Olympus SP-560 UZ

The SP-560UZ updates Olympus’ ultra-zoom series with a higher megapixel count and a few new features. The SP-560UZ has 8 megapixels, up from the older SP-550’s 7.1 megapixels. Both have 18x optical zoom lenses and mechanical sensor-shift image stabilization. One of the biggest differences is the new image processor: the SP-560 has a TruePic Turbo III processor and includes face detection.

Physical Tour

Front (7.75)
The Olympus SP-560 has a very familiar look. The SP-560 is identical to the SP-550 with the molded rubber hand grip, large lens, and neck strap eyelets that poke out from each side. The left side features the rubber hand grip with its curved and comfortable edge. Atop this edge and visible from the front is the shutter release button surrounded by the zoom ring.

On the right side of the SP-560’s front is a large lens with a nice wide cap. To the upper left of the lens is a small auto focus assist lamp. Directly above the lens is the built-in flash unit. To the upper right of the lens is a small shoulder with a chrome grill for the camera’s microphone.

Back (8.0)
The back of the new model is almost the same as the old, with only a new icon or two added to the buttons. The Olympus SP-560UZ has a 2.5-inch LCD screen on the left side with an Olympus logo beneath it. Above the LCD is the electronic viewfinder. To the upper right corner of the LCD is a small button that switches the view from the LCD to the viewfinder and back. Directly above the LCD is an electronic viewfinder with a plastic frame around it. On its left side is a small, round, grooved dioptric adjustment dial. To the left of the LCD is a finger grip that opens the port door on the side. On the upper left shoulder is a chrome neck strap eyelet.

Most of the controls are on the right side of the back. The upper portion of the right side has a comfortable thumb grip. Below it is a cluster of gray buttons with printed white labels. Like the SP-550, the menu and playback/print buttons are at the top. Below these buttons and in the center of the cluster is a multi-selector made of a central OK/Func button and a ring around it. At the top and moving clockwise around the ring, the multi-selector accesses Exposure Compensation, Flash, Self-Timer, and Macro. To the left of the multi-selector is a skinny LED that flashes red when the camera is processing – which is often. The button to the lower left of the selector accesses the Info/Display modes and the button to its right is for the Shadow Compensation/Delete functions. The latter button is the only one that differs from the SP-550. To the right of the cluster of controls is a small finger grip that opens to the memory card slot on the right side.

Left Side (8.0)
This side is very wide, displaying the huge 18x lens barrel. The lens barrel is surrounded by a rubber ring for better handling and a chrome ring for decoration. Behind the barrel is the main portion of the body with the flash unit at the top. Below the flash is a round flash button that opens the unit; this must be done manually. Near the back of this side are a rubber port door and a dioptric adjustment dial on the side of the viewfinder.

Right Side (8.0)
The nearly two-inch-wide hand grip can be seen on this side. The front portion of it is coated with a nicely textured rubber and the back half is molded from a durable plastic. Near the bottom of the back half is a door that opens to reveal the memory card slot. Connecting the two halves is a chrome vertical band with a neck strap eyelet on it. The side of the lens barrel is also visible.

Top (7.75)
The camera’s L-shape is evident from the top. At the top of the “L” is the tip of the lens covered with an included cap. The cap has a tiny loop on it so users can connect it to the neck strap. Behind the cap on the lens are the specs: “Olympus ED Lens, AF Zoom, 4.7-84.2mm 1:2.8-4.5.” Behind the skinny line of text is a rubber strip that surrounds the lens barrel. Hovering above it is the flash unit that manually pops up when the button on the left side is pushed. The electronic viewfinder is a protrusion that looks like an extension on the back of the flash. In between is some more bragging text: “Image Stabilization 18x Optical Zoom.” To the right of the flash/viewfinder unit is a large mode dial that is nicely textured on the sides and thick enough to easily rotate. It has 10 positions on it: Manual, Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority, Program, Auto, Playback, Movie, Guide, Scene, and My Camera. In front of the mode dial is the name badge: “SP-560UZ.” To the upper right of the mode dial and at the top of the hand grip is the shutter release button with its surrounding zoom ring. To the lower right of these controls is a half-moon-shaped button with an image stabilization icon on it and a burst folder icon next to it. Behind the slightly protruding shutter release is a much smaller and recessed power button.

