Olympus Slates New Pen And 3D Cameras

Greg Tarr On Jan 6 2011 - 6:01am

LAS VEGAS — Olympus unveils at International CES this week 10 new digital camera products, including the fourth-generation Pen Micro Four Thirds camera, in addition to a trio of 3D cameras.

The highlight of the new offerings is the E-PL2 Pen Micro Four Thirds-based mirrorless lens camera ($600 suggested retail). Offering the functionality of a d-SLR and the form factor of a point-andshoot, the E-PL2 features up to ISO 6400 low-light capability, a Live Guide II user menu that now works with video recording, an included 14-42mm f3.5/5.6 zoom lens II, 3-inch LCD, new autofocus system with face detection and eye detection, art filter variations, and a range of accessories. The accessories include three new converter lenses, a close-up spotlight for macro shooting, and Pen Pal Bluetooth capability to send images to a smartphone and similar devices.

Also slated to appear is the XZ-1 ($500) featuring an iZuiko f1.8-2.5 fixed lens with 4x zoom (28- 112mm equivalent), TruePic V image processing, a 1/1.63 inch CCD sensor, low-light shooting to 3200 ISO, 3-inch OLED monitor, Dual IS, 720p movie mode, in-camera creative features and compatibility with Pen camera accessories, including the PT-050 underwater housing available in January.

Other new point-and-shoots slated for introduction include the VR-310 ($200), which is due in February with 14-megapixel resolution, 10x optical zoom (24-240mm equivalent), 3-inch LCD, all-metal-body dual-image stabilization, and 720 HD video capture.

The VG-120 ($140) will ship in January offering 14-megapixel resolution, 5x optical zoom (27-130mm equivalent) 720p HD video recording, digital image stabilization, magic filters and AF tracking.