Olympus VR-310 Pro Reviews

For less than £100 the thinking will be 'you can't go wrong' when it comes to the Olympus VR-310. And up to a point that's true. Unfortunately when it's image quality letting a camera down, it might actually be the wiser move to spend a little more, unless you really are considering this camera as something for the kids or grandma to knock around with as a bit of fun. Or looking for a short-term investment yourself that gives you a little bit of 'poke' at the telephoto end of the zoom. So the VR-310 is no star performer and you get what you pay for. Olympus would argue that the combination of small price but big zoom is a winning combination, and, on paper it is and in reality would be true too if the VR-310 performed perfectly well. Unfortunately its hit and miss results mean that here is one camera that we cannot unequivocally recommend. It's adequate, but in an ideal world who wants to settle for adequate? The positives however are that the VR-310 is a camera that is easy to use, has that broader than average focal range (although not 100% perfect throughout), some fun built-in digital filters and a simple and approachable layout. And, in hitting that £99 sweet spot it should just fly off the shelves no matter what critical barbs we aim at it.

Though the Olympus’s metal exterior outwardly betters what we’d expect from a £99 camera and initially lures us in due to this unexpected promise, the end results unfortunately confirm our pre-conceived prejudices. This leads us to advise that, if possible, you do dig a little deeper into your pocket than what’s being asked here. Ultimately if you’re at all fussy about image quality, the VR-310 is not quite the bargain it may seem on paper.

Though it achieved some colourful results, bugbears such as very noticeable purple fringing, as well as image softness mean that, though cheap, the VR-310 is no bargain.

The VR-310 is a compact 10x zoom optical camera, capable of taking pictures which are perfectly acceptable when considering the price it is available for. If you are on a budget and would like a point and shoot with more zoom than you normally find on a camera at this price then you can't go wrong with the VR-310.