Bottom (6.75)
The bottom of the camera isn’t very exciting. Beneath the hand grip is a battery compartment with a sliding plastic lock on it. In the center of the camera bottom is a metal tripod socket. The enormous lens barrel is on the right half of the SP-560; at the base is a flattened spot that stabilizes it better when it’s resting on a table or other flat surface. On the right side of the bottom are nine holes that make up the speaker grill.

[page title="Testing/Performance"]

Color (5.61)
All cameras reproduce colors differently, such as sky blues, forest greens, or skin tones. Some cameras “boost” colors by oversaturating them, making the colors look brilliant but unnatural, while other cameras undersaturate colors, making them look muted and dull. We test color accuracy by photographing a GretagMacbeth ColorChecker test chart under bright, even studio lights, and comparing the colors the camera reproduces with the known colors of the chart. The ColorChecker contains 24 color tiles that represent colors from all over the color spectrum. The image below shows how the 560UZ’s colors measure up to the real colors of the test chart. The outside squares show the colors the 560UZ reproduces, the inside squares show the actual colors of the chart corrected for exposure, and the inner rectangles show the actual chart colors under a perfectly even exposure. The 560UZ is most accurate when slightly underexposed, which is why the inner rectangles look brighter than the squares.

The most obvious issue with the 560UZ’s color reproduction is that most of the colors look quite dull. Look especially at the reds, yellows, and greens compared to the actual chart colors, and notice how washed-out they appear. Other colors, such as the blues and purples, look different from their ideal counterparts. This information is shown in another way in the graph below. The ideal chart colors are shown as squares on the color spectrum, and the 560UZ colors are shown as circles. The lines connecting the squares and circles show the “drift,” or color error, for each color tile.

The graph reaffirms the blatant undersaturation we saw in the image above. Yellows, reds, and greens are extremely undersaturated, while blues and purples are shifted toward red. These color shifts will make landscapes appear dull and people appear pasty. There is a saturation control option in the camera’s menus, and you may have to use it to breathe some color back into your photos. Overall, the 560UZ scores poorly in color accuracy, surprisingly worse than its predecessor, the 550UZ.

Resolution (5.61)
The Olympus SP-560UZ features 8 megapixels, up from the earlier 7.1-megapixel SP-550UZ. To see how this improves resolution, we photograph an industry standard resolution test chart at varied focal lengths and exposure settings. We run these photos through Imatest, which measures resolution in terms of line widths per picture height (lw/ph), the number of equally spaced, alternating black and white lines that can fit across the picture frame.

Click on the chart above to view the full resolution file

The 560UZ shows its best resolution at ISO 50, f/5.6, and a focal length of 19mm. The camera resolves 1518 lw/ph horizontally with 5.5 percent oversharpening, and 1529 lw/ph vertically with 3.6 percent oversharpening. These numbers are rather disappointing, though the sharpening levels are low enough to prevent much image artifacting. The images stay sharp across the entire frame, but are subject to barrel distortion, which warps images. You can see this barrel distortion by looking at the black line on the bottom of the resolution chart; the line should look straight, but instead it’s bowed. Overall, the 560UZ scores worse in resolution than the fewer-megapixel 550UZ. Don’t get tricked into thinking more megapixels mean better image quality.

Noise – Manual ISO (4.40)
Image noise is an unavoidable nuisance in digital cameras that shows up as grainy patches spread uniformly over photos. Noise becomes more pronounced in dark areas of photos, and whenever the ISO speed is boosted. We measure noise by photographing our test chart under bright, even studio lighting at each ISO speed setting a camera has. We run the photos through Imatest, which measures noise in terms of the percent of image detail it drowns out.

The graph above shows how the 560UZ handles noise throughout its ISO speed range. The camera keeps noise very low at ISO 50 and 100, but then rises to visible levels at ISO 200 and 400. Oddly, noise levels drop at ISO 800, indicating automatic noise reduction. Noise is very high at ISO 1600 and 3200, and the images take on a very ugly and distracting blue cast, which you can clearly see in the still life images further down the page. This disturbing effect is removed by turning Noise Reduction on in the 560UZ’s Camera menu. The blue noise is so ugly it makes you wonder why Olympus didn’t just make this Noise Reduction the default, since the camera is already applying some automatic noise reduction. Overall, the camera scores very poorly in manual noise.

