Olympus SP-510 UZ First Impressions Review

Value
At a price of $329.99, the SP-510 UZ is well priced. There are a number of cameras that shoot at higher resolutions, but you pay a big premium for jumping from 7.1 megapixels to 10 when you may not need the extra. The larger size of the SP-510 UZ may put off some, but those who like to get close to the action with sports or wildlife will love the 10X zoom.

Who it’s For
Point-and-Shooters - Although it can be used as a point-and-shoot camera, it isn’t a good pick for these users: too many features and buttons to control them.

Budget Consumers – The SP-510 UZ is well priced for budget users who want the long zoom without paying a fortune for it.

Gadget Freaks – Although it does have some fancy features, there really aren’t enough gee-whizz things here to attract the gadget magpies.

Manual Control Freaks – The manual mode is reasonably easy to use, but real photographers (or at least ones who think they are real photographers) prefer cameras with dials instead of buttons.

Pros / Serious Hobbyists – Pros will despair of any camera that offers something as insulting as scene modes, but it might make a good pick for a second camera to use for casual shooting.