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

Samsung made an announcement of several compact digital cameras today. The first one is a compact (for a big zoom camera) which features a 10X lens starting at an ultra-wide 24 mm; no doubt this will target and directly compete with Panasonic’s TZ-series cameras. Check all of them out:

Samsung HZ10W
(Compact super-zoom camera)

• 10 effective megapixels
• 24 – 240 mm (f3.3 – f5.8) 10X optical zoom lens
• Optical image stabilization
• 2.7 inch LCD
• Full manual controls
• New Beauty Shot and Smart Album
• 720p HD 30 FPS movie mode with sound
• Takes SD/SDHC memory cards
• Uses a lithium-ion battery
• Available this month for $400
• Comes in your choice of silver or black

Samsung TL100
(Ultra-compact 12 megapixel camera)

• 12 effective megapixels
• 36 – 108 mm (f3.0 – f5.6) 3X optical zoom lens
• 2.7 inch LCD
• No manual controls
• New Beauty Shot, Smart Auto (camera detects and picks a mode for you) and Smart Album
• SVGA 30 FPS movie mode with sound
• Takes SD/SDHC memory cards
• Uses a lithium-ion battery
• Availability and pricing to be announced

Samsung SL102/SL420
(Ultra-compact entry-level cameras)

• 10 effective megapixels
• 3X optical zoom lens (SL102) and 5X optical zoom lens (SL420)
• 2.5 inch LCD (SL102) and 2.7 inch LCD (SL420)
• No manual controls
• VGA (SL102) and SVGA (SL420) 30 FPS movie mode with sound
• Takes SD/SDHC memory cards
• Uses a lithium-ion battery
• Availability and pricing to be announced

Pentax announced two new cameras today, one is an ultra-compact camera and the other is an entry-level model.

Pentax Optio P70
(High-resolution compact camera)

• 12 effective megapixels
• 28 – 110 mm (f2.6 – f5.8) 4X optical zoom lens
• 2.7 inch LCD
• No manual controls
• Auto Picture mode recognizes scenes automatically, digital 21 mm wide and image recovery/undelete
• 720p 15 FPS movie mode with sound
• Takes SD/SDHC memory cards
• Uses a lithium-ion battery
• Available in February for $200
• Comes in your choice of silver, white or red

Pentax Optio E70
(Entry-level camera)

• 10 effective megapixels
• 35 – 105 mm (f3.1 – f5.9) 3X optical zoom lens
• 2.4 inch LCD
• No manual controls
• Auto Picture mode recognizes scenes automatically, digital 21 mm wide and image recovery/undelete
• VGA 30 FPS movie mode with sound
• Takes SD/SDHC memory cards
• Uses 2 AA batteries
• Available in February for $140
• Comes in your choice of gold, red or blue

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.

Olympus made an announcement today stating that they will start rebranding their Stylus SW/mju SW series of cameras as the Stylus Tough/mju Tough cameras, starting with the new models to be released in January 2009. This move is being made by Olympus to reflect the true nature, or rather give a more accurate description, of their durable line of cameras – which also happen to be waterproof and shockproof (some models are even freezeproof and crush proof). I wonder what other changes, besides the name, Olympus will bring to their line of SW/Tough cameras? I hope image quality will be one of them. And maybe we’ll be seeing heatproof, explosion proof and acid proof cameras too!

Speaking of Olympus Stylus/mju SW cameras, I’ll be posting a review of their solid Stylus/mju 1050SW which has a one-of-a-kind “tap control” feature, this weekend.

Nikon announced their new flagship 24.5 megapixel digital SLR today, which comes as no surprise if you’ve been keeping up with the numerous internet leaks of late last week. The Nikon D3X is a high resolution version of the D3 and will be sold alongside (not replace) the D3 as a studio camera.

The Nikon D3X’s current (and only) competitor is the Canon 1Ds Mark III SLR.

Nikon D3X

• 24.5 effective megapixels (CMOS sensor)
• Nikon F-lens mount (No crop factor); also supports DX lenses with 1.5X crop factor
• 3 inch LCD with 920,000 pixels
• EXPEED imaging processor
• Full manual controls with RAW mode and hotshoe
• Built-in wireless external flash control
• 51 point AF with 3D Tracking (should be the same as the D3)
• Optical viewfinder with 100% coverage and 0.70X magnification
• Live view with virtual horizon (ensures your photos are even and not tilted to one side)
• ISO 100 – 1600 (Expanded mode: 50 – 6400)
• 5:4 aspect ratio mode
• 5 FPS burst mode (FX mode) or 7 FPS (1.5x crop DX mode)
• HDMI out and optional GPS and wireless accessories
• Dual Compact Flash memory card slots (Type I and II)
• Uses EN-EL4/EN-EL4a lithium-ion battery; takes up to 4400 shots with the EN-EL4a battery (CIPA Standard, live view off), yes, over 4000 shots!
• Available this month for $8000 (body only)

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.