Olympus XZ-1 digital camera (preview)

Olympus rolls out a rival to Canon's PowerShot S95

PC World (US online)

User Reviews:

1

DKrekTue 08/05/2012 - 02:28

  • Pros
    Fast lens; Gorgeous pics; low-light
  • Cons
    Video

Everyone is saying how Canon S100 is the best in its class. Sure it is, if class means no bigger than a bar of soap - you can't beat the elegance, bells & whistles and Canon's renowned IQ. Nothing similar size beats it period [Samsung, Nikon P310, etc]. Wait, isn't this is a review for XZ-1, read on...

But for me, I don't mind carrying a larger bar of soap, at least one that can fit in my coat jacket or my larger pant pockets. Anything bigger is a no-go because lugging around a camera bag is no fun especially when I just need a quick-shooter for everyday occasions. For those serious photo-ops, that's what my thousand dollar DSLR set-up is for. So there is a size limit at which point it becomes diminishing return for whatever benefits M34 systems have and XZ-1 is at that limit, thank god.

So why didn't I buy the S100, similarly priced (for me) as the XZ-1? I can list them 1X1
1) Battery life: S100 rated @ 220. XZ-1 @320. A serious camera should have enough juice to last you for the day. Changing out batteries can be a lot of hassle especially if there are no outlets around.
2) XZ-1 has the better & faster lens. F1.8 vs F2.0. In fact, XZ-1 lens is the brightest and best in its class .
3) Low-light (flash-less) photography. Yes S100 excels but XZ-1 with its faster lens acquires the pictures just a bit faster.
4) While S100 shoots @2.3fps vs XZ-1 2fps under jpeg, XZ-1 shoots 2 fps in RAW mode vs 0.8 fps for S100. RAW is the standard for pro's and pictures comes out sharper under RAW for XZ-1 than S100.
5) Built quality. While S100 is generally well-built, it looks a bit fragile. The XZ-1 looks like it is a better built. If I'm spending $$$, I want a camera that will last many years. Also, there are issues with the S100 lens because it is so small and complicated, there maybe consistency issues such as lens error I kept hearing about. Maybe they have resolved the issue, but just something to keep in mind.

I want a camera that easily takes action photos without having to wait for shutter lag/AF lag/SD card writing/flash-recharge lag. Because sometimes you only have a split second to get that priceless shot. Given that both S100 and XZ-1 uses similar sized sensors, having that brighter lens, longer battery and generally better image quality (under ISO 800) can mean the difference in getting that difficult shot time after time.

Rated this product:
4.5

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