Olympus SP-590 UZ

Opinion: 26x zoom is impressive, let's see how good is the IQ. It is certainly better than its Nikon rival.

Opinion: I had high hopes for this camera based on earlier Olympus models and the
specifications and pre-ordered it. The construction was much flimsier than it was for
the earlier models I had seen. I don't know if this particular camera was unusually
flawed, as I had no others to compare it with but, by any measure, the output of
the camera was terrible. Colors were way off (without adjustment - it is nice,
however, that you can adjust several color parameters). None of the images were
sharp, even with a tripod. I tried macros, no zoom, 1/4 zoom..full zoom etc. They
were consistently poor. The spot focus stops working at high zoom values. My main
comparison is my 7MP, 12X zoom Sony DSC H5. I had expected the Olympus
SP590UZ would be good replacement, but it clearly was not and I immediately
returned it to the vendor.

Opinion: I still use my Oly 510-UZ more than any of my other Oly cameras, but I think Olympus has made a noticeable improvement with the 590-UZ. There are less exterior controls to confuse one, and the zoom is much better than the ring zoom on the previous model. The ELVf is good and has a calibrating knob. Nice big LCD, great focal length range, light weight, and simple controls make this a nice camera to use.
At $440 USD this is a good value camera. The Xd card would be better replaced with an SD card, but I have so many Xd cards from owning previous models, I can live with the extra cost/Mb of the Xd's.
No regrets thus far. I bought the previous model to this one last year and only kept it a few weeks before gladly selling it.

Opinion: Purchased to replace my oly C750UZ. Familiar and expanded menu system & features, better ergonomics,etc. Camera response is much better than than the C750UZ.