Whither Olympus SP-100

Michael Meissner wrote:

Of course atmospheric haze is a major problem with any ultra-zoom camera.

I also imagine that Olympus's IS will struggle to keep up at 1200mm equivalent field of view.

Things that were negatives to me (remember, I come from the micro 4/3rds cameras):

• No tilting lcd
• No touch screen
• No shutter release
• No external flash
• Slow lens at 1200mm (f/6.5, which on a camera with a 2/3" sensor means you are in diffraction territory)
• Size of the camera (it is about the same size as E-M10 + 14-150mm, though it weighs somewhat less)

If you don't need the ultra-zoom part, your SH-2 looks like a much better deal.

With 600 mm maximum range, I am very much outclassed now for moon shots.

Other than that - a pocket zoom causes less whiplash when doing videos of our Morris dance gigs as I am playing the accordion the P&S is mounted on. I admit, there are a lot more people doing moon shots than taking videos of their gigs as they are performing.

There were some comparisons in the YouTube lists I looked at. The SP100 focusses better at full reach than the Nikon P600. That now is outclassed by the P900 - but the Nikon crowd is now silent about the P900 features that were reported as not working. And it is even bigger than the SP100.

There was one report of an SP100 red dot sight breaking after little use.

I am not so concerned about the SP100. I am concerned about the scarcity of Olympus cameras this year. This is one of the motives for collecting three very similar SH models. They work reliably for me - which is not what you expect from a P&S that costs up to three times less than an enthusiast compact.

Henry