Auto Noise (2.24)
We also photograph the test chart under the same bright, even studio lights as above, but with the camera set to Auto ISO. The 560UZ fires at ISO 125, which is a very reasonable ISO speed for this camera. At ISO 125, the images have very little noise.

White Balance (7.36)
Every light source has a different color cast to it, from bright sunlight to indoor fluorescent light. Cameras must be able to correctly adjust for these different color casts, which is called white balancing. We test white balance accuracy by photographing the ColorChecker test chart under four different types of light: flash, fluorescent, outdoor shade, and tungsten. We test both the Auto white balance setting and the appropriate white balance presets.

Auto (7.33)
The Auto white balance is very accurate using its flash, decent under fluorescent light and outdoor shade, and poor under tungsten. Almost all cameras have poor Auto white balance under tungsten light, however, and these results show that leaving the camera on Auto should be fine for most shooting situations.

Preset (7.38)
Using the white balance presets, the 560UZ is very accurate under white fluorescent light (using the “Fluorescent 3” setting), mediocre under tungsten lights, and poor under outdoor cloudy light. Use the presets when you’re shooting indoors and don’t like the color cast of your photos; otherwise sticking to Auto should be fine.

Still Life Sequences
Click to view high-resolution images.

Still Life Scene
ISO 50	ISO 50
ISO 100	ISO 100
ISO 200	ISO 200
ISO 400	ISO 400
ISO 800	ISO 800
ISO 1600	ISO 1600
ISO 3200	ISO 3200

Low Light (7.45)
We showed you how the 560UZ reproduces color and handles noise in bright light, but how does it perform in less-than-ideal shooting conditions? We test image quality in low light by photographing the ColorChecker test chart at light levels of 60, 30, 15, and 5 lux. Sixty lux is about as bright as a room lit softly by two table lamps, 30 lux approximates a room lit by a single 40-watt bulb, and 15 and 5 lux are very low light that test the limits of the sensor. All shots are taken at ISO 1600.

Low Light Tests
60 Lux	30 Lux
15 Lux	5 Lux

Color accuracy is very poor in low light and even more undersaturated than we saw in bright light. Saturation levels get as low as 65 percent at 5 lux, even though the camera can expose properly. Noise levels are very high at such high ISO speeds, and have that ugly blue cast we described in the Manual Noise section. The 560UZ can expose properly in low light, but the photos don’t look very good.

We also test how well cameras perform in long exposures. The 560UZ can take exposures as long as 15 seconds, and all shots were taken at ISO 400. In these long exposures, color accuracy suffers, though noise levels stay fairly low. However, the camera shows an imaging issue we haven’t seen in a camera for quite some time. Long exposure photos show an emanating blue glow coming from the upper and lower right corners of the photos that increase in size as exposure length is increased. This shows an obvious problem in the camera, and will make it very hard to capture nice photos with shutter speeds longer than 1 second.

Dynamic Range (6.25)
Dynamic range is an important image quality factor that describes how well a camera can discern detail in both bright and dark areas of the same image. Good dynamic range is especially important for scenes with high contrast, such as wedding photos or landscapes in bright sunlight. We test dynamic range by photographing a backlit Stouffer step chart, which consists of a long row of rectangles, each a slightly darker shade of gray varying from brightest white to darkest black. The more rectangles a camera can distinguish, the better its dynamic range.

The 560UZ shows excellent dynamic range at ISO 50 and 100, but decreases at higher ISO speeds. Keep this camera at low ISO speeds whenever possible to utilize the camera’s full potential. This is one of the few image quality areas where the 560UZ surpasses its predecessor, the 550UZ.

Speed/Timing – All speed tests are conducted using an Olympus 256MB xD-Picture Card, with the camera set to SHQ, unless otherwise noted.

Startup-to-Shot (7.0)
The 560UZ takes 3.0 seconds to turn on and fire a shot.

Shot-to-Shot (8.9)
The 560UZ has a slew of Continuous Shooting modes, including the normal Burst mode, HI 1, HI 2, PRE HI 2, and AF. In normal Burst mode, the camera takes 12 shots, each 1.1 seconds after the next. In HI 1 mode, the camera takes approximately 40 SQ1 quality (lower than maximum resolution) shots every 0.2 seconds. In HI 2 mode, it takes 40 SQ2 (even lower resolution) shots every 0.8 seconds. The PRE HI 2 mode is the same as SQ2, except that the first 10 images are recorded before the shutter is even pressed. AF mode autofocus between shots, allowing the camera to take 12 shots 1.8 seconds apart.

