Olympus TG-310 - Features

Within its tough outer casing the TG-310 employs a 1/2.3in CCD sensor with an effective resolution of 14-megapixels, backed up by the company’s TruePic III image processor.

Sensitivity stretches from ISO 80 to 1600, while continuous shooting is limited to 1.2fps at full resolution, or 3fps at a reduced resolution of 3-megapixels. The TG-310 is equipped with a 3.6x optical zoom that offers between 28-102mm in 35mm terms.

The default aspect ratio is 4:3 and resolution can be lowered from the maximum 14MP to a choice of 8MP, 5MP, 3MP, 2MP, 1MP and VGA. In addition, it’s also possible to record images in 16:9 in a choice of either high or low quality. The TG-310 is only able to record still images as JPEGs, for which it offers two levels of compression: Fine and Normal.

The TG-310 is very much in the mould of a point and shoot compact, and this is reflected by the camera’s three standard shooting modes: iAuto is the default fully automatic mode, backed up by 17 equally automated Scene modes. Program mode, meanwhile, does allow a small degree of user input in areas such as ISO, white balance and EV compensation.

That’s not to say that the TG-310 doesn’t have a couple of tricks up its sleeve. The TG-310’s most attention-grabbing feature is its ability to record 3D images in a dedicated 3D Photo shooting mode. While the 2.7in, 230k-dot LCD monitor on the back of the camera only displays in lowly 2D, we’re assured that 3D images can be viewed in full 3D on a compatible TV or monitor.

In keeping with the recent trend for digital effects filters, the TG-310 also comes with eight Magic Filters: Pop Art, Pin Hole, Fish Eye, Drawing, Soft Focus, Punk, Sparkle and Watercolour. These can be used to give images and videos a bit of a twist. Rounding things off is a Panorama mode that allows you to take multiple images, which the camera will automatically stitch together. 

Movies can be recorded at a maximum resolution of 1080 x 720p HD, although there are also options to downscale recordings to 640 x 480 VGA or 320 x 240 QVGA, depending on their end-use and/or the amount of free memory. Sound is recorded in mono and movies are stored as MPEG-4 files.

External connectivity stretches to a mini HDMI and mini USB 2.0 port. The former allows you to hook the camera up to a HDTV or similar, while the latter can be used for transferring files or for charging the battery. The TG-310 also supports the use of Eye-Fi memory cards that allow for the wireless transfer of images between the camera and a computer.