The interchangeable lens cameras appealed most of the enthusiasts. However, their expensive price tag of more than $800 is making them not affordable for budget conscious users. They are capable to record videos and their big sensors are providing better picture quality even at high ISO levels than that of small digital cameras. In contrast, their alternatives – larger digital SLRs with optical viewfinders and kit prices are starting from $600. Previously, Olympus has tried to capture the market with E-P1 and E-P2 interchangeable lens cameras, but they does not have inbuilt flash even at high price. Now, the company has launched the Olympus E-PL1 with its Micro Four Thirds lens and 12.3-megapixel Live MOS. It costs $549 for body only, while its 14-42mm lens kit costs $599.99. The Olympus 14-42mm Micro Third lens costs $299, while both Nikon and Canon dSLR 18-55mm lenses are priced $199. However, the Micro Four Third lenses are more compact than the other dSLR lenses.

Olympus E-P2 Micro Four Thirds digital camera is a more expensive sibling of previous E-P1. At first look, the E-P2 looks tremendously similar to its predecessor the EP1 due to same elegant body and natural quality. One of the most noticeable additions is accessory port that increases the height of its body. Olympus is currently offering two accessories for this port: included adapter for external mic and tilt-able electronic viewfinder that can easily slide inside the hot shoe. We like this included accessory because one has to purchase it separately for Panasonic GF-1. The EVF is bright, contrast and well magnified and has enough high-resolution for manual focus. The E-P2 also has revamped manual focus system, in which the focus magnification is linked with focus points. What’s more – tilt ability of the EVF helps a lot to get better shooting results. Olympus E-P2 comes in two versions: $1099.99 with 14-42mm lens and $1099.99 for 17mm lens.  [...]

We thought the Olympus Stylus Tough 8000 was the most durable camera we have ever come across in our test centers. It has a strong metal body which can survive falls from up to 6.6 feet and is crushproof up to 220 pounds of weight. This is not all, the camera is water proof, can survive in up to 33 feet of water and is freeze proof up to 14 degrees Fahrenheit. All this is really impressive; you can use this camera for shooting and also give it to your baby to play around with. But as with most shockproof, waterproof cameras, the performance is not as good as what other cameras have to offer. This is for people who want a rugged camera and are willing to compromise on quality. The menus of the camera are easy to understand and if you are a veteran camera user, it won’t take you long to master the device. The buttons are easy to press even with the thick gloves put on. The screen has a touch screen interface but if you are somewhere in cold environments,  [...]

Olympus is a giant in the camera market and when it comes to making longs lens cameras, Olympus is the first name that comes to mind. In order to make a market competitive mega zoom camera, the length of the lens is important but other things such as good photo quality, useful feature set and fast performance must be taken care of. Unfortunately, the SP-590 UZ lacks in these features. If you are a camera enthusiast and have used such mega zoom devices, you won’t need much time to get used to the SP-590 UZ. Apart from all the usual buttons, there is Beauty mode on mode dial which slightly blurs skin. However, you get only a 2 mega pixel image and the time between shots is approximately 20 seconds. There is MyMode which holds four groups of programmed settings including those of focal length. The OK/Func button gets you to the frequently used settings which include compression, image size, metering, ISO sensitivity, white balance and drive mode. You  [...]

Ultra compact cameras have their own ups and downs. On the positive side, they are easy to operate, are lightweight, small, inexpensive and the best choice if you want to shoot pictures to put it on social networking websites. However they have a lot of shutter lag, the photo quality is quite poor. We found the camera to be exceptionally slow in shutter lag, in fact this is the slowest camera that we have ever seen. If your subjects are impatient and move away from the camera within a second of the capture, you might get damaged photos. Prints look good as long as you stay inside the 4x6 size. Most of the buttons on the camera are housed on the right of the display like LCD backlight boost/delete button, menu key, four way navigation button with Function/OK key in the middle, playback and shooting mode keys, info/display button and a tiny zoom rocker. You get a shooting mode specific menu when you press the Function/OK button but we were disappointed  [...]