OLYMPUS STYLUS 1s / SHOOTING REPORT

The STYLUS 1s is the update to the STYLUS 1 with the "mirrorless" look and excellent image quality. While it carries the same high-speed F2.8 constant 28-300mm (in 35mm format) zoom lens and the high definition EVF, the new model has improved focusing aids, improved handling, and longer battery life. Of course, it maintains the compact size. In this report, I also tried the dedicated accessories including the conversion lenses and the close-up lens.

( Photography : Z II / Text : 4beats )

Around 200mm at F8. The distant scene looks very realistic. The body may look like a SLR, but it's surprisingly compact. And, you can enjoy compression effect and bokeh by zooming to the tele-end. Now, do we always need the big body and lenses?

With the 1/1.7-inch sensor the F2.8 speed, you can take an impressive shot like this one. And, all you have to do is set aperture around wide open, zoom to telephoto, and look for an angle until the subjects line up vertically.

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Now, let's try the accessories.

For some reason, Olympus recommends the AC C-UP No. 5 (55mm in diameter) close up lens from Kenko Tokina brand. The body is good at closeups, but with this accessory you can get even closer. The front and back bokeh look natural. It's a small item, so you can keep it in the bag.

Next, the wide and tele conversion lenses.

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  This one was shot at 28mm without the wide conversion lens. I wanted to include the object on the building's roof, but it was too narrow to do it.*Click to enlarge.
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  This one was shot with the 0.8X wide conversion lens and the 35mm equivalent focal length is 22.4mm. And, I was able to include what I wanted. The sunshine brought the funny ghost, but other than that, no loss of resolution and contrast.*Click to enlarge.
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  What about the tele conversion lens? Even without it, the STYLUS 1s can zoom up to 300mm like this and I have no complaints...*Click to enlarge.
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  But, with the 1.7X TCON-17X, the 35mm equivalent focal length becomes 510mm and you can pull remote subjects much closer. And, it doesn't affect the max aperture of the mother lens. How convenient!*Click to enlarge.

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Great high sensitivity performance. Although it was dark in the aquarium, I stopped down to F8 to get more depth of field. And, I raised the ISO up to 3200 because I wanted to freeze the penguin. With this image size, I see no problem. And, I was glad that the camera allowed me to shoot even though it generated more noise.

Whether we are prepared to shoot or not, we're always surrounded by magical scenes. But, this casual lightweight camera (only 402 grams including battery and card!) lets you capture them anytime.

The new "small AF target" function helps pinpoint the focus by narrowing the focusing area and the peaking function assists manual focusing. Together with the eye sensor and touch AF, focusing is now much easier.

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The mirrorless style camera in perfection

The STYLUS 1s outperforms the predecessor, which was an excellent camera. And, amazingly the optical performance wasn't affected by the accessories at all. The wide conversion lens particularly expands shooting capability.

Because of the highly visible EVF, it realizes SLR-like shooting style and it's a great sub camera for mirrorless users. But, even though it's as thin as 56.5mm, the high zoom lens will cut like a knife whenever it's necessary.

The potential of this compact flagship STYLUS 1s is unlimited thanks to the wide zoom range and amazing macro capability. Shooting streets, landscape, sports, or family? This little weapon will take care of anything you want to shoot.

( 06.03.2015 )