VIEWPOINT: Olympus dropped by the Singapore office recently to showcase their latest PEN E-PL1 Micro Four Thirds camera.

This release follows three months after the launch of the EP-2, and the EP-1, which was made available in June 2009.

One of the major difference that sets the E-PL1 from the E-P series is its price point, which will costs an estimated “less than S$1000 (USD707)” with a 14-42mm kit lens. Olympus has also launched several other digital camera models for its mju series of cameras.

For a coverage of what went on, our sister site HardwareZone.com has this coverage.

Check out our HWM ViewPoint video as we catch up with Olympus on what the new cameras are all about:

The Alpha 330 shoots 10.2-megapixel images and features Quick Live View AF mode.

Mr. Toru Katsumoto, Senior GM for Sony Alpha Mount Camera Division, during the interview session.

VIEWPOINT: For our second HWM ViewPoint video program series, the HardwareMAG.com team met up with Mr. Toru Katsumoto, Senior General Manager from the Alpha Mount Camera (AMC) Division, who was kind enough to demo the newly released Alpha 330 DSLR camera to us.

The A330 comes hot on the heels of two other recently launched Alpha models — the A380 and the A230. The former is similar to the A330 except that it shoots up to 14.2 Megapixels, while the A230 shoots 10.2 Megapixels but boasts a lighter 420g body.

On price: The A330 costs US$850 with 2 lenses (the SAL-1855 standard zoom lens and the SAL-55200 telephoto zoom lens).

Anyway, here’s the exclusive ViewPoint video. Enjoy.

This video comes with English captions. To change caption language, click on Translate in the bottom corner option of the video.

From right: Mr. Yoshimoto Nagashima, GM for Olympus SLR Marketing; Mr. Masaomi Tomizawa, Section Manager, Electronic Device Dept.; and Mr. Antonio Lei, Marketing Director, Olympus Imaging Singapore.

VIEWPOINT: The team behind HardwareMAG.com will put up videos related to trends, technologies and companies with a focus on the South-east Asian region regularly.

Here, in our very first episode from the HWM ViewPoint series, we bring you a 5-minute segment where we met up with senior executives from Olympus and  had them demo to us the new PEN E-P1 Micro Four Thirds camera.

In a written interview which will appear in an upcoming issue of HWM magazine, Tomizawa-san said that the priority is to make the body of the E-P1 smaller. To compensate for the lack of flash, the company also developed a new engine called TruePic 5, which can take photos up to ISO 6400. Of course, the E-P1 also comes with a flash attachment as an option.

“We believe we have a new concept here; the E-P1 is neither a DSLR nor a compact. It’s a new generation kind of camera,” said Nagashima-san, during the interview.

On price:

The Olympus PEN E-P1 pancake lens kit (M. ZUIKO DIGITAL 17mm f2.8) will cost S$1,448 (US$994); the standard lens kit (14-42mm f3.5-5.6) costs S$1,298 (US$891) while the twin lens kit (14-42mm f3.5-5.6 and 17mm f2.8) costs S$1,598 (US$1097). The camera comes in either Black or White.

Anyway, here’s the exclusive ViewPoint video. Enjoy.

This video comes with English captions. To change caption language, click on Translate in the bottom corner option of the video.