Get Close with New Olympus Compact Camera

Rating: 
Body: 

The $330 Olympus SP-810UZ is a point-and-shoot digital camera that, while small, can deliver photographs that are ultra-wide or ultra-close: the fast, wide 1:2.9-5.7 24-864mm lens can zoom up to 36x. And that's optical--no software interpolation.

It shoots HD video as well as standard stills, and even has a 3D setting that blends two photos of the same subject from different angles. The SP-810UZ can also combine three shots into one as you pan across a scene to make a super-wide panorama.

Note that this camera relies on mode settings rather than manual control, which may disappoint more experienced photographers.

The Olympus SP-810UZ will ship in September 2011.