SP-510 UZ Initial Review

Here is a web site that has done an initial review for the Olympus SP-510 UZ. I leave to it others to comment on the review if they so desire.

http://www.digitalcamerainfo.com/content/Olympus-SP-510-UZ-First-Impressions-Review-.htm

Thanks for the heads-up GrandCentral, it's about time we got a review of some sort. And even better if they're interesting.

Quote from the review, talking about the WCON 17:

"which might be worth considering if you’re planning to shoot both the wildlife at home and outdoors"

And another one about the many shooting modes:

"The unusual modes include Behind Glass, Museum and Cuisine. A knife and fork are not included with the latter"

lol Gotta love it. Anyway, nice review.

And as you mentioned in the other thread, I didn't know the SP-510 could do slave flash. I wonder how... (but that's a subject for another thread. That very specific other thread).

Hope dpreview does an in-depth review too.

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particle engine - experimentations in sound and music

There are a few technical inaccuracies, though:

"The shutter speed range of ½ second to 1/1000 is a little bit small: some other similar cameras offer 1/4000 or higher. You can extend the exposure to 4 seconds by using the night scene mode, or up to 15 seconds by using bulb, though."

The shutter duration ranges from 15" to 1/1000 with 8 mintes maximum duration in bulb mode. (Am I missing an 'edit post' link?)

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particle engine - experimentations in sound and music

I'm thinking about this camera, really I know very little about photography. Canon sure shot 85 film camera is our current model. I'd like to get an upgrade and go digital and learn a little more about photography.

I've read most of the UltraZoom reviews (Canon S3, Pan. FZ7, Kodak Easy Share etc). The SP510 looks like good value but perhaps I could get a few opinions on the following questions:

I hope to use this for some sports photos, my kids play lots of hockey, soccer, lacrosse and the lens is attractive. The lack of IS seems to bother some reviewers.... and the lack of burst speed. The chances of me getting more than 2 or 3 sequential shots in one of these sports is pretty slim, so is the burst speed a big factor?

The IS concern is the one I seem to have the most questions about. I appreciate the 510 uses an internal gyro (is this true?) and then applies the anti shake setting to the software, where the Canon or Panasonic use the gyro in a differnt manner.

Does the Digital IS do a decent enough job at a longer zoom , or should I look at a true IS system? Will I need a tripod, monopod etc to ensure I'm steady enough with either or both systems? Seems like lots of people are using the 510 for wildlife and safaris. Those animals probably move faster than my kids!

I also want to use it for family photos, the kids school plays etc. It appears to be more than enough camera for those tasks. The reviews seems to be high on the lens, and the software.

The current price is $350 cdn.

I like the idea of taking movies with it. Will it take the place of a cam corder or is it meant to take small snippets?

Any comments are appreciated:

Thanks in advance

Gord McGuire

Gosh, why do reviewers who don't know what they're doing, state that the camera has electronic IS. Basically all it has is the fact that auto ISO will allow the ISO to be set high electronically so that a higher shutter speed will result. How misleading is that - just like FUJI - although Fuji's high ISO capabilities are far superior to the Olympus model.

In addition, the SP-500 had superior picture taking capabilities compared to the new 510.

Olympus has really taken several steps back in the image quality department. Sure they may have added features, but these new "me too" silver releases do nothing to build on and improve from the IQ from the previous Camedia series of cameras - what a shame.
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Have a great day!

For sports where there's a lot of movement, I'd rely on good lighting on and fast shutter speed. In these cases, the SP-510 can handle it no problem without any image stabilization. It's low-light conditions that's the trouble.

I've read that it has an a mechanical gyro for the software processing too (I have this camera, not sure how I can check; the 'Advanced Manual' doesn't mention it) too, but you know what - I haven't used the stabilization feature at all, beyond the initial testing (although all I think it does is boost the ISO for a faster shutter speed).

Although initially frustrating, I eventually got used to holding my camera steady (the SP-510 UZ has very good grip areas for this), and I haven't had too many bad, blurry shots at all. So I wouldn't really think consider the IS bit much.

