Olympus Stylus SH-2 announced with new shooting tricks

Olympus has announced a new travel camera with a compact and stylish design in the body of the Stylus SH-2, which replaces the Stylus SH-1.

Towards the end of March 2014, Olympus unexpectedly introduced a compact camera that featured some design traits of the PEN-series mirrorless cameras and an extended zoom lens like ones you would normally find in a bridge camera. The Stylus SH-1 was its name. Now, the company replaces this model with a newer version, called Olympus Stylus SH-2, which borrows heavily from its predecessor, while adding a few, but useful gimmicks to the mix.

Olympus Stylus SH-2 features a 16-megapixel sensor and a 24x optical zoom lens.

Olympus Stylus SH-2 becomes official with new shooting capabilities, including RAW support

Olympus has added RAW support into the Stylus SH-2, thus making this shooter more attractive to professional photographers. In addition to RAW shooting, this premium compact camera comes packed with Nightscape modes, which will allow users to capture better portraits as well as other scenes in low-light conditions.

Among the Nightscape modes, we can find Live Composite and Handheld Starlight. These modes will combine multiple shots into a single one. They can be used for capturing amazing star trails, so the new Olympus Stylus SH-2 could help you unleash your inner creativity.

This retro-styled shooter features a 16-megapixel 1/2.3-inch-type CMOS sensor and a 24x optical zoom lens that offers a 35mm focal length equivalent of 25-600mm. Its maximum aperture stands at f/3-6.9, while its minimum focusing distance stands at 10 centimeters. A macro mode will allow the camera to focus on subjects located at a distance of only three centimeters.

Olympus Stylus SH-2 comes with multiple Nightscape modes, allowing uses to capture better photos in low-light conditions.

Its 5-axis image stabilization system is taken from the OM-D E-M1 camera

Olympus Stylus SH-2 features a built-in 5-axis image stabilization technology, which is borrowed from the E-M1 flagship OM-D-series mirrorless camera with a Micro Four Thirds sensor. It eliminates blur and it will allow photographers to capture handheld shots even in poorly-lit environments.

This compact camera is capable of recording full HD movies at up to 60fps. It offers high-speed modes, including slow-motion at 120fps and super-slow motion at 240fs. A time-lapse mode is available, too, which compresses five hours of photos into 20 seconds.

The new Stylus SH-2 offers an ISO sensitivity between 125 and 6,400 along with a shutter speed between 30 seconds and 1/2000th of a second. It does not have a built-in viewfinder, so users will compose their shots through a 3-inch 460,000-dot touchscreen.

Olympus Stylus SH-2 can shoot RAW photos and is coming to a store near you this April.

Share your creations quickly using the camera’s built-in WiFi

Olympus’ new shooter employs a built-in autofocus assist lamp and built-in flash. A continuous shooting mode of up to 11.5fps sits at photographers’ disposal as well as USB 2.0 and microHDMI ports.

The Olympus Stylus SH-2 does not have a microphone or a headphone port. It comes with an SD/SDHC/SDXC card slot and a battery that offers 380 shots on a single charge. The camera weighs 271 grams / 9.56 ounces including the batteries.

The device comes packed with built-in WiFi, allowing users to share their photos and videos on social networking websites with the help of an Android or iOS smartphone or tablet. It will be released this April for a price of $399.99 in black and silver color choices.