Olympus SP-550 UZ - The First Digital Camera With 18X Optical Zoom Lens

SP-550 UZ - Technical Details - Product Features & Technical Details

1. Product Features:
   
   * 7.1-megapixel CCD captures enough detail for photo-quality 15 x 20-inch prints
   * 18x super-telephoto zoom lens; 15fps high-speed sequential shooting
   * 2.5-inch, high-resolution LCD screen
   * Bright Capture technology for low-light photography and image viewing
   * Stores images on xD Picture Cards
2. Technical Details:
   
   * Sensor: 7.1 Megapixel
   * Size: 1/2.5-inch
   * Image Resolution: 1024 x 768
   * Image Resolution: 1600 x 1200
   * Image Resolution: 2048 x 1536
   * Image Resolution: 1280 x 960
   * Image Resolution: 640 x 480
   * Image Resolution: 2304 x 1728
   * Image Resolution: 2560 x 1920
   * Image Resolution: 3072 x 2048
   * Image Resolution: 3072 x 2304
   * Movie Resolution: 320 x 240
   * Movie Resolution: 640 x 480
   * Optical Zoom: 18x
   * Digital Zoom: 5.6x
   * Combined Zoom: 100x
   * Focal Length: 4.68 - 84.24mm (28 - 504mm equivalent in 35mm photography)

Why I Love My SP-550 UZ

• It provides more than a typical point-and-shoot camera, but it's not as expensive and not as big as digital SLR cameras with interchangeable lenses.
• It has many more features that any other digital cameras of this type and in this price range, with these that I love most: terrific 18x zoom lens, mechanical image stabilization, 30 shooting modes including movie with sound, ability to shoot underwater extreme close-ups, guide setting (helps to easily adjust the camera's settings to best suit the shot - much easier than with a manual!), choice of using either LCD screen on the back or a display in the viewfinder (great feature during bright sunlight).
• It's at least few hundred dollars cheaper than a comparable digital SLR camera with a zoom lens; it's also much smaller.

SP-550 UZ has some drawbacks, but they are typical for the cameras in this class:

• Color saturation and noise reduction could be better.
• Shooting at the maximum image resolution (3,072x2,304 pixels) can result in delays of several seconds before you can take another shot - especially in RAW mode. Luckily, the delays are minimal at lower resolutions and in JPEG mode.
• When you use 15 frames-per second burst mode, you can only use 1,280x960 resolution.