Olympus SP-510 UZ

Opinion: I have used this camera about a week, 3 years ago. I think
that all kamerina features deserve a very good rate, but
the image quality is below average. Comments also go the
size and weight of the camera.

Opinion: Got this camera used - in order to relace my old "all weather" Oly FE100 - at first - but starting to get used to it - it became a replacement for the fuji 9600
i've found it very easy to use, good menu - divided in "setup menu" and "camera menu", excellent customizeable modes, excellent colors, good lens (though not too wide), excellent battery life
i use it mainly on manual or custom "my mode" - a derivation from the P mode - and for best pictures - use it on 5mp with the least compression (largest file) - in order to reduce jpeg artifacts
pros: excellent colors, little purple fringing, good jpeg algorythm, good menu, good focusing (except at the end of zoom), great battery life, runs on AA's, great pictures at night (on manual), compact size
cons: expensive and slow xd card, proprietary usb cable, fairly high noise over iso 400, poor viewfinder (but good display), crappy AUTO mode (cannot lock ISO, so the camera raises it to unbearable noise levels)

Opinion: I had bought one of these but returned it after a few days. The camera wasn't that bad but I was looking for something more . . . I already had an Olympus point and shoot and am very satisfied with it, but it's a 3MP and it's just too slow. This one was faster and had lots of manual controls . . . what didn't do it for me was the image quality at low light conditions, there were just too much noise, the NR (Noise Reduction) works but it produces a blurry picture . . . it might be also bec. of the image stabilization, it's digital and not optical . . . I couldn't produce a good quality shot of my monitor screen w/o noise no matter what I do . . . I later got a Canon S-5 and produced a good shot of my monitor screen on my very first try. So if you're short on bucks, this is a good camera to get your feet wet before you splurge on a DSLR . . . but if you don't plan on getting a DSLR and just want a good quality camera with manual controls, I suggest you put a little more money and go for a Canon S-5 or a Sony H-7/H-9. I know Olympus has a higher end ultrazoom, the SP550, but I haven't tried it so I have no opinion on it.

Opinion: This will be my last Olympus digital. I bought this camera to replace a damaged beyond repair C-740 which had been a wonderful camera despite it's focussing problems. The specs for the SP-510 are impressive, particularly for the price, but very little lives up to expectations.

Firstly, the absolute joke they call a viewfinder. As you can tell I am not impressed. No diopter adjustment, and a resolution that means you can't be sure someone is looking at you or not without peeking over the camera to check. If you rely on the viewfinder, and for this level of camera I think it reasonable to expect, then don't buy this camera.

Secondly, the noise introduced into your pictures is so excessive at times as to render your photographs unusable. Other reviewers here have noted the same and suggested keeping your ISO rating down to between 50 -200, but providing the range that Olympus has, which is a selling point, suggests that they at least believe them usable. No they are not. Very dissapointed.

Thirdly, the "I was made to break off: rubber cover on the "I'm not a proper USB cable" port. I hate these rubber covers as they always end up either breaking or distorting to the point of unusability. And what is it protecting.? It is not a standard USB cable but a modified version, so if you happen to loose your Olympus brand cable or left it at home etc. forget borrowing anyone elses 'stansard' USB cable to do a quick transfer, or display on their computer screen.

I have had this camera for three months now, taken around 2000 photos and am very dissapointed with the quality of the results. My old C-740 took better shots at 3.2 MP than this one at 7.1MP. If I could I would send it back and spend a little more on a decent camera from another company.

Opinion: Great camera for the money if you want to do more than point and shoot.

Indoor pics come out much better in manual mode (Iso 50-200) than auto. Auto is good when outdoors.

Alot of features packed into this camera.

Battery life is outstanding!!!!! and uses standard "AA"

Navigation of menu's is ok.

Movie mode is good but the audio is poor.
You have to be pretty close to get good quality audio.

I would still reccomend it to a friend.

Opinion: It's a very good camera in Manual mode.

Just bought the camera, it's my second camera. The fist was a 2mp kodak.

I was surprised with this camera. 7.1 MP, 10X zoom, alot of manual controls, lots of settings. I love that.

