1.8A new digital camera was deemed king of the Stylus line on August 23 with the announcement of the Olympus Stylus 1000. This 10-megapixel digital camera carries on the all-weather legacy of its series while stuffing in more resolution and a few more interesting features. This model has a “digital image stabilization mode,” a Perfect Fix function in the playback mode, and Bright Capture technology meant for shooting in dim lighting. The Olympus Stylus 1000 also packs a significantly expanded sensitivity range, extending from ISO 64-6400, although the settings beyond 1600 come at reduced resolution. Other specs include the 3x optical zoom lens and 2.5-inch LCD screen. The Olympus Stylus 1000, also called the Olympus µ 1000 in
Europe , retails for $399.
On the initial blue screen in the menu, an Image Quality option appears. With a total of 10 megapixels on the image sensor, there are plenty of choices: 3648 x 2736, 2560 x 1920, 2304 x 1728, 2048 x 1536, 1600 x 1200, 1280 x 960, 1024 x 768, 640 x 480, and 1920 x 1080 (16:9). The top resolution is available with Super High Quality and High Quality compression settings, but the other sizes are only available with the High Quality setting. If you think you’ll always be shooting in high resolution, think again. The Stylus 1000 may have a lot of pixels on its image sensor, but it can be very stingy with them. If you use the ISO 3200 or 6400 settings, you’re limited to 3 megapixels or less. If you use the Candle or Available Light scene modes, you’ll only have 5 megapixels or less to work with. Same with the Fine Zoom and burst mode options. The Stylus 1000 may have 10 megapixels, but it can’t be used all the time. In the playback mode, there are cropping and resizing editing options. Resizing pictures can be done to only two sizes though: 640 x 480 and 320 x 240 pixels.
Picture Effects Mode (7.5)
The Edit portion of the playback menu hosts a bunch of picture effects. Black & White and Sepia color filters can be added, and brightness and saturation can be adjusted +/- 5 in whole steps. There are many more interesting effects too. Users can create layouts with 6 different templates and make pages of calendars too. Cards can be made too, with 13 frames of various shapes and colors and 10 labels saying things like “Happy Birthday,” “Thinking of You,” and “Happy Holidays.” In essence, users of the Olympus Stylus 1000 could snap a picture of their family, add a festive frame and label in the playback mode, and print a holiday card to a PictBridge printer within minutes.
