Olympus Outs New FE Series Cameras [Olympus FE-5020, FE-4000 & FE-26 Point & Shoot Compacts]

Having issued you with a heads up concerning Panasonic’s new Lumix DMC-ZR1 compact point and shoot camera we felt obliged to confirm that Olympus are set to offer a new set of compact cameras in its FE Series – namely the FE-5020, FE-4000 & FE-26 – which, like the aforementioned DMC-ZR1 come with 12 megapixel sensors and movies recording capabilities.

Boasting all the features you’d expect from compacts – meaning that the camera will happily work on auto leaving you free to just ‘point and shoot’ – the new Olympus FE Series cameras come with Olympus’s new AF Tracking technology as well as i-Auto modes (the former serving to keep moving targets in focus, the latter acting to chose the best scene mode for a number of ‘commonly encountered’ shooting scenarios) on top of advanced face detection capable of locking onto up to 16 faces and, od course, image stabilisation (digital, not optical).

Olympus FE-5020 Key Features:

• Super-wide 5x miniature optical zoom (24-120mm) in an ultra-slim body to capture great scenes through to exciting close-ups
• High-precision Digital Image Stabilisation for less blur
• The easy way to perfect images – Intelligent Auto Mode (i-Auto) mode detects the five most commonly used scenes and adjusts settings, focus and exposure automatically
• Advanced Face Detection of up to 16 persons for perfectly focused and exposed faces plus correct exposure of other image areas
• 12 Megapixels to make poster-size prints
• See and share images on the 6.9cm/ 2.7″ LCD
• Sharp photos wherever your subject moves thanks to AF tracking
• Spice up your pictures with built-in Magic Filters
• Sleek unique look thanks to Double-Layered Crystal Shell finish
• Liven up your memories with movie recording with sound
• xD-Picture Card and microSD Card compatible

Olympus FE-4000 Key Features:

• Miniature 4x wide optical zoom (26-105mm) in an ultra-slim body to capture great scenes through to stunning portraits
• 12 Megapixels to make poster-size prints
• The easy way to perfect images – Intelligent Auto Mode (i-Auto) detects the five most commonly used scenes and adjusts settings, focus and exposure automatically
• Advanced Face Detection of up to 16 persons for perfectly focused and exposed faces
• Digital Image Stabilisation for less blur
• See and share images on the 6.9cm/ 2.7″ LCD
• Sharp photos wherever your subject moves thanks to AF tracking
• Spice up your pictures with built-in Magic Filters
• Sleek unique look thanks to Double-Layered Crystal Shell finish
• Liven up your memories with movie recording with sound
• xD-Picture Card and microSD Card compatible

Olympus FE-26 Key Features:

• 12 Megapixels to make poster-size prints if you want to
• Precision 3x optical zoom (36-108mm) in a compact body to capture great scenes through to stunning portraits
• The easy way to perfect images – Intelligent Auto Mode (i-Auto) detects the five most commonly used scenes and adjusts settings, focus and exposure automatically
• Advanced Face Detection of up to 16 persons for perfectly focused and exposed faces
• Digital Image Stabilisation for less blur
• See and share images on the 6.9cm/ 2.7″ LCD
• Sharp photos wherever your subject moves thanks to AF tracking
• Liven up your memories with movie recording with sound (up to VGA resolution at 30fps)
• xD-Picture Card and microSD Card compatible

Set to release sometime in August, Olympus are yet to get official concerning US pricing, however, based on Canadian pricing (which has been stated) you can expect the FE-5020, FE-4000 and FE-26 to come in at around $175, $166 and $120 respectively (or thereabouts).

DPReview [via GadgetReview]