Olympus XZ-1 Camera Announced Jan 5th 2010

Competes with Canon S95, Canon G12, Panasonic LX5 - with great new lens

By Scott Gietler

Olympus used to be the leader in high-end compact cameras, although for the last few years that has not been the case. Now it is trying to regain that lead. The Olympus XZ-1 underwater photography potential looks quite good.

Olympus XZ-1 Key Features

• F1.8 lens 28-112mm lens. This is a very bright lens and puts it ahead of the competition with respect to the largest aperture in a compact camera.
• Lens aperture is F2.5 at 112mm, quite impressive!
• Dual control dials to change ISO, Aperture, shutter speed
• 1/1.63" sensor, 10 megapixel. This is quite a large sensor for a compact camera, and may result in quite good high-ISO performance relative to other compacts.
• 720p HD video
• Shoots in RAW, full manual controls
• Olmypus is marketing this lens as a high-quality Zuiko lens - we can't wait to test it out
• ISO 100-6400, 3 inch LCD with 610,000 dot resolution - quite a good LCD!
• PT-050 Underwater housing available from Olympus
• Available in late Jan 2011 for $499

First impressions of the Olympus XZ-1

These specs are quite impressive, and if there are good wet lens options for the Olympus XZ-1 underwater housing, this could be a new top choice for underwater photographers in the compact camera area. We look forward to getting our hands on this camera and testing it out.

Update: Read our Olympus XZ-1 review here
 

Further Reading

Olympus E-PL2 Camera announced

Recsea Canon S95 underwater housing review

Olympus E-PL1 review

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