Been testing out a semi-new Olympus SP-500UZ, which I’ve observed to sorta belong to a new subclass of prosumer cameras. Although technically I’d still consider this a point and shoot device with some advanced features. Why? because it’s cheap! (relatively)
They’ve lowered the price of this class of cameras to about P30,000.00, made them much lighter and damn well portable. This particular model is equipped with 10x optical zoom and 6.0MP. Now the Sony equivalent is capable of 5.1MP and 12x optical. It’s also got this shake correction mechanism for those of us who do not possess the talent of holding a camera with the fine motor skills of a doctor. The Olympus claims to have advanced red eye correction and Turbo image processing. Hmm, okay. Cool. It still shakes though so that sucks.
I really thought the camera wasn’t so great after reviewing some shots. This is one of those weird instances where the images viewed in the viewfinder aren’t as good as when they get imported to iPhoto. Maybe it is due to the huge 2.5 inch LCD viewer. Or maybe not. Whatever.
One thing I love about Olympus is the super macro mode of 2cm distance which not too many cameras have. I needed to use a tripod to steady my hands for most of the shots came out blurry in S-macro. I am an Olympus D-540 owner so the premise was the same, except that I was holding something slightly heavier.
So my verdict? Well, all I need to do is grab myself a set of rechargeables and I’d give this baby a 4/5. I really love how easy it is for the flash to be manually released and closed to take those careful macros.
I wrote this mini preview as an excuse to show off my cute dog pic on top. Ain’t he cute!
5 replies on “Olympus Sp-500UZ”
[…] Olympus Sp 500UZ lens cap (picture taken with camera). Review unit here. You can check out the other shots I took in this post. […]
I just received this camera for Christmas and although I’m no pro I love my Photography and this is a great camera for me. I also have a sony Cybershot, but I couldn’t stand the customer service from them so i vowed that I would never buy another Sony Product (keep in mind that Everything I own is Sony, until now!)
Great review – I do agree with you on the “shakes” 🙂
hi suz!
great to hear you got yourself an Olympus. 🙂 i guess it takes some getting used to – buying a mini tripod can help a lot with the shakes!
well I now have my 3rd Olympus camera and it is a SP-500UZ and must say this thing is cool as all get out. I love all the cool things it can do! now i need to learn to take clearer photos. it is not made for those of us who have the shakes. I will try the tripod next to see if that helps me.
I still like my OLD D-450 better for the fast point and shoot.
BG
[…] I decided to create this post about a camera I was reviewing and a few days later, c/o Google Analytics, I was getting hits via search engine keywords that were looking for “Olympus SP500 UZ.” […]