Olympus SP-565 UZ Digital Camera First Impressions Review - Olympus Point and Shoot and Non-DSLR

Viewfinder
The Olympus SP-565 UZ employs an electronic viewfinder, the better to accurately display the 20x zoom view. You switch the display mode between the LCD and viewfinder with the |O| button, which is above the top right corner of the screen. In this picture you can see the edge of the diopter adjustment control, which rests against the left side of the viewfinder.

We weren't particularly impressed with the quality of the viewfinder's screen. Olympus doesn't specify its resolution, but it looked a bit pixelated to us.

The viewfinder has worse video quality than the LCD.

LCD Screen
The SP-565 UZ's screen measures 2.5 inches diagonally, with a 230,000-dot resolution. You can adjust the brightness slightly, with five available settings. Compared to most point-and-shoots, this screen is unimpressive. We did notice the image updated fairly quickly, however, with minimal lag and blurring.

The 2.5-inch screen is adequate, but nothing to brag about.

Flash
The SP-565 UZ has a pop-up flash, effectively moving the unit away from the lens and minimizing the chance of red-eye. The camera also supports a wireless flash.

The pop-up flash position will keep red-eye problems to a minimum.

Lens
The lens has a focal range of 4.6mm - 92 mm (26 – 520 mm equivalent in 35mm). It has a 20x optical zoom, which is huge for a point-and-shoot (it also has 5x digital zoom, but digital zoom is near useless). The aperture range is f/2.8 to f/4.5.

If you're curious what the hardware is behind these specs, allow us to enlighten you. The SP-565 UZ has 14 lenses in 11 groups, 4 aspherical lenses, and 2 ED lenses.

If lenses keep moving in this direction, you'll soon be able to
take photos of distant relatives while they're still distant.

Connections
The SP-565 UZ has two ports on its left side: a power-in jack for an optional accessory AC power adapter and a proprietary USB connector.

The edges of the panel that covers
this recess stick out a little, which
felt uncomfortable..

Battery
The camera runs on 4 AA batteries. That's good in one sense: it's easy to find AA batteries wherever you wander. On the flip side, you have to spend extra, either on disposable batteries or your own set of rechargeables.

Memory
The SP-565 UZ suffers from memory problems. It has a meager 48MB of internal memory and the ability to accept xD-Picture Cards. Unfortunately xD memory hasn't kept up with SD or CompactFlash, either in cost per megabyte or total avaiable capacity. The largest SD cards today hold 32 gigabytes. The largest xD cards hold a modest 2 gigabytes.

This is where you'll put your xD memory card.

Other Features
Adding a calendar to your picture - This option lets you drop a calendar onto a photograph. Later on you can print this out and keep it on your desk, letting you keep track of the days and admire your own photographic handiwork simultaneously.

Expression edit - This tool works a lot like the liquify tool in Photoshop. If someone isn't smiling (and he or she has the largest front-facing non-smile in the picture), you can use this tool to automatically upturn corners of their lips. All you do is activate the feature, so there's no controlling the outcome.

Pre-capture mode - Before taking a picture or a movie, this feature will maintain a pre-capture buffer of either 10 stills or 2 seconds of video, ensuring you won't miss a shot if you happen to be slow on the shutter button.

Physical Tour	Page 3 of 8		Design / Layout
Olympus SP-565 UZ Digital Camera First Impressions Review Navigation
Intro	Physical Tour	Components	Design / Layout
Modes	Control Options	Conclusion	Specs / Ratings

Olympus SP-565 UZ

Digital Camera Review