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The Olympus Stylus TG-870 is a ruggedized compact camera
The Nikon D5 is, without a doubt, the biggest camera announcement from CES 2016—so far, at least. But if that beastly DSLR is a little too much for you, maybe you'll be interested in what Olympus has to offer. Today, the camera manufacturer introduced the Stylus TG-870, a small rugged shooter with a 16-megapixel CMOS sensor, an ultra-wide-angle lens (21–105mm), 5x optical zoom, GPS, WiFi and 1080p video at 60 fps.
Olympus' new compact camera uses retro looks to lure you in
Due to the popularity of smartphones, camera manufacturers have had to scramble trying to find ways to keep their products relevant. And Olympus is no stranger to this. Now, the company has announced its Stylus SH-2, a point-and-shoot camera that's using retro looks to, hopefully, appeal to the masses. Like they say, however, looks aren't everything. As such, Olympus is making this compact cam beautiful on the inside too, featuring a RAW capture mode, 5-axis image stabilization, WiFi and the ability to shoot 1080p video at 60 fps. Just as important, the Stylus SH-2 comes with a 16-megapixel sensor and 24x optical zoom lens (24-600mm wide-angle equivalent) -- similar to what we saw on the Stylus SH-1, which was introduced last March. It'll be available in black and silver next month for $400, while the companion carrying cases will be sold separately.
Adobe's Lightroom 5.3 RC brings RAW support to Sony's A7, other new cameras
If you're tired of cludging RAW files from your spanking new Sony A7r or Fujifilm XQ1, there's now relief from Adobe with release candidates for Photoshop Camera Raw 8.3 and Lightroom 5.3. The latter app, part of Adobe's Creative Cloud suite, is purpose-built for manipulating RAW photos, making its support critical for early-adopting image pros. The software will also work now with the Sony A7, Nikon AW1, Phase One IQ260 and IQ280 and Nikon Coolpix P7800, with preliminary support for the Sony RX10, Nikon D5300 and Olympus Stylus 1. Adobe's also squashed some bugs, like auto white balance and Flickr publishing issues. There's still one yawning gap in Adobe's resume, though, as the first smartphone RAW camera, the Nokia Lumia 1520 isn't supported yet -- hopefully that'll be remedied shortly after its arrival.
Olympus Stylus XZ-2 is a digital compact stuck in a mirrorless camera's body, we go hands-on
Looking to boost your compact capabilities, but don't want to deal with the hassle of swapping lenses? You might take interest with the Stylus XZ-2 -- Olympus' most powerful point-and-shoot model. Admittedly, we're having a bit of difficultly working through the appeal of this latest fixed-lens snapper, given the $600 price tag and a body that's comparable in size to the PEN E-PL5 and even larger than the E-PM2. In the model's defense, it does include an impressive f/1.8-2.5, 28-112mm 4x optical zoom lens, though its 12-megapixel 1/1.7-inch CMOS sensor is smaller than what's included with its interchangeable-lens cousins, and the camera's sensitivity tops out at ISO 12,800. It does, however, offer 1080p shooting and a higher-res swivel 3-inch 920k-dot LCD with Touch AF Shutter control. Still, we would have liked to see these features included with the company's latest Micro Four Thirds cameras, rather than on a model with a smaller sensor and no interchangeable lens. If you're set on the XZ-2, you'll be plenty pleased with the design -- it's quite similar to the E-PL5, and therefore quite capable. There's an option to swap in red, beige and purple grips (the camera body itself is only available in black), and you can add a body jacket and an underwater housing. There's also a built-in flash, which pops up from the top left corner, and you'll find PEN-like controls, to boot. We spent a few minutes with the XZ-2, though the battery was dead during our demo, unfortunately, so we weren't able to shoot. Still, the design felt practical, and the camera seemed solid overall. The hybrid control ring is a "world's first," according to Olympus, and offers the same functionality in both a click mode, which provides feedback, and a smoother silent mode, which won't produce any noise or vibration when shooting videos. The Stylus XZ-2 will ship a bit after the new PEN models, in November, but you can take a peek now in our gallery just below.%Gallery-165433%
Olympus expands its point-and-shoot offerings with Stylus VH-410 and VH-515
Olympus has taken the wraps off of two new point-and-shoots, the compact Stylus VH-410 and the "high-performance" Stylus VH-515. The 410 features a 16-megapixel CCD sensor, a touchscreen and 5x optical zoom. It can shoot movies in 1280 x 720, has Dual IS image stabilization and supports Eye-Fi wireless SD cards. It's set to hit the market mid-October. The 515, meanwhile, is dropping in the middle of next month, bringing with it a 12-megapixel, back-illuminated CMOS sensor, 8x optical zoom with Super Resolution and can shoot video in 1920 x 1080. Check out more info on both cameras in the press releases after the break.
