Olympus XZ-1 Compact

[banyakbagus]

I read in reviews that the Olympus XZ-1 can zoom whist taking video. Does anyone know whether it will also autofocus whilst zooming during video recording and is the zooming noise noticeable during playback ? :rolleyes:

[K1W1]

DPReview (http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/OlympusXZ1/) will answer your question

[kgosden]

Couldn't wait for a sale and tired of my briefcase camera, Panasonic DMC-FX01 from 2006, I broke down and paid full price for the XZ-1 today. Yeah, I read about and investigated the noise reduction issues. I am hoping Olympus will have a nice FW update soon to make us all happy. One of the pluses for me was I have a lot of Olympus accessories that are compatible. My FL36R flash will work both on and off camera. And it turned out that the batteries and charger from our waterproof 1030SW's are identical.

I am not a video person at all. But I did a quick test to answer the original questions here. Yes, you can zoom in video mode and the noise is not noticeable. The camera will autofocus when using the zoom in movie mode, but it is not really fast enough for action in low light.

[kgosden]

Overcast day. Found some color in front of the local Home Depot. Nice ability to control DOF at F1.8.

[kgosden]

Just a quick overhead grab shot, but I thought folks here would like the bokeh.

[Phill D]

I think you are going to have fun with that XZ-1 even though you paid full price for it I'd say from the shots you posted so far it's going to prove worth it.

[fotomatix]

I purchased it as my back up, and quick 'bring along' to fit nicely in my wife's purse. It's not tiny by any means but much slimmer than an ILC (EVIL) and obviously a DSLR.

I was intrigued by the Zuiko F1.8 lens....I'll post some photos eventually. It performs quite well for a point and shoot in low light settings.

I checked with 3 different suppliers in the city and compared with LX5 from Panny, Canon S95, and Nikon P300. Although all these cameras are above average or 'as good as a point and shoot' can get for the moment, the XZ-1 was recommended as the leader among the others in terms of low light performance. I'm also a big fan of the 'art filter' as per my E-PL2.

The top 3 'pros' stated at DPreview about this camera are:

Fastest (brightest) zoom lens of any current compact
Really useful 28-112mm lens range
Lens impressively sharp with generally good corner sharpness at wide apertures

Kgosden, those are some really nice pics.

[kgosden]

Fotomatix,

Glad you are enjoying yours. I think this is my ninth Olympus digital since my D220L back in the late 1990's. I had some of the original Olympus 'enthusiast' cameras, a C3030-Z and C5050-Z, both of which had great lenses and performance for their day. The menus are nearly all new on this which is taking some learning. I like the OLED display, but wish there was an option for 'large icons' when you actually enter the 'OK' button based settings. Who cares of they cover more of the displayed image as long as it is only larger while trying to do something like change the ISO.

It does bring back a feature that is not well implemented on the E5x0 series, the custom settings. I never figured out how to make it easy to use on my E series. On this camera it is right on the dial. I really like that it can bracket up to +/-1.7EV. And it takes them quick enough for hand held HDR. In fact that is my current custom setup.

I have not tried the remote flash with my FL36R yet, but that was a reason to buy this over the other cameras in this class. I did buy and add the stick-on grip that Richard Franiec (http://www.kleptography.com/rf/) has created. It arrived today and so far it seems a great addition. Too bad it covers the shiny 1.8 logo.

[kgosden]

This is my first Olympus with the Art Filters. I did not think I would find them useful, but they seem like a fun addition particularly since you can still capture a unmolested RAW image at the same time. I thought I would upload a series of them here for the uninitiated. In order: straight, Pop Art, Soft Focus, Grainy Film, Pin Hole, Diorama and Dramatic Tone

[Phill D]

They really are pretty good kg. Certainly adds interest. I think my favourite is the pin hole shot - I didn't think it would be but it is. Looks like Oly's got a nice little camera there.

[fotomatix]

agree that the pin hole is one of my favorites as well...like the pop art too....

quick 'dumb' question...

when attaching photos to my post is it better to pull them from a url where the image is hosted, or to attach directly within the post?

thanks..

[kgosden]

fotomatix,

We generally just attach them directly to the post so there is never a lost link issue. Just keep them to ~800 pixels wide to keep the forum from expanding in width. If you have a need to post full sized images for some detail discussion , then use a sharing site and include a link to get there. Even then I would likely post a small image in the message to facilitate discussion.

[fotomatix]

thanks, sounds good

[fotomatix]

Just a couple of quick shots by the river bank near my home, using A priority. That's a newly built bridge that opens in May. For the bridge photo I'm maxed on the zoom level. Considering it's a P&S, not bad at all.

http://s3.amazonaws.com/data.tumblr.com/tumblr_lj3xzp1btr1qg54vco1_1280.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId =AKIAJ6IHWSU3BX3X7X3Q&Expires=1302033279&Signature=3TIH2PB8PZ6bPkz6Am5%2FsJ1W%2Bco%3D

http://s3.amazonaws.com/data.tumblr.com/tumblr_lj3xtorZFj1qg54vco1_1280.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId =AKIAJ6IHWSU3BX3X7X3Q&Expires=1302033312&Signature=turndj0C%2BzTrRWJxX%2BmCTK7%2FRb8%3D

[kgosden]

A couple from my night in Las Vegas. I had enough time to take a brief walk on the strip. Thought a couple of night shots there would be interesting. The first one was 2 seconds to get some light trails (I was able to rest it on a railing). The second f1.8 and ISO 100 hand held for 1/10.

[kgosden]

I also played with some of the art filters. The diorama mode is best when you are looking down on a scene like on this casino floor. It also makes for interesting videos since in this mode the camera does a stop action effect.

[fotomatix]

The 2 outdoor shots are my favourites. Something really good that they've done with this camera. I keep picking it up instead of my E-PL2. It's just the ease of use, portability, and quick responsive lens that make it a great buy.

[kgosden]

Might have to start an XZ-1 Picture of the Day thread. Caught this scene while on a bicycle ride Saturday.

[kgosden]

Tried a hand held HDR bracket with the XZ-1. Merged the JPG's in CS5's HDR function. Wanted to get the horse in the barn to be visible.

[Phill D]

I like the HDR kg, it brought out the horse nicely. There's something odd about the angles though. The building seems to be falling left but the red structure is tilted right and the trees rhs background are almost straight up. I'm assuming that it was on more of a hill and the building was straight with the trees and red structure tilted to the right? I noticed more because several of my shots recently have been coming out with a tilted horrizon. I'm usually pretty careful but recently my buildings are falling over to the left too! perhaps gravity has shifted ;)

[kgosden]

Phil,

I did not bother to straighten this quick pass. It was a bit tough to shoot as it was bright and sunny and I was quite sweaty from cycling. I do have an LCD shade on the camera which helps, but I don't carry my reading glasses on the bicycle making details tough to see. If I redo the HDR a bit more formally I will straighten it out.

[kgosden]

Pork for dinner on the Big Green Egg.