ProductCritic: Olympus SP-500 UZ Reviews

PC Advisor (87)

This well-priced model has a long zoom lens that will suit beginners and casual photographers who want to get close to the action. Shame it doesn’t offer anti-shake, but the overall model is so good that you can do without.

Megapixel.net (86)

Positives: Very good image quality. Excellent colour rendition. Big 10X optical zoom. Very good lens. Complete set of shooting modes. RAW format. Compact and light to carry. Large 2.5-inch LCD monitor. High definition EVF. Negatives: No optical stabilization. Poorly designed viewfinder eyecup and no diopter correction. EVF refresh rate lower than monitor’s. RAW format needs better software support.

Steve's Digicams (84)

Bottom line – with great image quality, good performance, a versatile and powerful zoom range, and a multitude of exposure modes, the Olympus SP500UZ is quite the compact “super zoom”. It lacks the optical image stabilization found on similar super-zoom models from Canon, Kodak, Konica Minolta, Panasonic and Sony.

Digital Photography Review (83)

Ultimately, the SP-500UZ is a perfectly good camera, and one with some very nifty tricks up its sleeve, but unless you rarely use the long end of the zoom or are happy carrying a tripod with you at all times, the lack of image stabilization negates most of the benefits of such a big zoom range.

PC World (83)

This competitively priced model has a long zoom lens, numerous scene modes that will appeal to beginners, and plenty of manual controls for more serious shutterbugs.

Cameras.co.uk (81)

I like the Olympus SP-500. It has a good feature set and feels good in the hand. Compared to other similar digital cameras it has a very reasonable price.

ThinkCamera (80)

In summary, the SP500-UZ is one of those that allows users to dig further into creative photography with plenty of features and a whopping 35 mm equivalent 380mm lens. Easy to use, even in the advanced modes, the overall build and output is excellent; and to find cameras with a better feature set, you’ll have to spend a good £250 more to get one.

Digital Camera Magazine (80)

Ultra-zoom cameras are increasing in popularity and with all that magnifying power in a compact it is easy to see why. The colour reproduction is excellent and the images are sharp. The absense of an image stabiliser is noticable, however this is a very capable camera and is pretty good value for money.

Good Gear Guide (80)

A very respectable advanced camera model that is only really let down by noisy pictures.

Let's Go Digital (76)

For the time being, the Olympus SP-500 UZ is an all-round digital camera, and if it is priced considerably lower that its competitors, it will be a perfect find for an experienced photographer in search of a second camera or a compact version of their digital reflex camera. Starters will be less convinced and will probably look around to see what the competition has to offer.

Digital Trends (75)

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.”

DigiCamReview (75)

If you can live without image stabilisation, and aren’t interested in recording videos then this is well worth considering, especially if you find the vibrant colours, numerous features, and ease of use, appealing.

Photexels (71)

The Olympus SP-500 UZ is well designed, enjoyable to use and very easy to get good pictures with. More importantly to the serious amateur photographer, the wide range of features means that this fine digital camera will take a long time to outgrow.

DigitalCameraInfo.com (70)

Olympus cut costs by omitting an image stabilization system, which would have greatly benefited users and is included on much of its ultra zoom competition.

Macworld (70)

The Olympus SP-500 Ultra Zoom is a competitively priced camera with a long zoom lens, and numerous scene modes that will appeal to many photographers.

Digital Camera Resource Page (68)

The SP-500UZ is an average camera in a sea of really good ones. While I’d say that it’s “okay to buy” the SP-500, there are many other cameras in this category that offer better performance, photo quality, and features (including image stabilization).