Olympus Stylus 1 a premium super zoom camera

The Olympus Stylus 1 super-zoom is a successful marriage of the company's high-end Olympus XZ-2 compact and the flagship Olympus OM-D E-M1 compact system camera. Olympus Stylus 1 has a constant maximum aperture of f/2.8, so this camera is great for holiday and other social activities, family and business event.

Olympus Stylus 1 a premium compact digital camera. Image: colorfoto.de

The Olympus Stylus 1 is also a cross between and enthusiast compact and a super zoom that covers an impressive zoom 28-300mm range at f/2.8.  

The Olympus Stylus 1 is a serious compact camera from Olympus and features a bright f/2.8 10.7x optical zoom lens,  with optical image stabilisation, a 12 megapixel backlit CMOS sensor, an electronic viewfinder, and full manual controls. Manual controls is great for a serious photographer to create wonderful images and Full HD, so you can show your movie on HDTV.

At first glance Olympus STYLUS 1 could be mistaken for the company's highly successful Olympus OMD EM5 mirrorless camera, and also shares the same 1.44 million dot (800x600) electronic viewfinder. You can also compose with a vertically tilting 3in / 1 million dot LCD touchscreen, so you will enjoy a flexible LCD screen to capture many object in various angle.

You will love this camera because the focus and shutter response speeds are impressive. Switch on time is also impressive considering the amount of zoom on offer. Shot to shot time is also very good, and continuous shooting is quick at 7fps for 34 shots when shooting JPEG.

Olympus Stylus 1 has good dynamic range for a compact camera, and detail is fantastic at both the wide-angle and telephoto ends.  The camera has an impressive "Super Macro" mode that lets you focus close to the subject, as well as creating a nice background blur. The lens copes well with the sun in the frame, unless shooting directly into the sun.

TruPic VI Image Processor

Olympus Stylus 1 performs very good in the image quality department, owing to that fast and sharp lens, back illuminated 1/1.7-inch CMOS sensor, and the same TruPic VI image processor used in the Olympus PEN range, all of which combines to turn out JPEGs with very pleasing colours, excellent sharpness and good overall tonality.

Olympus Stylus 1 compare to Olympus OM-D E-M5. Image: lesnumeriques.com

There's also an eye-level EVF, and it's a great one. It's the same 1,440k-dot LCD that's found in the Olympus OM-D E-M5, and its 1.15x magnification projects a big image so you can clearly see the scene in front of you. It's noticeably larger and sharper than the 920k-dot display in the Panasonic Lumix FZ200, which to this point had been the best you could get in a long zoom camera.

If you love to create movie or video clip, you can records full HD video with stereo sound. Don’t worry  you can use optical zoom to make new movie. Wind noise reduction was off when recording the video below, and the camera is a little sluggish to focus when using the optical zoom during recording. The camera also features high speed video at 120fps and VGA resolution or 240fps and QVGA resolution, so Olympus Stylus 1 is great for new video maker. You can upload your video to YouTube, Facebook and other social media networks.

Although it uses a much smaller sensor than it's principal rival, the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10, the Stylus 1 only costs half as much, while the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ200 is cheaper but has an even smaller sensor than Olympus Stylus 1. There's also a GPS function that geotags your photos. You can create many fantastic pictures because there are a large number of Art Filters and Photo Story modes that can be altered and customised. The camera saves both the edited photo as well as the original RAW files so you can go back to the original if you want.

Don’t forget to share your pictures to your friends and family because Olympus Stylus 1 has built-in Wi-Fi. The setup is identical for iOS and Android devices; you scan a QR code that's displayed on the camera's rear LCD using the Olympus Image Share app, and that installs a network profile for the SSID that is broadcasted by the camera. This is a modern digital camera for everyone and other serious photographers.

Olympus Stylus 1 specifications:

• 12 megapixel BSI 1/1.7inch CMOS sensor
• i.Zuiko Digital 10.7x optical zoom lens
• 28-300mm equivalent, f/2.8, ZERO coating
• Optical image stabilisation
• Wi-Fi and remote operation
• 11 Art Filters and 5 different frame / art effects
• 1080p Full HD Movie with stereo sound
• High-speed movie recording (120fps/240fps)
• 3inch tilting touch screen, 1040k dots
• Electronic Viewfinder (EVF), 1.44million dots
• Dual-axis electronic level
• Fn1, Fn2 function buttons
• P,A,S,M shooting modes
• Analogue / Digital Hybrid Control Ring
• ISO 100- 12800
• 7fps continuous shooting, 200 shots

You will enjoy to use Olympus Stylus 1 because this camera has a unique lens cover; the always-on cap (it can be removed to add a teleconverter accessory) has four hinged doors that automatically open as the lens extends. You won't have to worry about capping and uncapping, and there's no danger of misplacing the cap when shooting.

Olympus Stylus 1 and other competitors. Image: cameradebate.com

The Stylus 1 is perfect for new photographer and everyone who need a high quality compact camera for daily activities, business, and vacation; hang out with friends, and fantastic to capture unforgettable moment such as birthday or wedding party. 

Before you decide to choose Olympus Stylus 1, you can compare this camera with other premium compact cameras such as Canon G16, Fuji X100S, Fuji X20, Nikon Coolpix A, Nikon P7800, Panasonic LF1, Ricoh GR, Sony RX1 and Sony RX100 II. Just visit your favorite digital camera stores and you can feel and try all of those cameras.