Olympus puts the OM-D’s 5-axis stabilization in a compact camera

Camera manufacturers are running out of ways to differentiate point-and-shoots from increasingly effective smartphones, but they’ll always have more hardware space to play with. The new Olympus SH-50 is a good example of this, employing an optical image stabilization system that shifts the 16-megapixel sensor along five axes for video and three for photos; the system was first used in the excellent OM-D EM-5 mirrorless camera.

Coupled with a 24x zoom (25-600mm equivalent) lens, the SH-50 should produce sharper pictures than your smartphone as long as you’re willing to hand over $299.99 when it launches in March. Olympus has also put the same 24x zoom lens in a pair of cheaper 16-megapixel compacts: the Stylus SZ-15 and SZ-16 will come out in March at price points of $199.99 and $239.99 respectively, though you’ll only get dual-axis image stabilization.