Olympus SP-560 Ultra Zoom - Expert Reviews

Review summary: Photo gallery:Olympus SP-560 UZLast year, Olympus released the SP-550UZ, a 7-megapixel digital camera with an impressive 18x zoom lens. We loved its lens' long reach and wide angle, and appreciated its great body design. Unfortunately, the camera was ...

Pros: Huge zoom, good detail in dark areas, face detect, nice build

Cons: Noise may be a problem for big enlargements, slow burst mode, some exposure issues

Verdict: While not a perfect camera, Olympus' SP-560UZ is an excellent choice for users after an ultra-zoom. It combines good pictures with a robust feature set and a fantastic design.

Review summary: With a price tag of the $500 range, this camera is certainly not cheap and looking at some of the features, you start to wonder if the price is really worth it. It is after all just a camera, but in terms of quality let us take a moment to see if ...

Review summary: The Olympus SP-560 UZ arrived in my mailbox on a chilly Montana winter day. After a cursory skim of the manual, I took the camera out of its box and was pleased to find it was about the same size as my regular camera - a popular, but less-expensive ...

Pros: Powerful 18x optical zoom lens, Dual image stabilization, Very good image quality, Full range of exposure options - from manual to auto and everything in between, Lightweight and compact - bigger than a point-and-shoot, smaller than a digital SLR, Pop ...

Cons: Power button is difficult to engage quickly, Noticeable shutter lag, especially with flash, Multitude of mode and menu options may overwhelm beginners

Verdict: I thoroughly enjoyed playing with the Olympus SP-560 UZ - enough that it's going to be hard to go back to my own compact digital camera. I've been spoiled by the fantastically long zoom lens, which makes it super-easy to grab great shots with hardly ...

Review summary: The Olympus SP-560 is an 8 megapixel camera with an 18x optical zoom lens. This extreme length of lens is good for wildlife and sports photography. The camera also has a range of advanced controls that will appeal to someone who sees photography as a ...

Pros: Macro shot

Cons: Picture quality when full zoom used - shutter time for single photo with flash

Verdict: My tests shots were a bit mixed. It is true this camera has a very long lens, but personally I would like to see more emphasis on picture quality and less on technology.