Test-drive the Olympus E-PL1 through the power of augmented reality

Interested in testing the Olympus E-PL1 without leaving your desk? If you have a computer with a webcam, you can head on over to the Olympus PEN 3D site for the first online augmented reality camera test-drive.

To get the test-drive started, you’ll need a “camera card” – these will be included in the June issue of Wired and the July issue of Popular Photography. Alternatively, you can just download the PDF and print one of your own.

Once you have the paper camera, install the browser plugin and hold it up in front of your webcam – augmented reality will turn the flat paper card it into a 3D model of the E-PL1, and you’ll be able to play around with all the features of this amazing camera.

Once you’ve learned about the features on the camera, you can even enter to win one of five E-PL1 cameras and $5000 cash! One lucky winner will be invited on an all-expenses paid trip to New York, where they’ll get to show their creation on a giant video screen at the US Open! The contest (and rules) can be found here.

Olympus announces the E-PL1 Micro Four Thirds camera

Olympus just announced their latest Micro Four Thirds digital camera – the E-PL1.

The E-PL1 combines the high quality 12.3 megapixel image sensor of the E-P1 and E-P2 in a more compact body, but also manages to find room to add a pop-up flash.

In addition to the flash, the E-Pl1 also features the accessory port found on the recently released E-P2 allowing for users to add the optional viewfinder and microphone adapter.

Best of all, the E-PL1 is the first sub-$600 Micro Four Thirds digital camera, retailing for just $599.99 when it hits store shelves in March.

The camera loses some of the metal bulk of the first two PEN cameras, opting for a little more plastic in its exterior. While the camera feels a little cheaper, it still has plenty of weight to give you sense that you are holding a semi-professional camera.

One other cool feature worth pointing out is an array of “live guide” tips. If you are just beginning to enter the world of digital photography, you’ll love these. The tips assist with every aspect of making good photos, explaining how to control brightness, focus, white balance and more.

As can be expected from any camera in this price range, the E-PL1 shoots video in 720p HD, and offers a one-click way to switch to video mode, making it really simple to capture spur of the moment videos.

The E-PL1 weighs just 10.4 ounces (about three ounces lighter than the E-P1), and measures 4.51″ x 2.84″ x 1.63″.

The $599.99 package includes the camera body, the fantastic M. ZUIKO 14-42mm Micro Four Thirds lens, a battery with charger, usb and video cables, shoulder strap and software CD. It’ll be available in three colors; black, Champagne Gold and Slate Blue.

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Four new travel friendly cameras from Olympus

Good tech news tends to happen in the middle of the night. Take for example these four new digital cameras from Olympus. Not only did they make four good looking shooters – they made four great new cameras for travelers.

Two of the new cameras offer ultra-zoom lenses, and two of them let you take your camera underwater for some fantastic photos of HD video. Best of all, two of them will be available later this month!

The four new cameras are:

  • The SP-800UZ 30x ultra-zoom
  • The SP-600UZ 15x ultra-zoom
  • The Stylus Tough-6020 waterproof / dropproof / freezeproof camera
  • The Stylus Tough-8010 waterproof / dropproof / crushproof / freezeproof camera

The SP-800UZ 30x ultra-zoom

The first of the new cameras in this lineup is by far the most impressive. Olympus managed to design the world’s smallest camera with a 30x optical zoom. The SP-800UZ makes photos in 14 megapixels, and video in 720p. Its 5.0 – 150mm (28 – 840 35mm equivalent) lens is built with 15 separate internal lenses in 10 groups.

Photos can be enhanced with a variety of “magic filters”. The filters include the following effects: Pop Art, Pin Hole, Fish-Eye and Drawing (creates sketch outline photos).

The camera features a built in pop-up flash, MiniHDMI output for watching HD content on your TV and 2GB of internal memory (memory can be expanded with SD/SDHC cards).

The SP-800UZ will be available in March for the surprisingly low price of $349.99.

The SP-600UZ 15x ultra-zoom

The new SP-600UZ offers most of the features found on the SP-800UZ, but with a 15x optical zoom and a 12 megapixel sensor. One other handy difference is its ability to operate off regular AA rechargeable batteries. It will also be available in March, for just $249.99.

The Stylus Tough-6020

Olympus has always been at the forefront of tough cameras – their waterproof, freezeproof (down to -14F) and crushproof cameras are world-renowned for their durability.

