Olympus' new trio touts 10 megapixel Stylus 1050 SW with motion sensitive Tap Control

When pumping out unimpressive point-and-shoot cameras, one sure-fire way to grab some attention is to innovate around the UI. That seems to be Olympus' approach with its new semi-rugged, Stylus 1050 SW ($300) pictured above. Able to withstand drops from 5-feet (1.5-meters), temps as low as 14 degrees F (-10 C), and submersion to 10-feet (3-meters), the new 10.1-megapixel shooter with 3x zoom and 2.7-inch display also packs an accelerometer for Olympus' new motion-driven "Tap Control" -- tap twice on the back, top or sides with your bulky, gloved hand to switch the camera into different modes. Pretty smart, actually... let's hope it takes quality images too. Of less interest is the skinny new 16.5-mm Stylus 1040 ($200) offering all of the 1050's guts without the Tap Control and weatherproofing. Last up is the Olympus SP-565 UZ ($400). It bungs the 10 megapixel sensor and 20x zoom from Olympus' SP-570 UZ into the 8 megapixel, 18x SP-560 UZ introduced this time last year. All three cams due in October. See the 1040 and SP-565 UZ after the break.
Update: Speaking of unimpressive, Olympus also outed its 8 megapixel FE-20 (?120 / $221) with 2.5-inch LCD and 3x zoom. We managed to escape our ennui just long enough to post a picture after the break.

[Via: Engadget ]
[Tag: 1050 sw,1050Sw,20x,accelerometer,camera,fe-20,olympus,rugged,semi-rugged,sp-565 uz,Sp-565Uz,stylus,tap control,TapControl,waterproof,weatherproof ]