Picture Quality / Size Options (9.0)
The Olympus SP-560UZ upgrades to 8 megapixels from its predecessor’s 7.1 megapixels. The CCD is slightly larger, too, at 1/2.35 inches instead of 1/2.5 inches. The image size can be changed by following the text link on the initial menu screen. The following resolutions are available:
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RAW (3264 x 2448)
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JPEG Duplicate Setting Off, SHQ, HQ, SQ1, SQ2
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SHQ
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3264 x 2448, 3264 x 2176 (3:2)
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HQ
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3264 x 2448, 3264 x 2176 (3:2)
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SQ1
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2560 x 1920 (High, Normal), 2304 x 1728 (High, Normal), 2048 x 1536 (High, Normal)
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SQ2
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1600 x 1200 (High, Normal), 1280 x 960 (High, Normal), 1024 x 768 (High, Normal), 640 x 480 (High, Normal)
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16:9
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1920 x 1080
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There are plenty of image size options on the Olympus SP-560UZ: everything from RAW to e-mail-sized images. Plenty of formats are here, too, including the standard 4:3, the 4 x 6-inch print-optimized 3:2, and the widescreen television-optimized 16:9.
Unfortunately, the image size is affected by other factors, such as ISO sensitivity and Exposure mode. The manual ISO settings extend to 6400, but anything beyond 1600 automatically shrinks the image size to 3 megapixels. Many of the Scene modes, such as Smile Shot and Available Light, also shrink the image size. Images also shrink in such gimmicky modes as the 15 fps Pre-Capture Burst mode.
If you want to shrink the image, there is a resizing option in the Playback menu that has 640 x 480 and 320 x 240-pixel choices. If you want complete control there is RAW shooting available. The white balance and ISO are the only controls available before shooting in RAW, but there are lots of editing features for RAW images in the Playback menu.
Unfortunately, the Olympus SP-560’s 8 megapixels didn’t prove to be the most effective when tested in our lab. It performs below average – disappointing for such an expensive digital camera touted for hobbyists.
Picture Effects Mode (7.5)
There are a few picture effects in the Shooting modes, but many more available in the Playback mode. In the Recording menu there are +/- 5 scales for adjusting the sharpness, saturation, and contrast.
There are plenty of ways to manipulate the picture in the Edit portion of the Playback mode’s menu. There is a color edit option that shows four previews with different effects: Vivid, Muted, Black and White, and Sepia. Users can choose from 13 frames, 10 labels, eight calendar layouts, and six scrapbook-like layouts to ease the printing and post-production process. The Face Focus effect keeps the center of the image in focus and blurs everything else around it – so hope the face is in the center.
The most visible picture effect is the Perfect Fix function in the initial Playback menu screen. This option corrects red eyes, exposure, or both. I didn’t get to test the red-eye because the flash performs all too well (that’s a good thing, of course), but the lighting fix works very well.
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