Olympus SP-590UZ

Resolution (9.96)

In our three-pronged resolution testing (sharpness, distortion and chromatic aberration), the Olympus had some good results and some poor ones. This test involves shooting along various points along the rather substantial zoom range of the lens.

Of this batch of ultrazooms, only the Sony performed well in this test, as the rest struggled with distortion and chromatic aberration. The Olympus managed to pick up a few points due to a good sharpness performance, but compared to cameras with smaller zooms, these four haven’t done particularly well. More on how we test resolution.

Distortion (4.67)

Distortion is one of the areas where the 590UZ didn’t perform very well. At the widest setting (equivalent to 26mm), the camera had a whopping 3.4% barreling, more than any of the other cameras we compared it to. At the mid and tele end of the zoom, it stayed around 1% of pincushioning, which is significantly better but still a touch on the high side.

Sharpness (14.34)

While the Olympus stumbled in our distortion test, it scored a bit better for sharpness. Unsurprisingly, the camera produced the sharpest possible images at the smallest zoom, with sharpness decreasing with higher magnification. Across the three focal lengths we analyzed, there was a uniform pattern of the image being sharpest at the center of the lens, getting softer moving outwards, then improving again at the edges.

Chromatic Aberration (6.94)

Chromatic aberration is a sore spot for ultrazoom cameras, as at their maximum zoom the color fringing can be significant. As with sharpness, the chromatic aberration was at its best at the short end of the zoom, and then progressively worsened. Likewise, it was at its lowest at the center of the lens, then worsened outwards before improving at the corners.

Quality & Size Options (8.00)

A wide variety of sizes is available, which can all be set to either Fine or Normal quality. Unfortunately for those who love post-processing, there’s no RAW option.

Image Stabilization (0.00)

Under our stabilization test conditions, the Olympus system had no distinguishable effect. We look at how well the IS system can cope with 1/30 of a second exposures, about what you’d encounter shooting handheld indoors. The 590UZ fell short, failing to offer any improvement when the system was turned on.

The crops below show crops from our resolution testing, with stabilization turned on and off for multiple cameras. More on how we test image stabilization.

Stabilization Comparisons
Olympus SP-590UZ	Canon SX1 IS	Nikon P90	Sony DSC-HX1
Stabilization Off
Stabilization On