Do I go for Olympus for SP565/SP570 or Panasonic FZ28

I have been looking for some time and know I want a bridge camera. The reviews for the Panny seem to be slightly better than the Olympus but would rather get some feedback from you guys on here.

I have a now broken Olympus 5060 zoom which has been my favorite camera so particularly wondered if the two Olympus cameras I am looking at are the updates of the 5060 in any way.

Also as the prices in the UK seem close for these two whether one is better than the other as they seem very similar. However the 565 is being sold as the latest model?

I know the 590 may be better but that is in an higher price level which I don't want to go to!!

Well, I haven't used any of those cameras personally, although I have owned the 5060 and the Panasonic FZ20. The long zoom and image stabilization on the FZ20 made it a lot of fun to use, which I really liked, but the color wasn't as good as Olys, which is what brought me back. I have heard they improved the color on them.

The specs on the cameras you are looking at are all pretty similar. The one exception I can find is that only the 570 has a hot shoe, allowing for the use of external flash. That may not be a big deal to you but frankly, it's huge to me and for that reason alone I would opt for the 570.

Even if you don't currently own an external flash, you may want to consider getting one down the road, and you can't do that with either of the other cameras.

External flash elevates your photography to a whole new level. Gone are the harsh shadows, red-eye and bad color associated with the on-board flash. It makes your shots look like they were done by a pro. Here are a couple of examples:

On-board flash:



External flash:



--
Theresa K
E-3, E-300, 8mm fisheye, 14-54, 50-200 and 50mm lenses, FL-50, FL-36R, HLD-4
http://theresak.smugmug.com/

With external flash, you get fabulous catchlights...







--
Theresa K
E-3, E-300, 8mm fisheye, 14-54, 50-200 and 50mm lenses, FL-50, FL-36R, HLD-4
http://theresak.smugmug.com/

Hi & Thanks for your help

I note what you say about an external flash which I have used as I did buy the FL something especially to go with the 5060. However due to the types of shots I was, and will be taking, it is not really for me. I tend to be a 'sunny day only' photographer buildings, landscapes and the odd internal room shot but the latter are when I am dealing with popery sales when strict confidentiality is sought. It is bad enough trying to be discreet with just the camera!!!

Perhaps I ought to move on to other subject matter as your shots are excellent but at my age I am still into the buildings and landscapes.

I think maybe under rated the SP 560 is a great camera. I've had good luck with mine and now you can buy one real cheap which allows you to get a tcon 1.7 with the CLA adapter to fit and still be under 400 dollars. I have enjoyed mine immensely for the last year and taken a lot of what I would call decent photos with it. Downside is it lacks the detail of a full blown dslr but with the tcon you can get shots in the 800mm range which makes birding a lot of fun. If you're not worried about magazine quality shots I would recommend it. Here's a shot taken from around 30 feet away with the tcon attached. It does require some practice with manual modes, not the greatest in auto.
Eric

Itsjustme said:

I have been looking for some time and know I want a bridge camera.
The reviews for the Panny seem to be slightly better than the Olympus
but would rather get some feedback from you guys on here.

Click to expand...

I have the SP-570, and I do want the hotshoe.

But the SP-565 also caters for MicroSD cards, so you can stick 4GB cards in it, whereas with xD cards I am limited to 2GB. This is a limitation when I do an evening's worth of movies - I have to change cards halfway through.

Since i also have the SP-550, I can say that there is not a lot of difference between 18x and 20x zoom. But the FZ28 starts wider, and finishes shorter than the SP-565.

I would save up the extra cash for the SP-590. Since it is more recent, it will be serviced for longer than the SP-565. The sensor is a bit larger, too. If the noise should turn out exactly the same as on the SP-565, it will nevertheless show up less when you print to A4 - because you have more pixels for the same print area.

Henry

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Henry Falkner - Stylus 800, SP-550UZ, SP-570UZ
http://www.pbase.com/hfalkner

I have the 570, and when I was shopping the Panny FZ-18 was the "other" camera, I have never looked at the FZ-28.

What I liked better about the 570 - Wider angle (was 2mm wider than fz18, only 1mm wider than fz28) and I thought the 570 colors were better than the FZ18... The Panny had a faster focus, but I didn't consider that (at the time). In retrospect, the slow focus on the 570 is really bugging myself and my wife... especially indoors, taking portraits of our baby - the camera simply won't focus on his face when his eyes are closed.

On the plus side, the focal range is very nice... the wide is great for parties and family events, and the long is great for those "walks in the park" I would not recommend the 570 for a "soccer Mom" camera - the focus would never keep up.

Speeking of walks in the park, My son and I went to a local state park a few days ago, I am still sorting the pictures, I'll post some soon. My son had fun with the camera, he wanted to shoot pics of every allagator we saw (about 2-3 dozen... LOL). I will say, the lens is soft on the long end, but it is decently sharp for flash portraits.

--
Current digital camera: my cell phone
And now a SP-570!

I second the SP-560 especially if you can get it at a good deal. I got mine from eBay/Olympus Auction for $152. The SP-560 also has the wireless flash trigger if you have the FL-36R or FL-50R external flash.

Eharri said:

I think maybe under rated the SP 560 is a great camera. I've had
good luck with mine and now you can buy one real cheap which allows
you to get a tcon 1.7 with the CLA adapter to fit and still be under
400 dollars. I have enjoyed mine immensely for the last year and
taken a lot of what I would call decent photos with it. Downside is
it lacks the detail of a full blown dslr but with the tcon you can
get shots in the 800mm range which makes birding a lot of fun. If
you're not worried about magazine quality shots I would recommend it.
Here's a shot taken from around 30 feet away with the tcon attached.
It does require some practice with manual modes, not the greatest in
auto.
Eric

Click to expand...