Last week Olympus announced their second Micro Four Thirds Pen Digital camera, the E-P2. We got a little sneak peak at the E-P2 in the form of a pre-production camera that showed up about a week before the announcement. Since it wasn’t a finished camera we couldn’t shoot studio tests or evaluate the performance. But we did get to shoot product photos and make a hands-on video of the E-P2 so you could see some of the new features in action.
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Micro Four Thirds fans, listen up! The Olympus E-P2 digital camera has landed and Olympus sent me one to check out for a few days before they made the announcement! Its predecessor, the Olympus E-P1 was one of the surprise hits of the summer. The Olympus E-P2 is more or less the same camera as the E-P1 with a few important new features. The most obvious difference is the sexy new black finish. But it goes deeper than that. Most important is the new Accessory Port and included Articulating EVF (electronic viewfinder). The rest of changes are internal. They include auto focus tracking (yes - it works in Movie Mode, too!), manual exposure control in movie mode, two new Art Filters and a new Picture Mode.
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Olympus launched their latest series of photography clases, specifically in the areas of lighting, portraiture and macro photography. These classes for photo enthusiasts will be taught using one of Olympus’ popular E-System products, including the E-3, E-30 and E-620, and the PEN E-P1. The classes are designed to encourage Olympus DSLR owners to experiment, move beyond their traditional shooting practices, and optimize their camera’s functionality. Read the rest of this entry »

 
Yesterday Adobe announced updates for their Photoshop Lightroom and Camera Raw software. Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.5 and Camera Raw 5.5 are available for download now from the Adobe Web site. The updates include support for the Olympus E-P1 and Panasonic GF1 Micro Four Thirds cameras as well as the recently announced Nikon D300s and D3000 digital SLRs.
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Olympus is launching a new digital SLR designed to offer families and photography enthusiasts DSLR performance for under $600. Olympus is describing the E-600 as sort of a “little brother” to the E-620 that was announced this spring. Key features like the 12.3-megapixel imaging sensor, built-in image stabilization, compact body, fast auto focus and 2.7-inch tilt-swivel LCD display with Live View are exactly the same.
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Rugged Digital Cameras For Backpacking, Cycling, Boating And The Worksite
 
A whole bunch of new waterproof and shockproof digital cameras have become available since the spring of 2008, when this guide was originally published. I decided to update the article so it refers to the most current (as of August 2009) outdoor-friendly point-and-shoot digital cameras. These are cameras that have some level of moisture resistance and/or can take some physical abuse - cameras made for the beach, camping, fishing, skiing, etc. Right now Canon, Fujifilm, Olympus, Panasonic, Pentax, and Ricoh all offer at least one camera that fits somewhere in the waterproof, shockproof, outdoor point-and-shoot spectrum.

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Olympus announced three new compact digital cameras to their FE-Series, the Olympus FE-5020, FE-4000 and FE-46.

The Olympus FE-5020, FE-4000 and FE-46 all feature 12 megapixels, AF Tracking, Magic Filters like Fish-Eye, Pop Art and Pin Hole, Intelligent Auto, Shadow Adjustment Technology, Advanced Face Detection, Perfect Fix In-Camera Editing such as Red-Eye Fix, Lighting Fix, Resizing and Cropping and new flexibility to use either xD-Picture Card or microSD memory cards. Read the rest of this entry »

 
Olympus is adding a new model to their long-running Stylus line of point-and-shoot digital cameras. The new 12-megapixel Olympus Stylus-7010 has a super thin body, a 2.7-inch LCD and a 7x wide-angle zoom lens with mechanical Sensor-Shift image stabilization. It also has a new AF Tracking system that follows your subject and constantly adjusts focus - perfect for photos of the kids playing soccer or taking your best buddy to the dog park.
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Today, Olympus introduces their first Micro Four Thirds camera – the E-P1. The compact new Olympus E-P1 has a 12.3-megapixel sensor and it’s Olympus’ first changeable lens camera to offer a movie mode (720p HD). The Micro Four Thirds format was announced last August and since then I’ve been anxiously waiting to find out what Olympus would do with it. Panasonic has introduced two Micro Four Thirds cameras, the Lumix G1 and the GH1 with HD video. But until now, the only Micro Four Thirds action we’ve seen from Olympus was behind glass at tradeshows. But now there’s an Olympus Micro Four Thirds camera we can bank on – and it’s not just a list of specs and features, either. I was lucky enough to get a pre-production E-P1 last week so I could get a feel for the camera, make my own product photos and shoot a hands-on video preview of the new Micro Four Thirds camera.
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I’ve been using the Olympus Stylus 1050 SW for a few months now. It’s a 10-megapixel pocket-sized point-and-shoot that’s also waterproof and shockproof, making it a great outdoor camera. It was also the first digital camera to feature Tap Control, which allows you to access a few camera features simply by tapping on the camera. This is supposed to make the camera easier to use for people who are wearing gloves - snowboarders, skiers, cyclists, etc.

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Olympus Stylus 1050 SW Studio Test Images
	ISO 100 Sample >> ISO 200 Sample >> ISO 400 Sample >> ISO 800 Sample >> ISO 1600 Sample >>

Olympus Stylus 1050 SW Pros Waterproof and nearly indestructible Pocket-sized Live histogram Panoramic mode (requires Olympus xD card) Tap Control really works!	Olympus Stylus 1050 SW Cons Sliding cover too easy to open accidentally Tap Control doesn’t access most useful controls Batteries lose power too quickly in the cold Image quality isn’t as good as some other 10-megapixel cameras 38mm wide-angle isn’t really very wide No mechanical image stabilization No optical viewfinder xD memory cards only work with Olympus and Fujifilm compact digital cameras

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Olympus has announced a new entry-level camera to their E-System line of digital SLRs. The Olympus E-450 digital SLR has a 10-megapixel Four Thirds sensor, a 2.7-inch HyperCrystal II LCD with Live View and it includes three Art Filters - Pop Art, Pin Hole and Soft Focus.
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For the past 6 years or so, the annual PMA tradeshow has mostly been about digital SLRs. Every manufacturer had to have one or two new ones to show off at the show. This year was different. The bad economy is no news but it was still a surprise that there was only one new digital SLR at the show this year. I was expecting Canon or Nikon to pull something out of their sleeve at the show - at least an entry-level camera. But the only manufacturer to introduce a new digital SLR at PMA in 2009 was Olympus. No doubt, all the manufacturers are working on new digital SLRs, and they’ll likely all have video from here on out. But the 12-megapixel Olympus E-620 was the only new DSLR at this PMA show. Good job, Olympus!
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