Digital Camera Review

First Impressions Review

Jan 25, 2007 - By Emily Raymond
Olympus updated its ultra-zoom line with a new flagship, the Olympus SP-550UZ. This digital camera comes with the most zoom available on any compact digital camera to date, providing a massive 18x of optical zooming power. The camera also comes with image stabilization, which is a necessity when dealing with a 28-504mm (equivalent) focal range. However, the 7.1-megapixel SP-550 can still fit in the palm of a hand. It has total manual control, a variety of scene modes, and one of the best-looking housings created by Olympus. It will sell for $499 in March.
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Auto Mode
The auto mode is easily found on the mode dial; it is easy to use too. The menus are disabled and only a handful of features can still be accessed: flash, macro, and self-timer. This is by far the easiest mode to use on the SP-550.

Movie Mode
The Olympus SP-550’s movie mode looks quite good. It is also easily found on the mode dial. It records quality video at 640 x 480 and 320 x 240 pixels, and the frame rate is selectable to 30 or 15 fps. Movies can be recorded up to the capacity of the memory card that Olympus states is up to 2 GB in this camera. At top quality, that’s about 15 minutes.

There are more options than usual in the movie mode. The white balance and metering can be adjusted, which is nice. The 18x optical zoom is available too, which is great. And of course, the imperative optical image stabilization system is on call too. There is a noticeable difference when the stabilization is turned on and off, so it is effective. With 18x though, the Olympus SP-550’s movies are still a little bumpy when the full zoom is used.

There is a slight delay when users push the shutter button, so the movie doesn’t start recording as fast as it ought to. Several times, I pushed the button and thought I hadn’t pushed it hard enough because nothing was happening, so I’d push it again. Then the camera would catch up all at once and record a one-second movie. That’s frustrating.

Videos can be played back within the camera with audio, although the volume can’t be adjusted while watching. The SP-550UZ can’t divide video files, but it has an “edit” function that pulls still frames and can create index prints. On a computer, the AVI movies can be played back using Windows Media Player. Overall, movies look good on the Olympus SP-550UZ.

Drive / Burst Mode
The Olympus SP-550UZ has several drive modes available including one Olympus claims can shoot 15 frames a second. Sound too good to be true? It is. This is the High-Speed Continuous 2 mode that shoots at this fast rate but at an incredibly small image size of 1.2 megapixels. The High Speed 1 mode isn’t much better. It shoots at half the speed and with more than twice the resolution. The standard Continuous burst mode on this digital camera snaps 1.2 fps at full resolution. Olympus’ specs claim that it will snap 7 pictures at a time, but the pre-production model we toyed with only snapped 3 at a time. The trade-offs and slow burst at full resolution is disappointing for an SLR-like camera that costs just a touch under $500, although it does offer an impressive selection of settings. 

But wait, there’s more. The SP-550 has an AF Continuous burst mode that refocuses after each image; it isn’t very fast at all, perhaps even slower than the standard burst mode. Topping off the menu is an exposure bracketing mode that snaps 3 or 5 pictures in exposure value increments of 0.3, 0.7, or 1.

Of note in the camera menu is the Time Lapse option that can be set to take from 2-99 photographs at intervals of 1-99 minutes. There is also a self-timer that delays for 2 or 12 seconds and is activated by pushing the bottom of the multi-selector.

Playback Mode
The playback mode can be accessed 2 ways: with the button on the back or the position on the mode dial. It’s a bit confusing to find the playback mode in two places. Users who go through the button can easily return to shooting by pushing the shutter release button down, while those who use the mode dial will need to rotate it before snapping any pictures. The playback mode offers the following initial menu screen: Playback Menu is in the center, Edit is at the top (moving clockwise now), Print Order, Setup, Silent Mode, Erase, Index, Calendar, and Slide Show. The following is the playback menu.

Protect
Off, On
Rotate
+90, 0, -90
Voice Memo
Yes, Cancel

The Edit menu is much more extensive with its three tabs on the left side.

Raw Data Edit
Image Quality, White Balance, White Balance Compensation, Sharpness, Contrast, Saturation
Resize
640 x 480, 320 x 240
Crop
OK, Cancel
Red-Eye Fix
OK, Cancel
Black & White
OK, Cancel
Sepia
OK, Cancel
Frame
White rectangular invite, Suitcase cutout, Yellow and pink polka dots, Heart cutout, Frame on clock, Mail frame, Circle on blue, Pink lace, Vertical heart, White rectangle, Sixties icon, Wedding invite, Angel wings
Label
Congratulations, Thank You, Happy Birthday, Good Luck, Happy New Year, Happy Holidays, Best Wishes, Missing You, Love, Smile
Calendar
(8 layouts to choose from)
Layout
(6 layouts to choose from)
Brightness
+/- 5 in full steps
Saturation
+/- 5 in full steps

The Olympus SP-550 does have RAW editing in the camera, which is interesting. Its options aren’t as expansive as an editing software program’s choices, but they’re better than nothing.

The frames and labels may seem a bit gimmicky, but they are handy for making quick family holiday cards and such. Frames are easy to pick out, and the text can change size, color, and orientation.

Movies can be played back on the Olympus SP-550UZ, but its editing options are very limited. The files can’t be divided, but users can pull still images and create index prints of them.

One of the biggest drawbacks of the playback mode is the delay that occurs when entering or navigating through the images. There is also a blinking red LED on the back of the camera that blinks at an alarming rate when the camera is "thinking."
Design / Layout Page 5 of 11 Control Options
Olympus SP-550UZ First Impressions Review Navigation
 
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