In the latest of their ‘new generation system cameras’, the compact PEN E-PL1, Olympus is aiming for ease of use and portability while offering good image quality of a large image sensor. The Olympus E-PL1 was announced internationally last Wednesday and we have a preview of this latest camera which joins in the growing array of Micro Four Thirds cameras. Hit the link for all the juicy details about the camera.

*Note from Brad: A big thank you to the folks at Olympus who made previewing of the PEN E-PL1 on DPInterface possible.

Read our preview!

DP Interface recently had the opportunity to take some sample photos (including a bunch of high ISO shots) using the newly launched Olympus PEN E-PL1 and have been given the green light to share them with readers (but first, read this disclaimer: photos were taken using a PRE-production unit of the camera so image quality is not final).

UPDATE: We’ve been told to replace full-sized photos with extremely reduced size/resolution photos seeing that photos were taken using an Olympus PEN E-PL1 with beta firmware. However, taking into account the interest of our readers and other factors, I have opted to wait for a retail/production camera instead before posting photos.

Rest assured a completely new photo gallery with new images from a production-level camera will be posted in the future once I get a production-level camera for review. Meanwhile, check out our Olympus PEN E-PL1 preview for our initial hands-on with the camera.

Brad: I *still* would like to extend my thanks to Olympus and co for giving us the opportunity to try out the camera!

Read the rest of this entry »

Was the E-P2 PEN a bit too heavy on your wallet? Good news, Olympus just announced an affordable offering in their line of PEN interchangeable lens cameras. The PEN E-PL1 (what a mouthful) takes most of the E-P2’s features and puts them in a mostly plastic body, throws in a couple of new features like Live Guide to make the camera more beginner friendly and a built-in popup flash.

I will have a preview of the camera ready and online very soon.

Olympus E-PL1 PEN camera
(Micro Four Thirds camera)

• 12 megapixel Live MOS sensor (Micro Four Thirds, 2.0X crop factor)
• Micro Four Thirds lens mount (adapters available for normal Four Thirds and Leica lenses)
• Sensor-shift image stabilizer
• Dust reduction
• 2.7 inch LCD
• Optional electronic viewfinder attaches via hotshoe
• Six Art Filters (photo effects)
• On-board flash
• Live Guide feature for simplified manual control adjustment for beginners
• ISO range of 100 – 3200
• Full manual controls with RAW mode and flash hotshoe
• 3 FPS burst mode
• 720p (1280 x 720 at 30 FPS) movie mode with sound
  Optional external microphone accessory; attaches via hotshoe
• Takes SD/SDHC memory cards
• Uses a lithium-ion battery
• Available in March for $600 (with 14-42 mm kit lens)

Olympus also announced two new Micro Four Thirds lenses today: the 9 – 18 mm f4.0 – f5.6 ultra-wide angle zoom lens to be available in May for $700 and the new 14 – 150 mm f4.0 – f5.6 all-in-one super zoom lens, which will go for $600 in June.

Olympus made a second round of camera announcements for 2010 today, bringing out their new line of Ultra Zoom series cameras and rugged Stylus Tough cameras.

In terms of zoom, Olympus’ UZ series (Ultra-zoom) live right up to their name, one of which features a 15X optical zoom lens, while the other has a whopping 30X optical zoom in a single lens. Yes, you heard that right, THIRTY times optical zoom (I wonder how anyone can handhold that and take a sharp photo for anything but landscapes on a sunny day). The two new UZ cameras take several small steps forward with plenty of internal memory, 720p HD movie mode, plenty of bells and whistles, and how could we forget, that huge 30X lens… but they also take a big step backward in terms of control – both of today’s newly announced cameras lack any sort of manual exposure controls (unlike their predecessors and forefathers). Plus they also lack electronic viewfinders (presumably to reduce size, not that either camera is pocketable)

Next up are two rugged cameras. Olympus, the pioneer of rugged digital cameras (I think their first one came out in 2005/2006), has always been at the front if ’super heavy duty’, ultra-rugged cameras are what you want. These two new Tough series cameras sport decent improvements, including a brand new 5X optical zoom lens and 720p HD movie mode. Let’s see if their image quality can live up to their features.

Previews of Olympus’ new ultra-zoom and rugged cameras to come!

Olympus SP600 UZ and SP800 UZ
(Ultra-zoom cameras)

• SP600 UZ: 12 effective megapixels
  SP800 UZ: 14 effective megapixels
• SP600 UZ: 28 – 420 mm (f3.5 – f5.4) 15X optical zoom lens
  SP800 UZ: 28 – 840 mm (f2.8 – f5.6) 30X optical zoom lens
• Sensor-shift image stabilization
• SP600 UZ: 2.7 inch LCD (230,000 pixels)
  SP800 UZ: 3.0 inch LCD (230,000 pixels) widescreen
  Neither camera has an electronic viewfinder (EVF)
• No manual controls (huh?! why?!)
• Magic Filters, AF tracking and Intelligent Auto features
• 720p HD (1280 x 720) 30 FPS movie mode with sound
• Takes SD/SDHC cards
  SP600 UZ has 1 GB internal memory
  SP800 UZ has 2 GB internal memory
• Uses a lithium-ion battery
• Available in March for $250 (SP600 UZ) and $350 (SP800 UZ)

