Compared to... Kodak EasyShare P850
Below you will find a studio comparison between the Olympus SP-500UZ and the Kodak P850, which is available for a similar price. We have included samples each camera's highest and lowest ISO settings (SP-500UZ; ISO 80 and 400, P850; ISO 50 and 400).
Studio scene comparison (SP-500UZ @ ISO 80, P850 @ ISO 50)
- Olympus SP-500UZ: Aperture Priority mode (F5.0), ISO 80, Default Image Parameters,
Manual white balance, +1.0 EV compensation
- Kodak EasyShare P850 : Aperture Priority mode, ISO 50, Default Image Parameters, Manual (preset) white balance, +0.3 EV compensation
- Lighting: Daylight simulation, >98% CRI
Olympus SP-500UZ |
Kodak EasyShare P850 |
|---|---|
ISO 80, 1/50 sec, F5 |
ISO 50, 1/40 sec, F5.0 |
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3,221 KB JPEG |
2,091 KB JPEG |
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Compared to the P850 it's obvious that the Olympus is capturing a little more detail, but not a huge amount, and the overall impression (also got when looking through the gallery shots) is that the images are a touch on the soft side. Like the last 'SP' model we looked at, the SP-500UZ has a little too much sharpening applied, and the reds are a little weak, but overall the results are on a par with other 'budget' super zoom cameras. What is obvious from our tests is that the extra megapixel or so makes very little difference, though the SP-500UZ has slightly better corner-to-corner consistency than the Kodak.
