This compact superzoom is targeted for shooting travel and sports activities. 18x ultra-zoom gets the photographer up close to the action while auto-focus tracking keeps up with the fast pace of sports events.
At an estimated street retail price of S$320, the SZ-10 will be available from March 2011 in either black or silver.
SZ-10 (Black)
SZ-10 (Silver)
A dedicated REC button initiates recording of 1280 x 720 HD movies in MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 format.
SZ-10 (top view)
Eight Magic Filters add special effects (Pop, Pin Hole, Fisheye, Sketch, Soft Focus, Punk, Watercolor and Sparkle) to both stills and video. These include two new filters: Water Color and Sparkle.
Lens aperture ranges from 3.1 to 4.4.
Dual IS (image stabilisation) promises up to 4 stops of compensation. A sensor shift image stabilisation mechanism is used in conjunction with a high ISO of up to 1600. This allows the use of a fast shutter speed even in low-light conditions to freeze actions or to minimise camera shake – so as to reduce blurring.
It features a large three-inch 460 thousand dot LCD monitor and a 3D capture mode that shoots 3D photos that can be viewed on compatible TVs and computers.
AF tracking locks on to a moving subject and follows it, continuously adjusting focus and brightness.
SZ-10 (back)
SZ-10 (front)
Alternatively, use the included Olympus [ib] software to stitch up to 10 images together into a panorama. The software allows organising, browsing and editing of photos.
Other camera features include face detection, shadow adjustment technology to increase dynamic range of photos taken under high contrast situations, and an Intelligent Auto mode that picks the most suitable scene mode to use under the prevalent lighting conditions.
There’s even a Pet Mode that recognises the faces of certain breeds of cats and dogs so that the camera can automatically detects, tracks and focuses on them for shooting.
Developed by Olympus and Panasonic, “Micro Four Thirds” is a standard for lens mounts that is tailored to digital system cameras. The standard defines the sensor size, the lens mount together with the communication protocol, the aspect ratio and the flange back distance, as well as the optical requirements for production and construction.
The Schneider Group specializes in developing and producing high-performance photographic lenses, cinema projection lenses, as well as industrial optics and precision mechanics.
