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Olympus FE-130 & FE-140

Pre-PMA 2006: Today sees the announcement of a couple more budget priced cameras from Olympus, the FE-130 and FE-140. Featuring 5.1 and 6 million pixels respectively, the cameras sport large screens and their ‘one button, one function’ design makes for easy operation.

Olympus Stylus 810 & 700 Digital

Pre-PMA 2006: Olympus has announced two new additions to the weatherproof Stylus (Mju) range in the form of the slim-bodied Stylus 700 and the Stylus 810 Digital – a minor upgrade to the current Stylus 800. The cameras, 7.1 megapixel and 8.0 megapixel respectively, both feature an all-weather body, 3x optical zoom, ISO range covering ISO 64 through to 1600 and a 2.5-inch LCD screen.

Olympus Stylus 720 SW Digital

Pre-PMA 2006: Olympus today announced the Stylus 720 SW Digital, a waterproof (to 3m) 7.1 megapixel camera that is also ‘shock-proof’ (resistant to falls from up to 1.5m). Boasting a maximum ISO of 1600, a large 2.5-inch screen and a 3x optical zoom, the 720SW is available in an array of colours; Dusky Pink, Polar Blue and Steel Silver.

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Olympus SP-320

Pre-PMA 2006: Olympus also announced on 26 January an upgrade to the SP-310 in the shape of the SP-320. The 7.1 megapixel camera features full manual exposure control, a 3x optical zoom, a histogram function, up to ISO 800 and a large 2.5-inch LCD screen. An optional tele-converter and underwater casing will also be available.

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ClearVid, Sony’s SuperCCD?

Sony Japan has today announced a newly developed CMOS sensor which has a 45 degree rotated pixel structure (the same layout as Fujifilm’s SuperCCD). The development background to this sensor was the need to pack more pixels into a smaller and smaller package. Sony make the same claims about the increase in horizontal and vertical resolution (they state 1.4x better) as well as improved sensitivity per pixel (presumably because each output pixel is a combination of more than one input pixel). This new ClearVid (Clear + Vivid) CMOS sensor will initially be used in the new DCR-DVD505 camcorder, it will be interesting to see if this development makes it way to Sony’s digital still camera range.