Olympus SP-550 UZ Digital Camera Review

Olympus SP-550 UZ

Digital Camera Review

2.2 The ultra-zoom portion of the digital camera market is taking off as consumers look beyond the standard 3x zoom, and manufacturers continue to up the ante. The Olympus SP-550UZ’s 18x optical zoom surpasses all other compact digital cameras currently on the market. 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 when it becomes available in March.
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Olympus SP-550 UZ Review


Specs Table
Olympus SP-550 UZ Specs
Type Compact  
Price 499.95  
Length 4.60  
Width 3.10  
Height 3.10  
Weight 12.90  
Pixels 7.40 Megapixels 
Effective Pixels 7.10  
Sensor Type 1/2.5 CCD  
Image Size 3072 x 2304  
Aspect Ratio 4:3  
IR Cut Low Pass Filter Yes  
Image Format DCF Exif 2.21 (stills) JPEG (stills) PIM3 (stills) AVI Motion JPEF (video)  
Compression DCF Exif 2.21 (stills) JPEG (stills) PIM3 (stills) AVI Motion JPEF (video)  
Lens 18x optical (14 lenses in 11 groups)  
Lens Mount no  
Compatible Lenses n/a  
Viewfinder Electronic  
Diopter Adjustment Yes  
LCD 2.50  
Auto Focus Type CCD contrast detection  
Focusing Modes iESP, Auto, Spot AF, Selective AF Target, Manual  
Detecting Range Normal Wide: 3.94 in. - infinity; Normal Tele: 47.24 - infinity; Macro Wide: 3.94 in. -infinity; Macro Tele: 47.24 in. - infinity; Super Macro: .39 in - infinity  
Metering Modes Digital ESP multi-pattern TTL, Spot metering, Center-weighted  
Shutter Speed 1.00  
Self Timer 12 sec/2 sec, Auto  
Modes Auto, Program Auto, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, Manual, My Modes, GUIDE, Movie  
Speed Yes  
Burst Yes  
Automatic Modes Portrait, Landscape, Landscape + Portrait, Night Scene, Night + Portrait, Sport, Indoor, Candle, Self-Portrait, Available Light Portrait, Sunset, Fireworks, Cuisine, Documents, Auction, Shoot & Select 1, Shoot & Select 2, Beach, Snow, Underwater Wide 1, U  
Exposure Compensation +/- 2.0 EV in 1/3 steps  
Built in Flash Auto, Red-eye reduction, Fill-in, Fill-in + Red-eye, Slow Sync, Off  
Flash Range Wide: 14.8ft Tele:9.2 ft  
Resolution 3072 x 2304  
Settings High, Normal  
ISO Sensitivity Auto, High ISO Auto, Manual 50-5000  
White Balance iESP2 Auto, One-Touch, Preset (Daylight, Overcast, Tungsten, 3 Fluorescents  
Playback Options single, enlargement, slideshow, rotation, calendar, album, historgram, movie: normal, reverse, fast-forward, frame-by-frame  
Direct Printing Yes  
Video Output Yes  
Software Olympus Master Software  
Battery Power Source AA batteries, AC adaptor  
Zoom Wide 28  
Zoom Tele 504  
Intro Date 2007-01-25  
fstop Max 2.80  
fstop Min 4.50  
Zoom Digi 5.60  
Movie Mode 640 x 480 30fps, 320 x 240 30 fps,640 x 480 15fps, 320 x 240 15 fps  
Storage Type 20 MB internal memory, xD card compatible  
LCD Pixels 230000  
Resolution Maximum 3072 x 2304  
Resolution Minimum 640 x 480  
External Flash 0  
Ratings Raw Weight 
Color 7.59   2.75 
Resolution 6.09   2.5 
Noise Auto ISO 2.52  
Noise Manual ISO 9.30  
Model Design Appearance 8.50   1.25 
Low Light 7.75   2.25 
Size Portability 5.25   1.1 
Handling 8.75   1.5 
Control Button Positioning Size 6.75   0.85 
Front 7.75   0.6 
Back 8.00   0.6 
Left 8.00   0.5 
Right 8.00   0.5 
Top 7.50   0.6 
Menu 6.00   0.95 
Bottom 6.75   0.5 
Auto Mode 6.75   1.5 
Auto Focus 6.50   1.5 
Focus 3.75   1.25 
ISO 9.00   1.25 
White Balance 8.00   1.25 
Exposure 8.00   0.5 
Metering 7.25   1.1 
Shutter Speed 7.50   0.9 
Aperture 7.00   0.9 
Custom Image Presets 6.50   0.75 
Drive Mode 4.50  
Picture Qualit Options 9.00   0.5 
Picture Effects Mode 7.50   0.5 
Playback Mode 7.25   0.9 
Movie Mode 5.50  
Viewfinder 6.75   0.8 
LCD Screen 7.50   1.25 
Flash 7.75   1.25 
Zoom Lens 9.00   1.5 
Memory 3.00   0.5 
Startup 1st Shot 6.60   1.75 
Shot Shot 9.10   1.75 
Shutter Shot 8.90   1.75 
Software 7.00   0.5 
Jacks / Ports / Plugs 7.00   0.4 
Direct Print 6.25   0.65 
Ease of Use 6.25   0.95 
Battery 4.50   0.75 
Other Features 7.00   0.55 
Value 6.50   1.85 
Dynamic Range 5.59   2.5 
Video Performance 3.48   1.75 
Processing Speed 6.50   1.75 
White Balance Performance 7.34   1.8 
Total (weighted)   415.96

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