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February 13, 2008

Olympus Mju 1200 12Mp compact camera review

If you are a fan of past Olympus Mju cameras then the Olympus Mju 1200 will be right up your alley.

The Olympus Mju 1200 doesn’t differ much from previous units, bringing the same features list, weatherproof build and stylish design to the table. This time around Olympus has packed in a 12Mp sensor which does improve the image quality a little, but the flaws as well as the plaudits found on units such as the Mju 820 are still present here.

Improving the resolution to 4,000x3,000, the Olympus Mju 1200's sensor captures some fairly crisp shots. They are still a little softer at times than we’d like from a 12Mp model, but they will be fine for all but the largest print sizes.

We did notice a little corner softening and some prominent purple fringing, which suggests chromatic aberration issues, however, these are fairly common problems for a compact camera such as the Olympus Mju 1200.

Colour balance was fairly good in images captured by the Olympus Mju 1200, with a slightly softer, more natural tone. Typically with compact cameras, the primary colours are quite strongly saturated but on this model that was only really the case with blues.

Our main criticism of the Olympus Mju 1200 is that skin tones came out a little pink and the white balance settings aren’t always as spot on as we’d like. Image noise is generally kept under control, with minimal graininess up to ISO 200.

At ISO 400 it takes a slight jump upwards, but the images are still perfectly usable. It isn’t until ISO 800 and ISO 1600 that noise really starts becoming a problem. One other element of the Olympus Mju 1200 that we quite like is its ability to handle contrast.

The Olympus Mju 1200 renders great detail even in extremely dark areas thanks to its shadow adjustment technology.

And the feature set is up to Olympus’ high standard. Face detection is back once again along with vibration reduction to help eliminate that pesky hand shake (although the latter is only digital and doesn’t operate nearly as well as its optical brother).

The guide mode is also back offering novice users a simple, step-by-step process to improve their pictures. A nice selection of white balance presets are on offer but no custom mode. ISO sensitivities extend to 3200 although as stated we wouldn’t take the Olympus Mju 1200 past ISO 400 or maybe ISO 800.

A noteworthy addition to the Olympus Mju 1200 is the new Panorama mode, which allows users to stitch together multiple shots by simply lining up the dots. It isn’t flawless, but it is one of the simplest panorama modes we’ve seen and it produces some excellent results.

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Independent customer reviews from

Olympus Mju 1200 scored:
8.8 out of 10 100% real reviews

The 2 most helpful reviews based on 8 reviews:

05 May 2008 Anonymous verified purchaser

9

Good Points

high quality of pictures and easy to use.

Bad Points

The main bad point is that when taking photo's on bright sunny days, it is hard to see the image in the display as the image of my face is reflected in the display. This is the first camera I have had that does not have a view finder as well as a display screen.

03 May 2008 Frank, Hollingbourne, Kent

10

Good Points

Very easy to use, first time I have had a digital camera without a view finder; the screen is so large that it is easily manageable. Coming with a case was a plus. All in all a very good purchase.

Bad Points

Reviewer left no comment

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expert rating

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3/5

Features

4.5/5

Value for money

3.5/5

Overall

3.5/5

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Olympus Mju 1200

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