For those who are careful with their cameras and not inclined towards sporting activities on weekends, the Tough-TG-810 may not hold as much appeal as the newest super zoom offering from Olympus. Rendering a multi-recording function for shooting 1080p HD videos along with 16MP stills, the Olympus SZ-30MR includes a 24x optical wide-zoom lens and displays captured content on its 3†high-resolution LCD.
Embedding a 16MP backlit CMOS sensor, the camera should be capable of shooting crisp images even in poorly lit conditions. Apart from the multi-recording mode, some of the newly introduced functions cover Eye-Fi card compatibility, a 3D photo mode and an enviable fps rate for continuous shooting at full resolution. The multi-recording ability comes courtesy of the dual TruePic III+ Image processor which also allows for two different videos to be recorded in wide-angle and close-up, full HD and lower resolution or original and filtered modes.
“The Olympus SZ-30MR has one of the world’s first multi-recording function to ensure you can take both full-resolution 16-megapixel stills and 1080p HD video to capture life’s most important moments,†explained Jennifer Schmell, product manager, Olympus Imaging America. “With its 24x optical zoom, 16MP backlight CMOS sensor and the ability to capture still images in 3D, the Olympus SZ-30MR gives the photo enthusiast a powerful tool.â€
Then there are a variety of Magic Art filters for coloring up stills and HD footage which include fish-eye, pin hole, pop art, soft focus and so on. The SZ-30MR delivers dual IS as also mechanical sensor-shift IS. Users are proffered ISO levels of up 3200 and those who’d rather not bother with tweaking the controls can simply tune the camera to iAuto mode. The other main features of this new Olympus snapper span over AF tracking, HDMI connectivity, Smart Panorama, Olympus [ib] software and SD compatibility among others.
Olympus will toss in a Li-ion battery, USB cable, wrist strap, Olympus [ib] and Olympus Viewer 2 software with the SZ-30MR when it launches in April for $399.99 (approx Rs. 18,000).
