Olympus SP-560 UZ

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.

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.

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.