Olympus SH-21 Pro Reviews

The Olympus SH-21 is a versatile compact camera that combines a usefully large zoom range with a wide selection of shooting modes. The camera’s touchscreen doesn’t come off as a gimmick, and is genuinely useful at times. However, if you’re looking for a point-and-shoot that delivers squeaky clean shots, this isn’t the camera for you: while snaps are acceptable at smaller sizes, there’s too much grainy noise when compared to similarly priced cameras from the likes of Canon.

It is at this point it's important to remind oneself that this camera's RRP is £189.99 and not much higher, and you'll likely be able to buy if to for much less, a quick trawl on the Internet revealed prices as low as £134; this for a 16MP compact choc full of clever kit and a versatile 24-300mm zoom lens. Throw in the HD video and the fun filters and effects and suddenly those foibles I mentioned start to be come less significant. And so, as a travellers companion snapper, which it is designed to be that won't break the bank, is easy to use and shoots enough quality (at least for most people requiring ìnormalî snaps rather than large wall mounted prints) then the SH-21 is to be lauded and well worth serious consideration. It's a real bargain.

If you want a reasonably priced ultra-zoom compact that's crammed full of varied shooting modes and creative effects, the SH-21 will fit the bill handsomely.

The Olympus SH-21 packs a great range of features and is compact with an impressive zoom range. The camera takes a decent image but detail isn't as strong as you'd hope for from a 16 megapixel sensor, but where the SH-21 does excel is noise at higher ISO settings. It is an extremely versatile camera, the minimum focusing distance of 1cm making it ideal for macro photography and 5 fps high-speed shooting ideal for capturing fast moving subjects. If you enjoy taking portrait pictures you may be disappointed, we took many portrait shots, none of them produced an image with sharp eyes.