First announced in late January, the SP-550UZ comes with a dreamy set of features: 18x optical zoom with 28mm wide-angle lens, dual image stabilization and maximum ISO 5,000 at 3-megapixel resolution--all that in a compact size that won't break your back. But is it all marketing speak? At S$849 (US$558.95), the SP-550UZ rivals the Fujifilm FinePix S9600, Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H5 and Canon PowerShot S3 IS in the league of megazooms.
Design of the Olympus SP-550 UZ Digital Camera
The SP-550UZ feels surprisingly comfortable in our hands. Our first finger rests just where it's supposed to be--at the shutter button with zoom lever--and the rubber wraps on the front side of the hand grip and thumb rest area provide non-slip handling. Unlike cameras that have their lens off-center (this Olympus, too), the SP-550UZ compensates for the uneven weight distribution with the mass of four AA-sized batteries. We could get away with one-handed shooting most of the time, though at the maximum telephoto end, it's always better to use two hands for increased stability.
On the front, this Olympus looks like the Canon PowerShot S3 IS. A button to the right pops up the flash with a solid "tok", raising it 2cm above the body. Unfortunately, there's no manual zoom ring on the lens and no hotshoe adapter for external flash units. This Olympus uses a removable lens cap that fits snugly onto the glass, but irritatingly pops out when we power up the camera. The only solution is to attach the cap to the ring hole on the side of the unit with the supplied string so you won't lose the cover.
The rear estate of the SP-550UZ is dominated by a 2.5-inch, decent 230K-pixel LCD and dedicated function buttons common to most cameras. The four-way directional control lets us adjust exposure compensation, cycle flash options, set a 2- or 12-second timer, and shoot in macro as close as 1cm. There are also individual keys within reach of our thumb for easy access to call up the camera's menu, switch to picture review, delete photos and change display preferences for the LCD panel and electronic viewfinder (with diopter adjuster).
On the bottom edge is where we find the battery compartment with a sliding lock for added security. Just next to it is a plastic tripod receptacle which may wear out faster than if it had been metallic.
Features of the Olympus SP-550 UZ Digital Camera
The 18x optical zoom begins at a wide 28mm-angle F2.8, stopping down to F4.5 at the telephoto end. This Olympus uses the CCD shift-type stabilization system to compensate for camera shake at longer focal lengths. During our tests, the IS allowed us to shoot up to three stops slower than required and still get away with an acceptably sharp image.
However, no amount of image stabilization will help if you have fidgety subjects, so the SP-550UZ touts a high-sensitivity setting of up to ISO 5,000 (at 3-megapixel resolution), letting us to shoot at a faster shutter speed to freeze subject movements. Image quality at ISO 3,200 and ISO 5,000 setting isn't what we'd use readily, but it's always good to know there's such an option, especially when quality isn't on our mind.
Other features of the SP-550UZ include full manual shooting with the LCD showing in real-time how your shot will turn out when changing the aperture or shutter speed; a 15 frames-per-second burst mode for 20 shots at a lower 1.2-megapixel resolution; and a guide on the mode dial that will automatically adjust the camera settings for shooting in various scenarios. There's also an option for users to shoot in RAW, but that's restricted to single shots.
What we really didn't like was that half-pressing the shutter button didn't bring us out of the camera's menu. Instead, we had to hit the Menu button again to exit the pages. It's a bummer, really, especially when we have changed a particular setting and wish to shoot right away, only to find we have to hit another button (twice) before we can take our shot.
Performance of the Olympus SP-550 UZ Digital Camera
For a camera that's heavily loaded with features, the SP-550UZ didn't let down, nor did it amaze us in terms of performance. The shooter powered up in 2.6 seconds (including the time needed for the camera lens to extend) and we captured our first shot another second later.
It took approximately 2.8 seconds for the camera to reach its maximum 18x optical zoom. We managed to shoot every 2.7 seconds without flash, and with forced flash, the SP-550UZ slowed to around 3.1 seconds for each flash recharge cycle. Shutter lag, in most cases, was negligible at 0.1 second. Shooting in RAW, however, was a different story. The camera took a sluggish 7 seconds to record the file before we could continue snapping.
In good light, focusing at the wide end averaged 1 second; 2.5 seconds if you're shooting in dim-light settings. At maximum telephoto, the camera took between 1 and 2 seconds to lock focus. Expect it to be longer if you're shooting in dimly lit environments.
If you've heard a machine gun fire before, you'll find the SP-550UZ 15fps burst mode (at 1.2 megapixels) reminiscent of the same rattling sound. After the maximum 20 frames, the camera will take another 8 seconds to record the images to our Olympus 1GB Type-H xD-Picture Card. On another note, when we're shooting at maximum resolution in JPEG, the camera took a disappointing total of three frames before we had to wait for the buffer to clear.
Image quality of the Olympus SP-550 UZ Digital Camera
When we got wind of the high ISO 5,000 setting on the SP-550UZ, our first concern was just how our photos would turn out at that sensitivity level. Naturally, we had to put the feature to the test. We did our usual Lab shots with the color chart, but for better illustration purposes, we also took some pictures in the night at different ISO settings beginning from ISO 400.
At ISO 400, our picture was definitely usable. Noise became visible to the naked eye at ISO 800, but it's at ISO 1,600 where image quality took a real dip. Details in the highlights were lost and our picture seemed like it was coated with a layer of multicolored sand. In light of that, we won't be shooting at ISO 3,200 and ISO 5,000 (both at 2,048 x 1,536-resolution) unless we're desperate and image quality ranks at the bottom of our mind.
