Olympus SP-500 UZ - Review by Jeff Keller

Last updated: Thursday, February 2nd, 2006

Jeff Keller, the editor of DCResource, has recently posted his review on Olympus SP-500, a 6.0 megapixel (CCD) digital camera with a huge 10x optical zoom lens and large 2.5″ LCD screen.

Olympus SP500 UZ

“The SP-500UZ is an average camera in a sea of really good ones. While I’d say that it’s “okay to buy” the SP-500, there are many other cameras in this category that offer better performance, photo quality, and features (including image stabilization). “

Pros:

- Good photo quality
- Full manual controls
- Large 2.5″ LCD display (but see issues below)
- Support for RAW image format; images can be edited right on the camera
- Customizable buttons and menus; favorite settings can be saved to spot on the mode dial
- AF-assist lamp; above average low light focusing
- In-camera help system for menus; fancy playback mode
- Support for conversion lenses
- Good bundled software allows for RAW image manipulation

Cons:

- Sluggish performance when viewing photos in playback mode, or shooting in RAW format
- No image stabilization
- LCD resolution isn’t great, neither is low light visibility
- Unimpressive continuous shooting and movie modes
- No diopter correction for electronic viewfinder
- No USB 2.0 High Speed support
- Ridiculous amount of built-in memory, no rechargeable batteries included
- xD cards tend to be more expensive than other formats
- Full manual only on CD