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| Brand: Olympus
Category: Photography
List Price: $349.99
Buy New: $235.95
You Save: $114.04 (33%)
New (13) Used (5) Refurbished (3) from $195.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  81 reviews
Sales Rank: 12723
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Batteries Included: Yes
Floppy Disk Drive: None
Optical Zoom: 18
Display Size: 2.5
Maximum Focal Length: 84.24
Minimum Focal Length: 4.68
Maximum Resolution: 7.1
Has Red Eye Reduction: Yes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 3.1 x 5 x 3.1
MPN: 225885
Model: 225885
UPC: 050332159853
EAN: 0050332158238
ASIN: B000LXZKQK
Release Date: March 1, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 (3.75 ***) Too much for amateurs, too little for pros... March 28, 2007
35 out of 38 found this review helpful
Would give a 3.75 or 75% rating to this new camera from Olympus. Full review can be found at [...]
Overall the camera feels good to hold and does not seem at all fragile. However, the SP-550 is too large for purse or pocket use and is lacking in the features and image quality that would make it the ideal dedicated camera for intermediate and advanced users. So the target market will be hobbyists who are avoiding the advanced prosumer and DSLR models, yet wanting more features and zoom than the current crop of shirt pocket cameras offer.
Photos did not give the sense of crisp sharpness I was hoping for. Noise issues, many of which can be dealt with in post-processing, were still abundant, and may be the main contributer to the soft feel of the SP-550's images. In all, I think the image quality is going to be the SP-550's main downfall among serious photographers.
On the contrary, the strongest appeal will be to casual photographers who simply take vacation and family snapshots and occasionally need a longer zoom or a wider lens. Photographers who do embrace the SP-550 and eventually want the ability to explore more advanced photography techniques will find the camera to be a good stepping stone.
 Wonderful Camera March 21, 2007
6 out of 18 found this review helpful
This is my 5th digital camera. It is the best I have used in this size camera.
Excellent image quality with superb 18X optical zoom with optical stabilization, but no high speed USB and mediocre software March 13, 2007
71 out of 74 found this review helpful
Images from this camera are very high quality. The 18X optical zoom is very usable with only minimal distortion noticeable at the extremes. The optical image stabilization system (based on stabilizing the CCD image sensor instead of lens elements) is quite good and performed well under several different circumstances (moving car, boat, shaky hands).
My main gripe with this camera is the lack of high speed USB 2.0 support. The fine print says that the USB interface is "full speed" which means a maximum transfer rate of 12 Mbit/s instead of the 480 Mbit/s possible with high speed USB. So, downloading photos from the camera through the USB interface is painfully slow compared to most current generation digital cameras such as a Canon SD900.
The software provided with the camera is somewhat difficult to use and is slow and unresponsive.
It would also be desirable if the camera could accept a lithium ion rechargeable battery in addition or instead of the 4 AA batteries it uses. But, battery life with both alkaline and rechargeable NiMH AA batteries was adequate.
not perfect, but still an excellent camera March 9, 2007
89 out of 90 found this review helpful
I got the camera about a week ago and highly recommend it. If you buy this camera, I recommend getting an H type card which is much faster than the M type for taking pictures. Some movie functions do not work to full capability with the M type but do with the faster H type. I also recommend getting NIMH 2700 mah batteries and charger. Their higher capacity is worth the money and will save over the long run.
As far as the camera goes, I wish the camera was higher than 7.1 mp, but compared to my old 3.3 mp camera, the pictures are so much clearer and finer. The camera has many functions build in, and you will need to read the manual to get full use of the camera. Out of the box AUTO mode works well, but after reading the manual, I think most higher end users will want to set their own modes.
Some nice included functions are the manual ability, the ability to choose among 15 different shooting types (such as through a window), and the ability to store raw images among others. Storing raw images is slow due to the large file size and can take several seconds on an M type card.
Movie mode is able to take 30 fps at 640X480, but 15 fps is still good quality. With the M type card you can only take 15 seconds of movies at full mode, but H type you can fill your memory card. The default setting for movies is without sound so you will need to turn this on. However, with sound turned on, I was not able to zoom, even with the H card.
Image Stablization was nicely setup and can be set with just the push of a button rather than going through the Menu. Also, the eyepiece viewfinder is setup so that if the display on the back is on, the viewfinder is off and vice-versa. In fact when you use the eyepiece viewfinder, the picture that is normally displayed on the back is now in the eyepiece. I suppose this is good for taking pictures when it is too bright to see the back screen.
Finally, I like to take weather shots and this camera includes a time lapse mode, which I can put together with my old software (not Olympus) into a movie.
[...]
Olympus 18X of fun March 4, 2007
49 out of 53 found this review helpful
To All,
I just purchased the SP-550UZ after searching for the best camera bang for the buck - Olympus fills the bill..... 3/3/07 was my first day of use and I decided to check ALL the features - with the batteries supplied - still in use and a 2GB card - I took off for the outdoors and began shooting pictures at a local park - 300 pictures - including several 15 FPS and 30 FPS shoots and three videos - 15, 30 and 45 seconds in length.
I am not a pro and will be using this camera for Sports, vacations and every day family events.
No Cons yets - I love the "SCN" feature - just select how you want to take the picture and the camera setups the camera - all you have to do is take the picture.
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