A Review on Olympus SP-550UZ a Compact Super-Zoom Digital Camera

I bought my Olympus SP-550UZ not long ago to do some professional photo shoot for my gallery. What I like very much about this camera was the fact that it's the only compact super zoom digital camera out in the market. It can actually pull back to a 28mm focal length and zoom to more than 500mm.

Although the Olympus' sensor can only capture 7.1 megapixels I did have very good quality pictures produced from this camera. Furthermore, the lens produce a 18x optical zoom which is one of the highest optical zoom for a camera this size.

What I like about this camera the most is the fact that the size is pretty small for a super zoom camera. It's only 116mm wide, 78.5 in height and 78mm in length. I could carry the camera virtually to every photo shoot or area where the photo shoot will take place. The camera's body is constructed mainly from plastic with a few metal trimmings. I find it easy to grasp the camera without any incident of it slipping from my hands.

Of course when you are choosing a camera, there are two obvious choices that you can make - either a compact camera or a DSLR. In this case, the Olympus SP-550UZ although might not be as tiny as a compact camera the size is pretty small for its class.

On a recent trip down the road, I find the camera performed exceptionally well - especially with the amazing optical zoom. For normal DSLR cameras, you might need to bring additional lens if you want high optical zoom. However, don't expect very high quality output from the camera.

I find it rather disturbing when taking videos with this camera. I could only get 15 seconds video clips out of this camera. Olympus should seriously consider in rectifying the problem. What good is a 15 seconds video clip?

However, I find the battery life rather good. A single charge can last for at least 490 shots without flash that is. On the other hand, it wouldn't even last more than 50 shots with the flash blazing in each photo shot.

As a conclusion, the Olympus SP-550UZ is a great camera for amateur photographers who wants to put their hands on a compact camera and might subsequently turn pro in the future. Although the photo quality might not be that fantastic, it can print excellent quality pictures A4 size. I particularly like the 18x optical zoom and furthermore I don't need to carry extra lenses for this. However, Olympus should seriously take a look at the video mode - they should extend it to unlimited video shots. Nevertheless it's a good compact camera.