Digital Trends

Olympus SP-500 December 12th, 2005 | by David Elrich

Conclusions

The 10x Olympus SP-500UZ is in the thick of a tough fight with Canon, Kodak, Konica-Minolta and Sony, all battling for photographers who want powerful zooms that are great for all-around use, especially vacations. It has some good things going for it and some negatives. Most you can live with but I had a tough time dealing with the uneven focusing. When I started this review, I used a baseball metaphor and I may as well continue, courtesy of Ernest Lawrence Thayer: “There is no joy in Melville, Mighty Casey has struck out.” (For those who don't get this inside baseball joke, Olympus HQ are in Melville, NY, not Mudville.—Ed.)

Pros

• Compact and lightweight
• 10x optical zoom
• Extensive list of shooting modes (27)
• Uses standard AA batteries, excellent battery life

Cons

• Uneven focusing
• Plastic body feels chintzy
• No auto pop-up flash or hot shoe
• Poor movie mode compared to competition
• No diopter control
• Too limited Basic Owner's Manual