You didn't think Olympus would stay silent during this whole compact launching frenzy, did you now?

Well, the producer whose DSLR marketing share is sinking like the Titanic has announced no less than 7 compact models. However, unlike other producers, Olympus seems to have found the holy grail of engineering, otherwise we cannot imagine how they've succeeded to manufacture cameras with 18x optical zoom and ISO values of up to 10,000 (this is not a typo, this is ISO ten thousand).

Let's start with the biggest zoom on the market, the SP-550 UZ. The product features a lens with a field of view equivalent to 28-504mm in 35mm terms. This translates into an 18x optical zoom, thus superseding Samsung's 15x optical zoom PRO815.

The model also features a dual image stabilization system, consisting of a built-in gyro sensor that detects camera movement and adjusts the CCD accordingly and an ISO boosting algorithm (also known as "marketing image stabilization system").

The lens boasts maximum apertures ranging from 2.8 (at the wide end) to 4.5 (at the tele end) and the camera incorporates a 7.1MP CCD.

The SP-550 UZ can use ISO values of up to 5000 (we're quite curious to see some images taken at ISO 5000).

The burst mode is also quite fascinating. It offers three choices: at full resolution, the frame rate is 1.2 frames per second for 7 images, at 3MP, the camera is capable of 7 frames per second for 15 images, but if you really want to put to shame all those professional DSLRs, you can use the 1.2MP mode, which gives you 15 frames per second for 20 images. The SP 550-UZ will come with an estimated price of £375 or approximately $500.

While some digital single lens reflex cameras sport ISO sensitivities of up to 6400 (even if they have a horrible noise at that value), the second miracle camera straight from Olympus's laboratories, the FE-250, pushes the range to ISO 10,000. This insanely high ISO sensitivity can only be used in the 3MP mode.

The camera incorporates an 8MP CCD sensor and a lens with a field of view equivalent to a 35 - 105mm (this means 3x optical zoom) one used for 35mm cameras.
Another camera from the lot that caught our attention was the Stylus 770 SW. This looks like the perfect camera for people who don't care too much about their electronics. The model is waterproof up to 10m, shockproof (equivalent to falls from 1.5m), crush proof against loads of up to 100kg and freezeproof up to -10°C. Basically, you can take this camera anywhere you want to and it will still be able to capture images.

Aside from SP-550 UZ, the FE-250 and the Stylus 770 SW, Olympus also launched four other models, the Stylus 760, the FE-240, 230 and 210, which don't have such unheard of features.

When the next wave of Olympus compact cameras is announced, we expect even higher ISO sensitivities. After all, why not go to ISO 20,000?