Olympus SP-550 Ultra Zoom Digital Camera - Anthracite (7.1MP, 18x Optical Zoom) 2.5" LCD Product Description:
Product Description
World?s first 18x optical zoom takes photography to the next level
Get up close and personal in a whole new way. With the world?s first wide 18x optical zoom, the Olympus SP-550 UZ accepts no limits, bringing photographers closer to distant subjects than ever before. Capture candid street scenes from a discreet distance, grab the detail of your favourite sport from way up in the stands ? then even use the wide angle lens to take in the whole game ? as this model?s focal length spans an amazing 28mm-504mm (in 35mm camera equivalent terms)! Enjoy double protection against camera shake with Dual Image Stabilization. Even at high magnifications or when capturing fast-moving objects, this technology ensures results are significantly sharper. Packing 7.1 Megapixels of detail-capturing power, the SP-550 UZ opens up a new realm of creative possibility.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
69 of 69 people found the following review helpful.
Good value
By Stephen Wood
I have had a 550 for a week or so now. I have not noticed the banding on the LCD other reviewers report in spite of using it in bright sun. On the whole I think it is good value; the stabiliser works effectively and as far as I can tell a better zoom would be on a SLR costing at least £600. In the macro mode something the size of a bumble bee fills the screen. It is on the limits of what can be carried around casually - it can just be squeezed into a cagoule pocket and weighs almost exactly a pound (450 grams) including batteries. The controls (unlike the manual) are fairly easy & intuitive. I have found it excellent for landscapes - the zoom allows almost anything to be framed and it generally appears to capture colours well enough for Photopshop to fix (and there are various colour controls I have not used yet).It is easy to quibble - the images on long zooms are not as sharp as I hoped; I think there is some dulling & distortion in the corners of most pics; however, cropping and a bit of sharpening in Photoshop sorts this out. Purists will no doubt see other problems - when I took a shot of a reservoir I could see a very slight hump in the distant waterline. Slow start up and writing to the card make wildife photograpy hard work - and I only tried to get shots of wildfowl squabbling as they swam near a hide. I have taped the door to the card shut because it is easy to pull it open when taking the 550 out of a case or pocket.So - overall it is good value - but see it as an overgrown compact rather than a cheap SLR and you will not be disappointed.
67 of 67 people found the following review helpful.olympus sp-550uz
By Mr. Michael G. Allway
i have been using this camera for a week now.i am pleased with most of the pictures i have taken except for in sunny conditions when both the lcd screen and the evf become practically unusable due to bands of light appearing across the display,especially at a wide angle shot.this does not always appear on the actual photo but a few pics show bands of over exposure across them.i have tried putting a black tube around the lens as a sun shade but it makes no difference.i have been testing this against my kodak p850.generally apart from bright sunshine shots the olympus produces the sharper pictures.but even though the kodak has got a lower lcd/evf resolution it is more usable than the one on the olympusi almost returned this camera,but the 18x zoom and the quality of most of the photos just saves it.i must say though that indoor shots and low light shots are of outstanding quality.so maybe it is the brightlight technology that is to blame for its poor handling in sunny conditions.if olympus can correct the lcd problem,then they would have an unbeatable camera worthy of 5 stars,but for now i rate this camera 4 stars.
45 of 45 people found the following review helpful.
Amazing for the price!
By Lara
After a cruise last year through icebergs, where my little Olympus 3x zoom was just useless, I decided that for a trip to Greenland this year, a camera with a decent zoom was essential. When I found this camera I was delighted, I hadn't really liked the idea of being laden down with a massive camera and all the bits.Even when out at the full zoom, the image stabilisation makes all pictures, even whilst bouncing along in a speedboat, crisp and perfect. I found myself using the camera as binoculars, as the zoom was so good. Yes there were times that the auto focus seemed to go a bit dolally as I was taking the picture, but the pictures do look lovely, so maybe its a bit better a taking pictures than I would have been by myself!I had no problems with the screens, due to the very bright sunshine reflecting of the water, I gave up on the screen and changed to the viewfinder, but I had no problems with that, and that makes the battery last a bit longer anyway. Meanwhile my companions without a viewfinder were left taking pictures blind, as they couldn't see their screens either.Battery power was excellent, I was at 400 pictures before the battery died.For the controls, there's some handy shortcuts, so that you don't spend hours trolling through the menu to find one tiny setting, the guide mode takes you to the most common settings very quickly. The continuous mode was particularly good for wildlife, whales and the like.At the end of the day, it's not perfect, but at the price, and sheer convience, I really don't think the niggles are enough to dock a star!
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