So, while the Interchangeable Lens Compact market has since exploded, with entries now from Nikon, Fuji, and Sony joining Olympus and Panasonic’s sorta-shared sorta-competitor Micro Four Thirds platform, Micro Four Thirds is still the most established name in the game. And if you had any doubts about that left, the announcement of popular lens makers Tamron and Tokina, as well as specialty lens maker ASTRODESIGN, hopping on board with Sigma, Olympus, Panasonic, and Leica to support the going-on-four-year-old system ought to help remove those. There’s not a lot else to announce at this point, as no one has mentioned any coming lenses, but fans of Tamron’s travel superzooms and Tokina’s incredibly popular wide-angle zooms should rejoice in this move. Press release after the jump.
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Other Olympus Announcements: VG-160, SZ-12, and SP-620UZ
Olympus has even more new cameras, aimed at various markets and price points.
The VG-160 is the littler bro to the VG-320, at least in name. in style, it’s much more a traditional card-style compact. It’s got 14 megapixels, a 5x optical zoom (26-130mm). All pretty stalwart specs. It’s got a vaguely worded “dual image stabilization mode”, which might include sensor-shift as part of it. Either way, it gets a price point one penny under a hundred, at $99.99 initial retail. Colors here are orange, red, black, or silver.
Up next is the newest ultra-zoom (it’s like a super zoom, but with more zoom to zoom), the SP-620UZ. Interestingly, despite having the UZ moniker, this camera actually has less zoom than the plain-old SZ camera that was announced, and at this point the UZ is just telling you it uses the chunkier body style that once-upon-a-time imitated DSLRs, but has now got a different flair to it. Anyway, it’s a 21x zoom (25-525 equiv), and 16 megapixels behind that. The vaguely worded dual image stabilization strikes again, and a guded multiple shot 3D mode creeps in. If you guessed it probably has art filters, then you’ve obviously caught the hang of every Olympus camera announced since the E-P1. Street price for this guy is going to be $199.99, and you can have silver or black.
And last up is the very neat-o looking SZ-12 (seriously, Olympus has really upped its industrial design the past couple years. I approve.) This guy’s got 24x zoom (25-600mm), which ought be enough for pretty much anything. There’s a more conservative 14 megapixel sensor here, which is less good for tight crops but should help high-ISO noise a bit. The vaguely worded dual-IS once more strikes, and at this point I’m just assuming it includes sensor-shift, since it’s be unfathomable not to on a lens this size 9which makes the VG-160 up there even more enticing at that low price point). It can also chug along at a nice 7 frames-per-second. Everything else gets a yadda yadda (3″ LCD, art filters, etc), so, it’s really the lens’ show here. Well, that and the “retro-chic ‘smart grip’,” which does look pretty neat, though we’ll have to get our actual hands on it to confirm ergonomics. Price here is also $199.99, and you can have black, silver, or red.
Olympus VR-340 Is Compact and Zoomy, Has Cheesy Press Line
“NEW OLYMPUS VR-340 PROVES BEAUTY IS MORE THAN SKIN DEEP.” Thus starts Olympus’ press release for the new VR-340, a stylish upgrade to the also stylish VR-320 of yester-year. Key specs are a 16 megapixel sensor (up two megapixels from the 320) and a 10x superwide 24-240mm equiv zoom (down 2.5x from the 320). Otherwise, you’ve got a metal body, a 3″ rear LCD, nine art filters, the usual compliment of auto scene modes and auto-focus trickery, sensor shift image stabilization, and ISOs up to 1600. In your choice of black, white, silver, red, or purple. All for a very pocket-friendly anticipated cost of $149.99. If you’re in the market for just such a camera, you can put in for what ought to be a very short preorder wait here.
You can also read the press release after the jump.
