Olympus new megazoom leaves Kodak in the dust

Leonard Goh | Jan 13, 2009

The SP-590UZ with 26x optical zoom. (Credit: Olympus)

Having announced its 24x superzoom shooter just before CES, Kodak's thunder has been stolen by Olympus. The Japanese company's latest SP-series shooter, the SP-590UZ, packs a class-leading 26x optical zoom. But seriously, do we need such a long lens? If you dislike the bulk of a dSLR and don't fancy lugging around different lenses, then I guess this bridge camera may interest you.

The 12-megapixel SP-590UZ has a 26mm wide-angle lens and reaches 676mm (personally, I've never used anything beyond 400mm). Sensor-shift image stabilizer compensates for handshakes, although I doubt its usability when you are zoomed in all the way. Exposure control-wise, there are the usual suite of manual, aperture/shutter priority and a bundle of scene modes to choose from.

The Stylus Tough-8000. (Credit: Olympus)

Besides its megazoom shooter, Olympus has also revamped its tough-as-nails Mju SW series. It is now known as the Stylus Tough (naming convention in Asia has yet to be confirmed at press time). This family has two new point-and-shoots--the 12-megapixel Stylus Tough-8000 and the 10-megapixel Stylus Tough-6000. The former is the tougher of the two, being able to withstand drops up to 2m. It is waterproof up to 10m, can operate in temperatures at a chilling -10 degrees Celsius, and the camera body is crushproof up to 100kg of force.

The waterproof Stylus-550WP. (Credit: Olympus)

The Stylus series has three new additions--the Stylus-9000, Stylus-7000 and the Stylus-550WP. The Stylus 9000 will probably pose a threat to Samsung's HZ10W with the former's 28mm wide-angle lens and 10x optical zoom. The Stylus-7000 is the likely successor to the Mju 1060 with 7x optical zoom and similar specifications. The Stylus-550WP is a sporty-looking, waterproof shooter targeted at youngsters.

Olympus has yet to get back to us with the cameras' availability and pricing in Asia, but we will update when more information comes our way.

Filed under: Digital Cameras
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