Model Design / Appearance (8.5)
Olympus went with a tried and true design. They certainly didn’t tweak anything in this area. The SP-560 looks exactly like the SP-550, with a few icon changes on buttons and a new name badge on the front.
This design works well for this ultra-zoom camera. It is compact yet still has a comfortable rubber hand and thumb grip. Olympus combines a variety of textures, such as suede-like rubber, tough plastic, and slippery chrome, to make a cool digital camera. It isn’t a very sexy camera; not many (or any) ultra-zooms are. But it looks serious and is comfortable to hold at the same time.
Size / Portability (5.25)
The SP-560 has the same look as its predecessor, and even the same measurements. It measures 4.6 x 3.1 x 3.1 inches, the same as the SP-550. It weighs the same too, at 12.9 ounces unloaded. The camera feels heavy for its size. It requires four AA batteries, which add a lot of heft. On its sides are tiny neck strap eyelets, but they hang slightly off-kilter, so hanging it around your neck may be a little uncomfortable. The Olympus SP-560 is an ultra-zoom digital camera, so it’s chunkier than most compact cameras but is still small enough to carry around without needing a Sherpa. It will fit just fine in a tote or book bag, but should probably be in a fitted camera bag to protect its fine 18x optical zoom lens.
Handling Ability (8.75)
Olympus kept handling in mind when designing this camera. The ultra-zoom SP-560 has a wide lens barrel that the left hand supports while the right hand grabs the curvaceous and rubber-coated right side. The front of the hand grip has a marked divot fingers can comfortably wrap around. Meanwhile, the right thumb supports the back with a protruding rubber pad. All the camera’s buttons are correctly positioned so they can be accessed by the thumb or index finger. The overall handling of the SP-560 is fabulous; you’ll never want to hold a boxy point-and-shoot again.
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Control Button / Dial Positioning / Size (6.75)
Although the SP-560 is shaped like an SLR, its controls are more reminiscent of compact digital cameras. There aren’t as many dedicated buttons, and some of the included buttons have cheap printed icons that look like they’ll rub off after a few photo shoots.
At the top of the hand grip is the shutter release button, slightly recessed in a bowl-like zoom control ring. The ring looks domed from the side but has a carved out spot at the top for the big shiny shutter release button. The zoom ring has a relatively large nub on its front so it can easily be pushed right and left to move the lens. This control isn’t bad, but still doesn’t seem to do the 18x optical zoom lens justice. The lens is just so big that I find myself wanting to rotate the rubber ring around the barrel!
The mode dial is also atop the camera and is nicely sized and labeled. It is quite tall and has a nicely grooved edge that makes it really easy to rotate.
On the back of the camera are those compact camera-like buttons. There is a circular multi-selector flanked by two buttons above and below it. All the buttons have printed white icons on the gray-colored background. The round multi-selector has a chrome ring around it that is mostly decorative but is part of the control and can be pushed.
Overall, the controls are easy to find and activate. They are all properly labeled and within easy reach. The multi-selector is a bit crammed with the surrounding buttons so users need to take care when pressing around down there.
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Menu (6.0)
The SP-560 has the same type of menu included on other Olympus digital cameras. When the menu button is pushed, a dark screen appears with randomly placed text that can be selected to access different options and menus. The font is readable, but in all capital letters, and sometimes unfamiliar icons are used in place of text.
First we will have a look at the Function menu, which is found only in the Manual modes by pushing the button in the middle of the multi-selector.
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White Balance
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Auto, One-touch, Daylight, Overcast, Tungsten, Fluorescent 1, Fluorescent 2, Fluorescent 3
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ISO
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Auto, High ISO Auto, 50, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, 6400
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Drive
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Single, Continuous, Hi-Speed 1, Hi-Speed 2, Hi-Speed 2 Pre-capture, AF Continuous, Bracketing
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Metering
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ESP, Spot, Center-Weighted Average
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This button is preferable to the main Recording menu because it provides large live previews. The Recording menu has its place, though; it includes many more features to choose from.
When the menu button is pushed, the screen appears with a dark background and white text. It looks like the randomly placed menus on other Olympus digital cameras. In the center is the Camera menu. Above it is the Image Quality option. To the right is a link to the Setup menu. To the lower right is a Silent mode and directly below accesses Scene mode. To the left of the center is a Reset link. The following is the Camera menu.
