Compare Prices : Olympus SP-550 UltraZoom - Expert Reviews

Review summary: Earlier this year, we reviewed the Olympus SP-550UZ. That EVF camera packed the biggest lens (28 to 504mm-equivalent) we've ever seen on a non-SLR camera. Unfortunately, extremely slow performance and soft images held the otherwise impressive device ...

Review summary: Olympus SP-550UZ Review - A camera with an 18x optical zoom saves walking closer to the subject and that can only be a good thing argues sloth-like Duncan Evans.

Pros: 28mm wide angle, Monstrous 18x zoom, Good ISO range, Program and scene modes, Nice LCD screen, Optical stabilisation, SuperMacro of just 1cm, Good basic handling

Cons: Autofocus not great, Max shutter speed not fast enough, Optical stabilisation doesn't prevent lots of blur, Camera control clumsy and messy, Higher ISOs reduce resolution, Metering tends to over-expose, Low ISO settings a little noisy

Verdict: The previous UltraZoom from Olympus was something of a triumph of marketing over functionality. The image quality at the end of the zoom was dreadful.