Olympus Stylus 1: A Short Review

The Olympus Stylus 1s is a compact digital camera that skillfully blends the portability of a point-and-shoot with the versatility of a DSLR. This camera is an update to the original Stylus 1, offering enhanced features and improved performance.

Design and Build

The Stylus 1 maintains a sleek and stylish design, with a robust build that feels solid in hand. It features a classic black finish with textured grip areas that provide a secure hold. The camera's compact size is perfect for photographers who are always on the go, allowing it to easily fit into a small bag or large pocket.

Key Features

  • Lens and Zoom: The camera is equipped with a versatile 10.7x optical zoom lens (28-300mm equivalent), which is perfect for capturing a wide range of subjects, from landscapes to portraits. The constant f/2.8 aperture throughout the zoom range ensures excellent performance in low-light conditions.

  • Image Quality: The Stylus 1 features a 12-megapixel 1/1.7" BSI CMOS sensor, which delivers sharp and vibrant images. The TruePic VI image processor enhances image quality and provides fast processing speeds.

  • Electronic Viewfinder (EVF): The high-resolution 1.44 million-dot EVF offers a clear and bright view, making it easy to compose shots even in bright sunlight. It provides a DSLR-like shooting experience, which is particularly appealing to photography enthusiasts.

  • Touchscreen LCD: The 3-inch tilting touchscreen LCD allows for flexible shooting angles and intuitive navigation through menus. It’s responsive and adds to the overall user-friendly experience of the camera.

Performance

The Olympus Stylus 1 performs admirably in various shooting conditions. Its fast autofocus system ensures that you can capture fleeting moments with clarity and precision. The camera also offers a range of shooting modes and creative filters, allowing photographers to experiment and add an artistic touch to their images.

Olympus Stylus 1

Size: 116 x 87 x 56 mm

Weight: 402 g

Sensor: CMOS-Sensor 1/1,7" (Crop factor 4,6)

Lens: 28 - 300mm (35mm equiv.)

Mfd: 10 cm

Cards: 1 x SD slot

IBIS: Yes (2 - 3 stops)

Price: Unknown in Europe. Japan: Stylus 1s €230 used

(The difference between the Stylus 1 and the Stylus 1s is the battery only. 1s uses the BLS-50 where the 1 uses the BLS-5)


Firmware 2.0 Update

This update brought some nice changes and enhancements to the Stylus 1 in my opinion. These are as follows:

New Features and Improvements

  • Wide-Angle Converter Compatibility: Added support for the WCON-08X wide-angle converter lens (and CLA-14 adapter), extending the wide-end focal length to 22.4mm-equivalent without changing the f/2.8 maximum aperture.

  • Focus Peaking: Introduced a focus peaking helper to make manual focusing easier by highlighting high-contrast edges.

  • Step Zoom: Added a step zoom function allowing the zoom lever to quickly jump to common 35mm-equivalent focal lengths.

  • Small AF Target: Added a small autofocus target option for finer precision on small subjects.

  • Interval Shooting & Time Lapse: Brought in built-in interval shooting and automatic time-lapse movie creation.

  • EVF Focal Length Display: Updated the electronic viewfinder display to show 35mm-equivalent focal lengths familiar to DSLR shooters.

  • Smartphone Remote Control: Added compatibility with the OI.Share app for remote shooting over Wi-Fi.

Test images taken with the Olympus Stylus 1

Images taken with the Olympus 1 camera.


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