Shutter-Shot (9.0)
The camera has no measurable lag when the shutter is held halfway down and prefocused, but a 0.5second lag if not prefocused.
Processing (7.4)
It takes 2.6 seconds for the 560UZ to process one 3 MB SHQ photo taken at ISO 64.

Video Performance (4.46)
Bright Indoor Light – 3000 lux
We record video footage of our video charts under bright studio lights set to 3000 lux to test Movie mode image quality. Color accuracy is excellent under such bright light, even slightly better than in still photographs. Noise stays very low, as well.

Low Light – 30 lux
Color accuracy isn’t nearly as good with the lights dimmed to 30 lux, but noise levels stay quite low, anyway.

Video Resolution
We also record footage of our resolution chart to see what video compression does to resolution performance. The camera resolves 295 lw/ph horizontally with 5.4 percent undersharpening, and 476 lw/ph vertically with 4 percent undersharpening. These values are decent, and don’t introduce extreme image artifacts.

Motion
We take cameras out of the lab to get a look at how they render the motion of moving cars and pedestrians. The 560UZ’s video has nice color and contrast, and avoids the ugly highlight bleeding that has plagued other Olympus Movie modes. However, there is still some exposure “flashing” evident, which happens when the camera tries to adjust metering; it changes the light level very abruptly and awkwardly. The focus also looks a bit soft, and motion has some jerkiness to it when subjects move out of the frame. Overall, the 560UZ has the best video we’ve seen from an Olympus yet, though it still isn’t at the level of other top ultra-zoom cameras, such as the Canon Powershot S5 IS or the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18.

[page title="Components"]

Viewfinder (6.75)
The Olympus SP-560UZ has an electronic viewfinder that protrudes from the back, almost like an extension from the flash in the front. The viewfinder is plastic and there is no cushy eyecup like on Canon’s ultra-zoom digital cameras. The SP-560’s viewfinder doesn’t protrude enough to keep noses off the LCD, either, so expect a bit of grease there (although I must say the LCD does well at repelling grease). Despite the lack of a cushy eyecup, the viewfinder is still nicely shaded and therefore more useful than the LCD in bright lighting.

The view itself is excellent, with proper contrast and a smooth refresh rate. It looks to be about a 60 fps feed, so even very quickly moving subjects appear nice and smooth. If you wear glasses, you can shed them and use the built-in dioptric adjustment, which has 16 steps.

Previewing subjects in the viewfinder is aided by the information and guide lines that can be added. The Info/Disp button can be pushed to add the shooting information, and an option in the Setup menu adds grid and cross lines.

Overall, I preferred the larger LCD screen most of the time simply because of size and convenience, but the electronic viewfinder was the best option in sunny and other bright lighting.

LCD Screen (7.5)
The SP-560UZ has the same LCD screen as its predecessor. It measures 2.5 inches diagonally and is populated with a healthy 230,000 pixels. It has a very wide viewing angle that extends from side to side and even above and below eye-level.

The view can be changed from the viewfinder to the LCD by pushing the button above the upper right corner of the LCD screen. The file information can be hidden with a touch of the info/display button below the multi-selector. The only item that always remains on the screen is the battery indicator in the upper left corner.

The Olympus SP-560UZ has a smooth live feed of about 60 fps, which is about twice as smooth as what most compact digital cameras have. The LCD’s brightness can be adjusted in full steps on a +/- 2 range.

Overall, the SP-560’s LCD screen is one of the best on the market. It is nicely-sized and has excellent resolution. The smooth view and ability to view it in just about any light are nice features, too. 

Flash (7.75)
The flash component is placed directly above the lens, which must be manually opened with a button on its left side. Even in Auto mode, the flash remains tightly clasped shut unless the button is pushed. The LCD or viewfinder displays a reminder if the camera thinks it needs it: a green dot next to a blinking red flash icon.

The flash unit is sturdy and looks just like the one on the SP-550. This is a major improvement over earlier SP-series cameras, which had flimsy flashes that had to be wiggled to snap in and pop out.

