Comments on: Olympus SP-550 Review – Follow Up

By: salvatore tranchina

salvatore tranchina — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 14:23:44 +0000

i have a sp550 and am thinking of getting a3xtele lens extender.the one im looking at is a crystal optics that cost 98.00 .there is also a 3x thats high defination thats 300.00 dollars is it worth the differance

By: Jill

Jill — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 11:46:50 +0000

Thank you for your comprehensive review........I'm off to Botswana in September and need a digital camera with a good zoom for taking wildlife shots. Until now I've only used a 3X zoom (Canon IXUS 55) but love the idea of the Olympus SP- 550. Until now I've been a point-and-shoot snapshot photographer....do you think upgrading as high as SP-550 would be a good idea or would you advise me to lower my sights and perhaps buy something like a Fuji Finepix S5700?

By: Monique

Monique — Sun, 27 May 2007 20:39:46 +0000

THANKS.
Really thorough review and great to be able to compare images. About to replace a lost Olympus camera and after reading your review will certainly go with the SP-550 way. 18x optical zoom will be fabulous.. previously had 10x and thoroughly enjoyed the clarity and detail in the pics.
Thanks again. Monique

By: Peter

Peter — Tue, 22 May 2007 14:03:25 +0000

Very thorough review, thanks for your efforts. Went from a Olympus C2100 UZ to a Kodak 10x (good, but felt too slow) and now it seems this is the next obvious step. Love the idea of true 28mm, about time!

By: jeanette

jeanette — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 06:41:49 +0000

how does the camers compair to the canon s3si and the panasonic fz7 ,
please let me know also how far dows the zoom lens come out from the boby when zoomed

By: Miami

Miami — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 09:02:45 +0000

I am new to all this and after reading reviews for the last 3 MONTHS,I was undecided between the
Canon Powershot s3 is, Panasonic DMC-FZ50,
Panasonic DMC-FZ8 and the Panasonic DMCTZ3.
I stumbled accross Olympus SP-550 reviews by
chance.Subsequently the reviews led to your review.
I can honestly say your review convinced me that this is the one for me has set the bar
for the other reviewers who seem to saythe same thing.
Based on what you've written I put in an order for an Olympus SP-550 today!
Olympus should pay you a big fat commission!

By: Bob Goldstein

Bob Goldstein — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 04:38:19 +0000

I have used the Olympus Master program to process some SP-550 RAW (ORF) files, and noticed the blurriness of the default conversion which Master first presents upon opening the RAW file. I had set the camera to provide a JPEG copy also so I had something to compare it with.

My take on it is this: the program appears to do no sharpening in its default conversion, and the user has to do at least +3 or +4 sharpening to get the image looking as sharp as the JPEG version. Once done, you are in business, and the RAW conversion looks quite fine to me. The adjustments provided in the software besides sharpening seem effective and easy to use.

So I am not too concerned with the delay in waiting for standard RAW software like Adobe, Bibble, ewtc to catch up and provide SP-550 support. The Olympus Master, while not the program i am used to using, will do for the time being as my RAW converter.

By: MaoMao

MaoMao — Sat, 17 Mar 2007 18:45:30 +0000

Hi,

I experienced purple haze showing up in LCD/viewfinder of my SP-550 when shooting at high constrast e.g. sunlight. Image is okie though. Is this a norm?

By: J. Koch

J. Koch — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 08:48:56 +0000

Your real world photos are a helpful contrast to the studio or ideal lighting shots used in most reviews. I don't fault the professional reviews, but don't enjoy their advantages either.

I am skeptical about the incremental advantage of DSLRs over top-line zoom models when there is no tripod and light is not optimum. Professional SRL people can always show work that beats the rest, but we don't see one-on-one comparisons under challenging conditions.

My favorite comparison would be between various zoom models and a prosumer DSLR, consisting of wide-angle and full zoom shots of ball players taken at the same game under the same late day or gymnasium light conditions. The comparison would be not on a "best of the lot" shot, but a series of six to compare the median quality. Might the manufacturers sponsor this sort of comparison at an upcoming sports event? I'd nominate you to represent the Olympus SP 550 contender.

Meanwhile, I've found birds in flight to be a pretty severe test of camera capabilities: motion of both subject and photographer, back light, distance, and color / contrast. Gulls are the easiest if hovering over rubbish. Geese, eagles, hawks, and vultures are a bit tougher. How about testing your Olympus on some airborne avian subjects. Sitting or swimming birds don't count.

One thing I do not understand: that all the zoom cameras use 1 / 2.5" CCDs. Why none with a slightly larger one? Wouldn't that improve the IQ?

By: Mike Smith

Mike Smith — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 12:14:22 +0000

Lawrence,

Hi from Australia. Thank you for reviewing the SP550 for what it is, and not for what people wish it was and bagging it.

There is no where on this camera that says DSLR because it isn't.
I have had the camera for 3 weeks now and have not had to change a lens once.

I can confirm this is a fantastic little camera as you have demonstrated, sure it has limitations compared to a DSLR That's because it isn't.

Thanks again for an unbiased view and real world photographs not test shots.

Mike Smith