he MJU 840 Olympus digital camera is a stylish, little camera that should fit into a pocket. This camera is part of the Olympus weatherproof range, so you should have no problem with a bit of rain. The MJU 840 has 8 megapixels and a 5x optical zoom lens. The lens being that bit longer than standard can help you to get in that bit closer when you need to. The camera is not over burdened with features and should appeal to someone looking for a simple, point and click model.



Image Quality Olympus MJU 840 test shots

Outdoor 1 (Medium Zoom)

Looking at my first test shot taken with the Olympus MJU 840 digital camera, the first points I notice are the colour and brightness of the photo. The colours have plenty of depth without being overpowering, while I also like the brightness of the picture.

In terms of sharpness the photo is not as sharp as some digital cameras manage and I would rank this camera in the middle rank when it comes to focusing. Sun glare is handled well, but I would like to have seen a bit more definition in some of the more shady areas of the shot.

Outdoor 2 (No Zoom)

The second test shot runs along similar lines to the first one. The colours are very strong. This gives a very powerful blue sky. I would say the sky is a darker shade of blue than it was at the time the picture was taken.

Focusing is again about average. The picture is sharper in the centre with the focusing slipping out towards the edges. This is true for many cameras.

Outdoor 3 (Maximum Zoom)

I like the way this photo looks. Focusing is softer than with some of the other cameras I have reviewed recently. This should not be a problem if you are planning to print at say 7 x 5 inches, but if you blow the photos up to be larger than this the prints are likely to have a soft feel to them.

Outdoor 4 (Building)

This is another decent photo. Again I like the colour and brightness of the shot. Focusing is much better than with the Olympus FE-310 digital camera I reviewed recently.

Outdoor Portrait

By using a white balance setting of cloudy the outdoor picture takes on a slight orange colour caste. Without changing the white balance the original picture was rather dull.

Indoor Portrait with Flash

Using the flash has created plenty of light. The MJU 840 does well to ensure that although the photo is bright there is still plenty of colour left in the picture. Many digital cameras blast out the skin tones when flash is quite strong, but here the camera manages to preserve them.

Indoor Portrait without Flash

Without the flash this Olympus digital camera struggles to produce a sharp focus. The lighting I use for this photo is quite good and to be honest I am disappointed the camera is unable to produce a sharper picture considering the conditions. This means that once the light begins to dip you will nearly always have to revert to flash.

Colours

Colours have been strong through my test shots. In places you may feel they are too strong.

Macro

My macro test shot is roughly in line with my expectations. It is certainly bright, but it lacks a bit of definition. As with other Olympus digital cameras the MJU 840 gives the photo a small purple tinge in places.