Once the flash unit is open, the Flash mode can be changed using the right side of the multi-selector. Available choices are Auto, Red-Eye Reduction, Fill-in, Fill-in + Red-Eye Reduction, Slow Synchro, and Off.

There are more manual controls for the flash, too. Flash compensation has the same third-step +/- 2 range the exposure has. The flash sync can be set to one or two to fire at different times during the exposure. There is also an option to sync with 1-10 slave flash units. The Olympus SP-560 doesn’t have a hot shoe, but can supposedly operate with other flashes.

The SP-560’s flash produced even light when the lens was zoomed wide; in Telephoto mode, the flash looked brighter toward the top of the frame. The flash looks great most of the time. Even with portraits, the subjects’ foreheads didn’t look greasy or otherwise nasty, as sometimes happens with other digital cameras. I didn’t get a single red eye from the pre-production model we checked out a few months ago, and was pleasantly surprised that we got the same result this time. I nearly blinded myself and my subjects in attempting to eek out a red eye – and never got one.

Olympus’ specs state the built-in flash can reach from 0.98 to 21 feet when the ISO is set to 400 and the lens is zoomed out. When the lens is zoomed in and the ISO is set the same, the effective range shrinks to 3.9 to 13.1 feet, which, while still respectable, isn’t as impressive as the wide range. Most cameras publish flash range specs at lower ISO settings, too, so the SP-560’s specs probably sound better than what they really are.

Overall, the sturdy flash unit provides a huge amount of control that enthusiasts will appreciate. The light can be dimmed for sultry portraits or brightened to extend the reach. The flash is actually preferable to bumping up the ISO most of the time; the lighting cast didn’t look horrifically unnatural like on many cameras. It just looked like a little extra light in the frame – as it should. 

Zoom Lens (9.0)
The SP-560’s 18x lens is almost identical to its predecessor’s, but Olympus is making a big deal about it because it’s 1mm wider. Both SP-series models have an incredible 18x optical zoom that gets you up close and personal with your subject in almost any situation. Back-row seats to your daughter’s band concert? No problem, you can still get a shot of her fingers sliding the trombone.

Both lenses measure 4.7-84.2mm, but their 35mm equivalent ranges differ. The older camera has a 28-504mm range, while the new SP-560 sports a wider 27-486mm equivalent. Olympus claims this is the widest lens on an ultra-zoom digital camera on the market.

Like the Olympus SP-550, the SP-560’s lens has much of the same construction. It is built from 14 lenses in 11 groups that sport four aspherical lenses and two ED lenses to minimize distortion. Unfortunately, the specs didn’t translate to results: the images still show significant barrel distortion.

The Olympus SP-560UZ outdoes the competition with its 27mm wide lens. The closest competitors are the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18, with 8.1 megapixels and 28mm 18x optical zoom lens, and the 8.1-megapixel Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H9’s 31mm 15x optical zoom lens. The SP-560 has an impressive 18x optical zoom lens, but then adds the option for up to 5.6x digital zoom, which should generally be avoided to keep the image quality pristine.

The lens has maximum apertures of f/2.8 when zoomed out and f/4.5 when zoomed in. The aperture on the pre-production model we received got stuck in a continuous rhythm of opening and closing, but that problem seems to be fixed on the production model. Kudos to the Olympus engineers.

The lens is backed up by optical image stabilization, which can be turned on and off in the Recording menu or with the half-moon-shaped button beside the shutter release/zoom control. The image stabilization system on the production model worked wonderfully in reducing blur in images; this was especially helpful when photographing without the flash and using the full 18x zoom.

Unfortunately the image stabilization and optical zoom lens don’t function in the Movie mode when the audio is turned on. You can record silent movies with zoom and stabilization, or you can record bumpy movies with sound.

The enormous 18x lens is controlled by a ring that surrounds the shutter release button. The ring has a small nub on the front that can be pushed to the right and left to zoom in or out. The lens zooms smoothly in, stopping at about 35 focal lengths. Zooming out is not smooth at all: the ride is jerky and the lens stops at only 25 focal lengths. When the lens tries to stop at a focal length while zooming out, it backfires and breathes before settling down. The good news is that it takes the camera three seconds to zoom in and the same back out. This feels just right. The little zoom ring doesn’t do justice to the big zoom lens, though: I kept wanting to rotate the rubber ring around the lens instead.

