Olympus SH-21 Digital Zoom Camera - Black (16MP, 12.5x Super-Wide Optical Zoom) 3 inch LCD Touch Panel

The Olympus SH-21: The inexpensive yet elegant travel zoom to really help your photography go places

Looking for that great all rounder that will fit in your pocket? The search is over. The exceptionally elegant and amazingly affordable Olympus SH-21 packs a powerful 16-megapixel CMOS sensor plus Touch Panel operation into its compact, ultra slim chassis.

We haven’t forgotten about picture quality. In fact it’s really what this camera is all about; the stunning ability to perform in dimly lit interiors delivered by the backlit CMOS sensor at its core. Offering versatility when it comes to framing shots too, the Olympus SH-21 sports a wide-angle 12.5x optical zoom with a focal range the equivalent of 24-300mm in 35mm film terms. And yes, it will still fit in a pocket.

Touch Autofocus guarantee better results
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Full HD video plus Multi-motion Movie IS to banish blur

The Olympus SH-21 also comes with Full HD 1080p video capture, plus the complementary cutting edge technology of Movie IS to reduce blur. The result is that even when you’re filming fast moving subjects and simultaneously on the move yourself, video is clear, crisp and vivid. In short, Movie IS ensures that 1080p HD recordings couldn’t be better defined, while allowing more adventurous and faster paced filming, including tracking shots without the need for a cumbersome tripod.

Live Guide and Touch Autofocus guarantee better results

Want DSLR style imagery, but lack the necessary skill set? No problem. Olympus' ultra simple built-in Live Guide allows photographers of all levels to fine tune settings and witness the results in real time. Now there’s no excuse for a duff shot.

As it sounds, Touch Autofocus tracks moving subjects automatically when the user taps them on screen, so they always stay in focus no mater where they are in the frame while the Touch Shutter mechanism will take their picture too.

12.5x wide optical zoom
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12.5x wide optical zoom & 16 megapixel resolution offer a killer combination of versatility and performance

Although compact in size, quality hasn’t been compromised. Offering a focal range the equivalent of 24-300mm in 35mm film terms that stays true to Olympus' remarkable world class pedigree, users of the SH-21 can zoom right in on close detail from afar without having to physically take one step nearer. A 16-megapixel resolution also helps ensure that shots are detail rich every time, aided by a TruePic III+ image processor for ideal colours and low noise.

Dual Image Stabilisation

A bugbear of physically small cameras with relatively larger zooms is the propensity for camera shake at longer focal lengths, especially when shooting handheld or in lower lighting conditions. Olympus therefore offers not one but two means of reducing the potentially damaging effects of image blur.

As a further help, light sensitivity settings between ISO80-3200 are also manually selectable. Alternatively, turn on the built-in flash.

Dual Image Stabilisation
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Touch sensitive 3-inch LCD with high 460k-dot resolution

With the Olympus SH-21 users can both compose and review their images on a large and bright three-inch, high 460,000-dot resolution LCD display. There is also the ability to view them in glorious high definition on a flat panel TV set courtesy of HDMI output.

Automatic aids make life easy

Automatic aids to perfect picture taking further include Advanced Face Detection, Shadow Adjustment Technology to ensure perfect focus and exposure for any given subject, plus HDR Backlight Adjustment to deploy when shooting against the light, and Handheld Starlight mode taking four photos with one click for shake free results when photographing at night without a tripod.

Add in Olympus' Beauty Mode for disguising unwanted blemishes, intelligent auto mode (i-Auto) and AF tracking for easy setting and focusing, Pet Detection mode for automatically capturing the facial expressions of dogs and cats when they look at the camera, Scene Mode for optimal results in common conditions plus even a high speed continuous mode that captures up to seven full size frames per second and the SH-21 is a camera that is more than the sum of its parts.

10 Magic Filters for turning the everyday into the extraordinary
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10 Magic Filters for turning the everyday into the extraordinary

Specifically designed to expand the creative potential of digital photography, this impressive function of the SH-21 utilises in-camera image processing technology to effortlessly transform the everyday into extraordinary scenes. Simple to operate, the filters allow users to create entirely new worlds with their images. From vibrant colours and pencil drawings to mysterious or rounded perspectives, artistic spirits can magically turn ideas into reality.

Users can choose from Punk, Pop Art, Pin Hole, Drawing, Fish Eye, Soft Focus, Sparkle (photos only), Watercolour, Miniature and Reflection.

• Punk: Pose like Sid and Nancy and have your world turned dayglo pink, with this fun feature that transforms your photos into crudely photocopied fanzine style images, but in a good way.
• Pop Art: In the tradition of Andy Warhol, this effect enhances colours, making them stronger and more vivid. It creates high-impact pictures that express the happy, light-hearted feeling of the pop art style.
• Fish-Eye: With its distorted 180-degree perspective, this filter reproduces the dramatic effect of a fish-eye lens. It lends a new perspective to the whole scene with a "round" effect.
• Drawing: This filter gives the impression that subjects have been sketched on the fly by an artist just at the moment that inspiration struck. Images are transformed into line drawings for improvised, creative results.
• Pin Hole: For an ethereal feel, Pin Hole reduces the peripheral brightness of images like an image seen through a pinhole. Added to this is a unique colour tone that results in a style that has an air of secrecy or portrays the feeling of being lost in another dimension or space.
• Soft Focus: Give your portraits that romantic otherworldly look beloved of wedding photographers.
• Sparkle: A Magic Filter that truly imparts a sprinkling of fairy dust, adding twinkling reflections to shiny objects.
• Watercolour: With this option pictures are transformed into a watercolour painting framed by soft light.
• Reflection: A simulation of a magical horizontal reflection of your subject: for example as if it or they were standing next to perfectly still water.
• Miniature: Capture your subject and present them as if on a toy town scale.

Eye-Fi card compatible

Connectivity is also enhanced by the SH-21 being compatible with Eye-Fi media cards, enabling automatic wireless downloading of pictures, straight to your desktop, and facilitating photo sharing. The camera is also compatible with regular SDHC and SDXC media cards.

3D photo shooting & in-camera Panorama feature

The Olympus range is now enhanced by optional 3D shooting mode, lending images a striking sense of depth. This mode captures two shots from two different angles to create shots that can be viewed on a 3D compatible display. A regular 2D image is saved alongside the 3D one.

An in-camera Panorama mode further allows for images with drama and beauty combined.

Quick photo surfing thanks to innovative software

Thanks to [ib] software images can be browsed, organized, and viewed by person, place, location or event. And in-camera manual and help guide also ensure you won’t be scratching your head to find the correct given setting.

USB battery charging

Connect the camera to a computer and let the battery charge while you save and organise your images.

The Olympus SH-21 is available in gold, red and black.