The latest Olympus ultra-zoom camera comes with great components and its 18x optical zoom lens tops most ultra-zoom models. The Olympus SP-560UZ packs in 8.1 megapixels, optical image stabilization, and a TruePic Turbo III image processor with face detection technology. With a wide 27mm angle on its long lens, the SP-560 can photograph large group portraits, faraway football goals, and everything in between.

The feature-laden SP-560 has a hefty $499 price tag, about $100 more than its competitors. The SP-560’s predecessor, the 7.1-megapixel SP-550, was the first ultra-zoom to have an 18x optical zoom lens. Since then, two other models have come out with nearly identical specs, but cost much less: the Fujifilm FinePix S8000fd and the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18. Both have 8 megapixels and 18x optical zoom lenses with image stabilization and retail for $399.

We’ve tested several ultra-zoom digital cameras in our imaging lab this year, and the pricey SP-560 didn’t fare well. We’ve tested the Panasonic FZ18, the Canon PowerShot S5 IS, and the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H7 – and the Olympus SP-560 doesn’t have much to offer when compared to them. The SP-560 suffers from inaccurate and undersaturated colors, disappointing resolution performance that shows obvious barrel distortion, very ugly blue noise that makes ISO speeds of 1600 and 3200 essentially unusable, and malfunctioning long exposures that make the right corners of the photos glow.

It does have a few positive aspects to its image quality, but these don’t redeem it for its otherwise poor performance. The SP-560 has very low noise at ISO 50 and 100, as well as excellent dynamic range at those ISO speeds. Most telling, however, is the 560UZ didn’t even perform better than its predecessor, the Olympus SP-550UZ, in most image quality categories.

The SP-560UZ’s lackluster performance is in contrast to its high-quality components. It has a 2.5-inch LCD screen with 230,000 pixels and very wide viewing angles, an electronic viewfinder with a smooth view, and a pop-up flash that hardly ever catches a red eye. Not to mention that enormous 18x optical zoom lens with its 27-486mm range. This is the same range as the Fuji S8000fd, and 1mm wider than the older SP-550 and the Panasonic FZ18. The only downside to the Olympus SP-560’s long lens is its inability to function in Movie mode when the audio is turned on. It works only when the audio recording is off, so users have to decide whether they want a silent moving film or a motionless video that can be heard. 

The Olympus SP-560UZ has Manual, Aperture Priority, Shutter Speed Priority, and Program modes, in addition to its Movie and 25 Scene modes. There is a great range of features, including face detection, which during testing recognized three faces at a time but didn’t track as well as similar technology on the Canon S5 and Panasonic FZ18. Another bonus feature is Olympus’ “Perfect Fix” option in the Playback menu, which balances exposure and eliminates red eyes, if any should be captured.

This ultra-zoom digital camera has a nice SLR-like shape that makes handling very comfortable. The design isn’t breathtaking, but the rubber pads and wide grip are nice touches, especially considering the somewhat hefty 18x lens and four AA batteries it takes to power the camera.

The Olympus SP-560UZ has a lot of great features, exposure modes, and components packed into a comfortable body, but its pictures don’t turn out as well as they should. The autofocus system is slow, so fleeting moments are missed. Many captured images are plagued with noise and have horrifically inaccurate colors. It’s not worth the $499 price, especially considering the less expensive competition outperforms it.