Olympus Stylus/Mju TOUGH 6020 and Stylus/Mju TOUGH 8010
(Rugged compact cameras)

• 14 effective megapixels
• 28 – 140 mm (f3.9 – f5.9) 5X optical zoom lens
• Sensor-shift image stabilization
• 2.7 inch LCD (230,000 pixels)
• No manual controls
• Built-in LED lamp to illuminate photos and videos
• Tap Control allows you to adjust settings by tapping the camera’s sides
• Magic Filters, AF tracking and Intelligent Auto features
• 720p HD (1280 x 720) 30 FPS movie mode with sound
• Takes SD/SDHC cards
  Stylus/Mju Tough 6020 has 1 GB internal memory
  Stylus/Mju Tough 8010 has 2 GB internal memory
• Uses a lithium-ion battery
• Available in February for $300 (Stylus/Mju Tough 6020) and $400 (Stylus/Mju Tough 8010)
• Stylus Tough 6020: Waterproof (16 feet/5.5 meters), shockproof (5 feet/1.5 meters), dustproof, freezeproof (14 F/0 C)
  Stylus Tough 8010: Waterproof (33 feet/11 meters), shockproof (6.6 feet/2.0 meters), dustproof, freezeproof (14 F/0 C), crushproof (220 lbs/100 kg)

Nikon just announced a bunch of new Coolpix digital cameras earlier today. They’ve got something for almost everyone, and seem to be pushing aggressively into the ultra-zoom and compact super-zoom camera markets with pretty solid offerings. They’ve also [fianlly] included 720p and 1080p HD movie modes in most of today’s newly announced cameras. We’ll see how they perform in real life once they become available…

Nikon Coolpix P100
(Ultra-zoom camera)

• 10 effective megapixels (backlit CMOS)
• 26 – 678 mm (f2.8 – f5.0) 26X optical zoom lens
• Sensor-shift image stabilization
• 3.0 inch LCD (460,000 pixels) with EVF
• Full manual controls
• Continuous shooting up to 10 frames per second at full resolution
• Smart Potrait: Face, smile and blink detection, software redeye removal, skin softening
• Camera HDR combines several pictures into one HDR photo
• Night Landscape combines several pictures into one low-noise photo
• Full HD (1920 x 1080) 30 FPS movie mode with stereo sound and optical zoom
• Takes SD/SDHC memory cards
• Uses a lithium-ion battery
• Available in March for $400

Nikon Coolpix S8000
(Compact super-zoom)

• 14 effective megapixels
• 30 – 300 mm (f3.5 – f5.6) 10X optical zoom lens
• Optical image stabilization
• 3.0 inch LCD (921,000 pixels)
• No manual controls
• Smart Potrait: Face, smile and blink detection, software redeye removal, skin softening
• Creative Slider allows quick and easy adjustment of image brightness, saturation and tone
• 720p HD (1280 x 720) 30 FPS movie mode with stereo sound
• Takes SD/SDHC memory cards
• Uses a lithium-ion battery
• Available in February for $300
• Comes in your choice of silver, black, red or brown

Nikon Coolpix L110
(Compact super-zoom)

• 12 effective megapixels
• 28 – 420 mm (f3.5 – f5.4) 15X optical zoom lens
• Sensor-shift image stabilization
• 3.0 inch LCD (460,000 pixels)
• No manual controls
• Smart Potrait: Face, smile and blink detection, software redeye removal, skin softening
• 720p HD (1280 x 720) 30 FPS movie mode with stereo sound and optical zoom
• Takes SD/SDHC memory cards
• Uses 4 AA batteries
• Available in February for $280
• Comes in your choice of black or red

Nikon Coolpix S6000
(Compact super-zoom)

• 14 effective megapixels
• 28 – 196 mm (f3.7 – f5.6) 7X optical zoom lens
• Optical image stabilization
• 2.7 inch LCD (230,000 pixels)
• No manual controls
• Smart Potrait: Face, smile and blink detection, software redeye removal, skin softening
• 720p HD (1280 x 720) 30 FPS movie mode with stereo sound
• Takes SD/SDHC memory cards
• Uses a lithium-ion battery
• Available in February for $250
• Comes in your choice of silver, black, red or brown

Nikon Coolpix S3000/S4000
(Compact cameras)

• 12 effective megapixels
• 27 – 108 mm (f3.2 – f5.9) 4X optical zoom lens
• NO image stabilization
• S3000: 2.7 inch non-touch LCD (230,000 pixels)
  S4000: 3.0 inch touchscreen (460,000 pixels)
• No manual controls
• Smart Potrait: Face, smile and blink detection, software redeye removal, skin softening
• S3000: VGA (640 x 480) 30 FPS movie mode with mono sound
  S4000: 720p HD (1280 x 720) 30 FPS movie mode with mono sound
• Takes SD/SDHC memory cards
• Uses a lithium-ion battery
• Available in March for $150 (S3000) and $200 (S4000)
• S3000: Comes in your choice of silver, black, purple, red or pink
  S4000: Comes in your choice of silver, black, purple, blue, orange or green

