Quantcast
Subscribe to magazine

NEW Reviews Beta Feedback

Get Cameras updates
  • Print

Olympus SP-570 UZ

87

Very Good
  • Pros
  • 20x optical zoom is the highest in class
  • iESP focus targeting
  • Cons
  • Delayed shutter release
  • Autofocus sometimes searches fuzzily

User Reviews for Olympus SP-570 UZ

  • Reviewed by: RamArx

    Duration of ownership: 12 Months

    Strengths: The Sp-570 UZ is an excellent camera for its powerful zoom and its wide angle coverage. By far, its the camera with the widest angle of coverage when compared to other Power Zoom cameras in of this range. If you're familiar with old 35mm cameras then this camera is a breeze to use. Other great feature is its maximum lens aperture that allows you to use Natural Lighting without the aid of a flash. Color rendition is excellent and allows for correction in its settings. I've taken amazing shots of the moon at night using maximum optical plus 3 x digital giving me great shadow detail of moon craters, cracks. Macro-photography allows you to get extremeley close to your subject obtaining superb detail.

    Weaknesses: A major weakness I find with this camera is how fast it drains batteries when not in use. After taking 20 or so pictures after a full NiMH charge and use it again a couple of days later the batteries are drained. You do need a quick charger on hand or recur to a second set of batteries.

    Overall Evaluation: Other then the battery problem I still consider the camera an excellent tool for the pro or amateur photographer. I give it the 5 Star Rating

  • Reviewed by: JustPlainDon

    Duration of ownership:

    Strengths: Telephoto & supermacro!!!! Incredible!

    Weaknesses: Not difficult to operate; a little bit of a learning curve. A little on the expensive side, but nothing else in this price range has the 20x (optical) telephoto. Not recognized by 64-bit Vista OS.

    Overall Evaluation: I've never used a digital camera with this many features (film camera, yes; digital, no). To be honest, I could use the camera right out of the box to take regular pics from wide angle to telephoto. Getting around the features were not difficult, First thing was to check out the telephoto and the macro. One word, AMAZING! With the macro you can shoot as close as around 1/2 inch (but it better be very bright). The telephoto truly is sharp and comparable to a 500 mm lens in 35 mm photography. I printed out a 3648 x 2736 image using a 42" HP printer at work and I was amazed. Final size was 56" x 42". The detail was not to be believed. Very crisp image and good detail. While I have not done any tests to determine how accurate color is, so far all colors have been true by just casually "eyeballing" it. Not too warm, not too blue, everything seemed about right. I did notice that if you leave the camera hooked up to your PC (you connect with the camera turned off), it will continue to use battery power. After 24 hours (not sure when it died), the batteries were drained. Buy some good Ni-MH recharagables (2 sets of 4 to be prepared). The camera was recognized by PCs with WinXP & 32-bit Vista. 64-bit Vista did not recognize the camera which somewhat surprised me. I'm very pleased with my camera so far.

  • Reviewed by: Luther393

    Duration of ownership:

    Strengths: 20X Zoom is unbelievable, 10MP, User-Friendly Menu, Large LCD screen, TTL Hot-shoe, 10-picture Panorama function

    Weaknesses: No way to "permanently" mount a protective (UV, Sky) lens filter. Flash seems a bit weak. Small(ish) size is actually a bit more difficult to hold than a SLR sized camera..

    Overall Evaluation: I bought this to replace a seven year-old C-2100UZ that is still working great. I figured if I got this kind of usage from Olympus then I'd stay with them for the new camera. I looked at the SP-560 and the SP-570 and decided to go the SP-570 route. The camera menu stayed much the same as the C-2100, so the learning curve was fairly low. They did put the Panorama function in the first level so it's easier to find. It's not something I had used frequently, so when I wanted it I had to search around to find it. The 20X zoom is phenomenal... I took a picture zoomed all the way out (equivalent to 26mm) and took the same picture zoomed all the way in (equivalent to 520mm) and was impressed with how "close" I could get w/o moving. The macro mode is superb. I found that if you can get light to an object you can photograph it - I mean a cm away and bring it into sharp focus. Great for detail shots of small items. The lens filter issue has me stumped. You'd figure that a camera such as this would allow filters directly on the lens barrel. The SP-570 has NO threads at the end of the lens. (You can get the tubes but that brings up other issues.) The SP-550 and SP-560 both do, and there are step-up adapters out there for "permanently" mounting filters. Just a note; most digital cameras at this level that have a lens barrel that extends out won't have a way to do this either. I looked at the Olympus external flashes and they seem expensive for my infrequent use. That said, I'll probably go with the FL-36R as I know it works automatically with the camera settings and was just a few bucks more than the FL-36. Their identical, but the FL-36R has the wireless remote capability. Nice if using a camera bracket. In spite of these few inconveniences, I love this camera.

  • Reviewed by: Happy camera..

    Duration of ownership:

    Strengths: This is one great camera even after having it for only 2 days.It is capable of so much but yet very easy to use in the auto mode.Takes fantasic photos and is user friendly.

    Weaknesses: nothing found as of yet

    Overall Evaluation: This camera is allot more than I had expected and I am very pleased with this purchase. It seems a bit complicated at first but I played with it for an hour and then sat down with the manual and worked my way around all of its many features. To many to list here and it is fairly simple to use,just take a few hours with the manual and that should do it. Allot of camera for the money I feel.Takes movies with sound and even has a sound feature that can be used for 4 seconds with still photos.Takes AA batteries which is a plus and is energy efficient so far.You can be very creative or just point and shoot and will get great results either way.

What You Should Know about the SP-570 UZ

Larger-Than-Average Optical Zoom Range

The optical zoom range on this camera is sufficiently broad to give you considerable creative control. Your options extend from individual portraits to group shots to wide-angle landscapes. Most point-and-shoots offer a focal length range that’s roughly equivalent to 35mm to 105mm on a 35mm film camera. At the wide end (the 35mm, in this case), they shoot a bit wider than what you see with your eye. At the telephoto end (the 105mm, in this case), they can zoom in a good deal closer than you’d be able to with the naked eye.

Read More »

News, Reviews, How-To's about SP-570 UZ

  • Point-and-Shoots With Great Image Quality From pocket-size snapshot cameras to big-zoom behemoths, here are five point-and-shoot cameras that scored extremely well in the PC World Test Center's imaging evaluations.

Similar Cameras

Latest Cameras Playing in PCW Video

More Latest Cameras Playing in PCW Video »

Latest Cameras News, Reviews, How-To's

  • Logitech's LifeSize Deal Is a Head-Scratcher Although computer peripherals and telepresence are an unlikely pairing, the acquisition puts Logitech in competition with Cisco, HP, Polycom and others.
  • Holiday Camera Gift Guide Whether you're shopping for a socialite, an advanced photographer, a YouTube star, or your crazy uncle, you'll find the perfect camera here.
  • Kodak EasyShare M381 Point-and-Shoot Camera This bargain-priced point-and-shoot camera has quirks and limitations, but it's a decent no-fuss option for beginners.
  • IPhone Hints: Take Self-portraits Easier Ever tried to take a self-portrait with the iPhone's camera? It's not what you might call "super-easy." Because there's no physical button to press, you can't...
  • Sanyo VPC-WH1 There are only two reasons to buy Sanyo's Xacti VPC-WH1 high-definition (HD) camcorder, but they're good reasons: It's inexpensive, and it's waterproof. For...

Best Prices on Flash Memory

See all Flash Memory

Best Prices on Graphics & Publishing Software

See all Graphics & Publishing Software