Olympus digicam hits 5 megapixels

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By Frank Thorsberg

(IDG) -- The newest Olympus digital camera has a split personality: You can shoot 5-megapixel images, or flip a switch that supercharges shooting speed by cutting image quality in half.

The option doesn't come cheap. The new Camedia E-20N is scheduled to ship in late October priced at $1999. The unit is an upgraded version of the Camedia E-10, a high-quality 4-megapixel model introduced last August at the same price level. Now, the new Olympus model joins a growing selection of 5-megapixel digital cameras.

Also in October, Olympus will begin selling the Brio D-230, its newest entry in the point-and-shoot digital camera line. The pocket-size model, with a street price of $299, ships with a 16MB SmartMedia card, USB cable, CamediaMaster software, and two AA alkaline batteries.

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While the Brio D-230 is for beginners, the Camedia E-20N is aimed at much more sophisticated users who want to capture high-quality images and high-speed action with a single camera.

Need for Speed

"On the E-10, the fastest shutter speed was 1/640 of a second, but that is not quite fast enough for high-speed action," says Sally Smith Clemens, product manager with the Olympus consumer product group. "There was a need to create a functionality in the E-20N that would provide for higher shutter speed settings."

In Progressive Scan mode, the new model can shoot at speeds of up to 1/18,000 second. There's a tradeoff, however, because Olympus had to drop the image quality to 2.5 megapixels to ensure that faster shutter speed.

First-Time Functionality

"It's really the first time that functionality has been offered in a digital camera," Smith Clemens says. "If you are going out to a very large print size, then you are going to want to use all 5 million pixels with the Interlaced Scan mode. If you are shooting fast action and want a higher shutter speed, then you switch to Progressive Scan mode with 2.5 million pixels."

Other improvements include a 4x optic zoom that's equivalent to a 35mm to 110mm zoom on a conventional camera. Accessory lenses can boost the range up to a 400mm equivalent, Smith Clemens says.

The E-20N accepts SmartMedia cards and CompactFlash Type I and II memory cards, and supports the new IBM Microdrive with up to 1GB of memory. In addition to faster playback and review capabilities, the new camera comes with a new rechargeable lithium polymer battery (LBP12) that promises more than 1000 shots per charge.