Nikon Coolpix L22
(Entry-level camera)

• 12 effective megapixels
• 37 – 134 mm (f3.1 – f6.7) 3.6X optical zoom lens
• NO image stabilization
• 3.0 inch LCD (230,000 pixels)
• No manual controls
• Smart Potrait: Face, smile and blink detection, software redeye removal, skin softening
• VGA (640 x 480) 30 FPS movie mode with mono sound
• Takes SD/SDHC memory cards
• Uses 2 AA batteries
• Available in March for $130
• Comes in your choice of black, silver, red or blue

It’s gonna be a fairly busy week over the next five days or so, beginning Monday. First off, I’m gonna post my reviews of the Nikon D3000 and Nikon D300s. Then I’ll start off with DPInterface’s first ever review of a 2010 digital camera… and while all that happens, I’ll be attending several manufacturer events – so look out for exclusive coverage of some 2010 digital cameras =). Stay tuned!

Panasonic has just announced four new compact Lumix cameras today. First come the pair of compact super zoom cameras Lumix ZS5 and ZS7 (also known as TZ8 and TZ10 respectively in many parts of the world) which replace last year’s successful ZS3 AKA TZ7, and they now come with full manual controls among other bells and whistles. Then comes the rugged Panasonic Lumix TS2 also known as the Lumix FT2, a camera that you can literally “bring anywhere” with its compact size and waterproof, shockproof and now even freezeproof characteristics. The last camera for today is the Lumix ZR3 AKA Lumix ZX3, which is a budget compact super-zoom alternative.

Panasonic Lumix ZS5 and Lumix ZS7
also known as Lumix TZ8 and TZ10
(Compact super-zoom cameras)

• 12 effective megapixels
• 25 – 300 mm (f3.3 – f4.9) 12X optical zoom lens
• Power OIS Optical image stabilization
• ZS5: 2.7 inch LCD; ZS7: 3 inch LCD
• Full manual controls (kudos to Panasonic for finally implementing this after three generations)
• NEW: Intelligent resolution boosts overall sharpness while preserving softer tones like skin; allows use of “reduced compromise” 1.3X digital zoom
• NEW: Weirdly-named Happy mode improves contrast and saturation to make subjects ‘pop’
• ZS7/TZ10 only: Sonic Speed Autofocus claims to improve focusing speeds and camera response
• ZS7/TZ10 only: In-built GPS geotags photos with their location; auto adjusts camera clock when travelling
• ZS7/TZ10 only: New Venus Engine HD2 image processor (ZS5 uses older processor)
• ZS5/TZ8: 720p (1280 x 720) 30 FPS movie mode with mono sound in MJPEG format
  ZS7/TZ10: 720p (1280 x 720) 60 FPS movie mode with Dolby Digital stereo sound in choice of AVCHD or MJPEG formats
  Optical zoom and optical image stabilizer usable while recording in both cameras
• Takes SD, SDHC and SDXC memory cards
• Uses a lithium-ion battery
• Availability and price to be announced
• ZS7/TZ10: Comes in your choice of silver, black, blue or red

Panasonic Lumix TS2
also known as Lumix FT2
(Rugged compact camera)

• 14 effective megapixels
• 28 – 128 mm (f3.3 – f5.9) 4.6X optical zoom lens
• Power OIS Optical image stabilization
• 2.7 inch LCD
• Rugged design: Waterproof, shockproof and freezeproof (latter is new, TS1 was not certified freezeproof)
• No manual controls: point-and-shoot functionality with scene modes
• NEW: Intelligent resolution boosts overall sharpness while preserving softer tones like skin; allows use of “reduced compromise” 1.3X digital zoom
• NEW: Weirdly-named Happy mode improves contrast and saturation to make subjects ‘pop’
• Sonic Speed Autofocus claims to improve focusing speeds and camera response
• New Venus Engine HD2 image processor
• 720p (1280 x 720) 30 FPS movie mode with Dolby Digital stereo sound in choice of AVCHD or MJPEG formats; Optical zoom and optical image stabilizer usable while recording
• Takes SD, SDHC and SDXC memory cards
• Uses a lithium-ion battery
• Availability and price to be announced
• Comes in your choice of silver, blue, yellow or orange

Panasonic Lumix ZR3
also known as Lumix ZX3
(Compact super-zoom camera)

• 14 effective megapixels
• 25 – 200 mm (f3.3 – f5.9) 8X optical zoom lens
• Power OIS Optical image stabilization
• 2.7 inch LCD
• NEW: Intelligent resolution boosts overall sharpness while preserving softer tones like skin; allows use of “reduced compromise” 1.3X digital zoom
• NEW: Weirdly-named Happy mode improves contrast and saturation to make subjects ‘pop’
• Sonic Speed Autofocus claims to improve focusing speeds and camera response
• No manual controls: point-and-shoot functionality with scene modes
• 720p (1280 x 720) 30 FPS movie mode with mono sound
• Takes SD, SDHC and SDXC memory cards
• Uses a lithium-ion battery
• Availability and price to be announced
• Comes in your choice of silver, black, red or blue