The very edge of the lens is threaded so conversion lenses can be attached. Olympus sells wide and telephoto conversion lenses for its ultra-zoom series cameras. Olympus’ proprietary lens is wide and can still cover the ball field with its massive 18x optical zoom range. 

[page title="Design / Layout"]

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.  

Connectivity
Software (8.0)
The Olympus SP-560UZ comes with the second version of Olympus Master Software. It is compatible with Windows and Macintosh operating systems. It also includes a trial version of Olympus muvee theaterPack, but only on Windows.

The program takes about 10 minutes to install and load existing pictures from the computer; this figure probably depends on the quality of the computer and how many pictures it is loading, though.

The second version of the Olympus Master software is exponentially better than its previous version. It has a much more intuitive layout and is more visually pleasing – something important to photographers, of course. It is also easier to use. When it starts up, a Quick Start guide appears and explains how to perform certain functions like browsing and printing.

Along the top of the window are plenty of access points: Transfer, Slide Show, E-mail, Print Menu, Edit, RAW, Panorama, Option, Update/Language, Quick Guide, and Help are arranged from left to right. There are organizational features along the left side of the window.

There are a decent number of editing options. It is still not as elaborate as Photoshop, but it is easier to use for the majority of point-and-shooters. From the Edit button, users can resize, crop, insert text, adjust the brightness & contrast, color balance, tone curve, gamma, auto tone correction, hue & saturation, monochrome & sepia, sharpness & blur, distortion correction, and red-eye reduction, as well as crop.

All in all, the included software with the Olympus SP-560UZ is above average compared to what is normally supplied with compact digital cameras. 

Jacks, ports, plugs (7.0)
On the left side of the camera is a rubber door that can be pried open. Beneath it are two ports: one for the DC in power adapter and the other for the USB/AV cables.

Direct Print Options (6.25)
Olympus included lots of picture effects in the Playback menu so users can print all kinds of projects directly from the camera: calendars, scrapbook pages, greeting cards, and of course good old-fashioned pictures. Printing is done through the Playback menu, where print orders can be created in the Print Order link from the initial menu screen. When this is pushed, users can scroll through and select pictures and choose to print 0-10 copies. If you want to print one of everything, there is an option to do that, too. Users can also choose to attach the date, time, or both. There is a playback button on the back of the camera with a print icon on it; this transfers the print order to the printer when the USB cable is connected.

Battery (4.5)
The Olympus SP-560UZ is powered by four AA batteries that fit into a compartment below the hand grip. The compartment is secured by a plastic door with a sliding lock on it. Once the door is closed, it won’t fly open. However, cramming it closed is tough because the batteries seem to want to spring out. There is a green battery life indicator on the LCD screen that shows only two levels; it would have been more helpful to have at least three levels so there is a little more warning before the batteries die.

Memory (3.0)
The Olympus SP-560 comes with 47 MB of internal memory, which is currently the most offered in any ultra-zoom digital camera. The camera has a plastic door on the right side that opens to a slot that fits xD-Picture cards. This type of media is generally used only on Olympus and Fujifilm digital cameras, as opposed to the more widely-used SD media. Unfortunately, the SP-560 can support cards only up to 2 GB, which will go quickly when shooting RAW images and recording clips. 

Other features (7.0)
Panorama – The SP-560 is just like other Olympus digital cameras. The Panorama mode provides guide lines, but not even a translucent sliver of a previously taken image like on most digital cameras. The pictures don’t stitch together in the camera, either; they must be loaded into software to do that. This feature can take up to 10 pictures and requires an Olympus-branded xD-Picture card to function.

Time Lapse – If you are into shooting butterflies hatching or buildings being built, the Olympus SP-560 has a built-in time lapse photography feature. It can take 2-99 pictures at intervals of 1-99 minutes.

Alarm Clock – The alarm clock can be turned on and off in the Setup menu. It can be set to go off once or every day. A snooze option can be turned on and off and users have a choice between three equally annoying alarm sounds. The volume has three levels of adjustment, too.

Guide Mode – This is located on the mode dial and walks beginners through basic photography lessons. There is a long list of common problems covered, such as brightening subjects and choosing Scene modes.