Pros:
Exellent image when used in Manual Mode
10x zoom
Nice film quality

Cons:
Very High Noise in AUTO mode (INDOOR), For outdoor it's fine.
Camera drop to 3 megapixels when using "fine zooming", or ISO 3200 - 4000.
15 seconds limit when filming at 640x480 @ 30 FPS
Weak Flash (But you can adjust it)

I learned alot with this camera. I had to read some webpages to set it in manual mode. The Auto mode seems to put a too high ISO , which result in alot of noise. You are better to read and learn what aperture, exposition and correct lighting is, then use the camera in Manual mode at ISO 50 for less noise.

So far here's my setting:
Manual mode:
ISO 50,
Sharpness +5
NR (Noise Reduction) ON
DIS (Digital Img Stablization) ON
Flash Power (Icon) +2.0EV

And if you need more light, put the flash, if you need more, adjust the exposure time to be longer, but don't shake or use a tripod. That is, you can adjust between 5 o 6 level of exposure without too much shake, so that's nice and handy.

I would suggest that camera if you want nice picture and you are a settings and controls freaks, or if you wanna be more profesionnal and learn how to use a manual mode and all the settings. The Auto mode is nice outside only.

Paid 434$ CAD (w/ sales tax) + 75$ for a 512 mb Type M xD card + 50$ for batteries.

I'd say that it's a really nice camera.

Construction 4.5/5
Includes a lens cover, but can't install lens like an SLR. However the camera is quite heavy and need good grip, and I love that. I love the feeling of having a really big and heavy camera. I really like it. Lost .5 points because of: No real lens change and can't add a flash.

Features 5.0/5
Alot of settings in manual mode
Quite Good video quality

Image Quality 5/5
Auto mode is not good indoors, however quality is awesome in manual mode, with all the settings correct. (See at the bottom of the page). Plus, Since the auto mode might not be good sometimes, It makes you want to learn how to use a camera - which is excellent.

Easy Of Use 3.5/5
Alot of settings to go throught, and 2-3 settings to check or adjust each time you take a picture. Thats why this camera lost 1.5 points. However, once set, you obtain awesome quality.

Value For The Money 5.0/5
Very good camera for beginner and intermediate. Expert/Pro will probably buy a real SLR. However at that price, this camera is awesome to learn.

Don't forget: To get the maximum out of this camera:

Use the manual mode
ISO 50 if possible (or always)
Set Sharpness to +5
NR (Noise Reduction) ON
DIS Mode (Digital Img. Stabl.) ON
Flash Power (Icon) +2.0EV (Might overexpose your picture (too white/ bleached area/ big white spot/ overwhite white), But you would certinaly like a little boost, so set it to 0.7 by default. The stock flash is quite weak.

Learn how to adjust Shutter Speed and Aperture

Enjoy !

Opinion: This is my 1st DSC. I am kind of satisfied with the camera after snapping few photos. Some of my photos taken with the 510uz can be found from my blog (ykee.blogspot.com). All pictures were taken in PASM mode. Please note that the text content is written in Chinese, but you can safely ignore it as it has nothing to do with camera review.

Things that I like abt the camera,
0. Feels good in hand (proved to be a decisive factor in the end) - compares to Lumix FZ-7 (almost bought one).
1. Straight forward and easy to use user interface/menu.
2. Good battery life, but pls note that I seldom do flash.
3. xD and battery in different compartment.
4. Generally responsive, except interval between flashes.
5. Super Macro mode up to 3cm.

Opinion: I had the OIympus c-770, and I needed a camera with higher resolution. I choose 510-uz beacause my experience from Olympus was great. And I did a great choose. The image quality is very good, the zoom perfect and the battery life great. It has not image stabilization but the price is so low that you can not have everything. Some reviews say that the noise levels are high. Come on, it's a compact camera. I don't think that iso 50-100 have a lot of noise for compact digital.

Opinion: Good 10 x 7/6 Mp ( 4/3 or 3/2 )
Very good Video with anti shak
Very good over zoom ( 15 x ) fine extrapolation
Very good white balance
Very good exposition ( numérique type )
Contrast as a numerique camera not like a film camera ->
then image is with noise but you can decrease it with more contrast ! yes !
Good autonomy
Raw mode