If your photography takes you into the harsh environments of extreme cold, desert-like dust, watery wastes-- or if you are just a habitual camera dropper -- you might consider one these new stainless steel -encased babies.
Japanese imaging leader, Olympus, have just launched three digital cameras in India, from their range of all-weather, shock and waterproof digital cameras in the ‘Tough’ series. They claim features like freeze proof, dust proof and crush proof. The cameras are engineered to withstand a 1.5 - 2 metre drop, 100 kg of pressure; between 3m and 10 m of water submersion & -10 degree Celsius temperature.
All the three Tough cameras shoot 720p HD videos using a 2.7" LCD, They'll film up to 4GB, or 29 minutes, of high-definition video in the MPEG-4 format. Their burst modes fire off 5 frames per second using a one-touch button and feature 5x wide optical zoom lens (28-140mm*1); they have Dual Image Stabilization which means the cameras will deliver blur-free images by combining Sensor-Shift Image Stabilization with high ISO sensitivity.
The cameras employ ‘Bright Capture Technology’ which allows the user to shoot clear and bright pictures even in low light environments without having to use a flash. Other key features include HD movie function, Magic Filters, Creative Art Filters, Beauty Mode to i-Auto, AF Tracking, in-camera panorama, Pop Art, Pin Hole Fish-Eye and Drawing among others.
The µ TOUGH-8010 ( 14 Megapixels/ 5x optical zoom; Rs 19,999) & µ TOUGH-6020 ( 14 megapixels; 5 x optical zoom; Rs 16,999) cameras have 2GB internal memory ( 1.6 GB usable) whereas TOUGH 3000 ( 12 megapixels; 3.6x optical zoom; Rs 13,999), has 1GB ( 630 MB usable) internal memory. The weights are 215g, 178g and 159g respectively and the 8010 and 6020 are almost similar in their environmental and rugged features; while the 3000 has them somewhat scaled down.
Specifications of the TOUGH-8010: http://www.olympus-imaging.co.in/products/compact/sw_mju_series/mju-t8010/spec/
Specifications of the TOUGH-6020: http://www.olympus-imaging.co.in/products/compact/sw_mju_series/mju-t6020/spec/
Specifications of the TOUGH-3000: http://www.olympus-imaging.co.in/products/compact/sw_mju_series/mju-t3000/spec/
For more info: www.olympus-imaging.co.in
June 7 2010