Olympus Stylus 1s lands in the USA with longer-life battery, new firmware features

 

 

When we reviewed the Olympus Stylus 1 last year, we found much to love in a product that redefined what the bridge camera could be. Now, the company follows up with the 12-megapixel Olympus Stylus 1s -- and it's almost exactly the same Dave's Pick-winning camera, save for some styling tweaks and firmware refinements.

Quietly launched in the Japanese market late last year, the Stylus 1s is about as closely related to its predecessor as any camera we can remember. Save for a new, longer-lasting battery pack that's actually backwards-compatible with the newer camera, all of the changes are either aesthetic or in firmware. And not just that, but the firmware tweaks too are available to the earlier camera through a firmware update, effectively erasing the difference between the two models.

 

 

But that's no knock on the Olympus Stylus 1s: Its predecessor was a great camera, so long as you didn't need to push the limits of ISO sensitivity, and the Stylus 1s brings all of the Stylus 1's advantages to the table, while giving you better battery life right out of the box for the very same price. You can get the full story on this new model in our Olympus Stylus 1s preview, and if you find yourself intrigued, we highly recommend you follow up by reading our earlier, in-depth Olympus Stylus 1 review.

Available from mid-April 2015, the Olympus Stylus 1s carries the exact same list price of US$700 as did its predecessor.