September 22 - 9:45am EDT   Olympus preceded the Photokina expo today with two prototypes of its future camera technology. The first, unnamed device is the company's first example of a Micro Four Thirds model and uses the smaller, mirrorless design to replicate the look and short, swappable lenses of a vintage rangefinder camera but with the large sensor of a digital SLR. The new design would drop any separate viewfinder altogether in favor of the preview LCD and would have simple navigation and mode dial controls. [full story]

August 25 - 10:50am EDT   Olympus on Monday swept through its camera line with several updates ahead of the Photokina expo. The SP-565UZ ultra-zoom keeps the 20X, 26-520mm equivalent lens range of the 570UZ but is both smaller and lighter than the earlier camera. It makes a few minor sacrifices to reach this goal, including a smaller 2.5-inch preview LCD (down from 2.7); in exchange, the camera gains a microSD adapter to use the normally cellphone-oriented cards to store photos. [full story]

August 19 - 8:00pm EDT   Olympus today quickly followed up on European announcements with two new FE series cameras that will be available for US customers. The FE-360 and FE-370 both have 8 megapixels and face detection. The FE-360 offers 3x optical zoom while the FE-370 has a more powerful 5x lens. Both feature digital image stabilization, with additional optical stabilization on the FE-370. [full story]

August 19 - 2:15pm EDT   Olympus on Tuesday gave a preview of updates to its camera lines ahead of Photokina with European announcements of cameras that should appear in the US. The µ[mju:] 1060 (Stylus 1060 in the US) is unusually long-ranged and boasts a 7X zoom, 37-260mm equivalent lens that helps compose distant landscape shots. Both hardware- and software-based image stabilization keep the resulting 10-megapixel images steady and are backed by a very high-speed mode that shoots at nine frames per second in exchange for lower-resolution three-megapixel shots. [full story]

August 5 - 8:25am EDT   Addressing complaints from amateur photographers hoping to graduate to digital SLRs, Olympus and Panasonic today teamed up to develop a much smaller version of the Four Thirds lens system. The new approach is simply titled Micro Four Thirds and aims to significantly shrink the dimensions needed for an interchangeable lens system while making relatively mild sacrifices. While not a true SLR system in that it drops the use of a mirror, the system will purportedly generate the same image quality as the full-size offering and allow for compact, light cameras that would be more familiar to point-and-shoot owners. [full story]

June 30 - 2:20pm EDT   Olympus in Japan today unveiled a prototype of what's claimed as the world's first-ever true 360-degree camera and matching lens. The sensor can not only capture the entire horizontal view of a given scene but improves on early technology first outlined last year for taking vertical shots. Thanks in part to a uniquely curved lens with specially-made glass, the example can also capture at up to a 180 vertical angle versus an earlier 45 degrees, essentially allowing the camera to snap a complete dome-shaped picture of a scene. [full story]

May 13 - 8:00am EDT   Olympus early this morning updated its E-series cameras with the E-520. Replacing the E-510, the new 10-megapixel digital SLR mirrors changes brought to the earlier E-420 with a larger 2.7-inch LCD and a much more advanced live preview feature: photographers can not only use autofocusing but also see the effects of changes to exposure and white balance before taking the shot. The camera also shoots faster, at up to 3.5 frames per second, and includes both face detection and shadow compensation to bring out detail in darker areas. [full story]

March 18 - 10:20am EDT   Adobe has taken the unusual step of withdrawing updates for two key pieces of photography software: Lightroom, its editing and management tool, and Camera Raw, its plug-in for support of RAW files. The principal issue is in the time stamping in EXIF information, as both Lightroom 1.4 and Camera Raw 4.4 may decide that files are out of sync with its own information, and impose their own (incorrect) stamp on the original file. Images are otherwise unaffected, and the XMP sidecar files and metadata should remain accurate. [full story]

March 5 - 10:05am EST   Olympus today took advantage of the relative quiet to revamp its EVOLT digital SLRs with the E-420. The 10-megapixel camera is claimed as the smallest and lightest ever in the category and weighs just 13.4 ounces, or at least 20 percent lighter than the next-best in the class. It also represents an improved ease of use over the earlier E-410, with both a shadow correction function and a new onscreen autofocus feature that uses the live preview LCD to mark out properly focused subjects. The combination is said by Olympus to produce a camera that can be used like a compact point-and-shoot while still offering all the control of a full SLR. [full story]

February 14 - 4:30pm EST   A Russian website claims to have leaked information on Olympus' next DSLR. The E-430 would follow in the wake of the E-410, and rely on a new, 12-megapixel Live MOS sensor, paired with a TruePic III processor. As described, it would also have a "real" (faster) USB 2.0 interface; the camera's most striking feature, however, may be its warped upper frame, which even distorts the shape of the pop-up flash housing. [full story]

January 22 - 9:25am EST   In a lone addition to its ultra-zoom cameras, Olympus this morning revealed the SP-570 UZ. Oriented as a 'prosumer' camera, the body sits between compact cameras and entry digital SLRs but revolves around a built-in lens stronger than many of those from either class. At 20X zoom, the lens can capture very long-range telephoto shots courtesy of a 520mm-equivalent focal length; but with a wide angle, it can also shoot with a 26mm length that allows the camera to shoot macro images of subjects as close as 0.39 inches away. With newer image processing, it also shoots as quickly as 13.5 frames per second by dropping from its native 10.1 megapixels to 3. [full story]

January 22 - 9:00am EST   Olympus today began the run-up to next week's PMA photography expo with several updates to its Stylus and FE point-and-shoot cameras. Headlining the charge, the Stylus 1030 SW (shown) is billed as the toughest compact camera in the world: a new design can take a drop from as high as 6.6 feet while also proofing the camera against dust, temperatures as low as 14F, and water up to depths of 33 feet. The camera can also shoot 10.1 megapixel images with a 3.6X wide-angle zoom and with face detection and ISO-based blur compensation. It accepts either xD or microSD cards and begins shipping in March for $400. [full story]