The ultimate budget camera


I bought myself an early Christmas gift today. I was on the lookout for the perfect budget vis a vis performance camera, which was relatively “new” in the market.

Say hello to the Olympus C-310 Zoom (D-540 Zoom in other countries)

ultimate camera

After a few days of research on the net as well as window shopping in Abenson’s, Electroworld, and other digicam stores in Makati, I finally shelled out P11,4xx.00 for this darling.

I was on the lookout for a sub P13,000.00 camera that had at least 3 MP on it and optical zoom. Glad was I to find this wonder from Olympus. I’ve been reading superb reviews from websites about this cheap little shooter.

What I like about it:
- 3.2 megapixels so I can print on A4
- 3x optical zoom is just for “pogi points”
- lightweight and sturdy
- 2 cm of super macro mode (this is what convinced me to get it since I love macro shots)

What I don’t like about it but bought it anyway:
- weak battery life (so I bought myself some rechargeables from Sony)
- does not come with a AC Adapter
- xD picture card format is understandable since it’s proprietary for Fuji and Olympus

Bottomline: 4.5 out of 5 stars accourding to PhotographyBLOG
I would really recommend this camera for those who want to be semi-serious with point and shoot photography but at the same time have a very limited budget. It’s features actually outweigh the cost at the sub P12,000.00 consumer camera bracket.

I am content! Now I can go on being a cam whore!

n.b. For a limited time, Abenson’s (Electroworld) is offering a 12 month 0% interest plan for this camera for only P950.00 a month.

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September 17th, 2004
9 Responses
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Comment Number:
1
Written by:
gary
Posted on:
9/19/2004 at 10:01 am

ok to! looks good. i think 8 out of 10 times, siguro most people will find this to be ‘pwede na’.

prob is.. uh-oh.. must.. resist.. urge.. to buy… :)

Comment Number:
2
Written by:
jayvee
Posted on:
9/19/2004 at 10:48 am

if you can spare a little bit more cash (around 4k more), you may want to choose the higher 4MP Olympus. I think it even comes with a free 64MB xD card as a promo but im not sure if its still ongoing.

Comment Number:
3
Written by:
iBernie
Posted on:
9/20/2004 at 12:59 pm

Wow! Digital photographer na si Mr. Beanster!!!

Comment Number:
4
Written by:
Winston Chiu
Posted on:
9/24/2004 at 1:53 pm

Excuse my french but this is one of those over-rated cameras. Ok, the first cost is cheap — but who else is using XD??? Eventhough the Sony Memory Stick is proprietary, at the very least all Sony devices uses the Memory Stick. Shell out a few hundred bucks more and get yourself either an SD camera or an even more affordable CF-based camera. Look it up here.

And one more thing, if you’re trigger happy and uses an 3.0MP, why bother using an AA or AAA battery based camera?

My two cents.

W

Comment Number:
5
Written by:
Paulo Jherome M. Manalo
Posted on:
9/27/2004 at 3:46 pm

Guys. You may want to check Kodak CX7330. For 10 grand you get a 3.1 MP, 3X Optical, 3X Digital, 16 MB (Internal), Expandable Memory via SD, complete package with free pouch and a T-shirt… best of all, 12 mos. to pay.

Comment Number:
6
Written by:
jayvee
Posted on:
9/27/2004 at 4:25 pm

wow! more promos!! :D

Comment Number:
7
Written by:
Lawrence Buccat
Posted on:
10/1/2004 at 9:52 pm

Hmm…I just bought the new Canon Powershot A400 for a promo price of P13950. 3.1 MP, 2.2x digital zoom, SD Expansion, and most importantly its blue…it matches my t610 and my zire 72. And I just realized that the sync cable it comes with is compatible with my zire 72’s sync cable…wohoo…big bonus..

Based on the reviews I read its a great entry level camera.

Comment Number:
8
Written by:
jayvee
Posted on:
10/2/2004 at 11:18 am

promos! promos! promos!

the olympus i got was on a 0% interest plan for 12 months. that makes around 900 pesos per month.

the main reason why i choe olympus was because a lot of people from my workplace also use this band so xD memory is actually pretty abundant since we need to take lots of pictures of site developments.

if i leave my work … o well! its still a nice camera. remember, its the photographer thats overrated, not the camera. :D

Comment Number:
9
Written by:
john
Posted on:
10/20/2004 at 12:03 pm

I’m planning to purchase an entry-level camera in the 3Mp level, where I may get the Kodak CX7330 w/ free pouch, T-shirt and 12 mos. to pay?