Olympus W-10 Review - Camera Controls
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Camera controls are a little strange at first. You can pick up the recorder and start taping voice without reading the manual, but camera operation is less self-explanatory. You must press and hold the Camera button half-way in and wait for the white balance and exposure to be set. Then the light turns green and you have to push the button all the way down to snap the picture.
As I already mentioned, the camera does a fairly decent job in low-lit areas and looks the same as, if not better than, one made on a 640x480 cell phone (my LG 6000 to compare here). I do have to say that the camera has a shooting distance of 0.8 to infinity, which is very nice for a cheap camera built-inside a recorder.
With space available for 250 pictures, it makes a good alternative to the camera inside a wireless phone, since the W-10 is smaller than a cell phone and takes more pictures. You are also able to snap pictures while recording sound, which makes it a very useful tool for reporters that are in the field trying to get action shots. Since you don’t have to switch back and forth between shooting and recording, it can be quite a powerful tool at tournaments and events. The pictures are saved as JPEG files and are generally about 40 KB in size.
The unit’s size is what would appeal the most to an average customer. With the dimensions of 119.5x29.5x19.5 and weighing a puny 70g with batteries, it really is a mini digital recorder.
The speaker is located on the back of the unit and has an output of 110mW. Although this doesn't tell you much in this world of 1000-watt stereo systems, it sounds loud enough to listen to in the car while driving with the window down. If, however, you prefer to listen to the recording in private, the W-10 comes with a pair of MONO earbuds that plug in to the external EAR jack on the side. On an interesting note: the earphones are monaural, but marked Left and Right, as if it makes any difference. I am still trying to figure that one out.
The lack of a microphone jack is this unit’s biggest shortcoming. This unit was clearly designed to be used out in the field, at games and events. It looks Olympus is cutting corners at every opportunity. I would trade a left headphone for a mic jack if I had a choice. A belt clip was also not on top of the designer’s mnd, but it does come with a rather nice case to carry around. Sadly, the case has no belt clip of its own, so make sure you have pockets when you take it with you.
The manual states that the battery will last for 24 hours of straight recording or 5000 images. After four days of intensive use outside and inside, the recorder hasn’t even gone down one bar on the battery life. I am sure that most of us won’t be recording for 24 hours straight or shoot 5000 frames per day, so it is safe to say that the batteries will probably last you for a good couple of weeks or longer.
Next: Testing/Samples >>
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