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Olympus Gets Infected with "Compactofilia", Releases 9 ModelsThe PMA 2008 release frenzy |
By Tudor Raiciu, Technology and Science Editor
22nd of January 2008, 11:01 GMT
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Since CES 2008 is over, manufacturers are now focusing on the next important upcoming event, the PMA (Photo Marketing Association International) 2008, scheduled to take place during January 31- February 2 in Las Vegas. By focusing you should understand releasing tons of models that improve on existing ones and add new gimmicks or in some cases some extra reach in the lenses.
Let's start off with Olympus' new zoom beast, the SP-570UZ, whose lens goes from 26mm to 520mm. In more practical terms, this means a 20x optical zoom, the most generous so far. The SP-570UZ is wickedly similar to the previous SP-560UZ, but it does come with some new tricks.
Apart from the extended 20x optical zoom, there's also more resolution for you, not that you will see any particular improvements. Instead of the previous 8 megapixels, there are now 10, which should be enough for "poster-size prints", as Olympus puts it. Another improvement some of you might take advantage of is the hot-shoe for external flash units, like the new FL-50R and FL-36R flash units.
Other features include a 6.9cm/2.7" HyperCrystal LCD for composing and reviewing, a 1cm minimum shooting distance for extreme macro shots, Face Detection Technology, Shadow Adjustment Technology, and TruePic III. Last but not least, there's the Dual Image Stabilisation system, which combines mechanical stabilization with the high ISO settings. As you might know, only the mechanical part counts as the rest is just marketing mumbo-jumbo.
The SP-570UZ will be available in March for an as-yet unspecified price.
Next on the line are three FE models, the FE-310, FE-340 and FE-350, which share extremely similar features and they probably could have been combined into a single model, but Olympus chose to confuse consumer even more (not that they are the only on the market doing it).
The FE-310 and FE-340 come with 5x optical zoom lenses and 8 megapixel CCD sensors and are differentiated by the slightly larger 6.9cm LCD of the FE-340, full metallic body and some other gimmicks.
The FE-350 is fitted with a 4x optical zoom lens, the same 8MP CCD, a larger 7.6cm LCD and a wider lens able to go to 28mm.
All three point and shoot models will hit the shelves in February and will be priced as follows: FE-310: £120, FE-340: £159.99 and FE-350: £199.99.
Olympus' µ [mju:] series couldn't be left behind, so the manufacturer announced three new models, the µ [mju:] 840, µ [mju:] 1010 and the µ [mju:] 1020. Once again, they are extremely similar in features and can only be set apart by the different resolutions and lenses. All of them feature dual-stabilization, an extra large 2.7"/6.9cm HyperCrystal LCD and face detection, but the µ [mju:] 840 comes with a 5x optical zoom (equiv. to 36-180mm) and 8 megapixels, while the µ [mju:] 1010 and µ [mju:] 1020 offer a 7x optical zoom lens and 10.1 megapixels. The µ [mju:] 1020 features the light and compact LI-50B rechargeable battery with an increased lifespan.
The Olympus µ [mju:] 840, µ [mju:] 1010 and µ [mju:] 1020 will be available from February 2008 at recommended prices of £199.99 for the µ [mju:] 840, £229.99 for the µ [mju:] 1010 and £269.99 for the µ [mju:] 1020.
Last but not least, we have two of the most interesting cameras so far, the µ [mju:] 1030 SW and µ [mju:] 850 SW, which are waterproof to a depth of 10m, shockproof against falls to 2m, freezeproof to temperatures as low as -10°C and crushproof to weights of up to 100kg, or at least that's Olympus claims.
These two are set apart by the resolutions, the µ [mju:] 1030 SW's 10.1 megapixels versus the µ [mju:] 850 SW's 8 megapixels, the lenses, the µ [mju:] 1030 SW's 3.6 optical zoom versus µ [mju:] 850's 3x optical zoom and the LCD size, the µ [mju:] 1030 SW's 6.9cm versus µ [mju:] 850 SW's 6.4cm.
They will be available from February 2008 at recommended prices of £319.99 for the µ [mju:] 1030 SW and £229.99 for the µ [mju:] 850 SW.
We are just a few, but there are many of you, Softpedia users, out there. That's why we thought it would be a good idea to create an email address for you to help us a little in finding gadgets we missed. Interesting links are bound to be posted with recognition going mainly to those who submit. The address is  .
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![µ [mju:] 1010](http://news.softpedia.com/newsImage/Olympus-Gets-Infected-with-Compactofilia-Releases-9-Models-4.jpg "µ [mju:] 1010")
![µ [mju:] 1030 SW](http://news.softpedia.com/newsImage/Olympus-Gets-Infected-with-Compactofilia-Releases-9-Models-5.jpg "µ [mju:] 1030 SW")