Overall, we were pleased with the image quality right-out-of-the-camera (with the exception of the points mentioned above). There was slight barrel distortion at the wide end and minimal fringing in heavily backlit shots, but that is nothing surprising.
Design of the Olympus SP-550 UZ Digital Camera
The SP-550UZ feels surprisingly comfortable in our hands. Our first finger rests just where it's supposed to be--at the shutter button with zoom lever--and the rubber wraps on the front side of the hand grip and thumb rest area provide non-slip handling. Unlike cameras that have their lens off-center (this Olympus, too), the SP-550UZ compensates for the uneven weight distribution with the mass of four AA-sized batteries. We could get away with one-handed shooting most of the time, though at the maximum telephoto end, it's always better to use two hands for increased stability.
On the front, this Olympus looks like the Canon PowerShot S3 IS. A button to the right pops up the flash with a solid "tok", raising it 2cm above the body. Unfortunately, there's no manual zoom ring on the lens and no hotshoe adapter for external flash units. This Olympus uses a removable lens cap that fits snugly onto the glass, but irritatingly pops out when we power up the camera. The only solution is to attach the cap to the ring hole on the side of the unit with the supplied string so you won't lose the cover.
The rear estate of the SP-550UZ is dominated by a 2.5-inch, decent 230K-pixel LCD and dedicated function buttons common to most cameras. The four-way directional control lets us adjust exposure compensation, cycle flash options, set a 2- or 12-second timer, and shoot in macro as close as 1cm. There are also individual keys within reach of our thumb for easy access to call up the camera's menu, switch to picture review, delete photos and change display preferences for the LCD panel and electronic viewfinder (with diopter adjuster).
On the bottom edge is where we find the battery compartment with a sliding lock for added security. Just next to it is a plastic tripod receptacle which may wear out faster than if it had been metallic.
Features of the Olympus SP-550 UZ Digital Camera
The 18x optical zoom begins at a wide 28mm-angle F2.8, stopping down to F4.5 at the telephoto end. This Olympus uses the CCD shift-type stabilization system to compensate for camera shake at longer focal lengths. During our tests, the IS allowed us to shoot up to three stops slower than required and still get away with an acceptably sharp image.
However, no amount of image stabilization will help if you have fidgety subjects, so the SP-550UZ touts a high-sensitivity setting of up to ISO 5,000 (at 3-megapixel resolution), letting us to shoot at a faster shutter speed to freeze subject movements. Image quality at ISO 3,200 and ISO 5,000 setting isn't what we'd use readily, but it's always good to know there's such an option, especially when quality isn't on our mind.
Other features of the SP-550UZ include full manual shooting with the LCD showing in real-time how your shot will turn out when changing the aperture or shutter speed; a 15 frames-per-second burst mode for 20 shots at a lower 1.2-megapixel resolution; and a guide on the mode dial that will automatically adjust the camera settings for shooting in various scenarios. There's also an option for users to shoot in RAW, but that's restricted to single shots.
What we really didn't like was that half-pressing the shutter button didn't bring us out of the camera's menu. Instead, we had to hit the Menu button again to exit the pages. It's a bummer, really, especially when we have changed a particular setting and wish to shoot right away, only to find we have to hit another button (twice) before we can take our shot.
Performance of the Olympus SP-550 UZ Digital Camera
For a camera that's heavily loaded with features, the SP-550UZ didn't let down, nor did it amaze us in terms of performance. The shooter powered up in 2.6 seconds (including the time needed for the camera lens to extend) and we captured our first shot another second later.
It took approximately 2.8 seconds for the camera to reach its maximum 18x optical zoom. We managed to shoot every 2.7 seconds without flash, and with forced flash, the SP-550UZ slowed to around 3.1 seconds for each flash recharge cycle. Shutter lag, in most cases, was negligible at 0.1 second. Shooting in RAW, however, was a different story. The camera took a sluggish 7 seconds to record the file before we could continue snapping.
In good light, focusing at the wide end averaged 1 second; 2.5 seconds if you're shooting in dim-light settings. At maximum telephoto, the camera took between 1 and 2 seconds to lock focus. Expect it to be longer if you're shooting in dimly lit environments.
If you've heard a machine gun fire before, you'll find the SP-550UZ 15fps burst mode (at 1.2 megapixels) reminiscent of the same rattling sound. After the maximum 20 frames, the camera will take another 8 seconds to record the images to our Olympus 1GB Type-H xD-Picture Card. On another note, when we're shooting at maximum resolution in JPEG, the camera took a disappointing total of three frames before we had to wait for the buffer to clear.
Image quality of the Olympus SP-550 UZ Digital Camera
When we got wind of the high ISO 5,000 setting on the SP-550UZ, our first concern was just how our photos would turn out at that sensitivity level. Naturally, we had to put the feature to the test. We did our usual Lab shots with the color chart, but for better illustration purposes, we also took some pictures in the night at different ISO settings beginning from ISO 400.
At ISO 400, our picture was definitely usable. Noise became visible to the naked eye at ISO 800, but it's at ISO 1,600 where image quality took a real dip. Details in the highlights were lost and our picture seemed like it was coated with a layer of multicolored sand. In light of that, we won't be shooting at ISO 3,200 and ISO 5,000 (both at 2,048 x 1,536-resolution) unless we're desperate and image quality ranks at the bottom of our mind.
Overall, we were pleased with the image quality right-out-of-the-camera (with the exception of the points mentioned above). There was slight barrel distortion at the wide end and minimal fringing in heavily backlit shots, but that is nothing surprising.
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