Olympus Stylus 500 Digital Camera
The brand-new all-weather Olympus Stylus 500 digital camera features a large 2.5-inch HyperCrystal LCD, 5.0-megapixels of image resolution, and durable construction, as well as some extra features such as Photo Album function, built-in microphone, and video mode.
The stylus 500 is a compact, all-weather camera, constructed of durable, lightweight metal with rubber gaskets throughout the interior to ensure that rain, sleet, snow or sand won't get inside the camera. The design of the new Stylus 500 is moving toward smooth, rounded edges and boasts a flat-surface body design that takes the Stylus series in a new direction.
The camera is compact in size at 3.9" (W) x 2.2" (H) x 1.2" (D). The circular lens barrier tucks away inside the camera body when the camera is turned on, and protects the lens with a tight seal when closed.
The back of the camera features a simple, functional design that emphasizes the large 2.5-inch HyperCrystal LCD with 215,000 pixels of high resolution. A common problem with conventional LCDs is that they appear dim against bright light. The HyperCrystal LCD delivers a high contrast image, a 160-degree wide viewing radius, and it provides excellent visibility in most light condition.
According to Olympus, the company's TruePic TURBO allows the Stylus 500 to capture information from all 5 million pixels with pixel "micro-smoothing" that delivers clearer and more color-accurate photos, even at lower resolutions. The result is high quality prints that can be cropped and printed to 11 x 14 inches and larger.
The camera's start-up is less than one second and its shutter release time is nearly instant, so you can avoid the annoying lag that was one of the biggest flaws of early digital cameras.
The camera has 23 easy-to-use shooting modes, which can be accessed through the camera's menu, providing fully automatic exposure adjustments for shooting Portraits, Landscapes, Fireworks, and more. The camera's shooting modes now include two new underwater shooting modes and two Shoot & Select modes, which enable users to shoot rapid sequences of frames then select the best shot from the series and delete the rest.
The Stylus 500 also can be used as an album for your pictures. With a new Album Function, photos can be organized into photo albums stored on the camera's xD-Picture Card. Create up to 12 individual albums of 100 images each, in the order you want to show them, and take your photos with you.
Another fun and useful feature is the built in microphone. The Stylus 500 features an all-weather speaker and microphone so you can narrate images with personalized audio captions. With its QuickTime Movie Mode, the Stylus 500 can record movies of any length, limited only by the size of the memory card in the camera.
More Information & Pricing: Olympus Stylus 500
ZipReviews.com: Digital Cameras