This is definitely an interesting move from Olympus – beating the Nikon D40 and Nikon D40x as the smallest/lightest dSLR for the consumer market, especially combining it with a pancake prime lens. The camera and lens combo really can fit in your pocket!

The lens is a 25mm f/2.8 (50mm equivalent) and it’s replacing the which replaces the Olympus EVOLT E-410.

This lightweight 10-megapixel DSLR offers heavyweight technologies, including a bigger, more viewable 2.7-inch LCD and consumer-friendly fast On-Screen Autofocus, Face Detection, Shadow Adjustment Technology and Perfect Shot Preview to get the most out of the Live View experience. Additionally, when it comes to Live View, not all LCDs are created equal. At 2.7-inches, the portable E-420 LCD is large enough for users to compose and review images without squinting. The small camera’s LCD is not just larger, it is part of a camera with technologies intelligent enough to take advantage of the Live View photography experience.

Read the full release here:

Little wonder: Olympus launches E420

After the update of the mid-range models like the Olympus E-510 people were long waiting the update for the professional level Olympus E-1. For some reason they skipped the E-2 name and went straight to E-3, it was announced a while back in October.

It’s a pretty solid camera toting the fastest AF on the market (only with SWD lenses of course) and vivid Olympus colours. The main problem of course with the Olympus system in general is the limitation of the sensor size..This means in reality it can never compete on a noise/detail level with other 1.5x or 1.6x crop sensors and will be nowhere near full frame offerings from any camp.

Also the much touted AF is only fast in bright light, in dim conditions it hunts worse than Canon or Nikon cameras with AF-S or USM lenses.

The noise in dim conditions is also quite bad and visible as low as ISO200, in bright conditions it stands up well to ISO1600.

Features

• A 10.1 effective Megapixel LiveMOS sensor
• Sensor-shift image stabilization
• Live view on a flip-out, rotating 2.5″ LCD display
• World’s fastest autofocus when paired with the 12 – 60 mm SWD lens pictured above (according to Olympus)
• Shoots at 5 frames/second
• Weather-sealed, very well-built body
• Dust reduction system
• Large optical viewfinder
• Dual memory card slots (xD + CF)

All in all it’s a well specced and well built camera, it might not suite everyone but it certainly does have a following.

All things considered, the Olympus E-3 is a solid midrange digital SLR, in more ways than one. It does almost everything well, with just a few weaknesses, most of which have easy workarounds. If you’re an enthusiast looking for a powerful D-SLR that doesn’t mind if it gets a little bit wet, then I can highly recommend taking a look at the E-3.

Read the full review here:

DCRP Review: Olympus E-3

Olympus takes it two steps further this time, after announcing the first 18x zoom camera the Olympus SP-550 UZ (a couple of others followed with the Panasonic Lumix FZ-18 and the Fujifilm FinePix S8000fd), now they are pushing into new territory again with a 20x zoom and even wider at the wide end (26mm for 35mm equiv.).

I always prefer compacts to start wider than zoom further, it’d be ideal if they started at 24mm IMHO, with a 20x zoom would be great.

The Olympus SP-570 UZ – main features:

• 20x optical zoom (equivalent to 26-520mm) – from extreme close-ups to stunning scenes
• Avoids blur thanks to Dual Image Stabilisation
• Don’t miss the moment with high-speed 15fps sequence shooting
• Face Detection Technology for perfectly focused and exposed faces plus correct exposure of other image areas
• P/A/S/M exposure modes for creative freedom
• 22 scene modes for the best results in different situations
• 10 Megapixels to make poster-size prints
• See and share images on the 6.9cm/2.7″ LCD
• Great for shots of flowers and detail from as close as 1cm with Super Macro mode

I’ll certainly be looking forwards to the reviews on this one, a very versatile backup and travel camera. The performance of the previous model was a little disappointing. Both in terms of speed and image quality.

It’ll also be interesting to see if Panasonic and Fuji follow again with 20x zooms and 10megapixel upgrades.

Read the full release here:

Olympus SP-570 UZ

The Olympus Evolt E-510 is in the crowded middle ground of 10megapixels, semi-professional digital SLRs along with the Nikon D200 and newly launched Nikon D300, the Canon 40D, the Pentax K10D and some might say even the Nikon D80.

• New 10MP Live MOS sensor and TruePic III processor
• CCD-shift image stabilization
• The return of Live View
• New kit lenses
• Faster USB interface (’real’ USB 2.0 speed)
• All-new body shape
• Wired remote option

Looks like the E-510 is a winner, especially for fans of the FourThirds system.

But overall, especially considering the excellent pricing, extensive feature set, effective image stabilization and superb design/construction/handling, the E-510 is an impressive and hugely rewarding camera in use. The results from the kit lens are some of the best we’ve ever seen, the SSWF dust reduction system is the most effective on the market and the whole package shows that Olympus understands the needs of the photographer as well as – if not better than – any of its major competitors. If it had a better sensor (less noise and better dynamic range) the E-510 would be a strong candidate for category winner; as it is you’ll need to decide if the slight compromises the sensor demands are going to affect the type of pictures you take.

Read the full and extremely in-depth review here:

Olympus E-510 EVOLT Review – DPReview

If you are a higher end user, you might want to wait for the Olympus Evolt E-3 reviews to come out, it looks like a great camera with a street price in Malaysia of around RM4000 for the body.

Ah finally the E-1 replacement comes out! The top of the range Olympus, competing on the ground with the new Sony Alpha A-700, the Canon EOS 40D and the Nikon D300.

In June 2003 Olympus revealed the E-1, which many people touted as the best Olympus camera. It certainly had the fastest focusing. Now we have the long awaited replacement the 10 megapixel E-3.

A friend managed to get a hands on in Japan at the launch, his intial notes were that the AF was extremely fast and there was no colour or exposure shift at higher ISO.

Noise at high ISO is very monochromatic and detail is retained, much like the results from the latest crop of Olympus dSLRs with a few tweaks.

This new high-speed flagship of the Olympus E-System features the world’s fastest autofocus with 11-point-full twin cross sensoring, high-speed sequential shooting at 5 fps, and high-speed shutter up to 1/8000 second. The optional HLD-4 Power Battery Holder can hold up to two Lithium Ion BLM-1 batteries to extend the performance life, and like the E-3 body, the battery holder is splash-proof and dust-proof.

The E-3 body will be available in November for a street price of $1,699 – so that should put it at about RM6k in Malaysia.

You can read the full press release here:

Olympus E-3 at DPReview