Sony HX9V vs Olympus SZ-30MR

2011-6-2

16MP BSI C-MOS, 24X optical zoom lens, equivalent to 25 - 600 mm, 9 frames/sec to 5 shots, 1080p video and 16MP stills at the same time, sweep panorama, 3" 460k screen
HX9V contender 

first preview - my comparison with the Sony HX5

the complete user manual is already out
looks like Olympus moved the release from April to October 2011

the top 3 lens extensions retract
with 40mm thickness that makes the Olympus SZ-30MR the same size as the Canon A60
see: little Sony HX9V vs the big boys for size comparison

 CENTER VALLEY, Pa., March 2, 2011 – Olympus Imaging America Inc. today unveils the full-featured SZ-30MR, a super-zoom camera with a multi-recording function capable of simultaneously capturing 1080p HD video and 16-megapixel still images without missing a frame, perfect for documenting events like birthdays and school plays. The Olympus SZ-30MR helps you capture it all with its 24x optical wide-zoom lens, and displays your pictures and videos on its crisp 3.0-inch, high-resolution LCD. Whether you’re trying to capture the action on the local soccer field or that once-in-a-lifetime wildlife shot, this is the camera for you. The Olympus SZ-30MR comes packed with a variety of features that deliver a superior imaging experience far and wide:
New! Multi-Recording Mode – a world-first, Olympus Dual Engine technology enables users to combine various photo and movie recording modes simultaneously;
24x wide-optical zoom – enables exceptional close-ups;
Full HD Video and HDMI® Control – delivers a broadcast-quality 1080p movie experience when played back on an HDTV;
New! 9fps Continuous Shooting (16MP) – offers a full-resolution burst mode enabling continuous shooting, in rapid succession;
New! 3D Photo Mode – captures two shots of a scene from two different angles to create still photos that can be viewed with the added excitement and realism of 3D; and
New! Eye-Fi™ Card Compatibility – enables automatic wireless uploading of images to the website or PC of your choice.

“The Olympus SZ-30MR has one of the world’s first multi-recording function to ensure you can take both full-resolution 16-megapixel stills and 1080p HD video to capture life’s most important moments,” says Jennifer Schmell, product manager, Olympus Imaging America Inc. “With its 24x optical zoom, 16-megapixel backlight CMOS sensor and the ability to capture still images in 3D, the Olympus SZ-30MR gives the photo enthusiast a powerful tool.”

Multi-Tasking. Multi-Recording. Multi-Talented.
The SZ-30MR records gorgeous full-resolution, 1080p HD video and 16-megapixel stills at the same time. Thanks to an ingenious feature called Multi-Recording, you’ll never have to choose between video and stills again. The camera’s dual TruePic III+ Image processor makes it possible to record simultaneously in more than one mode and in a variety of combinations. Users can record two different movies at once: in wide-angle and close-up; full HD and lower resolution or original and filtered (using one of the SZ-30MR’s seven Magic Filters for movies). In addition, with the Photo with Movie Clip setting, it’s now possible to capture moving footage before and after taking a single photo. These new innovations give users the fun and flexibility of sharing their shots in a variety of media – from full-size prints of a birthday party or wedding to video clips for uploading to their favorite social media website.

Super Zoom Capability
Whether you are globetrotting or attending a sporting event, the Olympus SZ-30MR lives up to its name with a 24x wide-optical zoom, yielding a 25-600mm zoom equivalent in 35mm format. With this zoom power, it’s easy to take exceptional close-up shots of the athletes on the field.

High-Resolution, High-Sensitivity CMOS Sensor to Capture Stunning Low-Light Shots
The Olympus SZ-30MR has a 16-megapixel backlit CMOS sensor, enabling consumers to achieve consistently sharp and vivid images with higher sensitivity and lower noise for producing large-format prints or cropping/enlarging a portion of a photograph. The backlit CMOS sensor is perfect for capturing low-light shots. The Olympus SZ-30MR also incorporates a Handheld Starlight Mode, enabling you to shoot blur-free, beautiful night scenes while holding the camera in your hands, without the need for a tripod.

HD Videos and HDMI Control for a Home Theater Experience
The Olympus SZ-30MR shoots stunning 1080p HD video, so you’ll always capture the action. Playback on your HDTV is also a breeze. You’ll be the hit of the party or any family function when you proudly display your brilliant images and videos on HDTV. Simply connect the camera to an HDTV with an HDMI™ cable, which can be purchased separately at any consumer electronics store. With HDMI Control, you can use your HDTV’s remote to control playback functions and navigate the camera’s menus from the comfort of your favorite couch.

Rapid Fire Photography: 9-Frames-Per–Second, Full-Resolution Continuous Shooting
The Olympus SZ-30MR is capable of capturing images at an incredible 9 frames per second in full 16-megapixel resolution so you’ll capture the smallest details. This is perfect for situations where timing is essential, such as photographing a tennis player serving, children playing or capturing a hawk swooping in for dinner.
Express Your Inner Artist with New Magic Filter Movie
The Olympus SZ-30MR is equipped with in-camera Magic Art Filters that enable users to enhance and customize both images and videos as they’re being captured. Have more fun and get more flexibility without expensive and time-consuming computer software. Magic Filter Movie is a new feature that enables you to apply Magic Art Filters to your high-definition videos, taking them to a new level of artistic expression. The Multi-Recording Function also allows photographers to simultaneously capture a Magic Filter movie and one without Magic Filter applied to it.

