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Launch SRP PhP6995

Olympus VG-170

03 Feb 2012

Designed for users who frequently shoot indoors or in low-light conditions using flash illumination, the slim VG-170 comes with a 3-inch LCD screen and a 5x wide angle zoom lens.

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			<h2 class="header-green">Olympus VG-170 – Strobe Master</h2>
		<span class="byline">Reviewed by Rico Cruz on Friday, 24 Feb 2012</span>
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		 		<h2 class="page-title">Introduction and Physique</h2>
		 		<h3 class="page_title">Keep Moving Forward</h3>
<p>Despite the spot of legal trouble that the company has been having as of late, Olympus has shown admirable resilience in the face of adversity as they continue to release exciting and innovative imaging products. A recent highlight would be their announcement of the beautifully retro-styled <a href="http://www.hardwarezone.com.ph/tech-news-olympus-sets-launch-om-d-e-m5-april-reveals-ph-prices" target="_blank">OM-D EM-5</a>, which we were able to <a href="http://www.hardwarezone.com.ph/video-olympus-om-d-em-5-hands-video-preview" target="_blank">get our hands on</a> recently. Arriving along with this marquee product &nbsp;were a slew of new compacts, which included the <a href="http://www.hardwarezone.com.ph/tech-news-olympus-vg-170-lights-scene-its-really-big-flash" target="_blank">VG-170</a>.</p>
<p class="rtecenter"><img width="500" height="393" src="/files/img/2012/02/DSC_2463.jpg" title="The VG-170 is the new flagship of Olympus' compact VG series." alt="" /></p>
<h4 class="page_sub_title">A Camera With Class And Ease</h4>
<p>The Olympus VG-170 is one very classy looking compact, especially in the all-black colorway it came in. If black isn't your favorite color, you can spring for the red or white option, but the lens area stays black, so in our opinion at least, our demo unit is the best-looking of the bunch. It's a straight-up point-and-shoot, so as expected there are very few buttons to figure out and no dials to set any manual controls. In the back you have three main function buttons: video record, menu, and playback. In between the last two is a four-way navigation button with an &quot;OK&quot; button in the middle.</p>
<p class="rtecenter"><img width="500" height="481" src="/files/img/2012/02/oly_vg-170_THEME__1_.jpg" title="You can choose to get the VG-170 in red or white, but we really think that black suits it best." alt="" /></p>
<p class="rtecenter"><img width="500" height="350" src="/files/img/2012/02/DSC_2471.jpg" title="In the back of the camera, you only have three function buttons plus a four-way navigation button. The 3-inch TFT LCD has a 230,000-dot resolution which is more or less standard. We noticed though that it isn't  bright enough to easily use outdoors in the sun." alt="" /></p>
<p class="rtecenter"><img width="500" height="326" src="/files/img/2012/02/DSC_2472.jpg" title="Highlighting the front is the VG-170's over-sized flash unit, which gives the camera a slight hump." alt="" /></p>
<p>The front part of the camera is dominated by the lens, which has 5x optical zoom and a maximum aperture of f/2.8. On either side are the over-sized flash unit and&nbsp;a large raised portion that is also textured, for better grip. There is also a textured patch by the video record button in the rear, to give your thumb some traction as well. Build-wise, the camera is made of tough matte plastic, which doesn't make it feel particularly solid, but makes it very light, tipping the scales at just 147g. It fits neatly into the palm of your hand or a relatively large pocket. In short, the VG-170 is very easy on both the eyes and the hands.&nbsp;</p>
<p class="rtecenter"><img width="500" height="179" src="/files/img/2012/02/DSC_2473.jpg" title="On top you have the zoom rocker that lets you go up to 5x optical, and the power switch." alt="" /></p>
<p>Instead of having several ports for different purposes, the VG-170 has only one, and comes with two cables. One is a USB cable which doubles as file transfer and charging (just like a smartphone) and the other is for RCA output to a television. This clever setup is quite unique and keeps things simple. It also avoids having to open the battery door all the time to access either the SD card or the battery. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
<p class="rtecenter"><img width="500" height="248" src="/files/img/2012/02/DSC_2474.jpg" title="The camera has only one port, which does triple duty as TV output, file transfer and charging, a clever setup that we haven't really seen with other brands." alt="" /></p>
<p class="rtecenter"><img width="500" height="335" src="/files/img/2012/02/DSC_2475.jpg" title="Thanks to the simplified cable and port arrangement, you won't have to open the battery door very often to access the 925mAh battery and SD card." alt="" /></p>			</div>
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