Olympus Stylus Verve: Fashion vs Performance

The Timing Tests

* NOTE: For all of our time tests, the camera is reset to its factory default settings and set to record using the highest resolution and quality setting. The camera was set to Auto mode. We also disabled all sounds. A Fujifilm 512MB xD-Picture card was used.

Before reading our results, please refer to our Testing Procedures page.

Startup Time

The startup time is recorded from the moment the power button is pushed to the moment the shutter sounds. The camera was set to record in Auto mode with startup sounds and screens disabled.

Startup time (seconds)

3.76

At a startup time of 3.76 seconds, the Stylus Verve showed a fairly middle-of-the-road performance. For example, the ultra-compact Casio Exilim Ex-Z40 had an amazingly fast startup time of just 2.15 seconds. Although we can't quite call the Verve's startup time "slow", it is certainly not fast.

Shutter Lag

To record shutter lag, we perform two tests. For the first test, we pre-focus the lens and measure the amount of time it takes the camera to take a picture after the shutter button is pressed. The second test measures the time it takes for the camera to take a picture after we press the shutter button without pre-focusing. Each test is performed 3 times and the results are averaged. For more information regarding our testing procedures, please refer to our Testing Procedures page

With Pre-focus (seconds)	Without Pre-focus (seconds)
0.13	0.64

Both with and without pre-focusing, the Stylus Verve had fairly average shutter lag times. When we pre-focused the camera, the lag was just 0.13 seconds. When we did not pre-focus the camera, the shutter lag was 0.64 seconds. Although both of these times are reasonably fast, they are not really impressive compared to other cameras that we have tested. We should also mention that because of the f/3.5 maximum aperture, the Stylus Verve has some difficulty focusing in low light. An AF-assist lamp would have helped tremendously. Since the Stylus Verve does not have one, the camera will perform its best in brightly-lit situations.

Write Times

We recorded 5 different write times with a Fujifilm xD-Picture card:

Single Shot - The time it takes for a single image to be completely written to the flash card (the time the "activity light" is on)
Shot To Shot (STS) - The time until the second shot is able to be taken after the first (shutter to shutter)
Shot To Shot w/Flash - The time it takes for the camera to take two pictures with the flash starting from the moment the first flash is fired to the moment the second is fired
Continuous Drive - The total time for the camera to shoot a burst of frames from the first shutter to the last shutter
Clear Buffer for Next Burst - The time it takes the camera to clear its internal buffer after a burst of images

We set the camera to the highest resolution and quality setting. We performed each test three times and averaged the results. Below are the resolution, quality setting, and average file size used for the tests.

2272x1704, SHQ, Avg. file size = 2.56 MB

Single Shot	Shot To Shot	Shot to Shot w/Flash	Continuous Drive (7 frames)	Clear Buffer for Next Burst
3.08	1.93	11.47	5.18	20.05

It takes the Stylus Verve approximately 3.08 seconds to write a single image to the flash card. However, at the highest quality and resolution, the camera has a buffer large enough for 7 images. With Shot to Shot time, the Verve showed a somewhat average speed, taking 1.93 seconds between shots. After 7 frames, the internal buffer is full and the camera slows to 2.85 seconds between shots. The camera shows a disappointing Shot to Shot w/Flash time of 11.47 seconds. We were fairly impressed with the Verve's Continuous drive ability. We were able to shoot 7 frames in 5.18 seconds (1.35 fps). The downside is that it takes 20.05 seconds to clear the buffer after this burst.

Overall, we were disappointed with the speed of the Stylus Verve. Although startup and shutter lag times are not horrible, they are not very impressive either. When it comes to write times, Shot to Shot w/out Flash time is manageable, but the camera becomes very slow with the use of the flash. In addition, it is nice to be able to shoot at 1.35 fps for 7 frames. However, since it takes 20 seconds to clear the buffer after a burst, the usefulness of the continuous drive mode is questionable.