Olympus Unveils Four Compact Digicams

August 25, 2008: Following last week’s announcement of the Mju 1060, Olympus has released details of four new models that are due to go on sale from September.
The new Tough Smart 1050SW (RRP $399) is the latest addition to the popular Tough series and offers more elegant styling than its predecessors. Available in five new colours – Silver Bullet, Panther, Blue Thunder, Dusk and Sandstorm – it sports a sliding lens cover and 10.1-megapixel CCD imager plus a 2.7-inch HyperCrystal LCD monitor with a wide viewing angle. Shockproof to 1.5 metres, waterproof to a depth of 3 metres and snowproof to -10 °C, the 1050SW features a new ‘tap control’ function that allows users to take photos, and play them back, simply by tapping the LCD monitor or the top and sides of the camera body.

The colour range for the Tough Smart 1050SW.

Back view of the Tough Smart 1050SW.
The Mju 1040 (RRP $299) is the slimmest in the Mju line-up to date, with a streamlined body and lens-protecting faceplate that doubles as an on/off switch. Featuring a 10.1-megapixel CCD imager, 3x optical zoom lens and 2.7-inch HyperCrystal LCD monitor, the Mju 1040 will be offered in three colours: Mirror, Phantom and Hot Chilli. New features include an Intelligent Auto function that enables the camera to automatically analyse each scene and select the most appropriate scene mode setting: Portrait, Landscape, Night Scene, Macro or Sports. Micro SD memory card recording and playback is supported via the MASD-1 Micro SD adapter (included).

The Mju 1040 in Hot Chilli, showing the sliding lens barrier.

The new Mju 1010 (RRP $399) combines a 10-megapixel CCD imager with a retracting 7x optical zoom lens. It will be offered in silver and a smart new purple colour and features Olympus’ Dual Shakeproof CCD-shift image stabilisation system. The Intelligent Auto mode is also provided.

Front view of the Mju 1010 showing the new purple colour option.

Rear view showing the control panel and HyperCrystal LCD.

Extending its ultra-zoom range even further, Olympus’s new 10-megapixel SP-565UZ model (RRP $599) replaces the SP570 and sports a 20x optical zoom lens with 26mm (equivalent) wide angle coverage that extends to 520mm super telephoto. Dual Shakeproof CCD-shift and high-ISO blur reduction image stabiliser systems allow users to shoot at ISO settings as high as 6400 with 5-megapixel resolution. The lens will focus down to 1 cm from the camera and the SP-565UZ supports continuous shooting at up to 13.5 frames per second. It is also wireless flash compatible.

Front view of the SP565UZ.

Back view.

Top view showing the mode dial, shutter button, zoom lever and pop-up flash.
A Pre-Capture function automatically records 10 frames in the camera’s buffer memory just before the shutter is released, reducing potential for missed shots. The camera also supports a new Bird Shooting Mode, which works with the optional teleconverter TCON-17 to offer a focal length of 1200mm (47x zoom). Other new features include a Smile Shot scene mode, which uses evolved face-detection technology and an Advanced Super Control Panel for LCD monitor display of essential camera settings. The monitor is a 2.5-inch LCD.
The new models all include a TruePic III image processor and the latest Face Detect & Shadow Adjust technologies. Up to 16 individual faces can be identified in a scene and the camera will automatically adjust focus and exposure accordingly. In-built Panorama allows up to three shots to be captured and stitched together automatically inside the camera. For more information, visit www.olympus.com.au.