Olympus xz 1 where to buy

Alternatively, the user can attach one of a number of system flashes to the camera via its hot shoe. This is a relatively small flashgun, but it still dwarfed the petite Olympus XZ-1, as you can see in some of our photos in the Product Images section. The FL complements this camera better, at least in terms of size. Third-party flash units can also be attached as long as their trigger voltage is below 24 volts. The official specifications do not mention the type of shutter used in the Olympus XZ-1 but it's definitely not a focal plane shutter, so there will be no black stripes across the frame when using a flash at a high shutter speed.

This allows you to attach a number of optional accessories originally developed for these cameras, including the VF-2 electronic viewfinder, the SEMA-1 microphone adapter set and the MAL-1 macro lights. Needless to say, only one of these can be attached at a time. In use, we found the large, high-resolution Organic LED screen to be eminently usable, with great detail and simply excellent colour retention even when viewed from the most extreme angles - but there can be times when an eye-level finder could still come in handy, such as when shooting in extremely bright light, or in very low light when pressing the finder against your forehead can provide some extra stabilisation.

Those suffering from far-sightedness will also appreciate the VF-2, which offers some degree of dioptre adjustment. Some of the shooting functions are mapped onto the four-way pad, including focus mode and AF point selection, drive mode and self-timer, and flash mode.

To change the active AF point, press the Left arrow button, and pick one of the 11 auto focus points using the arrow keys - simple and effective. To change the focus mode, press the Left key and the Info button.

The inclusion of manual focus is a nod towards experienced photographers, who will appreciate this feature. Sadly, the camera doesn't display a distance scale, even though if would be useful for zone focusing.

Shutter lag in MF mode is negligible. For those who prefer auto focus, there is an AF assist light that enables the camera to focus even in low light. This lamp can be disabled if necessary. In High-Speed 2 mode, you can take 15 photos per second at up to 2 megapixels. High-Speed 1 makes little sense as it's only half as fast, and while the images are of a higher pixel count, they don't contain any more detail. Besides capturing stills, the Olympus XZ-1 can also record HD videos, and has a dedicated movie record button in the top right corner of the rear panel for one-touch video recording.

Unfortunately the camera offers precious little in the way of video controls. You can apply exposure compensation before starting to record a video clip, but that's about it. On a more positive note, you can use the optical zoom while filming, and can also have the camera apply any of the Art Filters to movies on the fly. The XZ-1 tries its best to keep the subject in focus while recording a video clip, but doesn't always succeed.

Movies are stored in Motion JPEG format, which is easy to edit but takes up a lot of space on the memory card. Clip length is limited to 7 minutes, and the maximum file size is 2GB. When it comes to playing back your images, the Olympus XZ-1 offers three main playback views: picture only, photo with image number and date, and thumbnail with detailed information and a very useful RGB histogram. There is no blinking highlights warning though. Note that the camera retracts its lens after spending only 15 seconds in Playback - this can quickly get annoying if you are in the habit of regularly reviewing your photos in the field.

So unless you want to charge the battery via a Windows computer, you will need two cables, an adapter, and the camera itself. Olympus does offer a conventional external charger as well, but only as an optional accessory. In use, the Olympus XZ-1 proved to be a great little camera, providing easy access to aperture and shutter speed in manual exposure mode. Start-up was quick for its class, and so was the auto focus in most circumstances.

The live histogram proved to be a real asset, and the big, high-resolution OLED screen was a joy to use for framing and reviewing images alike. Our main criticisms concerned the lack of an ISO button and the fact that the camera would retract its lens far too quickly after entering playback mode. In short, the camera got most things right in the handling department, and has left us with a very favourable overall impression. All of the sample images in this Review were taken using the 10 megapixel Fine JPEG setting, which gives an average image size of around 4.

The Olympus XZ-1 produced images of remarkable quality during the review period. JPEGs taken at base sensitivity exhibit great colour and nice tonality, and strike a good balance between noise reduction and detail retention. Dynamic range feels a bit limited in the out-of-camera JPEGs, but the raw files provide some highlight headroom. High-ISO performance is broadly in line with what you could reasonably expect from a sensor of this size. ISO and are borderline usable for small prints, whereas the highest settings of ISO and are really only there to beef up the spec sheet.

The fast lens not only allows you to use low ISOs in dim lighting, it also provides for good subject-background separation, something most digital compacts can't really achieve. Overall, a very strong performance for its class. You can dial in any value in between these two extremes in third-stop increments. The raw files were developed with Nama5 v1. The out-of-camera JPEGs are fairly sharp at the default sharpening setting, but still benefit from a little extra sharpening in a photo editor.

Alternatively, you can change the in-camera sharpening level to suit your needs better. Additionally, the camera supports raw capture, and simultaneous recording of JPEG and raw files is also possible. Fill in flash in daylight is nicely balanced and the unit in general works well and gives good exposures. Flash coverage is very even and this holds true from quite close distances to covering an entire room. Recharging is fast. Write times are not a problem. The buffer seems to be quite able to cope.

