Yesterday, along with the E-10 mention was made of the E-100RS a very interesting new digital camera from Olympus with the same 10 x optical stablised zoom lens announced in the C-2100UZ, however the E-100RS is built with a different tactic in mind, it's main aim is speed. It has a 1/2" 1.5 megapixel CCD and is capable of capturing bursts of full size images at 15 frames per second (that's faster than we've ever seen in a digital camera.. and considerably faster than all but the most expensive 35mm SLR's). Looking at the body it appears to be based around the C-3030Z with a 0.55" LCD viewfinder.

UPDATE: 30/Sept/2000: E-100RS First Look posted

To my eye Olympus are aiming this camera at the amateur photographer who often shoots sports or action wildlife. With the big 10x zoom and high speed burst it'd be perfectly placed to capture the action. Also note the highest shutter speed of 1/10,000 sec.

Olympus E-100RS Specifications

Product name

Olympus Camedia E-100RS

Body

Metallic frame / casing
Imager 1/2", 1.5 megapixel CCD (1.3 megapixel effective)
Image sizes 1360 x 1024
1280 x 960
1024 x 768
640 480
Image modes JPEG, TIFF
Lens Optical image stablisation, 10 x zoom (38 - 380 mm as 35 mm equiv.). 13 pieces in 10 groups.
Lens thread 49 mm
Focus range Wide: 60 cm - Infinity (macro 10 cm - 60 cm)
Tele: 2 m - Infinity (macro 1 m - 2 m)
Digital zoom 1.1x, 1.3x, 1.5x, 1.7x, 2.1x, 2.7x
ISO sensitivity Auto / 100 / 200 / 400
Exposure modes

Program mode
Scene program mode
Aperture priority
Shutter priority
Full manual

Exposure compen.

+/-2EV in 0.3EV steps

Meter modes

Center weighted average
Spot

Aperture range

Wide: F2.8 - F8.0
Tele: F3.5 - F8.0

Shutter speeds

16 seconds (manual) / 1/30 sec - 1/10,000 sec

Burst speed

15 / 7.5 / 5 / 3 fps (not TIFF)
100 frames at VGA
10 frames at HQ / SHQ (1360 x 1024)

Video clip

QuickTime Motion JPEG: 30fps up to 10 seconds

Viewfinder TTL LCD viewfinder
LCD 1.8" TFT
Flash

Built-in pop-up flash & Flash sync connector

Flash modes Auto, Red-Eye reduction, Off, On
Focus modes TTL auto focus / manual focus
White balance Auto, Fine, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, One-touch manual
Connectivity USB, AV output
Storage SmartMedia & CompactFlash Type II
(Microdrive is NOT supported due to power consumption problems) - 8 MB SmartMedia card included
Power 4 x NiMH AA rechargeables / 2 x CR-3V Lithium
Dimensions 120 x 86 x 153 mm (4.7 x 3.4 x 6 ")
Weight 575 g (1.26 lb)
Price Est. 160,000 YEN (Est. US street price ~$1,500)
Sale date Japan: October 2000