The Olympus Stylus SP-100EE is a new all-in-one compact camera that looks extremely interesting. The all-in-one compact category of cameras include the ones that typically have a very wide ranged zoom, wide angle to telephoto, that’s not removable and fixed permanently to the camera. In other words it has many lens choices without having interchangeable lenses. Until recently I’ve never really considered this type of camera a reasonable option since I’ve always wanted the ability to change lenses, however, as more and more of our Invitational Photo Tour guests – Natural Exposures Explorers – want smaller, lighter, faster and better, I started paying attention to this lightweight capable alternative for taking photos.
With that in mind I want to share with you a new all-in-one compact made by Olympus. It has an amazing 24-1200mm built in zoom. That’s a huge range but not unheard of. Others have also included a telephoto up to 1200mm. The big difference with the Olympus Styluss SP-100EE is the new laser pointing device that helps you find your target when the lens is extended out to 1200mm. Finding a bird with a 1200mm lens is much more difficult than most people would think until you try doing it with a lens of such high magnification. The Olympus now provides a way to easily point the red laser in the direction of your target to help you find it. I’m hopeful this red dot is not as powerful as the mini lasers currently on the market since they can be a problem for the animal. We’ll have to see if the camera comes with a WARNING not to point it at things that can be harmed such as people and wildlife. Either way, the idea looks pretty amazing. I just hope it’s not detrimental to an animal’s eye. If it is, this all becomes a much different story. Play the video for yourself for a better understanding of how it all works. This is just one more option for those who want to shed the many, many lenses and bodies of the huge DSLR’s we’ve all been carrying for decades.