Olympus Announces First Weather-Sealed M4/3 Lens, the M. ED 12-50mm f3.5-6.3 EZ
Olympus has announced a new lens for its ever-growing Micro Four-Thirds system (which shares a mount and spec with Panasonic’s own efforts), the M. ED 12-50mm f3.5-6.3 EZ. Like many new M4/3 lenses, this one is designed with video applications in mind, and to that end includes a power zoom function where you can operate the zoom with a toggle rocker, like on point and shoots, allowing for smoother, less jerky zooming while you’re filming your epic masterpiece. Since the product page and press release don’t mention it, for now we’re just going to assume that’s indicated by the new EZ designation, which probably stands for “Electronic Zoom” or something similar. For further video use, the lens uses Olympus’ newer MSC (Movie & Still Compatible) quiet autofocus motor.
And, in addition to all that, this is the first M.ZUIKO lens from Olympus to feature the build quality and weather-sealing that made their mid-range ZUIKO line-up for 4/3 so respected. I personally owned two lenses from that line-up, and got to use a third for a while, and I can attest to their quality and weather-sealing, so, if this new one lives up to that legacy, it’ll be a trooper, and lend some much anticipated “pro” quality to what for years now has focused on being a consumer system. Now, if only it were a bit faster, but, I suspect there’ll always be compromises inherent in making compact zooms.
The 12-50 EZ will begin being available sometime in January, with an MSRP of $499.99. It’s up for preorder on our site here, and you can read the press release after the jump.
Roberts Raw Footage Returns(ish)
It’s been a while since we rocked a Raw Footage out at ya, but we’re remedying that right now, you see. Mind you, we actually shot this a month or two back and just forgot about it (oops!) in a bunch of office shuffles we’ve had recently later. But, don’t take that as a slight to the product in it, the Olympus XZ-1 is a fine little camera with surprisingly good image files and a pretty phenomenal f1.8 aperture lens. But, I can tell you more in talky form below.
Olympus SP-810UZ Joins Superzoom Party, Brings Lots of Zoom
Olympus, who for ages and ages owned the super and later the “ultra” zoom market, have announced a new entry to that legacy in the form of the SP-810UZ. If you didn’t guess, the main attraction here is the lens, which in this case has 36x of zoom ranging from 24-864mm f3.3-5.7 in equivalent 35mm terms. 864mm f.57 is going to be prone to blurring while wielded by your shaky, not-propped-against-my-face-as-I-chimp-this-LCD hands. So lucky for you Olympus has included Dual Image Stabilization which combines real shift-based IS with the marketing lie of auto-ISO to keep your images blur-free, if not noise free.
The rest of the specs look a bit less exciting next to the lens, but, it’s backed up by a 3″ LCD, 14 megapixels, 720p video, Eye-Fi compatibility, and Olympus’ trademark Beauty Mode and Magic Filters (which actually aren’t nearly so bad as that name would make you think,someone spent a lot of time on these filters.)
Price will be $329.99 or thereabouts… sometime.
Olympus announces proposed ship date of E-PL3, new viewfinder
The Pen-Lite should be hitting us in September, along with the VF-3. The VF-3 will feature adjustable brightness and color temperature as well as the ability to rotate 90 degrees. Check it out on Olympus America’s press release.
Olympus Rounds Out Pen Announcement With Two Long-Awaited Metal Lenses and a New Flash
Finishing off the Pen extravaganza Olympus seems to be throwing today are a pair of metal-clad “professional” primes for the Micro Four Thirds system that Olympus has been promising for some time, and a new flash unit.
The lenses are the M.Zuiko Digital 12mm f2 ED and the M.Zuiko Digital 45mm f1.8 ED. Both feature Oly’s MSC tech which’ll make them better for video focusing than the first generation M.Zuiko lenses were, and the elegant looking metal construction gives them a bit more of a serious air than the other lenses as well. With Micro Four-Thirds’ 2x crop, their effective field of views will be 24mm and 90mm respectively, making them good choices for street/landscape work and portraits. Also respectively.
