Olympus SP-590UZ
Digital Camera Review
Sep 04, 2009
- By Tim Barribeau
3.9
The $450 Olympus SP-590UZ has the biggest zoom in town, a whopping 26x lens, but lacks the performance or features to distance it from the competition.
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On the surface, the Olympus looks like a substantially better camera than the Canon. For $150 less, you get 26x zoom over 20x, 12-megapixels instead of 10, and a wider wide-angle. However, the Canon outdid the Olympus in just about every section of our review. The most notable improvements were the substantially better image stabilization, faster full resolution burst rate, and the mammoth improvements of HD video over standard definition. In performance testing, the Canon trounced the Olympus, to put it mildly.
Additionally, the SX1 just feels better in the hand. It's more substantial, a touch heavier, and is designed to be easily gripped by two hands, which the 590UZ make difficult. It also records stereo sound, has a fully articulated LCD (which is great for shooting from awkward angles), a significantly higher maximum shutter speed, and more color modes. If you can afford the extra $150, the Canon is a superior camera in just about every measurable way. While you might miss a few notches on the zoom, you'll probably not notice the difference, and the performance and feature gap is well worth it.
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Comparison Scores |
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Olympus SP-590UZ |
Canon PowerShot
SX1 IS |
| Price |
$449.99 |
$599.99 |
| Color |
12.58 |
14.44 |
| Noise |
7.52 |
8.74 |
| Resolution |
9.96 |
9.67 |
| Image Stabilization |
0.00 |
18.73 |
| Shot to Shot |
1.00 |
5.65 |
| Video Color |
7.42 |
10.93 |
| Video Sharpness |
0.86 |
6.02 |