The new Stylus Tough-6020 shoots in 14 megapixels, with an integrated 5x optical zoom. This camera is also the first in the Stylus lineup to offer HD video recording (720p). It is waterproof up to 16 feet of water, and can survive drops up to 5 feet. Thankfully, the Tough-6020 takes SD and SDHC cards – I was never a fan of the xD cards used in previous models.

The Stylus Tough-6020 will be available this month for $299.99.

The Stylus Tough-8010

The Stylus Tough-8010 is the tougher brother of the Stylus Tough-6020. It takes waterproofing down to 33 feet of water, drops up to 6.6 feet and is crushproof up to 220 pounds of pressure. It also adds an extra gigabyte of internal memory (2GB).

The Stylus Tough-8010 will be available this month for $399.99.

Gadling gear review – first look at the new Olympus E-P2

Santa visited my house early this year, and dropped off the new Olympus E-P2 Micro Four Thirds digital camera. The first Olympus Micro Four Thirds camera, the E-P1, passed through Gadling earlier this year, and left me mighty impressed, so in this first (and very brief) look, we’ll see what the E-P2 has to offer.

At first glance, the E-P2 looks identical to the E-P1, albeit in a slightly different color. The E-P1 is available in silver/black and white/tan, and the E-P2 only comes in black. It takes a bit to find any differences, but once you reach the flash hot shoe in the middle, you’ll notice a small connector port below it.

This port is in essence the biggest difference between the E-P1 and E-P2. One of the biggest drawbacks of the E-P1 is its lack of a viewfinder. An optical viewfinder is available for using with the 17mm pancake lens, but it won’t work well with the 14-42mm lens.

The connector on the E-P2 works along with the included electronic viewfinder and an upcoming microphone adapter.

The VF-2 viewfinder slides onto the hot shoe, and can tilt upwards. Of course, with the viewfinder attached, you can no longer use the flash, but you obviously won’t need the flash in those situations.

Other changes are all inside the camera – the E-P2 features a new live focus tracking mode, which works for photos and in video mode. It also adds two new art settings (diarama and cross process). The camera also allows for manual control when in video mode, and adds HDMI control when hooked up to a compatible HDTV .

All in all, great changes, but the new viewfinder and additional software tweaks add $300 to the price (the E-P1 is $799.99, the E-P2 will retail for $1099.99). In the coming week, I’ll take the camera for a real test, and determine whether the $300 is easy to justify, or whether it finally prices itself out of where it should be.

Olympus E-P1 Micro Four Thirds digital camera – part 2 – the basics

I just spent the past 2 days playing with the new Olympus E-P1 digital camera. Before I continue, let me quickly describe what kind of photographer I am – 95% of the time, I’ll have my camera set to “auto” and the remaining 5%, it is set to manual by mistake. As a geek, I got in on the whole DSLR craze very early, and got out of the craze after just 2 weeks.

I’ve always found DSLR’s to be too big, too complicated and too overwhelming. So, when I initially read about the new Olympus E-P1 camera, I was very interested, as it appeared to be everything I like in a camera, but still able to offer me the features and quality of a large digital SLR.

Now on the camera itself – anyone who knows a thing or two about photography will know what the Olympus Pen was. The Pen was the first half-frame camera produced in Japan, and one of the smallest to take regular 35mm film. The entire Pen line was a massive success, but the last one was developed way back in 1981. The first Pen hit the market in 1959, which just so happens to be 50 years ago, which is of course the perfect time to relaunch the Pen using current technologies.

The basics

Inside the camera is the same large sensor that you’ll find in a DSLR camera, capable of shooting in 12.3 megapixels. The unit features in-camera image stabilization and an ultrasonic lens cleaning technology called “Super Sonic Wave Filter” – how cool is that?

Having image stabilization inside the camera means lenses won’t need the technology in them, which should keep the price of lenses to a minimum. Some of the highlights built into the camera are:

  • 720p HD video recording
  • Audio recording in PCM Stereo
  • Multiple art shooting modes (pop art, soft focus, pale&light color, light tone, grainy film and pin hole)
  • Interchangeable lenses using the Micro Four Thirds system
  • Stainless steel body available in metal/chrome and white
  • 3″ LCD
  • Digital leveler built in (this is way cooler than it sounds)

Tomorrow I’ll start showing some of the features up close, in the meantime, enjoy some of these photos I took using the camera. I uploaded all the images in their original, unedited format, just click “hi res” in the top to see the full size photo, and remember; I am not a professional photographer by any means, so go easy on me!

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