[page title="Overall Impressions"]

Value (6.5)
The revamped Olympus SP-560UZ will retail for $499, the same introductory price as the SP-550. This price is expected as the old model is, well, old. And the new model isn’t very different than the old one. Sure, it adds face detection and an ever-so-slightly wider lens, but that doesn’t justify any major price hike. As for value, $499 is at the high end of what most consumers want to pay for a non-DSLR camera. The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H9 has a 15x optical zoom lens and costs $479. The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18 has an 18x optical zoom lens and retails for $399. Overall, the SP-560 is expensive and probably won’t be on clearance any time soon.

Comparisons
Olympus SP-550UZ – The Olympus SP-550 has the exact same looks and handling, but with only 7.1 megapixels. It has many of the same exposure modes with the exception of two Scene modes, Quick Shutter and Smile, omitted on the older model. The SP-550 doesn’t have face detection, as it has an older image processor. Its ISO range tops out at 5000, as compared to the SP-560’s ISO 6400. Both cameras still max out at ISO 1600 in full resolution, though; anything higher shrinks the image size to 3 megapixels. Both cameras have an 18x optical zoom lens with image stabilization, but the SP-550’s is 1mm narrower. That isn’t a huge deal, but Olympus seems to be making it so. The two cameras have the same flash and LCD components and retail for $499, although now that the newer model is out the Olympus SP-550 will probably be marked down.

Canon PowerShot S5 IS – Going for the same $499 retail price, the Canon S5 comes with 8 megapixels but a much shorter 12x optical zoom lens. Canon’s S-series is known for its hybrid abilities: the S5’s lens is fully functional in Movie mode. The image stabilization keeps videos looking smooth, stereo audio sounds great, and features like selectable audio sampling rates and a wind filter give the S5 the edge when it comes to movies. It takes great pictures, too, and includes a full set of manual and automated exposure modes. The Canon S5 has a 2.5-inch LCD monitor that folds out from the camera and rotates. Unfortunately, its resolution isn’t as good, with only 207,000 pixels. It tested decently with very accurate colors and excellent low light performance, but produces a lot of noise and isn’t a star performer when it comes to dynamic range.

Fujifilm FinePix S8000fd – With a similar SLR shape and design, the S8000fd comes to the market with 8 megapixels and a familiar 18x optical zoom lens. It has the same wide 27mm focal length as the SP-560 and also packs optical image stabilization. This FinePix also has a similar 2.5-inch LCD screen with 230,000 pixels. It has plenty of manual controls, including an ISO range that reaches 1600 at full resolution. The S8000fd’s face detection system is fast and can recognize up to 10 faces at a time, and even has an automatic red-eye removal feature that syncs with the system. This ultra-zoom digital camera retails for $399.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18 – The 8.1-megapixel FZ18 shares much in common with the Olympus, including an 18x optical zoom lens. The FZ18’s lens is 1mm narrower, but reaches farther with its 28-504mm focal range. The lens is backed up with optical image stabilization. Like the Olympus, the FZ18 has full manual controls and plenty of features, including RAW file shooting. It has a faster 3 fps Burst mode for full-resolution pictures and is overall one of the best cameras we’ve tested in our imaging lab. It produces excellent resolution, accurate colors, low noise, excellent dynamic range, and is even a star in low light. The FZ18 has the same 2.5-inch LCD screen but a lower 207,000-pixel resolution. That’s about the only compromise consumers would need to make with this camera: it sells for much less at $399.

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H9 – There’s a little less zoom but many more features found on this camera. The 8.1-megapixel Sony H9 has a narrower 15x optical zoom lens with optical image stabilization that is fully functional whether snapping pictures or shooting videos. It is loaded with trendy features like face detection, high definition output capability, infrared photography, and a 3-inch LCD monitor that folds out from the camera and tilts up and down. Full manual controls are on the docket, including ISO settings that range from 64 to 3200. The 9-point autofocus system is also a nice touch. The H9 accepts up to 8 GB of Sony Memory Stick Duo or Duo Pro media. It costs $479.