The Magic Art Filters for stills and HD videos include:
Pop Art -- enhance and saturate colors to create vivid, high-impact pictures that express the joyful, lighthearted feel of the Pop Art style of the 1960s;
Pin Hole -- reduce the peripheral brightness of an image as though it were shot through a pin hole, connecting the viewer intimately with the subject at the center;
Fish-Eye -- emulate the wide angle of a fish-eye lens by taking extremely wide, hemispherical images and magnifying the center of the frame;
Soft Focus -- enclose the foreground of an image in gentle, pastel colors with a soft, elegant focus; similar to effects achieved in a studio;
Drawing -- turn your image into a sketch outline for children to color;
New! Watercolor -- transform your images with a finish like that of watercolor paintings;
New! Sparkle** -- shoot photos with the luxurious feel of twinkling lights; and
New! Punk -- create two-tone images full of rock-and-roll spirit.

New 3D Mode
Now you can add even more dimension to your photographs by shooting dynamic 3D photos in any mode from macro to landscape. Recreate a sense of depth like that of the original scene. Simply select the 3D Photo shooting mode, release the shutter for your first shot, slowly pan until the camera automatically takes a second image from a slightly different perspective. The 3D data is processed in-camera resulting in an .MPO file, the universal industry 3D format for easy display on 3D televisions or laptops.

Share Images Instantly with New Eye-Fi Card Compatibility
Ready to upload and share your party images live as they happen? The Olympus SZ-30MR is compatible with an optional Eye-Fi SD card, adding Wi-Fi capability so you can automatically upload images to a computer as you take them. Be the life of the social media party by uploading your shots moments after they happen.

Cut Out the Blur with Dual Image Stabilization and ISO 6400
If you’re going to an evening at the theatre, the SZ-30MR also offers Dual Image Stabilization to further assure you’ll get the shot you want while holding the camera. Mechanical Sensor-Shift Image Stabilization compensates for camera movement in low-light conditions when shutter speeds are slower while Digital Image Stabilization freezes the action with high ISO sensitivity and fast shutter speeds that prevent blurry images often caused by a moving subject.

The SZ-30MR also comes equipped with ISO sensitivity to 6400 so you can take sharp, full-resolution photos in dark places. The camera’s iAuto mode automatically detects low-light scenes and adjusts the ISO accordingly for the best image quality.

Broaden Your Horizons with New Smart Panorama
The places you can take the Olympus SZ-30MR —national parks, weddings, sporting events or city streets—are locations where you want to capture as much of the scene as you can. In-Camera Smart Panorama mode makes it possible by simply pressing the shutter button and slowly panning across the scene. The camera does the rest of the work for you, creating a dynamic panorama.

New Dual TruePic™ III+ Image Processor Delivers Exceptional Quality and Performance
Olympus developed its exclusive TruePic III+ Image Processor for the demanding performance of DSLRs and has migrated the technology to the S-series cameras for amazing image quality. The Dual TruePic III+ Image processor incorporates two image processors working in parallel to allow photographers to capture stills and HD videos at the same time. Olympus’ enhanced TruePic III+ Image Processor produces crystal clear photos using all the pixel information for each photo to deliver exceptional clarity with more accurate colors, true-to-life flesh tones and faster processing speeds. TruePic III+ also captures crisp, clear photos at high ISO settings, which are traditionally associated with increasing noise or producing grainy photos.
Beauty Mode
Taking beautiful portraits at a wedding or family reunion is easy with Olympus SZ-30MR’s Beauty Mode. Designed to touch up the appearance of your subject’s skin as the photo is captured, this feature enables you to soften shadows and smooth wrinkles or blemishes on your subject’s face – all in the camera and as you capture the image! Additionally, subtle edits can be made post-capture using the Beauty Fix mode. Have fun customizing your brilliant images without a PC and costly image editing software.

Lock Onto the Action with AF Tracking
AF Tracking technology locks focus on your fast-moving subject – everything from house cats to Siberian tigers – and continuously adjusts focus and brightness. This enables you to keep quick-moving and unpredictable subjects like kids and pets in focus for the perfect shot.

Intelligent Auto Thinks for You
Taking a moonlit stroll on the beach? Intelligent Auto Mode automatically identifies what you are shooting (i.e., Portrait, Night + Portrait, Landscape, Macro or Sports) and adjusts the camera’s settings to capture the best quality results. Quick and hassle-free, this feature does the thinking for you to produce incredible images.

