Lawrence Ripsher

Introduction
Every now and then, Olympus have made a point of doing something dramatic in the photography industry. In the 70’s they released a compact SLR, the OM-1, which revolutionized the SLR camera and influenced design for years to come. I happen to own one of those cameras and even today it ranks among the most loved pieces of photographic equipment ever designed (e.g. follow this link, and you find the Olympus OM-1 sitting at the top of the pile of highest ranked 35mm cameras).

In the recent digital world, I think most will agree it’s been a bit of a mix. Olympus have released a number of compact cameras that have rated / sold extremely well (e.g. C-8080) but they haven’t exactly cemented a dominant position in this new industry. What they have done however, which is something I’ve admired the company for, is not been satisfied with just adding megapixels to their sensors. Instead they have been at the forefront of creating innovative technologies and approaches. The list is long but to give a few examples, I immediately recall their underwater / shockproof 7xx SW compact camera series, the most industry’s most compact DSLR (E-400), the creation of live view in their E-330 DSLR and so on. They also recently won a prestigious EISA award, with their entire Top Pro range taking the honours in the “European Professional Lens 2006-2007” category. 

However despite these innovations, and some very good cameras, I always felt that Oly never really got it all right in the same body. It’s as if each camera contains unique innovations that if only they were able to bring together into a single body – you’d be looking at a new killer DSLR. With all that great glass and technology, it’s a system waiting for a camera.

I personally think that the people who have shown patience in waiting for Olympus to deliver on that potential, will be rewarded later this year. That remains to be seen but this brief intro also leads me to the point of this article – The Olympus SP-550 Uzi. When the 550 was announced amongst a slew of compact cameras, it boasted a dreamy set of features, and seemed as if this might be one of those Olympus moments – when everything came together perfectly into the same package.

Now, I have been in the market for a decent compact / portable backup to my Canon 5D for a while and have been watching this camera with great interest. So when I heard that the SP-550 was out in Singapore this week, I immediately sold my Nikon D70 (an undisputed gem of a camera but one which hasn’t had much usage from me lately) and went and picked up this 18x zoom. I’ve had the SP-550 for four days now which has been enough time for me to write a review and give an idea of what it can do.

Some caveats
So before I get stuck in, first some things to note. This is a field review – not a resolution / studio shot / controlled environment set of tests. I’ll certainly show 100% crops but this will be written more from a photographer’s point of view, describing what it feels like to use the camera (but trying to be quantitative where possible). Also note that I’m not testing this camera from the perspective of it being my only camera. I have a 5D which I will always use when my glass covers the focal length and I happen to be carrying it with me. However I’ve found I’m using my SLR more and more for specific shoots and barely carrying it around with me for general / street photography. So for some time, I’ve definitely thought it would be nice to have something suitable (and capable) which could go with me on a daily basis. So my perspective of this review will be slightly weighted towards how I intend to use this camera, which is:
-    For travel / street
-    For daily use
-    Snapshots
-    For its telephoto length which currently far exceeds my longest DSLR lens

I expect it to take good pictures and I expect to be able to take pictures with it – so my expectations are definitely high going in. But I thought it be useful to clarify this first so you know where I’m coming from.

Features
If you’re reading this having come from the Olympus forums, I am sure this part will be no surprise. However, for the purposes of completeness:
Core Features
-    7.1 MP sensor (the smaller 1/2.5” CCD sensor)
-    Wide 18x zoom
-    Focal length 28mm to 504mm (35mm equivalents)
-    Max aperture F/2.8 (wide end) to F/4.5 (long end)
-    RAW
-    Full manual mode (Aperture, Shutter, Manual, etc)
-    Scene modes
-    Super Macro mode (1cm focusing distance)
-    ISO 50 to 1600 in full resolution
-    1.2 fps speed
Special Features (those that require a *)
-    Up to ISO 5000 with reduced resolution (3MP)
-    7fps (for 15 frames) at 3MP or 15 fps (for 20 frames) at 1.2MP

There’s obviously lots more features but these were the ones I considered most significant. The wide focal length coupled with the lens starting at 28mm were the two things that grabbed me the most (along with the relatively fast aperture). After that it was the manual mode and a few things like RAW, etc. But honestly, the lens alone was enough to make this an extremely interesting camera on paper.

Next – Part 2 – Design, Controls, Timings

Related posts:

1. Olympus E-P1 Review Diary – Part 2 – Autofocus Had a proper chance to sit down with the E-P1...
2. Olympus E-P1 Review Diary – Part 7 – LCD screen and composing I was disappointed when I first heard the Olympus E-P1...
3. Olympus E-P1 Review Diary – Part 11 – C Mount Glass and Samples VII One of the most compelling advantages of the micro four...
4. Olympus E-P1 Review Diary – Part 12 – Conclusion I've decided to wrap up this review diary with a...
5. Olympus E-P1 Review Diary – Part 4 – Preferred Settings Thought it might be useful to share a summary of...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.