The burst mode isn't fast at all: 3 images at 1.7fps, although it's better than, say, the Panasonic FZ7's 1.5fps. Haven't really used that so I can't say personally how that works.

I just recently bought a really small tripod (gooseneck, fits in the jeans pocket) to take around everywhere I go. I think that'll come in handy.

About the movies, it can shoot in maximum 640x480 at 24fps for as long as your storage capacity allows. I'd say for quick, "small snippets" - it would do the trick.

What really bothers me is the noise this camera produces, which seems to be higher than others in its class. In low-lit conditions (especially since you're compelled to up the ISO, and this camera can go all the way to 1600 in full resolution), it's visibly distracting. A simple noise-removal plugin will save your best shots if it's got too much noise. But even without noise removal, the photos aren't bad at all. (You can check out my Flickr gallery for samples, username "livatlantis").

If you do indeed decide to get this camera, let us know.

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particle engine - experimentations in sound and music

I hate pain in the ass pop-ups. I tried but will not bother with that site again.

I cannot see a hotshoe on the 360 deg virtual projection on the European Olympus site. The specs don't mention a hotshoe.

Movies at 640x480/30 frames/second sounds interesting, but unless the 2 Gig card is supported, I would expect these to be short. On the Stylus 800 I get 15 minutes on one Gig at 640x480/15 frames a second. I don't carry my DV tape camera unless specifically requested to record a whole evening at a jazz club.

7.1 Megapixels might just give that extra detail on moon shots - less digital zoom required for a full frame when compared to my C-750UZ.

Will I see a sharp picture through the EVF? On the SP500 I could not when I tried that model in the shop, with or without my specs.

Henry

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Henry Falkner - C-750UZ, Stylus 800 http://www.pbase.com/hfalkner

There wasn't a hotshoe on the SP-500, nor is there on the SP-510.
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Have a great day!

I have also read several reviews where Olympus cameras receive so-so comments about image quality (if not downright negative, see review of the FE-190 on DC resource) and it's a pity.

My first digital camera was a C-4000 zoom and image quality was one of my main criteria when I purchased it. It had great reviews and I believe that, from that point of view, it's one of the best 4 megapixels ever made. Even the C-765, which I purchased for its 10x zoom and which is also a 4 megapixels, has not the same image quality though it's a more recent camera.

It seems that Olympus is now mainly concentrating on DSLR's (and these ones DO HAVE very good IQ) but even if it's a fast growing market segment, non-DSLR's still represent a huge volume (see CIFA stats on the main page), and it would be too bad to see the Olympus brand's reputation tarnished (including DSLR's) just because they have shifted their efforts towards the fastest growing market segment and to some extent neglect the other one.

By the way, I would REALLY like to see their wooden camera and hold one in my hand. I hope that this one will have an outstanding IQ.

After looking at this camera and it's competition I decided to get the Canon S3.

It has a much faster burst rate, and that is attractive considering what I want to use it for. The lack of real IS on the 510 camera really made me wonder.

I will never use the RAW format as waiting that long to burn an image down doesn't seem likely to me.

The price for the 510 was $380 andf the 1 gig XD card was @ $130. The Canon S3 was $500 and they had 1 gig SD cards on for $19! So all in it was basically the same price.

The Canon gets higher ratings all across the board....looks like buying a Honda, always a safe bet. Maybe not the most adventurous choice but a solid value.

Thanks for all the input, you folks sure know your camers. i really appreciate the replies to my naive questions.

Regards

Gord McGuire

Had a look at the SP-510 today - the lens itself has a thread, and the surrounding fixed barrel has none. Would it be safe to stick a Tcon-17 on the (moving) lens? Can the mechanism hack the extra weight?

Henry

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Henry Falkner - C-750UZ, Stylus 800 http://www.pbase.com/hfalkner

You have to buy the CLA-4 adapter to connect to camera and then it will find. If you go to the Olympus website you can buy the adapter there.