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Best digital camera brands Olympus digital cameras

Olympus

Olympus is a major player in the digital cameras market, principally with its ultra-compact models. In addition to these, Olympus has established itself firmly in the digital SLR market, though it is yet to match the dominance of Canon and Nikon.

Olympus has picked up a few Best Buy awards from Which? over the years, though the company’s focus on increasingly small models has had its drawbacks – some of these ultra-slim cameras have been marred by limited features and slow performances.

Check our expert Which? reviews of the best digital cameras for reviews of cameras from Olympus and other major brands.

Best cheap Olympus digital cameras

The cheapest Olympus cameras tend to be from its FE-range of slim compact cameras, including models such as the Olympus FE-4050.

However, you can also sometimes find a cheap model from amongst Olympus’s stylish mju range of ultra-slim digital cameras, with models such as the Olympus mju 9000 being fairly affordable.

Features tend to be rather limited amongst these budget ranges, and you won’t find many manual controls or larger zooms. However, if you’re only looking for a simple point-and-shoot device, Olympus certainly has a wide selection.

Olympus Mju Tough 6020

The Olympus Mju Tough 6020

 

Olympus mju Tough waterproof cameras

Within the mju range, there are a number of water and drop resistant models – ideal for family holidays. 

The Olympus mju Tough range of cameras features models that are waterproof, shock-proof, freeze-proof and dust-proof. These make them great for trips to the beach or skiing holidays.

Some of the weather-proof Olympus Tough models include:

 

Best superzoom Olympus digital cameras

Though Olympus tends to produce more compact digital cameras these days, it still has a selection of advanced super-zoom models that are worth considering.

The SP-range of super-zoom cameras from Olympus has featured a number of Which? Best Buys. Traditionally, we would consider the SP-range to be bridge cameras, as they have always offered advanced manual control options.

However, the latest additions to the SP-range have done away with the manual controls and adopted a point-and-shoot approach. 

The Olympus SP-610UZ and Olympus SP-810UZ have large zooms of 15x and 30x respectively, but they lack electronic viewfinders or advanced manual controls.

Read our Which? reviews of the best bridge cameras if you're looking for an advanced camera with manual controls.

 

Olympus XZ-1

The new Olympus XZ-1 compact bridge camera.

Olympus XZ-1 compact bridge camera

Olympus has unveiled the new XZ-1 compact bridge camera, a slim model with a huge array of manual features for demanding photographers.

With the new XZ-1, Olympus has joined a select club of manufacturers to produce compact bridge cameras. This is a tightly-contested corner of the camera market, and there have been few players to date, so Olympus will have plenty of ground to catch up to establish itself against the competition.

Watch the video below for hands-on first impressions of the Olympus XZ-1 (incorrectly referred to as the ZX-1 in the video) from CES 2011.

Olympus XZ-1 video review from CES 2011

 

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Read our full Which? review of the Olympus XZ-1

 

Best Olympus digital SLRs

Though Olympus doesn’t have the market presence of Canon or Nikon, it has a good range of DSLR options to cater to various budgets.

See all of our expert Which? reviews of Olympus digital SLRs

For the lower end of budgets, Olympus has a range of entry-level digital SLRs such as the Olympus E450. Though these models are certainly a financial step up from a compact digital camera, they are a great deal cheaper than advanced DSLRs.

Those on a more generous budget may wish to consider the top-of-the-line Olympus E-5 model. This more advanced digital SLR has all the features to help keen amateur or semi-professional photographers get the best out of their digital photography.

Check our Which? reviews of the best digital SLRs, featuring a number of strong performing models from Olympus and other major brands.

 

Olympus PEN micro four-thirds digital cameras

As well as its digital SLR cameras, Olympus is backing a new design of system camera which allows for interchangeable lenses with a more compact camera body.

Olympus PEN E-PL1 MFT digital camera - front and rear

The Olympus PEN cameras offer a compact, retro-styled alternative to a DSLR

The micro four-thirds camera – a joint initiative between Panasonic and Olympus – is neither a compact model nor a digital SLR. It features the interchangeable lens approach of a DSLR, but it has no internal mirror system, keeping the body smaller and lighter.

The retro-styled PEN cameras are certainly distinctive, and they feature large image sensors which allow them to capture DSLR-standard shots.

 

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Olympus PEN line-up:

One of the strangest new accessories for the PEN series, announced alongside the E-PL2, is Olympus' MAL-1 macro arm light. These two LED lights on tentacles attach to the hot shoe of the camera, giving illumination to a subject directly in front of the camera when you're shooting close-up macro shots.

Another new accessory is the PENPal, described by Olympus as "a communication unit for storing up to 2600 images and transferring them via wireless Bluetooth to other Bluetooth-enabled devices". You can use the PENPal to transfer photos to a mobile phone, PC, or even another camera if it has its own PENPal attached.

Olympus also unveiled a series of lens converters for its micro-four-thirds lenses, including a macro lens converter, a wide angle converter, and a fish-eye converter.