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 5000, 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 also announced another camera: the Stylus 5000, a compact with 12 megapixels, a 5X zoom lens equivalent to 36-180 mm and 2.7 inch LCD.
Olympus Stylus Tough 6000 and Stylus Tough 8000
(Rugged compact cameras)
- 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
Olympus Stylus 550WP
(Low cost waterproof camera)
- 10 effective megapixels
- 38 – 114 mm (f3.5 – f5.0) 3X optical zoom lens
- Waterproof to 10 feet
- 2.5 inch LCD
- No manual controls
- Intelligent Auto mode (camera picks a mode automatically)
- VGA 30 FPS movie mode with sound
- Takes xD Picture cards
- Uses a lithium-ion battery
- Available in February for $200
Olympus FE3000 (aka FE45), FE3010 and FE5010
(Entry level compact cameras)
- 10 effective megapixels for FE3000
12 effective megapixels for FE3010 and FE5010 - 36 – 108 mm (f3.1 – f5.9) 3X optical zoom lens for FE3000 and FE3010
36 – 180 mm (f3.5 – f5.6) 5X optical zoom lens for FE5010 - Sensor shift image stabilization for FE5010 only
- 2.7 inch LCD
- No manual controls
- Intelligent Auto mode (camera picks a mode automatically) and usual in-camera help and face detection
- Smile shot and expression edit for FE5010 only (I have explained these two features in reviews of previous Olympus cameras: the first one waits for a person to smile and the camera takes a picture automatically; while the expression edit does just as it sounds)
- VGA 30 FPS movie mode with sound
- Takes xD Picture cards
- Uses a lithium-ion battery
- Availability: FE3000 for $140 this month, FE3010 for $150 in March and FE5010 for $190 this month
- Each camera will come in your choice of three different colors:
FE3000 in silver, black or pale blue
FE3010 in silver, black or purplish-pink
FE5010 in black, deep blue or maroon