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Olympus

Olympus XZ-10 adds another fast-lens compact to Stylus line

Like all its competitors, Olympus continues to bulk up on higher-end compacts, going after consumers who are willing to pay for better features to get better photos. Enter the Stylus XZ-10, a $400 point-and-shoot with a bright lens.

The XZ-10's lens will actually be better for some than the one on Olympus' $600 enthusiast compact, the XZ-2. It starts at a bright f1.8 26mm and zooms in to f2.7 130mm -- a 5x zoom that's tough to beat in this class of camera. By comparison, the XZ-2 has a 4x f1.8-2.5 28-112mm lens, so … Read more

Pentax f2.0 WG-3 rugged camera to challenge Olympus

While there are plenty of rugged digital cameras to go around these days, Pentax and Olympus have been making them the longest. The new WG-3 is Pentax's 15th-generation ruggedized camera and it's going directly after Olympus' top models, the Stylus Tough TG-1 iHS and TG-2 iHS.

The key features of the Olympus are its 4x f2.0-4.9 25-100mm lens and the option to attach a lens adapter for add-on conversion lenses. And that's exactly what you get with the WG-3; the exact same lens specs, and you can put on a lens adapter and wide-angle conversion … Read more

Olympus' new street-shooter-friendly prime lens

Olympus continues its trend of releasing fast, Micro Four Thirds-mount (MFT) prime lenses with the 17mm f1.8 (34mm equivalent). Incorporating the same design as the 12mm f2 -- metallic finish and a pull-down ring for distance-based focusing -- the lens sounds like a solid addition for street-shooting MFT photographers.

Mount Micro Four Thirds Focal range 17mm Aperture range f1.8 - f22 Aperture blades 7 Minimum focus distance 9.8 Angle of view 65 degrees Elements 9: 3 aspherical, 1 high-refractive index Filter diameter 46mm Minimum length 1.4 inches Maximum length 1.4 inches Weight 4.2 (est) … Read more

Olympus gives in, settles with Intellectual Ventures

Intellectual Ventures, the giant patent-holding company that's become synonymous with the term "patent troll," says it has settled a contentious infringement suit with camera-maker Olympus.

The suit, filed in Sept. 2011 against Olympus and fellow camera-maker Canon, claimed the companies infringed on nine image sensor patents, the first of which was filed in 1995 and granted three years later. Intellectual Ventures, founded by ex-Microsoft executive Nathan Myhrvold, is still pursuing the case against Canon, as well as a similar suit, filed a month later, against Nikon.

Financial terms of the settlement were not disclosed. But the deal highlights … Read more

Sony invests $645 million into ailing Olympus

Sony has decided to help out Olympus.

The Japan-based companies announced today that Sony will acquire over 34 million shares in Olympus through a third-party allotment to the tune of $645 million in cash. The deal, which both sides are calling a "capital alliance," is designed to help keep Olympus afloat following a scandal that has brought the company to its knees.

To consumers, Olympus is best known for its cameras. But the company also produces optical equipment for medical, scientific, and industrial uses.

Olympus' troubles started -- on paper, at least -- last year when its dismissed … Read more

Olympus primes its Micro Four Thirds lens selection

Cameras are nice, but to me, lenses are where the rubber meets the road, and Olympus has been turning out some very nice Micro Four Thirds lenses these days. At Photokina, the company is showing off a new moderately priced 60mm f2.8 macro, odd 15mm f8 body-cap lens, a black limited edition version of its 12mm f2, and announced development of a new 17mm f1.8

Optimized to be used in conjunction with the OM-D E-M5, the 60mm macro is weather-resistant to match that camera. It's relatively large -- 13 elements -- and Olympus makes use of all … Read more

Prizefight: Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS4 vs. Olympus Tough TG-1 iHS

It's a Prizefight throwdown showdown! We're throwing two of the best point-and-shoot cameras that were made to outlast the elements. It's the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS4 versus the Olympus Tough TG-1 iHS!

Panasonic's TS4 brings a sleeker design that's still rugged with better image quality results. Olympus' TG-1 is chunkier, but it brings a larger feature set and is even crushproof.

Both of these bad boys are waterproof, shockproof, and freezeproof; which do you think deserves to be crowned the Prizefight King of the Ring?

Cast your vote!

Olympus joins the 40x club with the Stylus SP-820UZ iHS

Giving it a lens your neighborhood stalker of, um, squirrels is sure to love, Olympus today announced the Stylus SP-820UZ iHS featuring a 40x f3.4-5.7 22.4-896mm lens. Nikon's Coolpix P510 and its 42x zoom lens still beat it, but hey, it's nice to have options.

Unlike the Nikon, however, the 820UZ iHS is more of a fully automatic camera with no manual or semimanual shooting modes. Its high-sensitivity 14-megapixel CMOS sensor and Olympus TruePic V image processor will let you capture 1080p HD and high-speed video (240fps HSQVGA) clips, though, and you get multishot HDR … Read more

Google Glass spurs battle for eyeballs

Friday's news roundup will have you eyeing Google's competition:

We've sung this tune before: Amazon is tinkering with creating its own smartphone. A recent Bloomberg report has the media buzzing again about the possibility, but we first heard this last year from an analyst. If true, would Amazon knock Windows from the No. 3 spot? I think we're just hungry for more choice.

Google wasn't the first company to tinker with a computerized headset for augmented-reality vision. With all the buzz on Google Glass, Olympus felt confident about sharing news on its Glass-like prototype. And … Read more