Digital Camera News and Reviews

Olympus Stylus Tough-3000

CNET UK has tested the Olympus Stylus Tough-3000 digital camera. This camera from Olympus is pretty rugged and is able to handle drops from 5 feet, takes pictures down to 10 feet under water and handles temperatures down to 14 degrees Fahrenheit.

Some key features for the Olympus Stylus Tough-3000:
-Take pictures down to 10 feet
-Survives drops from up to 5 feet
-Used at temperatures as low as 14 degrees Fahrenheit / -10 degrees Celsius
-12 megapixel image sensor
-3.6x optical zoom lens (28-100,8mm)
-2.7″ LCD screen
-ISO sensitivity from 64 to 1600

CNET UK ends up giving the Olympus Stylus Tough-3000 an overall score of 6.5 point out of 10. The reviewer likes the price of the camera when you look at what kind of features you get, the useful zoom range and the design of the camera. On the downside we find not so good picture quality and the controls could be better. I hope Olympus will work harder on image quality on their feature cameras!
Read the full review of the Olympus Stylus Tough-3000 digital compact camera here.

Olympus PEN E-PL1

Photography Blog is once again very early with their reviews of digital cameras. This time they have reviewed the Olympus PEN E-PL1 micro four thirds camera. The latest micro four thirds camera is a cheaper and smaller camera than the EP-1 and EP-2. The E-PL1 also has a plastic chassis compared to the metal one for its big brothers.

Some key features for the Olympus PEN E-PL1:
-12.3 megapixel image sensor
-Sensor image stabilization
-2.7″ LCD screen
-HD video recording
-ISO sensitivity from 100 to 3200
-Face detection
-6 art filters

Photography Blog ends up giving the Olympus PEN E-PL1 a “Highly Recommended” rating with an overall score of 4.5 stars out of 5. The Olympus camera scores highest on ease of use and image quality while scoring a little lower on design and features. Overall it seems like Olympus has come up with another winner addition to their micro four thirds line up. I’m considering myself to buy into the micro four thirds system to get a smaller set up and the PEN E-PL1 is a strong contender for my money.
Read the full review of the Olympus PEN E-PL1 micro four thirds camera here.

Olympus PEN E-P2

CNET UK has reviewed the Olympus PEN E-P2 micro four thirds digital camera. This is the second camera from Olympus for this format. As I am thinking about investing into the micro four thirds format I find this review very interesting.

Some key features for the Olympus PEN E-P2:
-12 megapixel image sensor
-3 fps
-3″ LCD screen
-8 art filters
-ISO sensitivity from 100-6400
-External electronic viewfinder
-HD movie mode 30fps 1280x720p
-AF-tracking

7.7 out of 10 possible points is the overall score that CNET UK gives the Olympus PEN E-P2. The reviewer really likes the design of the camera, that you get manual controls in movie mode and the electronic viewfinder have high quality. What the reviewer does not like is quirky controls and that the camera is quite expensive. Overall it seems like a very good camera that is able to take excellent pictures, but the Panasonic GF1 is a strong competitor to the E-P2. I have yet to decide what camera I should get for myself.
Read the full review of the Olympus PEN E-P2 micro four thirds camera here.

Olympus mju-7040

CNET UK has reviewed the Olympus mju-7040 compact digital camera. The Olympus camera has nice specifications like 14 megapixels and 7x optical image zoom, and a big chunk of internal memory.

Some key features for the Olympus mju-7040 camera:
-14 megapixel image sensor
-7x optical zoom lens (28-196mm)
-3″ LCD screen
-Optical image stabilization
-2GB of internal memory
-High Definition video in 16:9 widescreen ratio
-Face detection

CNET UK ends up giving the Olympus mju-7040 a good review with a total score of 7.6 points out of 10 possible. The reviewer the speedy zoom lens and it has a usable zoom range. He also likes the way Olympus has implemented high definition video and that you get a whole of 2GB of internal memory. On the negative side you find issues like heavy noise reduction even at low ISO levels and the camera sometimes overexposes the pictures it takes. If Olympus had not crammed so many megapixels into a small sensor I believe the mju-7040 would have got a top score.
Read the full review of the Olympus mju-7040 compact digital camera here.