Olympus FE-190

Press Release:
The new FE-190 proves that you don’t need to spend a lot to get a beautifully designed ultra-compact camera. However, those good looks are there for a reason – small size and a metal construction ensure portability and durability. At 18.5mm deep and exceptionally flat, the FE-190 takes up just the minimum of space, and is therefore the ideal go-anywhere camera.

Image quality is also superb. A precise 3x zoom lens (equivalent to 38-114mm on a 35mm camera) coupled with a 6.0 million pixel CCD delivers stunning, high-definition shots that can be reviewed with ease on the built-in 6.4cm LCD screen. Incorporation of the Olympus TruePic TURBO processor ensures that these high resolution images are quickly processed with true-to-life results.

To keep the shooting experience as pleasurable as possible, the FE-190 employs a “one button, one function” design principle, making reading through a time-consuming instruction manual largely unnecessary. An easy-to-use Help function has also been thoughtfully included to explain what all of the settings and the ten pre-defined scene modes – such as Sports, Indoor, and Fireworks – do, directly on the LCD screen.

A conveniently located Mode Dial is used to select different camera programmes, reducing the need to navigate through potentially confusing menus. These programmes include image stabilisation with ISO 800 to reduce the risk of blurred pictures significantly. Other useful functions include Super Macro, for taking close-ups from as little as 5cm away and Movie recording with sound, with the duration of the clip limited only by the memory available.

Photos and movie clips created on the FE-190 can be saved to the camera’s internal memory, or to widely-available xD-Picture Cards. Olympus Master software is included in the standard package so that photos can be easily downloaded, organised, edited and printed using a computer. And the update to the Plus version even allows special artistic effects, including 3D and oil painting, to be applied to photos.

Design-conscious photographers will find that the tiny FE-190 has a lot to offer at a very attractive price. Expect to see it gracing the shelves of Dixons stores in September 2006.

The Olympus FE-190 – main features:

• 6.0 million pixels in stylish metal body
• Only 18.8mm slim
• One button, one function design principle
• 38-114mm (35mm camera equivalent), 1:3.1-5.9
• 6.4cm/2.5” LCD
• 10 scene modes (e.g. Sports, Indoor, Fireworks)
• Movie recording with sound up to card capacity
• Internal memory plus xD-Picture Card slot
• Supplied with Olympus Master Software + LI-42B lithium-ion battery
• Multi-language menu (with 10 languages) plus possibility to download further languages from the internet (25 European languages available)