The ultra-zoom portion of the digital camera market is taking off as consumers look beyond the standard 3x and manufacturers offer more and more. The Olympus SP-550UZ offers the most optical zoom on a compact digital camera so far with 18x. The current flagship of Olympus’ ultra-zoom line has 7.1 megapixels and image stabilization. It will compete with the likes of Canon’s image stabilized S-series and Sony’s H-series, which just added two new models that have 15x zoom. The Olympus SP-550UZ retails for $499.
The Olympus SP-550UZ offers several upgrades from its predecessor. The body itself is much more attractive, with rounded edges, a metallic gray sheen, and comfy rubber handling grips. It has a built-in flash that is much more durable than the rickety one on the older SP-500. The SP-550UZ’s flash must be manually opened, which could be a problem if you’re expecting it to automatically open. The flash can be adjusted to fire more or less light, so it can be more flexible when shooting a variety of subjects at different distances from the camera. The biggest problem with the flash is that it adds a second or two to the shutter lag.
The SP-550UZ also improves upon the electronic viewfinder with better resolution and a diopter control. The older SP-500 had a 2.5-inch LCD screen. The new model has the same size of display screen but with twice the resolution on it – so the image looks twice as good.
The headlining feature of the Olympus SP-550UZ is its 18x optical zoom lens, which at the time of its release, stood as the longest lens available on a compact digital camera. This component launches the SP-550 to the top of the pile: the Canon S3 IS, Sony H5, and Panasonic FZ7 all have 12x optical zoom lenses. They all have optical image stabilization systems too, as does the Olympus SP-550. This is Olympus’ first compact digital camera to have an optical image stabilization system, and it seems to work well. While the image remains fairly steady when the lens is zoomed in, the autofocus system takes longer than usual. Another caveat to the impressive lens is that it works in the Movie mode only when the audio is turned off. So you can have silent movies with zoom or static movies with audio.
This trade-off disqualifies the Olympus SP-550UZ from the hybrid competition. If you’re looking for a good camera to double as a camcorder, you’d be much happier with a Canon PowerShot S3 IS with its functional 12x zoom and stereo audio. Besides the Movie mode, the SP-550 has Manual, Priority, Program, Automatic, and 23 Scene modes – including 3 Underwater modes for those consumers who opt to purchase the underwater housing and swim to depths of 130 feet.
This model is packed with incredible specifications but beware of the gimmicks. Olympus touts a 15 fps Burst mode, but that’s only when the resolution is reduced to wallet-print size. When using its full 7.1 megapixels, the Burst mode slows to 1.2 fps. The “Pre-Capture” mode can record up to 5 images before the shutter release button is actually pressed, but these pictures have even less resolution. The ISO range is published to go from 50-5000, but the higher the sensitivity the less resolution there is available.
Olympus attempts to make the SP-550 “everyman’s digital camera.” It has a Guide mode with step-by-step tutorials for beginners. But it also has manual functionality and even RAW file shooting and editing for more advanced users. The SLR-shaped camera aims to appeal to everyone, but it misses mostly because of its gimmicks and $499 price tag.
