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Auto Mode (6.75)
The Olympus SP-560’s Auto mode is easily found on the mode dial. It does what it supposed to: automates everything. Well, almost everything. It doesn’t automatically pop up the flash unit when needed. The flash must be manually opened, even in the Auto mode. There is a reminder; a green dot next to a flashing red flash icon appears on the monitor on in the viewfinder. In the Auto mode, users can still change the image quality and enter the Setup menu, but there is no access to the Recording menu at all. The functions on the multi-selector still work too: Macro, Self-Timer, and Exposure Compensation.
Movie Mode (6.75)
The Movie mode is easy to find on the mode dial and is fairly easy to use. It truncates the menus, but many options are still available. The white balance and metering are still fully accessible in the Function menu. The following Motion JPEG video sizes are available: 640 x 480 at 30 fps, 320 x 240 at 15 fps, and 160 x 120 at 15 fps. Most cameras have a 30 fps option for the 320 x 240-pixel size too, but Olympus seems to have skipped that. Other options available in the Movie mode include exposure compensation, macro, self-timer, and even shadow adjustment.
The pre-production model’s Movie mode wasn’t functioning, but the final model is working just fine. There are some pros and cons, but we’ll start with the good stuff. The Olympus SP-560UZ has excellent color reproduction in movies – even better than in still images. Noise also remains low, making the video from this camera the best we’ve seen from an Olympus digital camera in awhile.
The Movie mode is still far from perfect, though. The most annoying quality is that the 18x optical zoom lens and its image stabilization system only work when the audio is turned off, so users are forced to choose whether they want to zoom in on their subjects or hear them. You can’t have it all with the SP-560. But this is an ultra-zoom digital camera; you should be able to use the zoom at all times, without having to sacrifice audio or anything else. Another downside to the Movie mode is its soft focus and finicky metering system that flashes as light and dark subjects move across the frame. There are more details in the Testing/Performance section.
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