Price down, zoom quality up

Olympus VR-340 offers fantastic value

London, 10 January 2012 – The first generation of Olympus VR Series compacts proved you don’t have to pay a fortune for a great-looking camera with a powerful zoom lens, slim metal casing and a whole bunch of fun, cutting-edge wizardry. Now the enhanced second generation is here. The new VR-340 keeps the exquisite, all-metal design of its predecessor – and benefits from a new, slightly retro ‘smart grip’ at the front. A glance at the powerful zoom lens shows why Olympus’ engineers added the grip. The VR-340 comes with a 10x super-wide optical zoom lens (24-240mm*). When you zoom right in for an expressive close-up, the grip makes it a lot easier to hold the camera steady and avoid blurring your shot. It’s further proof of Olympus’ determination that its slim cameras should deliver stills and movies that live up to its reputation for the very highest image quality. With 16 Megapixels (instead of 14), higher ISO for shooting in poor light and some new technological trickery for enhancing your shots with creative effects, the VR-340 succeeds. The VR-340 is available from late February in silver, black, red and purple for £129.99.

Ready when you are
Busy people don’t plan photo sessions. Opportunities to capture special shots just happen and when they do, you need a camera that’s easy to use, has a versatile lens and the full array of high-tech aids – to make sure you get the very best images you can. The VR-340 gives you just that – and it’s beautifully designed, too. Powerful and flexible, the super-wide zoom lens is exceptional for this price category. Complementing the lens, the smart grip helps you hold the camera steady when you’re making full use of the zoom, while built-in Dual Image Stabilisation cuts out blur caused by imperceptible camera shake or fast-moving subjects. That’s especially important when you want to capture an HD movie. No matter how bad (or good) a photographer you are, with 16 Megapixels, high ISO capability and a host of sophisticated electronic assistants like i-Auto and AF Tracking, Olympus’ trademark picture quality is virtually guaranteed.

Ready when you’re not
With the VR-340, it doesn’t matter if you haven’t had time to fix your makeup before someone takes your picture. Olympus’ Beauty Make-up Mode can customise up to three people’s faces before you start. Laid out like a cosmetic toolbox, it lets you apply everything from eyeliner and eye shadow to rouge for skin blemishes. You can even lift cheekbones. It’s a lot of fun morphing each other into cover-model faces. Beauty Make-up Mode isn’t the only reality-warping fun feature on the new VR-340. The new camera can also take photos in 3D Red & Cyan, which means you can appreciate the startling 3D effect on regular 2D devices – no specialised 3D equipment required.

Once you’ve captured your images, there’s a whole raft of other effects you can apply to your stills photos. The VR-340 comes with nine Olympus Magic Filters and, unlike on most rival compacts, all but one of them also work with movies.

The VR-340 will be available from late February for £129.99.

Outstanding features:
Image Quality:
*10x super wide angle optical zoom with 24-240mm*
*720p HD Movie with sound for capturing movies in excellent quality
*16 Megapixels for high-quality full-size movies, stills and prints
*Dual Image Stabilisation for reducing blur with fast-moving shots

Design:
*Smart grip design for hand-held stability and reducing blur with highzoom close-ups
*Slim, full-metal body for an exquisite and robust design

Usability:
*3” colour LCD (460,000 dots) for easily framing, reviewing and sharing shots
*Face Detection and Shadow Adjustment Technology for capturing people’s faces just as you want them
*Intelligent Auto Mode (i-Auto) and AF Tracking for easy setting and focussing
*Scene Mode for automatic settings that suit specific conditions (e.g., Landscape, Night)

Creativity & Flexibility:
*Beauty Make-up Mode for adding fun make-up effects to three people and hiding blemishes before you shoot
*Eye-Fi Card compatibility for automatic wireless uploading of images to a website or PC
*Magic Filters for adding creative effects to HD movies and/or stills: Punk, Pop Art, Pin Hole, Drawing, Fish Eye, Soft Focus, Sparkle (photos only), Watercolour and Reflection
*3D photo shooting mode for striking stills (3D Red & Cyan for sharing 3D stills on 2D devices)

Other key features:
*[ib] software for browsing, organising and viewing images by person, place, location or event.
*ISO 80 to 1600
*SDHC and SDXC memory card compatible**
*Built-in smart flash
*In-camera manual and help guide
*USB battery charging

* 35mm camera equivalent. ** SD is a trademark of SD Card Association. UHS Speed Class is not supported.