Olympus Shows Its Sensitive Side
By Greg Scoblete -- TWICE, 9/25/2006
Center Valley, Pa. — Olympus unveiled its holiday lineup earlier last month, offering several new blur-reduction technologies and high resolutions to appeal to savvy second-time buyers.
All the company's new models are currently shipping.
The company's line includes its first 10-megapixel model, the all-weather Stylus 1000. The camera features an image stabilization mode that combats blur by upping the ISO sensitivity to 3,200 and bumping up the shutter speed and a digital image stabilization “edit” mode which can remove blur in-camera after the shot has been taken. The edit mode employs an electro-gyro sensor embedded in the camera to track the vertical and horizontal movement of the camera, using this data the camera can shift recorded pixels to remove blur.
The Stylus 1000 also features Olympus' Bright Capture technology, capable of reaching ISO sensitivities to 6,400 for 3-megapixel resolution images in manual mode. Bright capture is also available in the camera's movie mode. The model offers a 2.5-inch 230,000 pixel LCD, 3x optical zoom lens, super macro mode and 20 scene modes. It will retail for an estimated $399.
Rounding out the line will be a trio of 7-megapixel models.
The 730, for an estimated $399, sports a 3.0-inch LCD, 3x optical zoom lens, 20 scene modes, Bright Capture, image stabilization mode/edit, and a new “simple mode” for accessing automatic settings with the touch of a button. A new “perfect fix” mode offers three different in-camera editing features at the press of a button. The perfect fix menu brings up a choice of digital image stabilization edit, lighting fix to correct underexposure, and red eye removal. Additional in-camera editing options can be accessed as well include resizing, trimming, frames, text, color brightness and saturation adjustments.
The Stylus 740 trades a longer optical zoom at 5x for a smaller 2.5-inch LCD screen. It offers 23 scene modes, including three underwater modes for use with a new PT-034 ($249) underwater housing. It will retail for an estimated $349.
The Stylus750 also offers a 5x optical zoom, a CCD-shifting image stabilization technology, a 2.5-inch LCD, Bright Capture, in-camera editing and 23 scene modes including three under water modes for use with the new PT-034 housing. The camera will retail for an estimated $399.
Olympus will toss its new 7-megapixel SP-510 into the ultra zoom fray. The model sports a 10x optical zoom lens (38mm to 380mm/35mm equivalent), a 2.5-inch LCD and a battery life of up to 630 shots from four AA alkaline batteries. It also boasts 21 scene modes, Bright Capture, manual controls, ISO sensitivity to 4,000, in-camera editing and RAW shooting capability.
The model will sell for an estimated $329.
In its entry level FE-series Olympus added four 6-megapixel models, all offering 2.5-inch LCD screens and image stabilization. The FE 170, for $149, features a 3x optical zoom, 16 scene modes, 10MB of internal memory and runs on a pair of AA batteries.
The FE-180, for $179, offer can snap up to 500 photos on a single charge of its included Ni-MH rechargeable batteries. It sports a 3x optical zoom lens, 16 shooting modes and 22MB of internal memory.
The $199 FE-190 measures in at 0.7-inch thick with a 3x optical zoom lens and a metal body.
Finally, the FE-200 offers a 5x optical wide angle zoom lens (28mm-140mm/35mm equivalent), 16 scene modes and uses a lithium ion rechargeable battery. It will retail for an estimated $249.
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