Shadow Adjustment Technology
Shooting outdoors in bright daylight can be tricky because of the extreme contrast between dark shadowed areas and bright sunlight areas. While the human eye is capable of detecting the nuances between dark and light and all the details in between, image sensors traditionally have not been quite as sensitive. The Olympus SZ-30MR addresses this challenge head-on with Shadow Adjustment Technology, which compensates for extreme contrast where the shadow areas are underexposed and lack visible detail. With this technology, users can preview and capture images that have the same contrast as seen with the naked eye.

Easy Operation with Scene Modes and In-Camera Help Guide
The new S-series cameras have scene modes and enhanced In-Camera Help Guides that make digital photography simple and fun for users of all ages and skill levels. The scene modes include portrait to capture loved ones, landscape to show off the scenery and a fun fireworks mode. There’s even two newly designed “Pet Modes” for animal lovers, offering the ability to recognize the faces of a variety of breeds of both cats and dogs.

The In-Camera Help Guide displays a brief description of camera settings and features on the LCD. Additionally, Exposure Compensation enables users to preview and select various exposure effects on a live, multi-frame window on the LCD before snapping the shot. This smart feature enables users to see precisely what the image will look like when adjustments are made, ensuring they are capturing the exact image desired. Program Auto and Exposure Compensation are great modes that enable users to get results like the pros while learning about the effects of different photography techniques. Menus are available in various languages for convenient operation.

OLYMPUS [ib] Software Makes it Even Easier to Share and Print Your Photos
All Olympus digital compact cameras now offer the new OLYMPUS [ib] photo organizing and editing software. It includes photography workflow, browsing, editing and unique photo organizing functions. You can organize photos by person with automatic face-recognition technology, by place with a map-tagging function or by event. All information will be tagged in each photo’s data. You can then easily upload images to the integrated online service, [ib on the net], to share and backup photos, as well as order prints and photo merchandise. The name [ib] stands for image bridge, because the software is designed to create a bridge to help you get images from your camera to services where you can do more with your photos.

SD Compatibility
With SD compatibility, the Olympus SZ-30MR allows users to share their work easily through SD-compatible computers, digital picture frames and HDTVs.

Availability
The Olympus SZ-30MR will be available in April 2011. It will ship with a Lithium-Ion Battery, USB Cable, Wrist Strap, Quick Start Guide, Warranty Card, Instruction Manual, OLYMPUS [ib] and Olympus Viewer 2 Software.

U.S. Pricing
Olympus SZ-30MR Estimated Street Price: $399.99 (U.S.)

Olympus SZ-30MR specifications
Sensor    • CMOS
• 16 million effective pixels
• Primary colour filter (RGB)
Image sizes    • 16M 4608 x 3456
• 8M 3264 x 2448
• 5M 2560 x 1920
• 3M 2048 x 1536
• 2M 1600 x 1200
• 1M 1280 x 960
• VGA 640 x 480
• 4288 x 2416 (16:9)
Movie clips    • 1920 x 1080
• 1280 x 720
• 640 x 480
• 320 x 240
Lens    • 24x optical zoom
• Focal length 4.5-108mm
• Focal length (equiv. 35mm) 25 - 600mm
• Aperture 3.0 - 6.9
Image stabilization    Yes, Sensor-shift
Digital zoom     Yes 4x
Focus    • Contrast Detection
• Standard
• Macro
• Super-Macro
• Spot AF
• Face Detection AF
• AF Tracking
Focus distance    • Standard mode 0.1m (wide) / 1.6m (tele)
• Macro mode 0.1m - (wide) / 1.6m (tele)
• Super Macro mode Closest focusing distance: 1cm
ISO sensitivity    • Auto
• High Auto
• Manual ISO 80,100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200
Exposure compensation    • +/- 2 EV
• 1/3 EV steps
Shuttter speed    1/1700 sec. –1/4 sec. (up to 4 sec. in Night scene mode)
Aperture    f3.0 (W) / f6.9 (T)
Modes    • Intelligent Auto
• Program Auto
• Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
• Smart Panorama
• 3D mode
• Scene Modes
• HD Movie
• Magic Filter ( Pop Art, Pinhole, Fisheye, Drawing, Soft Focus, Punk, Sparkle, Watercolor)
Scene modes     30
White balance    • Auto
• Daylight
• Overcast,
• Tungsten
• Fluorescent 1
Self timer    • Yes, 2 or 12 seconds
• Pet auto-shutter
Flash    • Auto
• Red-eye reduction
• Fill-in
• Off
Flash Range    • Wide: 0.33ft (0.1m) – 30.5ft (9.3m) at ISO 1600
• Tele: 1.31ft (0.4m) – 13.1ft (4.0m) at ISO 1600
LCD monitor    • 3.0" / 7.6 cm LCD
• 460,000 dots
Connectivity    • DC input
• Combined A/V & USB output
• USB 2.0 compatible
• HDMI
Storage    • SD/SDHC/SDXC
• no internal memory
Power    Li-ion Rechargeable Battery (LI-50B)
Battery Life    200 Shots
Weight (no batt)     226g
Dimensions    4.2"W x 2.7"H x 1.6"D
(106mm x 69mm x 40mm)