Digital Home Thoughts - News & Reviews for the Digital Home

Be sure to register in our forums and post your comments - we want to hear from you!


Zune Thoughts

Loading feed...

Apple Thoughts

Loading feed...

Laptop Thoughts

Loading feed...





All posts tagged "zuiko"


Friday, May 25, 2012

Olympus Announces M.Zuiko 75mm f/1.8 Lens

Posted by Lee Yuan Sheng in "Digital Home Hardware & Accessories" @ 01:00 PM

http://www.dpreview.com/news/2012/0...zuiko-75mm-F1-8

Micro Four Thirds shooters, there is yet more good news for you! After Panasonic's 12-35/2.8 lens, Olympus has announced a 75mm f/1.8 lens, which translates to a 150mm lens on a 35mm camera. I actually managed to spend some time with a pre-production version of the lens, and I was very impressed with it. Due to the pre-production status of the lens, along with the pre-production OM-D E-M5 it was on, I did not get any images from it, but reviewing the results on the rear OLED screen showed promise. Get ready your wallets, for this lens ships in Summer 2012 for US$900. DPReview has a hands-on at the read link.


Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Olympus Announces OM-D E-M5 Micro Four Thirds Camera

Posted by Lee Yuan Sheng in "Digital Home Hardware & Accessories" @ 10:46 AM

http://www.dpreview.com/news/2012/0..._E-M5_announced

The big news of the past 24 hours is Olympus's E-M5 camera, which is part of the OM-D line. For the uninitiated, Olympus used to make small and very well-made film SLRs back in the day, under the OM moniker. I myself started photography using dad's OM-1 almost two decades ago. Ah, the memories!

Well, while Olympus is trying to stir feelings of nostalgia, I can say that the OM-1 and this E-M5 are quite different beasts once you get past the superficial. The E-M5 is a digital camera through and through, with the controls pretty much geared towards an electronically-controlled lens mount, unlike say, the Fuji X100. Still, it does look good, and the accessory battery grip is really retro; I have not seen something like that since the old motor winders back in the days of manual focus SLRs.

The camera itself is made from the best Micro Four Thirds has to offer. Highlights include a sensor that is the 16 megapixel Live MOS affair that goes from ISO 200 to 25,600 (presumably from Panasonic; about time Olympus ditched that old 12 megapixel sensor), a contrast-detect system that Olympus promises to be world's fastest (challenging cameras like the mighty Nikon D3S and Canon EOS 1DIV), an improved sensor-shift stabilisation system that promises to keep track and correct movement in five different axis, 1080i video at up to 60 FPS, continuous shooting at 9 FPS with single AF, 4.2 with continuous AF, 3" tilting VGA (presumably using a Pentile arrangement) OLED screen, a great SVGA EVF and a weather-proofed body that offers complete weather-proof capabilities when used with the right lenses. Despite that faux pentaprism hump (it is its successor, the EVF hump), there is no built-in flash, just like the old OM cameras.

Other niceties include things like a Live Bulb mode, so you can keep track of the exposure when it is progress. Ever shot in bulb and have no idea how long to open the shutter for, especially in conditions where the light level is rapidly changing? This is the crutch. There is also a tone curve overlay for finer control over how the camera handles shadows and highlights, though I suspect that is more for JPEG shooters.

All that nice stuff does not come cheap. The camera will ship in April for US$1000 for just the body, $1100 with a 14-42mm kit lens, and $1300 with the new 12-50 powerzoom lens (which is weather-proof). Along with the camera, Olympus also announced a 75mm f/1.8 lens, a 60mm f/2.8 macro, and a new flash with an LED for video work, the FL-600R. The FL-600R will ship in April for US$300, while pricing information for the lenses are not available.

More details and photos at the link, along with a preview! Be sure to see the grip, it just so old school!


Thursday, June 30, 2011

Olympus Announces Two Micro-Zuiko Lenses and Flash; Nearly Makes My Wish Come True

Posted by Lee Yuan Sheng in "Digital Home Hardware & Accessories" @ 04:15 AM

http://www.dcresource.com/news/news...tem.php?id=4331

Olympus also announced two new Micro Four Thirds lenses: The Micro Zuiko 12mm f/2.0 and the Micro Zuiko 45mm f/1.8. I have been wanting to use my own Micro Four Thirds system as a three lens camera, with the three lenses being an ultra-wide, a normal, and a short telephoto. The two lenses almost come close. I say almost, because what I really wanted was something along the lines of a 10mm f/2.8. Still, this is a f/2.0, so it will help with the slightly noisier Micro Four Thirds sensors. Also, the 12mm f/2.0 has something few Micro Four Thirds lenses have: A focusing scale to use hyperfocusing techniques with! The 12mm f/2.0 is shipping now for about US$800 (ouch), and the 45mm f/1.8 will ship in September for about US$400.

Also introduced is a slim compact flash, the FL-300R, which can pivot up and down for various situations. With a guide number of just 19 metres at ISO 100 however, I think bouncing its output is a bad idea. The flash is available now for about US$170. Photos of the 45mm f/1.8 and the flash at the news link.


Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Olympus to Release LX5/S95 Challenger in XZ-1; E-PL2 Leaked As Well

Posted by Lee Yuan Sheng in "Digital Home Hardware & Accessories" @ 09:54 PM

http://photorumors.com/2010/12/29/o...uiko-zoom-lens/

Rumour times are abound with CES 2011 just next week, so here's something fairly concrete from Olympus. First up is their premium compact entry, coming in to the party really late. It is quite an impressive one though, with a Zuiko-branded lens that is a 28-112mm equivalent f/1.8-2.5 which is mated. That's a nice fast lens. Other rumoured niceties include a 3" OLED screen and HD video. It better support RAW image output!

The other rumour is the E-PL2, the follow-up to the budget E-PL1. The most interesting tidbit is the dongle for Bluetooth (which slots into the hotshoe and uses the connector below it) that allows the camera to send images to your phone. I have been very impressed with what one can do with photos on smartphones, and I think this is a good step towards merging the best of both worlds; the quality of a proper camera and the software on the smartphone. I wish it was integrated though. Photo of the E-PL2 after the break.

Olympus XZ-1 compact camera with a fast f/1.8 Zuiko zoom lens

Olympus E-PL2 Surfaces

Read more...


Featured Product

The Canon PowerShot S100 - The incredibly fun and small camera that offers you 12.1 megapixels with a bright f/2.0 lens and full 1080p video recording . MORE INFO

News Tip or Feedback?

Contact us

Thoughts Media Sites

Windows Phone Thoughts

Digital Home Thoughts

Zune Thoughts

Apple Thoughts

Laptop Thoughts

Android Thoughts

Reviews & Articles

Loading feed...

News

Loading feed...

Reviews & Articles

Loading feed...

News

Loading feed...

Reviews & Articles

Loading feed...

News

Loading feed...

Reviews & Articles

Loading feed...

News

Loading feed...

Reviews & Articles

Loading feed...

News

Loading feed...