Digital Trends

Technology rolls on! Slightly less than a year ago, I reviewed the Olympus SP-500UZ, a 6-megapixel camera with a 10x optical zoom that cost $379. Now the SP-510UZ has arrived for $50 less and the resolution is bumped up to 7.1MP. I gave the SP-500UZ a 7.5 rating out of 10 and wasn’t impressed with it, given the competition. Today there are fewer digicams with 10x optical zooms to choose from as most manufacturers have moved to 12x with optical image stabilization rather than electronic IS. Your choices in that mega zoom category include the popular 6MP Canon PowerShot S3 IS ($399), 6MP Sony CyberShot DSC-H2 ($379) and 7.2MP -H5 ($479), the 7.1MP Kodak EasyShare P712 ($449) and 6MP Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ7 ($349). A more direct competitor for the SP-510UZ is the Kodak EasyShare Z710 that has similar specs but costs $299 list. Take some of these prices with the proverbial grain of salt as camera makers prepare to unload their 2006 models and prepare for 2007. I lean—as does every other reviewer—to optical image stabilization since it does a much better job of preventing blurry photos. Still, the Olympus SP-510UZ could be a sleeper digicam for travelers with its potent zoom, 7.1MP resolution and light weight. Putting four alkalines into the silvery digicam, it was time to see how it performed.