Olympus announced a new digital SLR today, the E30 which is placed a notch below their flagship E3 SLR.
Olympus E30
- 12.3 effective megapixels (LiveMOS sensor)
- Four Thirds system lens mount (2x crop factor)
- Sensor shift image stabilization
- SuperSonic Wave Filter dust removal
- 2.7 inch HyperCrystal II rotating LCD
- New TruePic III PLUS imaging processor
- Full manual controls with RAW mode and hotshoe
- Built-in wireless externalflash control
- 11 point AF (Same as E3)
- New Art Filters photo effects
- Large optical viewfinder with 98% coverage and 1.02X magnification
- Live view; with contrast detect AF (no mirror flipping) and face detection
- Multiple Exposure mode combines (superimposes) up to 4 photos together
- 9 different photo aspect ratios to select from
- 5 FPS burst mode up till 12 RAW or unlimited JPEG photos
- Dual memory card slots: CF card (Type I and II) and xD-Picture card
- Uses BLM-1 lithium-ion battery; takes up to 650 shots (CIPA Standard, live view off)
- Available in January 2009 for $1300 (body only)
Olympus also announced a redesigned lens today. The new Zuiko Digital 14-54 mm f2.8-3.5 version II lens now comes with circular aperture and support for contrast detect AF on the latest Four Thirds digital SLR cameras. It will be available for $600 in January 2009.