anti-dust
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Olympus E-P1 DSLR leaked, slated for fall release?
Oh, how we adore leaked PowerPoint presentations. Fresh off of discovering that Timex is indeed releasing a Made for iPod watch, it looks like that Olympus E-1 successor will soon become a reality -- we're talking October / November soon. While the 27-page document detailing the E-P1 has since been removed at the request of Olympus, a good amount of details were extracted beforehand. Reportedly, the DSLR will feature a 10-megapixel sensor, dust reduction, splash-proof body, swiveling LCD, image sensor stabilization, eleven-point autofocus, and a weather-sealed extra battery compartment for good measure. So if you're as giddy as we are about finally getting a followup to the aging E-1, give the links below a bit of your time and start pinching those pennies.[Via CNET]
DSLR dust removal / sensor cleaning shootout
We already know that megapixels don't matter (right?), but an oft hyped (but untested) feature that has emerged on DSLRs is automatic sensor cleaning. The anti-dust capabilities (or lack thereof) of Canon's EOS-400D, Olympus' E-300, Pentax's K10D, and Sony's Alpha A100 were put to the test, and although the methodology was less than scientific, the results were intriguing nonetheless. Essentially, each camera was given a before / after test shot in order to judge the results, and after the digicams sat through a dirtying process, they were "self-cleaned" 25 times and finally rated. Considering that Olympus was given credit as being the first manufacturer to include dust cleaning technology in its products, it's not too surprising that it took home the gold, but even sitting in first place, the E-300's effectiveness was only rated at 50-percent. Canon's EOS-400D came in with high expectations, but received a "poor" rating as the cleaning effectiveness clocked in a paltry five-percent. If you thought these two were bad, it only got worse when the Pentax K10D and Alpha A100 stepped to the plate, as both highly-regarded cams were deemed "useless" in the anti-dust department. So if your number one priority in a new DSLR is how well it cleans up after itself, there doesn't seem to be a standout option just yet, but feel free to hit the read link and decide for yourself.[Thanks, Romain B.]