Focal Length: 46.7mm Aperture: f/4.5 Shutter: 1/1000 ISO: 200	Focal Length: 16.8mm Aperture: f/5.6 Shutter: 1/320  ISO: 50
Focal Length: 44.3mm Aperture: f/8 Shutter: 1/1600 ISO: 1600	Focal Length: 9.8mm Aperture: f/5.6 Shutter: 1/160 ISO:  50
Focal Length: 4.7mm Aperture: f/2.8 Shutter: 1/1000 ISO: 200	Focal Length: 84.2mm Aperture: f/4.5 Shutter: 1/1000 ISO: 1600
Focal Length: 10.7mm Aperture: f/3.6 Shutter: 1/1000 ISO: 200	Focal Length: 8.6mm Aperture: f/3.4  Shutter:1/80 ISO: 3200

[page title="Photo Gallery" url="Olympus-SP-560UZ-Photo-Gallery"]

[page title="Specs / Ratings"]

Specs Table

Olympus SP-560 UZ Specs
Type	Ultra-Zoom
Price	499.00
Length	4.60
Width	3.10
Height	3.10
Weight	12.90
Pixels	8.00 Megapixels
Effective Pixels	8.00
Sensor Type	1/2.35 inch CCD
Image Size	3,264 x 2,448
Aspect Ratio	3:2, 16:9
IR Cut Low Pass Filter	Yes
Image Format	JPEG (stills)
Compression	JPEG (stills)
Lens Mount	no
Compatible Lenses	n/a
Viewfinder	EVF
Diopter Adjustment	yes
LCD	2.5 inch
Focusing Modes	iESP Auto, Spot AF, Face Detection AF, Full-Time AF, Selective AF Target, AF Lock, Predictive AF, Manual
Shutter Speed	8.00
Self Timer	12 sec
Modes	Auto, Program Auto, Apeture Priority, Shutter Priority, Manual, My Mode, Sensor-Shift Image Stabilization, Scene Modes, Movie
Speed	Yes
Burst	Yes
Automatic Modes	Portrait, Landscape, Landscape +Portrait, Sport, Night Scene, Night +Portrait, Indoor, Candle, Self Portrait, Available Light Portrait, Sunset, Fireworks, Cusine, Behind Glass, Documents, Auction, Shoot & Select1, Shoot & Select2, Beach, Snow, Smile Shot
Resolution	3,264 x 2,448
ISO Sensitivity	Auto, High Auto, 50, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, 6400
White Balance	iESP 2 Auto, One-Touch, Daylight, Overcast, Tungsten, and 3 Fluorescents, White Balance Compensation
Direct Printing	Yes
Video Output	Yes
Battery Power Source	AA Batteries
Zoom Wide	27
Zoom Tele	486
fstop Max	2.80
fstop Min	4.50
Zoom Digi	5.60
LCD Pixels	230000
Resolution Maximum	3264 x 2448
Resolution Minimum	640 x 480

Ratings	Raw	Weight
Color	5.61	2.75
Resolution	5.61	2.5
Noise Auto ISO	2.24	2
Noise Manual ISO	4.40	3
Model Design Appearance	8.50	1.25
Low Light	7.45	2.25
Size Portability	5.25	1.1
Handling	6.75	1.5
Control Button Positioning Size	6.75	0.85
Front	7.75	0.6
Back	8.00	0.6
Left	8.00	0.5
Right	8.00	0.5
Top	7.75	0.6
Menu	6.00	0.95
Bottom	6.75	0.5
Auto Mode	6.75	1.5
Auto Focus	7.75	1.5
Focus	3.75	1.25
ISO	9.00	1.25
White Balance	8.00	1.25
Exposure	8.00	0.5
Metering	8.50	1.1
Shutter Speed	7.50	0.9
Aperture	7.00	0.9
Custom Image Presets	7.00	0.75
Drive Mode	4.50	1
Picture Qualit Options	9.00	0.5
Picture Effects Mode	7.50	0.5
Playback Mode	7.25	0.9
Movie Mode	6.75	1
Viewfinder	6.75	0.8
LCD Screen	7.50	1.25
Flash	7.75	1.25
Zoom Lens	9.00	1.5
Memory	3.00	0.5
Startup 1st Shot	7.00	1.75
Shot Shot	8.90	1.75
Shutter Shot	9.00	1.75
Software	8.00	0.5
Jacks / Ports / Plugs	7.00	0.4
Direct Print	6.25	0.65
Ease of Use	6.25	0.95
Battery	4.50	0.75
Other Features	7.00	0.55
Value	6.50	1.85
Dynamic Range	6.25	2.5
Video Performance	4.46	1.75
Processing Speed	7.40	1.75
White Balance Performance	7.36	1.8
Total (weighted)		401.41