CES: Olympus shows off its new cameras

Olympus is also in Las Vegas for the CES, and has unveiled three new compact digital cameras, including a new µ Tough 3000 that's as solid as ever.

Let's start our look with two new cameras from the FE family.  It's been a long time since we've tested one of Olympus' FE range, as the earlier models were an absolute disaster.  Still, we never give up, and will soon be bringing you a test of the FE-5020.  Today, though, Olympus has announced the launch of the FE-4030 and FE-5030, both with a slim, sleek design that is pretty traditional all things considered.  Some parts of the tech specs are interesting, like a wide angle (26-130 mm) 5x optical zoom on the FE-4530 and a more modest (26-104 mm f/2.6-5.9) 4x zoom on the FE-4030.  And while the former will enjoy a mechanical image stabilisation system, the latter will be forced to rely on a much less powerful digital stabilisation.

Apart from these two differences, the cameras will share an identical specification, which will include: a 14 Megapixel sensor; a 2.7'' 230 00 pixel screen; automatic scene detection; subject-tracking autofocus; filters and VGA video.  There's nothing especially new in all of that, but it's a respectable update.  A new version of the internal software will allow you to tag photos according to who's in them using face recognition, as well as the location and the event in question, to make it easier when you copy them to your computer.  We'll have to try it out to see if it's any good.  As with some earlier cameras, the batteries are recharged using the USB port, which means there's no battery charger, although you can't use the camera when it's charging.  The biggest physical change though is that Olympus has finally given up on xD memory cards and made room for an SD/SDHC slot, a long overdue move.

MARCHANDS €     Amazon.fr  106.07  Priceminister  142.45  Amazon.fr  147.98  Priceminister  150.95  Amazon.fr  179.01  Amazon.fr m...  192.52  Compare prices

A leader in the field of all-terrain waterproof photography equipment, Olympus also released details of the µ Tough 3000.  It's partly a successor to the Tough 8000, and has a wide angle 28-102 mm, f/3.5-5.1, 3.6x optical zoom and a stabilised 12 Megapixel sensor.  Other features are now more or less standard, like automatic scene detection, autofocus that tracks the subject or a 2.7'', 230 000 pixel screen.

What's new is a video mode that films in 720p HD TV, complimented by a mini HDMI output to connect the camera straight up to a compatible TV.  Just like the two FE models above, the Tough 3000 includes software that can tag your photos according to who's in them and where they were taken to make browsing through your albums easier.  It has 1 GB of internal memory, but, unfortunately, the charger prevents you from using the camera.

We'd almost forgotten, but the new Olympus µ Tough 3000 is waterproof up to depths of up to three metres, resists shocks from heights of up to 1.5 m and temperatures as cold as -10 °C.  It will be available in red, blue, pink or green from March 2010. 

MARCHANDS €     100000volts  12.90  100000volts  12.90  100000volts  25.00  100000volts  25.00  Amazon.fr  75.77  Priceminister  103.80  Compare prices

> Buyer's Guides: Our Pick of The Best Products