Olympus FE310 or FE340

[miami]

Looking at the Olympus FE310 and FE340 for my daughter. Both are 8 MP, 5X optical zoom, digital stabilization, face detection. FE340 has a slightly larger LCD screen (2.7" v 2.5") and Smile Capture. It is slightly smaller than the FE310. FE310 uses 2 AA batteries.

 

Circuit City has the FE340 for $200.00. Office Max has the FE310 for $150.00 and it includes a 1GB xD card and xD reader.

[pierces]

Not a fan of AA batteries. A lot of folks carp about the cost of spare Li-ion batteries, but over the life of a camera, it evens out and they provide a longer life per charge by far. As you mentioned in the specs above, smaller and lighter as well. Quality LI-42B replacement batteries can be found for under $15 at places like Adorama.

 

I bought one spare battery for my Canon SD800 when I got it a year ago and always carry the charged spare with me. When one battery goes dead, I swap it out and charge the other that night. I've never been caught with a dead camera.

 

IMHO, go for the 340.

 

BTW, it $179 on Amazon with free shipping.

 

Dave

[bakechef]

Pierces is right. I checked Beachcamera.com, and they have the 340 for $169 with free shipping, and adorama has the battery for $14.95 with free shipping! The cost of this second battery is less than you would pay for 4 AA rechargeable and a charger.

 

The battery that you will need is the LI-42b http://www.adorama.com/IBYLI42B.html

 

It looks like you will be able to get the camera and a spare battery for less than circuit city when ordering online.

 

Check Newegg.com for XD memory cards, I buy most of my memory there for about half the price or less than going into circuit city or best buy.

 

MAC

[miami]

Thanks very much for your help. I'll check out those sites.