The world's first four-million pixel digital SLR

The world's first four-million pixel digital SLR

JAKARTA (JP): Dozens of digital cameras have been flooding the
markets in the past few years.

The players are not only veterans of the camera industry like
Nikon, Canon, Olympus and Kodak.

Newcomers, especially in the electronic-imaging industry, have
also entered the camera business. The new cameras are digital,
which is something new to their senior rivals.

The "new kids on the block" include Epson, Intel, Umax, Casio
and Hewlett Packard.

Like the fast evolving PCs, digital cameras are also rapidly
advancing, leaving consumers, including those in Indonesia,
confused as there are myriad different types to choose from.

Some digital cameras are simply a "point-and-shoot" gadget,
but many others attempt to grab the attention of the
professionals.

Early last year, for example, cameras with two megapixels,
were the rage. If that means nothing to you, simply consider that
its maximum print quality is equivalent to a postcard print(4
inches by 6 inches) taken with a "traditional" SLR camera.

Nowadays, there are those with 3.3 megapixels, meaning the
prints of size 10R (8 inches by 10 inches) is amazingly clear.

Olympus Optical Co. Ltd. recently stunned the markets with its
latest digital eyepopper, the Camedia E-10, dubbed the world's
first four-megapixel camera.

As any new product, the E-10 is not cheap as it comes with a
US$1,999 price tag. As a comparison, the 3.3 megapixel Nikon
Coolpix 990 costs only $999.

With a capacity of four million pixels, images captured by
this equipment will look crystal clear on computer monitors with
a 2240-pixel by 1680-pixel resolution.

But keep in mind that only two shots can be taken at the
highest quality setting with the 32MB SmartMedia card which is
included in this camera.

This means that most of the time you will be using lower
resolutions, which you can get from other digital cameras at less
than half the price.

The other attractive feature of E-10 is its large aperture of
F2-F2.4 with a 4X zoom lens and a 2/3-inch primary color CCD.
(bsr)