Olympus Unveils SP-550UZ with 18x Optical Zoom

18x optical zoom (wide to telephoto), 15fps at 1.2MP, able to shoot RAW, macro as close as 1cm, Dual Image Stabilization

"The SP-550 UZ debuts in March for $499.95." - from the link above.

Wonder when this thing gonna hits our shore and for how much?

This post has been edited by vyruz: Jan 26 2007, 10:20 AM

1/2.5 '' CCD sensor, i bet anything over iso 200 is useless.

on paper spec is really a dream. let's see whether real performance can match the spec

15fps at 1.2MP wahh... video shoot meh hahahah

seems interesting on paper, but real performance is yet to be seen. will be watching closely on this cam

seem very nice....it cover wide angle and tele.... bad new for other prosumer user like me

but the olympus previous mode had some serious problem on the purple fringing..hope this 1 dun hv this problem...

Very impressive specs, as good as a DSLR with wide angle to long range zoom lense already, would really like to get one if i hadnt got my Dslr earlier



Yeah, i have olympus c770 with 1/2.5 ccd sensor, noise at 400 is very high.

This post has been edited by Gundam Wing: Jan 26 2007, 01:40 PM

The price is as close as D40. lll

Other than the CCD sensor size, it's almost close to perfect for a prosumer. (OK, to be fair, that's a common sensor size for a prosumer.)

The wide-to-18x tele is really a killer, and FINALLY, Olympus implemented a real/optical IS.

Wonder how responsive is this camera. My experience with SP-510uz is just "acceptable" as compare to FZ-5/7 for responsiveness.

Is that true? I'm comparing between the Olympus SP-550 and Panasonic FZ-7. Although the 550 looks more professional and modern and I have had a good experience with the C-3020, the FZ-7 impressed me with its focussing speed.

How do you find the FZ-7's performance?

man..18x optical.. too bad im moving towards DSLR soon.. if not i would get this new eye opener

the optical IS is sensor-shifting -_-

An excellent match against any DSLR under a very very hot day. 18x, candid shots just got more interesting...

i wonder if Canon will come up with similar spec like this, maybe for S4 IS..

u mean a papparazi/stalker's dream cam?

Yeap. The FZ-7's focusing speed is amazing, burst-shot (continueos shots) is fast (3 FPS), writing is fast, uses SD instead of the obscure xD. To me the only drawback of FZ-7 is the feeling in my hand. I felt like I am handling a toy, it's too light and plastic.

I'd suggest you to test out both b4 deciding. If picture quality is you main concern, D40 might be a better choice.

You might oso want to consider FZ-50, as it allows SLR-like manual focus (turn the focus ring), rather than to press some stupid buttons).

Eh, the new Olympus ISO1600 is good till ISO400, usable at ISO800, as seen on their 2005/2006 models. It's not noisy like the Panasonics!

Panasonic's bad ISO and focus-by-wire ring will ruin high-speed action shots. For that purpose the Fujfilm S6500fd is more suited, though it does not have optical stabilization, it has ISO3200 and good ISO800.

yeah.. 18x is simply good for candid.

how bout the SP510UZ? any1 use it before?
think wanna buy but dunno better wait for this 550UZ or not.
pls advice for the function n price.....
thanx ya.

of course it's better.. it's 18x optical... when this launch.. im sure 510uz price will drop.. might as well wait

I guess the price will be around RM1700 - 1800. Hmm... acording to the web, it will launch around March, so expected to come to Malaysia around April maybe. So still have time to save money then...