Megapixel has posted a review of the Olympus SP 700, a 6 megapixels point-and-shoot digital camera featuring ‘BrightCapture Technology’ which will allow you to take perfectly exposed shot in low light withouth having to use flash, a weatherproof metal body with 3x optical zoom (37-111mm equivalent) and a huge 3″ LCD Screen.

“With the sensitivity set to 64 ISO, noise is undetectable in photos captured outdoors and with good light. Images captured at 100 ISO are likewise very good, noise being only detectable in shadow areas. At 200 and 400 ISO, noise becomes increasingly visible, and can be found in areas that contain uniform colours as well as in shadows. Nevertheless, 400 ISO is useable in bright daylight, and can produce good photos while ensuring that the camera has a sufficiently high shutter speed to freeze movement.”

>> Olympus SP 700 Sample Photos @ Megapixel
>> Olympus SP 700 Latest Price

Olympus has recently announced the release of Olympus E-500 Firmware Ver. 1.2. The firmware Ver. 1.2. will add a menu fuction for exchanging AEL/AFL button and one-touch WB button. It will also improve the precision of exposure by built-in flash. Exposure level of built-in flash with the combination of some of lenses* is improved.

*) Sigma Corp. Four-Thirds lenses (18-50mm F3.5- 5.6 DC,18-125mm F3.5-5.6 DC, 55-200mm F4-5.6 DC)

>> Download Olympus E-500 Firmware Ver. 1.2.

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Popular Photography Magazine has recently posted a review of the Olympus Evolt E-330, a 7.5 megapixel MOS sensor Digital SLR with Live View feature which enables you for framing of shots without the need to look through the view finder.

“Noise is also improved at higher ISOs; it doesn’t reach Moderately Low until ISO 400. After that, noise reduction kicks in, holding noise down to Moderately Low even at ISO 1600, with about a 10 percent loss in resolution. (We also noticed a slightly higher dynamic range in the highest-quality JPEG images compared with the E-300, but this is not as obvious when you shoot in RAW or TIFF modes.)

The bottom line on this Evolt? It’s a splendid improvement over the E-300 in terms of image quality and AF sensitivity. And for the few hundred dollars more than you’d spend on the older E-300 ($600, street) or the Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT ($750, street), you get the only DSLR capable of a live color preview — and a big, swiveling LCD monitor to enjoy it on.”

>> Olympus Evolt E-330 Review Roundup and Sample Pictures
>> Olympus Evolt E-330 Latest Price

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Olympus has recently announced that the Olympus E-330 DSLR will be available in six different kits providing customised solutions for virtually any photographic situation. Olympus E-330 DSLR is a 7.5 megapixel MOS sensor Digital SLR with Live View feature which enables you for framing of shots without the need to look through the view finder.

>> PRESS RELEASE

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Steve’sDigicams reviewed the new Olympus Stylus 710, a point-and-shoot weatherproof digital camera featuring a 7.1 megapixels (CCD sensor) with 3x Optical Zoom lens (38-116mm equivalent) with image stabilizer, a 2.5″ LCD screen, and a bright capture technology

“Bottom line - the Olympus Stylus 710 continues the tradition of the Stylus line by offering good image quality, great performance, and sleek design all packed in a weather resistant shell. This is one of our favorite models in this series, when you pick one up you’ll see why. It was a blast to use and I found very few problems in actual use. The image quality could be better and unfortunately it uses the incredibly slow xD memory cards that Olympus and Fujifilm designed (we hope someday they’ll switch to SD). If you’re in the market for a versatile little pocket-rocket that you can take out into the rain, look no further. With an MSRP of about $349, we feel it offers an outstanding value and should be a very popular model this year. “

>> Olympus Stylus 710 Sample Photos @ Steve’sDigicams
>> Olympus Stylus 710 Review Roundup and Sample Photos
>> Olympus Stylus 710 Latest Price

Jeff Keller from DCRP reviewed the new Olympus Stylus 710, a point-and-shoot weatherproof digital camera featuring a 7.1 megapixels (CCD sensor) with 3x Optical Zoom lens (38-116mm equivalent) with image stabilizer, a 2.5″ LCD screen, and a bright capture technology

