Exposure is fairly accurate and the exposure compensation method is just about the easiest and most intuitive we have encountered. We found the Olympus default ESP metering to be generally the best at determining exposure. The SP-350 can be used as an automatic point and shoot camera but that would be a pity because it does provide the photographer with full manual controls. The best way to set up the camera is to create a “My Scene” setting with preferred defaults and vary from that when necessary.

Unfortunately Olympus follow the herd with an absurd predictive auto focus system that is guaranteed to always focus on the wrong spot in the photograph. Auto focus should be set to Spot the moment the camera is taken from the box.

Like this: The SP-350 has exceptionally good auto white balance. Photos taken under a tricky mix of incandescent and halogen spots were just about perfect.

Dislike that: Olympus do not provide either a printed manual or a battery charger. The manual is on disc and the owner will have to supply the rechargeable batteries and charger. There is no memory card with the camera, only the 32mb of internal memory. All of which means that the true price of the camera is not $700 but more like $800.

Parting shot: The Olympus SP-350 is up against some stiff competition from Canon and Sony in this price range. The Olympus is a capable camera and feels more like a traditional camera than the opposition. The Sony is also an 8mp camera while the Canon has a 6mp sensor but with image stabilisation. The Canon seems to cost $100 more but it comes with a battery and charger and uses cheaper SD memory cards.