Sequence shooting in normal mode plods on at a pedestrian 2fps and the buffer seems to hold as long as the photographer has the patience. I gave up at 60 frames as the camera showed no signs of slowing even at that point. Zoom lenses have made us expect far smaller apertures, so it is very interesting that here Olympus have opted to make a very wide aperture zoom lens.

This is possible because the rear element can be close to the sensor and the format is much smaller than a 35mm film frame. Lens designers make choices and usually the choice has been to make long zoom ranges with modest apertures. This equates to 28mm and mm in film format terms. This is a very acceptable and useful range and it is even more encouraging that the quality holds extremely well. Quality across the frame is very even and at full aperture the image is already entirely usable.

The option of having a really wide aperture and reduced depth of field in such a small camera is actually quite a compelling notion. Distortion follows the familiar path of being barrelling at wide angles, giving way to pincushion from the middle of the range onwards to the telephoto end. This is better than many and in most general subjects will not be a concern. Flare is very well controlled, useful in against the light shots. There is some chromatic aberration, but this too is well controlled and will not normally be noticeable.

There is huge potential for low light photography, plus the promise of some degree of selective depth of field. Olympus XZ-1 Lens quality: Click on the thumbnails for larger images. The zoom lens is capable of resolving plenty of detail. Chromatic aberrations are well controlled.

Close-up images are sharp and colourful. DxOMark provides objective, independent, RAW-based image quality performance data for lenses and digital cameras to help you select the best equipment to meet your photographic needs. Olympus XZ Verdict The Olympus XZ-1 is a fine compact camera, offering high quality and versatility with its extensive range of features. The lens is an excellent performer that breaks new ground for a compact camera and offers unique benefits of its own. Although not perfect in terms of its handling the results are worth it and the XZ-1 is Highly Recommended.

This is a compact that breaks new ground and is well worth a look. Photographs taken using the Olympus XZ Leica Q2 Monochrom Review. Sony ZV-1 Review. Fujfilm XV Full Review. Top 17 Best Cameras For Kids There are two things that I'm concerned about: 1. I live in the deep south and I'm afraid that I won't be able to see the LCD, it's happened with many cameras.

In the sample pictures, the edges are soft and the foliage looks smeared and has a water color effect. The town that I live in is in the middle of a national forrest with lots of foliage. I really want to get this camera but concerned with IQ.

I don't know if there is a sharpness setting in the camera or not. Having said that, it would probably add more noise that the noise reduction is trying to eliminate, a stalemate. Any suggestions? BHSnapper 12 Interesting review.. So I checked it in Photoshop and it is definitely rather magenta, to say the least. RGB was low on green, high on blue ,, and in CMYK low cyan, high magenta, low yellow 15,36,20 So I'm not impressed on that score, though the rest looked pretty good!

ThatOne 12 1. Thank you for such a thorough and limpid review. I was pleased to read in the manual that I can use the same exterior flash, because the link between an Olympus body and an Olympus flash must be one of the best around, at a reasonable cost, of course. I've been looking for any negative which would put an end to my intent to buy an XZ-1, and all I have found are positives which have convinced me to go ahead and buy.

I have seen a lot of impressive work, with fabulous IQ and an insight into the inspiring potential of the in-camera processing, but this review is the tipping point, the end of searching and the start of buying. Off I go with my plastic in my trembling paw! After the first few weeks I am even more convinced I made the right decision.

It's a great camera, it really is, with no negatives anywhere, not even skin tones printed in web magazines The only problem is that I got so involved with a friend's Samsung EX1 I bought one of those as well.

I've not yet tested the skin-tone reproduction in web-magazine performance, such a basic area to investigate, on the Samsung, but it's great fun. There are some great cameras in the Advanced Compact segment. Absent manufacturers could have regrets. I never thought I would use and praise any non-reflex digital cameras. The Canon G11 made the first crack in my resolve, and now most major manufacturers offer similar cameras. Olympus and the Samsung may be in front today but, surely, that will not last long without constant improvement.

Raw processing on Android devices with Photo Mate R2. Premium prime? Just posted: Olympus XZ-1 review. More about gear in this article. Olympus has released a firmware update for its XZ-1 enthusiast compact. Version 1. The latest versions for the E-5 and XZ-1 resolve minor bugs relating to LCD display and external flash units respectively. The basic specs are impressive: mm equivalent lens with a F1.

It also features dual control dials and a 3. But the really impressive thing about the XZ-1 is how those elements have been integrated. We've been using the XZ-1 and have prepared a brief preview to give some insight beyond the bare specifications. Latest sample galleries. Tamron mm F2. Panasonic S 35mm F1. DJI Mavic 3 Cine sample gallery.

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