Olympus FE-5010 (2009)

The Olympus FE-5010 is a small-sensor compact from the company's FE line. It was announced January 7, 2009 and sold in the US for around $190. Olympus also marketed it as the X-915, and the manual covers it alongside the near-identical FE-5000/X-905. For the money, you got a 12MP CCD sensor and a 5x optical zoom lens reaching the 35mm equivalent of 180mm. That was a generous spec sheet for a budget compact. Imaging Resource noted that for a camera selling under $200, you got a hefty 3,968-by-2,976 resolution coupled with that 180mm-equivalent reach.

The camera is built around a 1/2.33-inch CCD sensor with native ISO from 64 to 1600. The LCD is a fixed 2.7-inch unit with 230k dot resolution. The body measures 96 x 57 x 21mm and weighs 130g. The box included the LI-42B lithium-ion battery, LI-41C charger, USB and AV cables, a strap, the OLYMPUS Master 2 CD-ROM, and a microSD attachment. The camera accepted xD-Picture Cards natively and microSD/microSDHC through that attachment. Other documented features include image stabilization (the product title claims "5x Optical Dual Image Stabilized Zoom"), P mode, macro shooting, exposure compensation, movie playback with volume and frame-advance controls, a self-timer lamp, and a tripod socket.

The manual was printed in China with a November 4, 2008 date. Beyond that, the historical record is thin — no production end date, no detailed technical specifications from the manual’s spec section, and no period reviews beyond the Imaging Resource announcement coverage. Used listings suggest the LCD can develop a foggy appearance over time, though owners note it doesn’t necessarily affect image capture. It’s a straightforward, unremarkable budget compact from 2009 — the kind of camera that was everywhere at the time and is now remembered mostly by the people who owned one.