Olympus just launched the Stylus SP-820UZ iHS, its flagship Ultra Zoom compact camera. It features a 40x optical zoom lens (22.4-896mm equivalent) a 14MP CMOS image sensor.
The zoom is further magnified by what Olympus calls Super-Resolution Zoom, which doubles the focus distance, enabling up to 80x zoom magnification.
The SP-820UZ iHS also sports a 3-inch LCD 1080p HD video, as well as 720p video at 60fps for smooth slow motion footage.
The Olympus Stylus SP-820UZ iHS should be available in September 2012 at a retail price of $329.99. You can order the SP-820UZ here at B&H Photo.
Full specifications below.
Olympus Stylus SP-820UZ iHS Specifications
| Image Sensor | 14 Megapixels (effective), 1/2.3″ CMOS |
| Focal Length/Lens Configuration | 4.0 – 160.0mm (22.4– 896mm equivalent in 35mm photography) |
| Zoom | 40x Optical Zoom + 4x Digital Zoom |
| Aperture Range | f3.4 (W) / f5.7 (T) |
| Display | 3.0-inch LCD 460,000 dots |
| Focus System | CMOS contrast detection |
| Focus Range (from lens surface) | Normal Mode: W: 0.1m??/T: 3.0m?? Macro Mode: W: 0.1m??/T: 3.0m?? Super Macro Mode: 0.01m??/f=5.73mm?focal length fixed) |
| Focus Mode | iESP Auto, Spot AF, Face Detection AF, AF Tracking |
| Shutter Speed | 1/2000 sec. –1/4 sec. (up to 4 sec. in Night Scene mode) |
| ISO Sensitivity (SOS: Standard Output Sensitivity) | ISO 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, 6400, Auto, High |
| Exposure Metering | ESP/Spot |
| Exposure Compensation | ±2 EV steps in 1/3 EV steps |
| Image File Format | Still Image: JPEG Movie: MOV/H.264 |
| Number of Recorded Pixels | 14M (4288×3216) 8M (3264×2448) 5M (2560×1920) 3M (2048×1536) 2M (1600×1200) 1M (1280×960) VGA (640×480) 16:9 L (4288×2416) 16:9 S (1920×1080) |
| Motion Blur Suppression | Dual Image Stabilization |
| Shooting Modes | Intelligent Auto, Program Auto, Beauty Mode, Panorama, Hand-Held Starlight, Photo+Video Clip, Scene Modes (Portrait, Landscape, Night Scene, Night + Portrait, Sport, Indoor, Self Portrait, Sunset, Fireworks, Cuisine, Documents, Beach & Snow, Pet (Cat), Pet (Dog), Backligh HDR), HD MovieMagic Filter: Pop Art, Pinhole, Fisheye, Drawing, Soft Focus, Punk, Sparkle, Watercolor, Reflection, Miniature, Fragmented, Dramatic |
| Panorama | In-Camera Panorama (Smart Panorama), PC Panorama (Up to 10 frames automatically stitchable with ib software) |
| Continuous Shooting | Approx. 1.5 fps / 200 images(14M) Approx. 3fps / 3 images(14M) Approx. 10 fps / 34 images(3M) Approx. 30 fps / 34 images(3M) |
| Shooting Assist Functions | Histogram, Frame Assist, Voice Recording |
| Movie Mode | 1080p, 720p, HS720 60fps, HSVGA 120fps, HSQVGA 240fps, VGA |
| Image Processing | TruePic™ V |
| Noise Reduction | Night Scene, Night + Portrait, Candle, Sunset and Fireworks |
| Playback Edit Effects | Still Image: Beauty Fix, Resize, Cropping, Saturation |
| Flash | Built-in |
| Flash Modes | Auto (for low light and backlit conditions) Red-Eye Reduction Fill-in Off |
| Flash Working Range | W: 0.2m – 15.0m (ISO 3200) T: 3.0m – 8.9m (ISO 3200) |
| Self-Timer | 12/2 Seconds/ Pet auto-shutter |
| Removable Media Card | SD/SDHC/SDXC Card (not supported for UHSspeedclass) |
| Outer Connectors | Multi-Terminal (USB Connector, Audio/Video Output) HDMI Type D |
| Auto-Connect USB | USB 2.0 High-Speed (USB Mass Storage) |
| System Requirements | Auto-Connect USB: Windows® 2000/XP/VISTA/7 with USB port, Mac OS X 10.3 or later with USB port Software: Windows® 2000PRO/XP/VISTA/7, Mac OS X 10.3 – 10.5 |
| Weight | 485 g |
| Wireless Transfer | Wi-Fi compatible via optional Eye-Fi™ SD memory card |
| AF Illuminator | Yes |
Too bad a viewfinder is omitted
Debbie, with this camera, a viewfinder is not needed.