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White Balance
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Auto, Preset (Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent 1, Fluorescent 2, Fluorescent 3), Custom
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ISO
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Auto, High ISO Auto, 50, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, 6400
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Drive
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Single, Continuous, Hi-Speed 1, Hi-Speed 2, AF Continuous, Bracketing
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Fine Zoom
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Off, On
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Digital Zoom
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Off, On
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Metering
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ESP, Spot, Center-weighted Average
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AF Mode
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Face Detect, iESP, Spot, Area
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Focus Mode
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AF, MF
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Full-time AF
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Off, On
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AF Predict
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Off, On
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AF Illuminator
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Off, On
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Image Stabilizer
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Off, On
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Flash Compensation
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-1, -1.7, -1.3, -1, -0.7, -0.3, 0, +0.3, +0.7, +1, +1.3, +1.7, +2
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Flash Sync
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Sync 1, Sync 2
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Slave Flash
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In, Slave (1-10)
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Audio
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Off, On
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Panorama
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Shows grid lines to align shots
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White Balance Compensation
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+7 to blue, -7 to red
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Sharpness
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+/- 5 in whole steps
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Contrast
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+/- 5 in whole steps
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Saturation
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+/- 5 in whole steps
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Noise Reduction
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Off, On
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Time Lapse
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Off, On (Pictures 2-99, Interval 1-99 Minutes)
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Conversion Lens
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Off, On
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There are five tabs on the left side of this lengthy Recording menu, but no icons, so unless you remember that Image Stabilizer is under submenu three, you’ll have to flip through the whole thing. The background of the menu is dark, so there aren’t many live previews. There is a preview for the white balance, but it’s hard to see, so this setting is much more user-friendly from the Function menu.
The Setup menu is available from the initial menu screen and includes the same options found on the Olympus SP-550.
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Format
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Yes, No
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Backup
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Yes, No
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Language
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English, French, Spanish, Portuguese
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Power On Setup
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Screen (Off, 1, 2, select own startup image), Sound (Off, 1, 2)
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Beep
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Off, 1 (Low, High), 2 (Low, High)
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Playback Volume
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Off, Low, High
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Shutter Sound
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Off, 1 (Low, High), 2 (Low, High)
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Volume
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0-6
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Recording View
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Off, On (LCD Only, Current)
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Menu Display
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LCD Only, Current
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File Name
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Reset, Auto
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Pixel Mapping
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Start
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LCD Brightness
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+/- 2 in full steps
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Date & Time
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Set date and time
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Dual Time
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Off, On (set date and time)
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Alarm Clock
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Off, One Time (Time, Snooze off and on, Alarm Clock with sounds 1-3 and three levels of volume), Daily (Time, Snooze off and on, Alarm Clock with sounds 1-3 and three levels of volume)
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Video Out
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NTSC, PAL
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Frame Assist
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Off, Grid Lines, Cross Lines
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Histogram
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Off, On, Direct
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My Mode Setup
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Current, Reset, Custom all with My Mode 1-4 options
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m/ft
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M, Ft
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Custom Button
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Image Stabilizer, AE Lock, AF Lock, AF Lock + AE Lock, Image Quality, Fine Zoom, Digital Zoom, AF Mode, Focus Mode, Full-time AF, AF Predict, Flash Sync, Slave Flash, Audio, Noise Reduction
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Admittedly, I am not a fan of this menu style. The capital letters remind me of spastic e-mails that predict my certain death if I don’t forward it along to at least 10 friends. The initial screen is a bit confusing; when I push a menu button, I expect a list to appear rather than randomly placed text. And the length of the menus combined with the numerical organization doesn’t help me find menu items any faster than just flipping through the entire list.
Ease of Use (6.25)
The SP-560 can be easy to use but won’t be interesting unless you dig into the more intricate menus and features. Sure, my technologically naïve great aunt could pick this up and find the Auto mode just fine. She could probably even take a picture with the enormous shutter release button intuitively placed. But if you ask her about shadow adjustment or even the Burst mode, she’d probably give a strange look. The lengthy menus would be far beyond her reach. To really use all the SP-560 has to offer, you need to delve into the menus and features – which aren’t easy to use.
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