Olympus announced a whole lot of cameras today, included the new Stylus SW series, now rebranded as “Stylus Tough” cameras as promised. And let’s begin with Olympus pushing the “most zoom in a single lens” barrier yet again with their latest SP590 Ultra Zoom which has a whopping 26X optical zoom!

Olympus SP590 Ultra Zoom
(Super zoom camera with a 26X lens)

• 12 effective megapixels
• 26 - 676 mm (f2.8 - f5.0) 26X optical zoom lens
• Sensor shift image stabilization
• 2.7 inch LCD with EVF
• Full manual controls and wireless flash control
• New multi-exposure, soft background focus, birdwatching and beauty fix modes
• VGA 30 FPS movie mode with sound
• Takes xD Picture cards
• Uses 4 AA batteries
• Available in March for $450

Olympus Stylus 7000 and Stylus 9000
(Compact cameras with large zoom lenses)

• 12 effective megapixels
• 37 - 260 mm (f3.5 - f5.3) 7X optical zoom lens for Stylus 7000
  28 - 280 mm (f3.2 - f5.9) 10X optical zoom lens for Stylus 9000
• Sensor shift image stabilization
• 3 inch LCD for Stylus 7000, 2.7 inch LCD for Stylus 9000 (I have no idea why)
• No manual controls
• Intelligent Auto mode (camera picks a mode automatically), Beauty Fix mode and OR button (OR stands for Olympus Recommended) brings up panorama, Perfect Shot Preview and Shadow Adjustment functions
• VGA 30 FPS movie mode with sound
• HDMI port
• Takes xD Picture cards
• Uses a lithium-ion battery (LI-42B for Stylus 7000, LI-50B for Stylus 9000)
• Available in February for $300 (Stylus 7000) and $350 (Stylus 9000)
• Stylus 7000 will come in your choice of silver, black or blue
  Stylus 9000 will come in your choice of beige or black

Olympus Stylus Tough 6000 and Stylus Tough 8000
(Compact cameras with large zoom lenses)

• 10 effective megapixels for Stylus Tough 6000
  12 effective megapixels for Stylus Tough 8000
• 28 - 102 mm (f3.5 - f5.1) 3.6X optical zoom lens
• Rugged design:
  Stylus Tough 6000 is waterproof to 10 feet, drop proof to 5 feet and freezeproof to 14 degrees
  Stylus Tough 8000 is waterproof to 33 feet, drop proof to 6.5 feet, freezeproof to 14 degrees and crushproof up to 220 lbs
• Sensor shift image stabilization
• 2.7 inch LCD
• Tap control and a new LCD backlight boost button like the FE-series
• No manual controls
• Intelligent Auto mode (camera picks a mode automatically), Beauty Fix mode and OR button
• VGA 30 FPS movie mode with sound
• Takes xD Picture cards
• Uses a lithium-ion battery (Stylus Tough 8000 can be charged via AC adapter)
• Available in this month for $300 (Stylus Tough 6000) and in February for $400 (Stylus Tough 8000)
• Stylus Tough 6000 will come in your choice of white, blue, yellow and orange

Well here come the first camera announcements for the year 2009… from Kodak. They’ve got four cameras to reveal today: the 12 megapixel Kodak EasyShare Z980 ($400) features a HD movie mode, vertical grip (!!) and a 24X zoom lens which starts at 26 mm. The other three are compact cameras: the EasyShare M320 ($130) with 9 megapixels, a 3X lens and 2.7 megapixels, the 10 megapixel EasyShare M340 ($150) and the EasyShare M380 ($180) which has 10 megapixels, a 5X zoom lens, 2.7 inch LCD and will come in your choice of three colors; black, red or turquoise. Unfortunately, Kodak didn’t provide many details about the two so I can’t have my usual specifications run-down over here.

Stay tuned for more new camera announcements as the CES 2009 (Consumer Electronics Show) approaches this weekend.

I’d like to wish all our readers a Merry Christmas and happy holidays. I’ll be taking a short break this weekend but not to worry, I’ve got two (or three) reviews planned for next week, hopefully before the new year. Have a great weekend all.

I’ve just published my review of the Canon PowerShot A1000 IS, another entry-level camera from Canon – this one has a 4X zoom lens, 2.5 inch LCD and an optical viewfinder. I’ve also got the Canon PowerShot A1000 IS photo gallery up, so have a look at that too. The full review of the Canon A1000 awaits you after the link.

Continue reading the review

I’ve also posted the Canon PowerShot A1000 IS Photo Gallery along with the Canon PowerShot A1000 IS review. Remember to check out both.

View photos taken by the Canon A1000

You asked for it and now you’re getting it: I’ve just posted my review of the Canon PowerShot SD880 IS Digital ELPH aka Digital IXUS 870 IS; Canon’s latest pocket camera with a 28 mm wide-angle lens, big screen and the latest Canon bells and whistles. I’m surprised at the number of emails I’ve been getting daily, asking for a review of this camera and I can only guess it has something to do with Christmas and shopping. Do check out the Canon SD880 Digital ELPH/Digital IXUS 870 IS photo gallery as well. Click the link for the full review of the camera.

Continue reading the review

Here’s the Canon PowerShot SD880 IS Digital ELPH/Digital IXUS 870 IS Photo Gallery containing full-sized pictures taken by the camera. Be sure to check out the Canon PowerShot SD880 IS Digital ELPH/Digital IXUS 870 IS review for more about Canon’s latest compact camera with 28 mm wide-angle and a big 3 inch screen.

View photos taken by the Canon SD880 IS

Hey everyone, hope everyone’s having a great weekend out there and enjoying Christmas shopping. Just wanna say it again, in case anyone missed it - I posted my review of the Canon PowerShot A2000 IS on Friday along with the Canon A2000 IS photo gallery which contains a lot of real life sample photos; about 20 of them, be it outdoors, indoors, close ups, shots with flash… they’re all in there. So be sure to have a look at that gallery.

Another thing is that Christmas is coming… which means everyone’s busy with shopping and things are gonna get busy in the next two weeks. But not much time for me to rest and relax now - DPInterface is going on full steam ahead to provide you with various camera reviews, so any last minute purchasing considerations or decisions won’t be too much of a problem as you can always check out our reviews. I’ve even posted up a digital camera Buyers Guide which contains a list of cameras I would recommend in different price brackets.

Right now, we’re on track to post our Olympus Stylus/mju 1050SW review (a sturdy camera with unique tap control), Canon PowerShot A1000 IS review (the A2000’s sibling) and more next week. If you have any questions, comments, cameras you’d like me to review or even, would like a little help in making a camera decision, do email me at [dpi] at [dpinterface] dot [com] or leave a comment in this post.

Here’s my review of the Canon PowerShot A2000 IS, Canon’s latest entry-level camera with a 6X stabilized lens and large 3 inch screen. I’ve also posted LOTS of pictures in the Canon PowerShot A2000 IS photo gallery, so make sure you check those out as well. Hit the link for the full review of the camera.

Continue reading about the Canon PowerShot A2000 IS

Here’s the Canon PowerShot A2000 IS Photo Gallery containing many, MANY full-sized pictures taken by the camera in REAL LIFE scenes and situations. Be sure to check out the Canon PowerShot A2000 IS review for more about the camera as well.

[Read more]