Olympus Stylus 1 enthusiast compact for zoom lovers (pictures)
If your enthusiast compact's zoom range isn't cutting it, the Stylus 1 offers 28-300mm lens with a constant aperture of f2.8.
Joshua Goldman
Managing Editor Josh Goldman is a laptop expert and has been writing about and reviewing them since built-in Wi-Fi was an optional feature. He also covers almost anything connected to a PC, including keyboards, mice, USB-C docks and PC gaming accessories. In addition, he writes about cameras, including action cams and drones. And while he doesn't consider himself a gamer, he spends entirely too much time playing them.
The enthusiast compact market has reached a bit of a saturation point, but the Stylus 1 hits a part of it that's still lacking. While most have 4x or 5x zoom lenses, the Stylus 1 has a 10.7x zoom lens.
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Lots of modes, lots of control
The Stylus 1 has plenty of shooting options including manual and full manual modes, and two custom spots. There's a thumb dial on top for easy changes as well as two programmable function buttons, one on back and one on front.
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Big, but still pocketable
It measures 4.6 inches wide by 2.2 inches deep by 3.4 inches high, so you're not exactly slipping this into a back pocket. However, it's still small enough to put in a coat pocket and definitely a small bag.
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Touch LCD, EVF, and hot shoe
On back is a 3-inch 1M-dot-resolution tilting touch-screen LCD, a built-in electronic viewfinder (the same EVF found on the Olympus OM-D E-M5), and a hot shoe for adding an external flash. The camera also has built-in Wi-Fi that can be used with Olympus' iOS and Android apps for transferring shots to your smartphone or tablet directly, and remote control of the camera.
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Extra control
Around the lens barrel is a digital/analog control ring. A lever on the front lets you quickly switch modes: digital mode for fine zooming or manual focusing, or analog mode to adjust settings such as aperture, shutter speed, and more. There's also a variable speed zoom lever on the lens barrel and a button for the pop-up flash.
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CLA-13 and TCON-17x
If 300mm still won't cut it for the zoom fiends out there, Olympus has the CLA-13 converter adapter and TCON-17x 1.7x teleconverter lens. Combined, they extend the focal length of the camera to 510mm while retaining the brightness of the constant f2.8 aperture.
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Easy attaching
The lens just screws into the body around the lens.
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It's a long lens, but not too long
With the lens attached it's not as easy to travel with but it's still reasonably compact, all things considered.
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Micro-HDMI
There is a Micro-HDMI port on the left side as well as Olympus' proprietary USB/multi port.
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Bubble level
Along with a horizon level, there's an electronic bubble level available.
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Lens cap
Instead of using a manual lens cap that pops off when you turn the camera, the lens cap screws onto the body and has petals that are pushed open when the lens extends.
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Not cheap
With its components, features, and seemingly very good build quality, it's not a surprise that this camera has a premium price tag. When it goes on sale in December the price will be $699.99.