“Pro: Stylish, compact, water and scratch resistant body, Large 2.5″ LCD display is visible in low light (though see issues below), Very good performance, Tons of scene modes, Support for underwater cases, Nice in-camera guide/help system, Very good software bundle

Cons: Photos have soft, fuzzy details; noticeable corner softness; poor night shot performance, Redeye a problem; built-in redeye removal software didn’t help for me, No AF-assist lamp; so-so low light focusing, Digital image stabilization (aka high sensitivity mode) is no substitute for the real thing, Some manual controls would’ve been nice, Unimpressive continuous shooting and movie modes, No optical viewfinder, No USB 2.0 High Speed support, Can’t swap memory cards while camera is on a tripod, Not much built-in memory; full manual only on CD “

>> Olympus Stylus 710 Sample Photos @ DCRP
>> Olympus Stylus 710 Review Roundup and Sample Photos
>> Olympus Stylus 710 Latest Price

ePhotozine have posted a review of the Olympus Mju 700, a 7.1 megapixels point-and-shoot digital camera featuring ‘BrightCapture Technology’ which will allow you to take perfectly exposed shot in low light withouth having to use flash, a weatherproof metal body with 3x optical zoom (37-111mm equivalent) and a large 2.5″ LCD Screen.

“The well-thought-out design of the Olympus Mju 700, makes it a very easy camera to use. All of the controls are within easy reach of your thumb and the wedge-shaped body feels more secure to hold than other ultra-compact digital cameras I have used.
The quality of images produced is good, although I would have liked the SHQ mode to have used less compression to reduce the appearance of Jpeg artefacts in the images. The well-controlled noise levels up to ISO800 make this a very flexible camera for shooting in all sorts of conditions.”

>> Olympus Mju 700 Review Roundup & Sample Photos
>> Olympus Mju 700 Latest Price

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ePhotozine has recently posted a review of the Olympus Evolt E-330, a 7.5 megapixel MOS sensor Digital SLR with Live View feature which enables you for framing of shots without the need to look through the view finder.

“In summary the positive points of the Olympus E-330 are: Excellent image quality at up to ISO400, Innovative live-view screen, Quality of the bundled kit lens, Build quality and design

The negative points: Archaic three-point autofocus system. Having to open the menu each time you want to manually select a focus point is a real chore, Images at ISO1600 are noisier than images from competing cameras, Reflective screen cover can make it difficult to see in bright light”

>> Olympus Evolt E-330 Review Roundup and Sample Pictures
>> Olympus Evolt E-330 Latest Price

Digicamreview.co.uk reviewed the Olympus SP-500UZ a 6.0 megapixel digital camera with a huge 10x zoom (38-380mm equivalent), and a 2.5″ LCD Screen. They wrote;

“Image Quality: Image quality is very good, the images have very good colour, with good contrast and detail, with fairly low noise except for the higher ISO settings. Images were slightly soft straight from the camera and could benefit from sharpening. Purple fringing was quite low, as was red-eye. The camera did a good job focusing the majority of the time, with low light focusing aided by the focus assist lamp. I did not notice vignetting in photos, nor did I notice barrel or pincushion distortion. There is a very good range of image sizes, and a good choice of compression options (including RAW mode). Auto white balance and metering, and exposure seemed to be good to very good. The camera gives very good control over image quality - selecting different picture modes allows allows you to change the saturation, contrast and sharpness. The lack of image stabilisation could cause problems for some people, especially in low light or at the long end of the zoom. (8/10)”

>> Olympus SP-500UZ Review Roundup & Samples
>> Olympus SP-500UZ Latest Price

PopPhoto.com has recently a preview podcast on the Olympus Evolt E-330, a 7.5 megapixel MOS sensor Digital SLR with Live View feature which enables you for framing of shots without the need to look through the view finder.

“Olympus recently became the first camera maker to announce a DSLR with a full-time, color, live-preview LCD, when it unveiled the Evolt E-330. Since users can frame their photos on the LCD, they don’t have to use the optical viewfinder. Plus, this opens up new options for underwater shooting that never existed before when using a DSLR.”

>> Download the Pop Photo News Podcast on the Olympus Evolt E-330
>> Olympus Evolt E-330 Review Roundup and Sample Pictures
>> Olympus Evolt E-330 Latest Price