The flash is the FL-300R. The R means this works with Olympus’ remote flash system, and can be controlled by many on-board flashes as well as older models like the FL-500R. It’s got a GN of 19m at ISO 100, and has a pretty decent tilt range, but no swivel. It also sports what I’ll forever consider the traditional “tourist” aesthetic.
The 14mm will run around $800, the 45mm around $400, and the flash around $160.
Olympus Adds New Pen Line with Pen Mini E-PM1
Finishing out Olympus’ announcement of three Pen bodies today is the new “Mini” line, which since it’s the first year for this gets called the E-PM1.
All of the bodies feature the same basic guts and are differentiated by body and control options instead. Not to say that’s a bad thing. While the sensor sticks at the same 12ish megapixels that Olympus thinks is the sweet-spot for these types of cameras, the processor has been upgraded to new TruePic VI processor, and the AF has been improved with a new Frequency Acceleration Sensor Technology (FAST) system. And by “improved” I mean I’ve heard tell it can check AF 120 times a second and Olympus is already talking about it rivaling many DSLR AF systems. There’re 35 AF areas, and you can group them into 3×3 areas for tracking active subjects.
Other features across all models include ISO support up to 12,800, 1080i HD video, three-mode in-body Image Stabilization, the most effective dust-reduction system I’ve ever used, multiple aspect ratios, multiple exposure, and the Pen series’ infamous Art Filters.
The E-PM1 sits as the most consumer/point-and-shoot step-up oriented of the three brothers. The controls are pretty minimal compared to the two models above it, and the reward for that is that the body is right about the same size as Olympus’ fairly tiny XZ-1 compact.
So,what’s the difference between this body and the next step up, the E-PL3? Well, luckily, the advanced hotshoe port isn’t one of them. It’s still sitting there, inviting you to use the external viewfinder or nifty macro light Oly makes for the Pen bodies. Three more buttons (delete, zoom, and Fn) have disappeared, as has the mode dial. The screen is back to being fixed, and is downgraded to a more pedestrian 460,000 pixel LCD. It’ll be available in a bunch of colors: black, white, silver, red, purple, and brown. For a shot around back and the press release, hit the jump.
Olympus E-PL3 Fills Out Middle Of New Pen Line-Up
So, continuing Olympus’ Pen revival today we come to the middle body, the Pen Lite E-PL3. Which of course replaces the E-PL2 in the line-up.
All of the bodies feature the same basic guts and are differentiated by body and control options instead. Not to say that’s a bad thing. While the sensor sticks at the same 12ish megapixels that Olympus thinks is the sweet-spot for these types of cameras, the processor has been upgraded to new TruePic VI processor, and the AF has been improved with a new Frequency Acceleration Sensor Technology (FAST) system. And by “improved” I mean I’ve heard tell it can check AF 120 times a second and Olympus is already talking about it rivaling many DSLR AF systems. There’re 35 AF areas, and you can group them into 3×3 areas for tracking active subjects.
Other features across all models include ISO support up to 12,800, 1080i HD video, three-mode in-body Image Stabilization, the most effective dust-reduction system I’ve ever used, multiple aspect ratios, multiple exposure, and the Pen series’ infamous Art Filters.
The E-PL2 was the bottom of the Pen line, but this new E-PL3 moves up to the middle of the line. Either way, as you’d expect, there are some things the bigger bro has that this model doesn’t. The E-PL3 has a smaller, slimmer body than the E-P3, and will come in black, white, red, or silver. The built-in popup flash (although a small external one is included in the box) , secondary control wheel, and dedicated EV comp button are gone, leaving a more point-and-shoot feeling control scheme using a combined four-way controller and jog wheel. The touchscreen is gone, and the resolution is down to 460,000 dots, but it’s still OLED. And, to ease the sting a little, the E-PL3′s screen is articulated, although tilt only. No swivel here, loyal fans of articulated displays.
It’s worth pointing out real quick that while the controls are simplified, the Pen series is now in its third year of looking absolutely gorgeous in all its incarnations. Check out more pics of the Pen Lite E-PL3 and the press release after the jump.
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