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Olympus SP-500 Ultra Zoom

83

Very Good
  • Pros
  • Long zoom lens Long zoom lens
  • High image quality
  • Cons
  • No image stabilization

User Reviews for Olympus SP-500 Ultra Zoom

  • Reviewed by: markp

    Duration of ownership: 2 Years

    Strengths:

    Weaknesses:

    Overall Evaluation:

  • Reviewed by: sitsi

    Duration of ownership: 5 Months

    Strengths: Zoom, Beautiful images, it does what you tell it to do.

    Weaknesses: Again...No image stabilization, expensive XD cards

    Overall Evaluation: I love this camera, it has better images than my previoous Sony Cybershot. The pictures are taken as I imagine them, the camera does what you tell it to do

  • Reviewed by: bobandray

    Duration of ownership:

    Strengths: Manual, shutter priority, and aperture priority shooting. Zoom. Good quality photographs.

    Weaknesses: None

    Overall Evaluation: I bought my first SP-500 for my daughter's college class. It was recommended by the professor. I tried it out first and fell in love with it. Photos are sharp, exposed properly, and have correct color and skin tones. I am used to using manual 35 mm cameras and know how to match shutter speed with lens length. So far I have not had trouble with shake on hand held telephoto shots. I liked the camera so much that I bought one for myself. So far, I have had no negative experiences.

  • Reviewed by: bucmeister

    Duration of ownership:

    Strengths: Zoom, 2.5 inch LCD

    Weaknesses: Very weak indecisive AF. Painful shutter lag. Oly knows better.

    Overall Evaluation: I like the camera well enough, the pictures are good when in focus and timed right for the shutter lag that I thought was supposed to be SO improved, NOT. In this day and time of state of the art electronics there is absolutely no excuse for such a sorry AF system as what this camera has, my old Fuji A205 does better. Shutter lag, if I smoked I could almost light a cigarette between the time the button is pushed and the picture is taken, again the A205 seems faster. I have two years experience with the A205 and only 2 weeks with the SP500 so maybe it will get better. I will look more carefully next time. This will seriously impact my brand perspecive when and if I ever choose to upgrade to a dSLR.My years with an Olympus OM1, that I dearly loved and would still be using if it had not been stolen, tainted my perspective when looking into buying this camera. I may end up going back to my old Minolta 700 film camera afterall.

  • Reviewed by: jacjj5

    Duration of ownership:

    Strengths: Zoom, Flash

    Weaknesses: No image Stabilization

    Overall Evaluation: This camera is awesome. To list any weaknesses besides a lack of image stabilization would be nitpicking. I do find myself taking a couple of shots to get it right when I zoom in close because of the blurriness though. With image stabilization, this would be the world's perfect camera. The flash is so intense that I took a picture in complete darkness and it looked like I was outside, the picture was so clear and well lit. I'm still working on how to adjust the intensity of the flash in order not to "over bright" my pictures when taking them indoors. I find sometimes that when I do not use the flash, my pictures loose focus. But that's the glory of a digital camera. If you don't like the first picture, just delete and try again. I truly love this camera. I owned a Camedia Sports Zoom and it was good. It gave me trust in the Olympus name to buy another. And this camera came through with flying colors. I recommend this camera to the point and shoot user as well as the more advanced user. You won't be disappointed.

  • Reviewed by: susho

    Duration of ownership:

    Strengths: light weight

    Weaknesses: absence of image stabilization, high shutter lag

    Overall Evaluation: While the camera is very light and has got lots of (21) scene modes it really gives trouble due to absence of any optical image stabilization. Due to a slight movement of the camera or the subject during taking the snap the photo gets spoiled. particularly at low light, when shutter speed has to be low any picture just gets blurred. This should be taken as a word of caution by the potential byers. Before purchasing please be very sure that you want this model.

  • Reviewed by: egstar2000

    Duration of ownership:

    Strengths: So easy to use for the beginner with a professional outcome/look. The zoom is great and all of the controls are easy to use and access. I really love this camera. The color quality it really good!

    Weaknesses: Need to be very steady while using the zoom.

    Overall Evaluation: I had a Kodak easy share and there is no comparison. This camera is much better quality, the controls are easy to use and manipulate while working the camera. This is an excellent camera for the beginner who wants their pictures to look like you used a really high tech camera. I give it 5 stars for the value!

Olympus SP-500 Ultra Zoom Review

by Richard Baguley

- The Olympus SP-500 Ultra Zoom is the lowest-priced advanced camera we've ever examined. Previously, the PC World Test Center tested the SP-500 as a point-and-shoot model. But after its impressive performance in that category, we chose to test its mettle against advanced cameras--and came away with similar results. The SP-500 matched the image quality of much more expensive models, and it offers such notable features as a remote like the one that accompanies the Canon PowerShot Pro1 (which costs almost twice as much) and the ability to store four customized scene modes.

Read Complete Review ยป

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