Olympus SP-550UZ Easy Camera Review

The ultra-zoom portion of the digital camera market is taking off as consumers look beyond the standard 3x and manufacturers offer more and more. The Olympus SP-550UZ offers the most optical zoom on a compact digital camera so far with 18x. The new flagship of Olympus’ ultra-zoom line has 7.1 megapixels and image stabilization. It will compete with the likes of Canon’s image stabilized S-series and Sony’s H-series, which just added two new models that have 15x zoom. The Olympus SP-550UZ will retail for $499 in March.

The Olympus SP-550UZ offers several upgrades from its predecessor. The body itself is much more attractive with rounded edges, a metallic gray sheen, and comfy rubber handling grips. It has a built-in flash that is much more durable than the rickety one on the older SP-500. The SP-550UZ’s flash must be manually opened, which could be a problem if you’re expecting it to automatically open. The flash can be adjusted to fire more or less light, so it can be more flexible when shooting a variety of subjects at different distances from the camera. The biggest problem with the flash is that it adds a second or two to the shutter lag.

The SP-550UZ also improves upon the electronic viewfinder with better resolution and a diopter control so photographers can shed their glasses and still be able to see the image. The older SP-500 had a 2.5-inch LCD screen. The new model has the same size of display screen but with twice the resolution on it – so the image looks twice as good.

The headlining feature of the Olympus SP-550UZ is its 18x optical zoom lens, which is the longest lens available on a compact digital camera. This component launches the SP-550 to the top of the pile: the Canon S3 IS, Sony H5, and Panasonic FZ7 all have 12x optical zoom lenses. They all have optical image stabilization systems too, as does the Olympus SP-550. This is Olympus’ first compact digital camera to have an optical image stabilization system – and it seems to work well. While the image remains fairly steady when the lens is zoomed in, the auto focus system takes longer than usual. Another caveat to the hot lens is that it works in the movie mode only when the audio is turned off. So you can have silent movies with zoom or static movies with audio.



This trade-off disqualifies the Olympus SP-550UZ from the hybrid competition. If you’re looking for a good camera to double as a camcorder, you’d be much happier with a Canon PowerShot S3 IS with its functional 12x zoom and stereo audio. Besides the movie mode, the SP-550 has manual, priority, program, automatic, and 23 scene modes – including 3 underwater modes for those consumers who opt to purchase the underwater housing and swim to depths of 130 ft.

This model is packed with incredible specifications but beware of the gimmicks. Olympus touts a 15 fps burst mode, but that’s only when the resolution is reduced to wallet-print size. When using its full 7.1 megapixels, the burst mode slows to 1.2 fps. A “pre-capture” mode exists that can record up to 5 images before the shutter release button is actually pressed, but these pictures have even less resolution. The ISO range is published to go from 50-5000, but the higher the sensitivity the less resolution there is available.

Olympus attempts to make the SP-550 an “everyman’s digital camera.” It has a guide mode with step-by-step tutorials for beginners. But it also has manual functionality and even RAW file shooting and editing for more advanced users. The SLR-shaped camera aims to appeal to everyone, but it misses mostly because of its gimmicks and $499 price tag.

Olympus SP-550UZ - THE BOTTOM LINE.... Rating:

Likes

- Great handling - Best-looking Olympus - Lengthy 18x lens - Nice flash - RAW + JPEG simultaneous shooting - Image stabilization

Dislikes

- Gimmicky pre-capture mode - Slow 1.2 fps burst mode - AA batteries don’t last long - Confusing menus - Some scenes reduce resolution - $499 price - Shutter lag - Heavy body - Adjusting the LCD brightness is a pain - Movies can have audio or zoom, but not both at once

Olympus SP-500 Rating: N/A	Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H9 Rating: N/A	Canon PowerShot S3 IS Rating: 331.97	Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ7 Rating: N/A	Fujifilm FinePix S6000fd Rating: 384.34
Better	Better	Better	Better	Better
- $379 original retail and can be found for less now - Larger f/3.7 aperture at telephoto end - Bulb shutter speed option	- 8.1 megapixels - 3-inch LCD screen folds out and tilts - Face detection system - High definition viewing - ISO 3200 in full resolution - $479 retail price	- Almost perfectly accurate colors - Movie mode allows usage of optical zoom and stereo audio simultaneously - 1.6 fps burst mode - Price under $350 - Large, cushioned viewfinder - LCD flips to almost any angle	- More powerful built-in flash - Reliable auto focus system - Fast startup - Widescreen movie mode - Runs on rechargeable 320-shot battery - Sub-$300 price	- Cushioned and comfortable eyecup around viewfinder - Flash automatically pops up - Zoom controlled by physical ring around the lens - Face detection technology - Optical zoom fully functional in the movie mode - 2.2 fps burst mode - Current sub-$350 price - ISO 100-3200 at full resolution - 30-1/4000 shutter speeds - f/2.8-11 aperture range
Equal	Equal	Equal	Equal	Equal
- Manual and priority modes - Scene modes - 2.5-inch LCD screen - 640 x 480-pixel movies at 30 fps - Flash must be manually opened - Same strange menu setup - Shoots RAW files - Slide show and picture effects - Same scene modes except underwater - Same 4 AA batteries	- Optical image stabilization system - SLR-shaped - Manual and priority modes	- Optical image stabilization - Flash unit must be manually pulled up - Compatible with slave flash	- Optical image stabilization system - 2.5 inch LCD screen	- Original $499 retail price - SLR-like shape - 2.5 inch LCD screen with 235k pixels - Abundance of rubber hand grips - Standard 640 x 480 and 320 x 240 movies at 30 fps - Flash compensation - Manual, priority and automatic modes - Accepts xD-Picture cards - Runs on 4 AA batteries
Worse	Worse	Worse	Worse	Worse
- 6 megapixels - 10x optical zoom lens - No image stabilization - Boxy, cheap body - LCD has narrower view and only 115k resolution - Rickety pop-up flash unit - Inaccurate colors - Poor resolution - Lots of noise - 2.8 sec startup time - 80-400 ISO range - Horrible included software package - Accepts xD cards only up to 1 GB	- 15x optical zoom lens not as long	- 6.1 megapixels - Shorter 12x optical zoom lens - 2 inch LCD screen with 115k pixels - ISO maxes out at 800	- 6 megapixels - Shorter 12x optical zoom lens - 115,000 pixels on LCD screen - No optical zoom available in the movie mode - Not as attractive	- 6.3 megapixels - Shorter 10.7x optical zoom lens - Less resolution in electronic viewfinder - No optical image stabilization - Burst stops at 3 shots - Not many picture and editing effects