Olympus stylish Stylus 1040 slims down

Written by Adorama News Writer
|
Published on August 24, 2008
Adorama News Writer
Adorama ALC

T series. Features include a 2.7-inch LCD monitor, in-camera panorama stitching, digital image stabilization, in-camera image fixes (red-eye, etc), next-gen face detection that can detect up to 16 faces in a scene, shadow adjustment, intelligent Auto Mode (which selects one of 33 scene modes for you) and perfect shot preview. The Olympus Stylus 1040 comes in black, blue, silver and gold, and will be available in October for around $299.99.



For details, read the Olympus USA press release:



TAKE THE SCENE AND MAKE THE SCENE WITH THE INCREDIBLY ELEGANT ULTRA-SLIM STYLUS 1040



Thinnest Stylus Ever Fits Into Every Lifestyle



CENTER VALLEY, Pa., August 25, 2008 – Olympus today debuts the Stylus 1040, the thinnest Stylus camera of all time, and wins serious style points with a bold, stylish look. When wearing a designer outfit, getting behind the wheel of a sleek sports car, or stepping onto the red carpet, the Stylus 1040 is available in black and silver to match your moments. With a camera this portable and attractive, you will not just capture the scene, but will also be a part of it.



“The Stylus 1040 is perfect for style-conscience consumers and captures amazing images,” said Tomoko Matsunaga, product manager, Olympus Imaging America Inc. “The new ultra-slim design features a new streamlined body with a lens-protecting faceplate that instantly turns on the camera when it slides to reveal the lens and capture the moment.”



Intelligent Auto Mode Does the Thinking for You



Tired of changing the settings on your camera every time you are shooting something different? The Intelligent Auto Mode automatically indentifies what is in the camera’s sights and adjusts settings to capture the best quality results depending on the situation (Portrait, Landscape, Night + Portrait, Macro, Sports). Users will enjoy this quick and hassle-free feature, which does the thinking for them and produces incredible images.



Face Detection and Smile Shot for Flawless Party Pix



At a club or in a ballroom, it is easy to take great group shots with Face Detection. This feature tracks up to 16 faces within the frame and automatically focuses and optimizes exposure for sharp, brilliant portraits and group shots. The Stylus 1040 also features Smile Shot, which tracks your subject’s face to detect a smile and automatically fires off three consecutive shots so you never miss that perfect smile. This feature is great for capturing hard-to-predict smiles, particularly young children.



In-Camera Panorama



Looking out on a magnificent vista, you can take a great picture with the in-camera panorama mode. This mode captures three images and stitches them together to create one amazing panoramic picture. Simply press the shutter button and slowly pan across a scene. The second and third images will be captured automatically and stitched together with the first image right in the camera– resulting in one seamless panorama-size picture ready for printing. To create the ultimate panoramic picture, use the Olympus Master™ Software 2 to stitch up to 10 images together.



Digital Image Stabilization Works to Eliminate Blurry Images
The Stylus 1040 features Digital Image Stabilization (DIS) to capture crisp, clear pictures. By boosting the camera’s ISO sensitivity and shutter speed, DIS freezes the action and provides virtually blur-free images, even when you or your subject is moving.



Shadow Adjustment Technology



Shooting outdoors in bright daylight can be tricky because of the extreme contrast between dark shadowed areas and bright sunlight areas. The Stylus 1040 addresses this challenge head-on with Shadow Adjustment Technology that compensates for extreme contrast where the shadow areas are underexposed and lack visible detail. With this technology, you can preview and capture images that have the same contrast as seen with the naked eye.



Perfect Shot Preview



The Stylus 1040 features Perfect Shot Preview that enables users to preview and select various photographic effects on a live, multi-window screen before snapping the shot. This feature enables them to see precisely what the image will look like when adjustments are made, ensuring they are capturing the exact image they want. It is an ideal way for novices to learn about the effects of different photography techniques, such as zoom, exposure compensation, white balance and metering.



Perfect Fix In-Camera Editing



Olympus’ Perfect Fix feature offers quick solutions for unanticipated image quality issues, which may be caused by several adverse conditions. Shadow Adjustment Edit can be used to adjust any underexposed areas and Red-Eye Fix can be used to reduce the effects of red-eye sometimes caused by a direct flash. Additional in-camera editing functions can be quickly accessed right in the camera by the touch of a button%3B features available include resizing, black and white, and sepia.



Large 2.7-Inch HyperCrystalTM LCD



The Stylus 1040 is equipped with a large, high-resolution 2.7-inch HyperCrystal LCD screen with high contrast and anti-glare technology for clear visibility, even when pictures are composed in bright sunlight. The HyperCrystal LCD also offers a wide-viewing angle, greater than 140 degrees in every direction, enabling photos to be composed from a range of angles and viewed by several people at once.



Millions of Pixels for Superior Image Quality



The 10-megapixel Stylus 1040 enables consumers to achieve consistently sharp and vivid images when producing large-format prints or cropping/enlarging a portion of an image.



TruePic™ III Image Processor



The Stylus cameras feature Olympus’ exclusive TruePic III image processor developed for the demanding performance of digital SLR (single lens reflex) cameras. Olympus’ enhanced TruePic III Image Processor produces crystal clear photos using all the pixel information for each image to deliver superior picture quality with more accurate colors, true-to-life flesh tones and faster processing speeds. TruePic III also captures crisp, clear images at high ISO settings, which are traditionally associated with increasing image noise or producing grainy photos.



Memory



All Olympus digital point-and-shoot cameras accept xD-Picture CardTM media. The Stylus 1040 will also come equipped with an adapter, which will enable microSD memory cards to be used when capturing images. The microSD cards are emerging in consumer electronic devices, including mobile phones and PDAs. Users can also easily display photos on their HDTVs.



OLYMPUS Master 2 Software



OLYMPUS Master 2 Software provides the ultimate in digital imaging management. An intuitive user interface makes downloading to your computer quick and simple, and images are easily organized by folders or albums and searchable by date in Calendar view. Additionally, with one-click editing tools, such as red-eye removal, images can be touched up before printing or e-mailing. Online support, templates, firmware upgrades and other user services are just a mouse-click away. Use the optional muvee™ Theater Pack to create professional quality slide shows and DVDs from your pictures using any of several built-in templates.



Olympus Premium Cases



Olympus also offers premium cases in a variety of new designs, including cream plaid, gray plaid and a brown leather, which offers a classic wallet-like look. Premium cases are also available in black, pink and red leather. A new olive neoprene case is perfect for active or outdoor situations. The sporty neoprene case is also available in black.



Availability



The Stylus 1040 will be available in October 2008. The camera ships with: a wrist strap, WIN/Mac USB cable, audio/video cable, LI-42B Li-Ion rechargeable battery and charger, manual, warranty card and a CD-ROM with OLYMPUS Master 2 Software.



U.S. Pricing



Stylus 1040 Estimated Street Price: $199.99. (U.S.)