview and select various photographic effects on a live, multi-frame window on the LCD before snapping the shot. This feature allows users to see precisely what the image will look like when adjustments are made, ensuring users are capturing the exact image they want. It’s a great way for novice users to learn about the effects of different photography techniques, such as exposure compensation, white balance and metering.

Digital Image Stabilization Mode and Edit Digital Image Stabilization (DIS) helps to capture crisp, clear pictures. DIS freezes the action with high ISO sensitivity and fast shutter speeds that prevent blurry images often caused by a moving subject. Digital Image Stabilization Edit uses a built-in gyro sensor to track camera movement and enables users to fix blurry images right in the camera. The FE-280 also features high ISO sensitivity, which extends the flash working range, enabling users to capture clear, bright subjects and backgrounds in low-light situations.

Perfect Fix Life does not always go as planned, so the FE-280 features Perfect Fix, which allows users to modify pictures after they take them. Perfect Fix sharpens unanticipated blur, improves lighting and eliminates red-eye.

TruePicTM III image processor Olympus’ enhanced TruePic III Image Processor produces crystal-clear photos using all the pixel information for each image to deliver superior picture quality with more accurate colors, true-to-life flesh tones and faster processing speeds. TruePic III also captures crisp, clear images at high ISO settings, which are traditionally associated with increasing image noise or producing grainy photos.

Bright Capture Technology for easy low-light photography The FE-280 includes Bright Capture Technology, enabling consumers to preview and shoot images and movies in low light using specific scene modes. It is perfect for situations when a flash is not appropriate to capture the softness and warmth of a candlelit dinner or natural skin tones in subdued lighting.

Bright Capture Technology in Action

21 pre-set shooting modes make it easy to capture great images The inclusion of preset shooting modes, accessed via a rotating dial and menu button on the back of the cameras, makes it easy to capture great images in a variety of lighting situations, such as Sports, Fireworks and Night Scene with Portrait. The FE-280 also offers VGA-quality video and sound, which enable users to create short movies that can be emailed to family and friends.

Olympus Master 2 software Olympus Master 2 software provides the ultimate in digital imaging management. An intuitive user interface makes downloading to your computer quick and simple, and images are easily organized by folders or albums and searchable by date in Calendar view. And with one-click editing tools, such as red-eye removal, images can be touched up before printing or emailing. Online support, templates, firmware upgrades and other user services are just a mouse-click away. Use the optional muvee Theater Pack to create professional quality slide shows and DVDs from your pictures using any of several built-in templates.

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Customer Reviews

Mine Works Great!
Well, my camera works great! :-)

Before I started, I decided to quickly read the owner's manual, as I wanted to make sure that I could get some immediate, good results before I left on my vacation to Canada! (I didn't want to leave with my new toy, not knowing how to use it. )

Over the past several weeks:

- I've snapped sunrises, sunset photos, both in low-light condition and the quality has been great! Nothing to complain about. It's just a simple, point 'n shoot camera that works well!

- During my trip, I took over 300 photos. Not one of them came out blurry, even through some of them (like the picture of the sheep -- see the photo gallery) were taken in a hurry from a slow moving vehicle. I had one chance, and only a couple of seconds to snap the picture -- and I think it came out well!

- This camera captures the vivid colors in the photo. I've taken family photos and it seems to always focus upon their faces, and not upon the background wall, etc, which is a nice feature.

- I've snapped close up pictures of flowers and other items. No problem there either.

Seriously, I love my camera. No, it's not the Rolex of digital cameras, nor is it one of those "pricey" DSLRs -- but for me, it's just a simple, point 'n shoot camera that takes wonderful photos. In fact, I never told my family that I had purchased a new camera, but it didn't take them long to figure it out, as they quickly noticed that the quality of my photos vastly improved.

Just reporting my experience with my camera! Hope this helps.

The Little Point-and-Shoot That Tried To Be Different (Not In a Good Way)
I was originally attracted to the FE-280 because it was A) an Olympus (I've had great success with Olympus digicams before) B) it was small so I could take it anywhere and C) because I tried it in store, and the macro mode was amazing (hard to find on ultra-compacts). I bought it as a supplement to my excellent Olympus C-765, which although is old, still works great. It just was too bulky to take to parties and such. That being said that main purpose of this camera was to take pictures of friends and family and the occasional snapshot of a nice flower or scene along the waY. Considering that this was a point-and-shoot, I expected it to take pictures of people at parties with the flash with minimal problems, and bought it because it could take "that" shot of the flower next to the road on the way to the party. Well I took it to my first party last night, and boy was I disappointed. First off, the camera had to hunt and hunt for the proper focus in medium to low indoor lighting, and then there was a large amount of shutter lag even after it focused. And on top of that I would say about 6 out of 10 of my photos came out blurry. A huge disappointment. I thought maybe it was the AF mode, so I tried each of the three (Spot, iESP, and Face Detection), none of which could produce any better results. Which is really a shame because this camera takes such great pictures in outdoor conditions.

So now that you have heard the bad let me go onto the good.
This camera is unbelievably small and beautiful-I bought it in red (not available on Amazon) and it always catches attention. The screen is bright, and not glossy so it can easily be seen outdoors. And as mentioned before, the supermacro mode is incredible and outdoor performance is outstanding with accurate colors and sharp details. Also the face detection system works well sizing the boxes and detecting the faces, but for some reason can't focus them. The camera powers up quickly, and the menu system is better than most digital cameras these days, but I still prefer Olympus's old menu system. Also, this is a little thing that makes a huge difference: when you go to change the exposure there is a live preview of 4 exposure steps at a time so you can see what changing the exposure will do to the picture before you take it, so you don't have to keep comparing photos. I would really like to see a feature like this on other cameras.

So all of this being said, this camera is incredibly capable at doing things that more advanced cameras do (despite there being very few manual controls), but fails at the most basic task of taking pictures of people-its main function! So I am returning it and probably going to go with the Sony DSC-W80. What a shame, Olympus used to be able to make a camera that took great pictures-no matter the circumstances. Small size is great, but not if it compromises image quality like this!

PS - The "Dual Image Stabilization" is really quite the scam - It leads you to believe that you are getting both digital (ISO boost and high shutter speed) and optical (such as gyro-counteracted lens/CCD shift) stabilization, but really you are just getting the two (hence dual) digital modes, so all you wind up getting is an unusable, grainy photo. Digital image stabilization sometimes called DSP or similar, is a waste. Optical (lens shift or CCD shift) are the only kinds of stabilization that are worthwhile.

Great camera
I just bought an FE-280 to replace another FE-280 that I've been using in Iraq for a very long time. Because I've had so much success with my previous camera, it was an easy decision to replace it with a new one. The only reason my old camera failed was because I use it every day in an incedibly dusty environment, and it finally just choked on dust.

This camera has served me very well over the past year, and the only complaint that I can think of is that the power button is far to close to the shutter button. I use my camera often at night and it's very easy to press the wrong button, turn off the camera, and miss the shot...and we don't get alot of chances at a second attmept at a shot here in Iraq.

This is a great camera. It's very light, takes great quality pictures, has a very easy menu to navigate through and set up your preferences, and many other features. I especially like the very big screen on the back because I usually take my pictures while I'm moving, and a big screen makes it much easier to ensure that you're geting what you intend to get.

You'll be happy with this camera. I am.