Minimum aperature on Olympus Stylus 410

[joe hewes]

The mimimum aperature on the Olympus Stylus 410 digital camera is

only f/5.2. This seems a bit open to me. I have to think that

because the maximum ISO is only 480, they had to limit the aperature

to allow adequate exposure.

 

My concern is this: that at f/5.2 one may not get adequate depth of

field in some situations. Will it do the bang-up job my Olympus

Stylus Epic does of getting shots of me in front of a landscape,

with adequate depth of field?

 

I'd like to hear from other users of this camera - how is it working

for you? Are you getting adequate depth of field in most if not all

situations?

 

And FYI, I am considering the Stylus 410 versus the Canon Powershot

A85, which goes down to f/8.

 

Any insights appreciated.

[phule]

<< that at f/5.2 one may not get adequate depth of field in some situations >>

 

However this is f/5.2 on a 5.8-17.4mm lens. The DOF is already quite large.

[pablo_s]

Joe, with compact digicams you have huge amounts of DoF at all apertures and focal lengths (except may be the shallowest aperture at the longest focal length), and at all distances except macro. However, most digicams do go to f/8. What is the largest aperture of yhe Olympus 410? An important concern is that with a very limited range of apertures your control of shutter speed and exposure is severely limited.

[pablo_s]

Another thing is that 480 is a very high ISO for compact digicams. You'll notice that all of them have substantial noise from ISO 200, and even those with an ISO 800 mode aren't really usable at ISO 800.

[phule]

B.t.w. the full aperture range on the Stylus 410 is more than likely f/3.1-f/8. I can't find any website that specificly lists this, but many sites show the max aperture range as f/3.1-f/5.2. Max in this case means how wide open the aperture can be.

 

Given that, the value f/5.2 is the most likely the widest the aperture can open when the lens is zoomed out to 17.4mm (35mm equiv: 105mm). It is /not/ the value of the smallest aperture available.

 

You may notice that at f/8 your images might become a little more soft due to diffraction.

 

Long story short: small point and shoot digital cameras have, due to their small sensors and lens design, a ton of DOF.

[joe hewes]

The Olympus web site lists the aperture range as, and I quote, f3.1 ? f5.2.

 

I am not a mathematician so calulations of depth of field at various apertures vs. focal length vs. sensor size are beyond me. If you guys tell me not to worry about it, I won't.

 

I love the Stylus - we have a Stylus Epic film camera that is wonderful. I like the weatherproofing of the 410 digital camera, and its form factor. But the PowerShot A85 does go down to f/8, and has exposure compensation, and apparently has some kind of control over the flash output that I have not been able to verify just yet. It also takes standard AA batteries. Too bad Canon didn't make it look cooler and weatherproof it some. Then we'd have a hands-down winner.

[phule]

<< The Olympus web site lists the aperture range as, and I quote, f3.1 ? f5.2. >>

 

Joe,

 

If you look at all the digital point and shoot cameras on the Olympus website you will see that none of them list f/8 as the smallest aperture. Now go look at the reviews of the same Olympus cameras on dpreview.com. Amazingly, they indicate f/8 as the smallest aperture.

 

You need to do better research before jumping to conclusions.

[joe hewes]

DPReview did not have a review on this camera (I looked). They had user reviews but no full technical review. In their specs, they state, and I quote, F3.1 - F5.2 / ?? (question marks theirs). They questioned it and so did I. That's why I questioned it without drawing a conclusion. In fact I even queried the manufacturer, and they responded:

 

Dear Joe,

 

We value you as an Olympus customer and appreciate the opportunity to assist you with this situation.

 

The Aperture range of the camera is f3.1 ? f5.2

 

Regards,

 

Terry

 

Digital Technical Support

Olympus Imaging America, Inc.

 

Therefore, the only conclusion I can draw, after doing research and asking others, including the manufacturer, is that the camera has a range of, and I quote, f3.1 - f5.2.

 

But please, prove me wrong. I would love for this camera to go down to f/8. The Canon Powershot A85 does, and it says so on the manufacturer's web site.

 

But you know, it may be true, as someone a few posts above says, that the numbers quoted are the maximum aperature at the wide and tele end. But even Olympus doesn't say that. So I guess we are left to draw our own conclusions based on the available data, which is murky at best. All I did was ask.

 

Many thanks for any further info you can pass along.