[obol] Camera Review: Olympus SP 550-UZ

[Bruce]

I'll weigh in with my opinion ...

We bought a Canon S3-IS for the "casual" photos here and there when the
"birding" cameras were overkill. As noted in the review, the S3-IS is in the
same class of camera as the Olympus being reviewed. The camera does very
well for photos of subjects that are not moving or moving slowly, and as a
plus, it does stereo sound with TV-quality digital video at 30fps.

To see what I might expect for bird photos (and to compare to our DSLRs),
I spent an hour or so taking bird photos with the S3-IS. I found it 
generally
impossible to follow moving birds with the LCD (which, unlike the Olympus,
can be folded out and rotated), and only marginally easier with the 
"viewfinder."
The results were less than spectacular as the refresh rate for both LCD 
screen
and LCD viewfinder is too slow to follow moving birds or to determine when
they strike a good pose.

In short, my opinion is, if one is serious about getting good bird 
photos, skip
these so-called compact zoom cameras and go for an entry level DSLR because
they have a real-time optical viewfinder. Another  reason DSLRs are 
better is
that the image sensors are substantially larger than those on compact zoom
cameras (approx four times the area), so deliver much better image quality
because each individual light sensor (pixel) is roughly four times larger.
They may be bought new for $800 or less (with the kit lens), and used ones
are available for no more than the cost of these "all-in-one" cameras. 
Further,
even entry level DSLRs will bang away at three or four frames per second,
greatly increasing the chances of getting a good frame from a series 
shot of an
active, even flying, bird.

The one drawback is that a zoom lens with image stabilization can cost 
nearly as
much as the camera body. However, the chance of  getting good photos 
increases
about ten-fold ... two or three times the equipment cost, one-tenth the 
frustration ...

Bruce Craig.

Jason Randolph (Conservation For The Oregon Coast) wrote:
> Evening all... :)
> 
> As an addition to this which Khanh posted, I have to suggest (highly) 
> that you spend plenty of time handling a few different cameras in this 
> market segment. Amazingly, like anything related to color or glass, 
> everyone has their own personal opinions and "gut reactions". I do not 
> own the Olympus 550-UZ but did handle one for a few hours and despised 
> it. I settled on different camera due to what I would have considered 
> serious potential flaws in the field. Of course, this was specifically 
> my own experience and I suggest that you all have your own experiences.
> 
> Enjoy the digital camera world, it sure is nice not paying to develop 
> all those terrible pictures (which I am an expert at taking)! :)
> 
> Jason in Charleston
> 
> khanh tran wrote:
>> Hi Obolers!
>>
>> Here is an current, comprehensive review and link for the new Olympus 
>> SP 550-UZ digital camera with a 18x zoom and 7.1 megapixel feature.  
>> The camera got decent reviews and sells for 500.00.
>>
>> http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/olympus/sp550uz-review/index.shtml
>>
>> Although enticing with it's zooming capabilities and image 
>> stabilization, I still prefer my current model  Olympus C770-Ultra 
>> zoom (10x zoom and 4.0 megapixel) for photo quality.  T
>>
>> The review did mention good photo qualities depending on certain 
>> situations. Still tempting to try one out and compare!!
>>
>> You can see an example of the photo quality from my existing camera 
>> (that sells for about the same price) of a Northern SawWhet owl on 
>> Greg Gillison's website under recent photos.
>>
>> Good birding to you!
>>
>> Khanh Tran
>>
>>
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