D-40 hailed as ‘world’s smallest’ 4 Mpixel camera

Olympus has unveiled the D-40 ZOOM, which it bills as “the world’s smallest 4 megapixel digital camera.” The D-40 measures 3.4 inches wide, 2.7 inches high and 1.7 inches thick. The 4-megapixel camera produces images up to 2272 x 1704 pixels, which can be used for 11 x 14 inch prints.

The D-40 ZOOM has a 2.8x optical zoom lens, and features Olympus’ new “Enhanced Color Management” system, which customizes color settings for each of its shooting modes in a point-and-shoot mode. Olympus claims the system produces better skin tones, truer blue skies and greener trees in landscapes. The D-40 ZOOM also uses a noise reduction mode to produce clearer, more colorful nighttime photos as well.

The D-40 ZOOM also features an LCD menu interface that can be programmed by the user to help access shortcuts quickly without having to navigate multiple screens to change settings. The D-40 sports a new 10-position mode dial, which users can utilize to access fine tune exposure, white balance, color saturation settings and more.

The camera utilizes Olympus’ USB Auto-Connect technology to enable users to attach the camera to a USB-equipped Mac straightaway without needing to install additional software or drivers. The camera appears on the Mac desktop as an external hard disk. The D-40 supports Mac OS 8.6 – Mac OS X.

Expect to see the D-40 ZOOM hit store shelves in October. The new camera sports an estimated street price of US$799. It ships with a 16MB SmartMedia memory card, USB cable, AV interface cable, one LB-01 Lithium battery (it also uses 2 standard AA’s); RM-1 remote control, Camedia Master Software, instruction manual, QuickStart guide, and strap.