Olympus has announced a new addition to its range of mju cameras, the 5Mp Digital 500 with a 3x zoom.

The mju Digital 500 is similar in appearance to other digital mjus, with a metal weatherproof case and a sliding lens cover.

It offers a sizable 2.5-inch LCD screen with a fast refresh and response time and a resolution of 215,000 pixels, Canon claims. The 3x optical zoom is equivalent to 35 - 105mm in 35mm format, with a minimum aperture of between f3.1 and f5.2.

Other features include 20 scene modes, a super macro mode, movie recording with sound and PictBridge support for PC-less printing. It comes with a 32MB xD-picture card.

Olympus claims that the Digital 500 will be available from the beginning of 2005, priced at £238 plus VAT.

From DIGIT