Olympus takes it two steps further this time, after announcing the first 18x zoom camera the Olympus SP-550 UZ (a couple of others followed with the Panasonic Lumix FZ-18 and the Fujifilm FinePix S8000fd), now they are pushing into new territory again with a 20x zoom and even wider at the wide end (26mm for 35mm equiv.).

I always prefer compacts to start wider than zoom further, it’d be ideal if they started at 24mm IMHO, with a 20x zoom would be great.

The Olympus SP-570 UZ – main features:

• 20x optical zoom (equivalent to 26-520mm) - from extreme close-ups to stunning scenes
• Avoids blur thanks to Dual Image Stabilisation
• Don’t miss the moment with high-speed 15fps sequence shooting
• Face Detection Technology for perfectly focused and exposed faces plus correct exposure of other image areas
• P/A/S/M exposure modes for creative freedom
• 22 scene modes for the best results in different situations
• 10 Megapixels to make poster-size prints
• See and share images on the 6.9cm/2.7″ LCD
• Great for shots of flowers and detail from as close as 1cm with Super Macro mode

I’ll certainly be looking forwards to the reviews on this one, a very versatile backup and travel camera. The performance of the previous model was a little disappointing. Both in terms of speed and image quality.

It’ll also be interesting to see if Panasonic and Fuji follow again with 20x zooms and 10megapixel upgrades.

Read the full release here:

Olympus SP-570 UZ

I was waiting for this camera for a while, could it be the ultimate super zoom with it’s incredible 18x optical zoom?

The SP-550 UZ main features:

• 18x wide optical zoom (equivalent to 28-504mm on a 35mm camera) 1:2.8-4.5
• Dual Image Stabilization
• 7.1 Megapixels
• 6.4cm/2.5″ LCD with 230,000 pixels
• High burst rate (up to 15fps*)
• Super Macro mode (from as close as 1cm)
• P/A/S/M exposure modes
• BrightCapture Technology for better low light photography - also available in movie mode
• 23 scene modes (including Portrait, Sports, Night Scene)
• 25 languages on board
• Internal memory plus xD-Picture Card slot
• Supplied with Olympus Master software and four AA batteries

I mean realistically I wasn’t expecting too much, and I am looking for a backup compact camera for the times when I don’t carry my dSLR around and also something to use for underwater shooting.

I’m glad they chose to go with the wider end at 28mm rather than the standard 35mm for those sweeping landscapes.

The camera seems to perform reasonably well.

Olympus SP-550 Ultra Zoom - Digital Camera Review

The Olympus SP-550 Ultra Zoom, with it’s impressive wide-angle 18x optical zoom lens and CCD-Shift image stabilisation, is an appealing digital camera providing a zoom range of 28mm - 504mm. It feels very comfortable in hand, and produces very good images with very pleasing colours and generally low noise. The screen and electronic viewfinder are good. The camera is easy to use, especially with the built in help and shooting guide, and camera speed is fairly good. The camera offers good battery life, with very good controls and very good build quality.

Olympus SP-550 UZ Review - Photography Blog

With an asking price of £375 in the UK, which is similar to what some retailers are now asking for body-only DSLR deals, potential purchasers of the Olympus SP-550 UZ face a hard choice – particularly those who are upgrading from a simple point-and-shoot, and don’t already have the increased flexibility of a prosumer camera. Build quality is however good given its mainly plastic frame – the camera is solidly fashioned, attractively finished, and with batteries inserted feels capable of withstanding a few knocks in the heat of the action. The necessary unfurling of that zoom lens however does slow down responsiveness.

DCRP Review: Olympus SP-550 Ultra Zoom

The Olympus SP-550 Ultra Zoom is a great example of a marketing-driven cameras. I’m just guessing here, but the marketing folks at Olympus probably got together and said “let’s make an ultra zoom camera with the biggest and baddest specs on the market”, and then the engineers had to make it work. And it works, for the most part — though plenty of compromises were made. While it’s not the best ultra zoom on the market, the SP-550 is still a very good one, and certainly worth a look.

Olympus SP-550 UZ Review - DPReview

The SP-550UZ is, then, a camera that tries a little to hard to be a true jack of all trades, and ends up being master of none; a perfect example of the whole being lesser than the sum of its parts. And yet the funny thing is, that after all that, I actually quite liked it. I guess - in a perverse way - it’s sometimes nice to use a camera that forces you out of the lazy ‘point and shoot’ mentality and reminds you that photographers, not cameras, take pictures.

All in all, it might be better to stick with the upcoming Canon Powershot S5 IS.